Nehemiah 2:4-6

The king asked Nehemiah what he wanted. This was Nehemiah’s opportunity, so he prayed. But he only had a moment to pray this prayer. Then Nehemiah told the king what he (Nehemiah) wanted to do. He asked the king to send him to *Judah so that he could build the city again. Nehemiah was very bold to say this. But he believed that God had heard his prayers. So he was confident.

Nehemiah was an important servant to the king. Now Nehemiah was asking the king to send him to *Judah. *Judah was 4 months’ walk from Persia. So he would be away from the king for a long time.

He also was asking the king to change the king’s decision about Jerusalem. Earlier the king had stopped the people who wanted to build the city again (Ezra 4:21).

He was also asking the king to send him away from his comfortable life in Persia. He would have to make a long hard journey. Then he would have to work hard to build Jerusalem again. So he asked the king to send him there.

The king knew that Nehemiah was a good and loyal servant. The king and queen would have liked Nehemiah to remain in the palace. But God wanted Nehemiah to go to Jerusalem (Nehemiah 2:8; Nehemiah 2:18). So the king asked Nehemiah how long he would be away from the palace. Nehemiah worked out how long the journey would take. And the king agreed to send Nehemiah to *Judah.

v7 And I said to the king, ‘If the king is willing, please give letters to me. These will be for the government officers of the district beyond the Euphrates river. In these letters, please tell them to let me go through their territory to *Judah. v8 Please also give me a letter to Asaph, who looks after the king’s forests. In this letter, please tell him to give me wood from the trees. I will use this wood to make beams for the gates of the castle that is by the *temple. And I will use it for the gates in the city wall. I will also use some beams to build a house for myself.’ The king did everything that I asked. He did that because God was looking after me.