Cupbearers held important positions within political organizations of the ancient Near East. The position was one of high trust: the king could easily be poisoned through wine, and the cupbearer could overhear private conversations during a meal, including those with other heads of state.Nehemiah and King Artaxerxes knew each other well enough to catch moods, body language, and tone. So when Nehemiah's body language indicated trouble, the king called Nehemiah on it and wanted to know more:
And the king said to me, “Why is your face sad, seeing you are not sick? This is nothing but sadness of the heart.”Although this was no manipulation on Nehemiah's part, it opened a fearful door for Nehemiah. The conversations with the King most likely never roamed to personal issues. So, when the king asked Nehemiah about the troubling body language, it made Nehemiah "very much afraid" (Nehemiah 2:2).
Making it no less leg-shaking was the Queen's presence. As she looks upon Nehemiah with a probing eye, he feels that, too.
Nehemiah responds in the classic manner of praise and affirmation, then citing the issue or problem, to the request or solution offered. One thing Nehemiah does, separating most of our pleas, requests, and hopes, is he prayed first.
So I prayed to the God of heaven. And I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers’ graves, that I may rebuild it.”The King doesn't hesitate by granting the request, Rather, he asks, "How long will you be gone and when will you return?" Nehemiah asks for protection as he travels across provinces
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