Whoever You Are

I was reading Nehemiah 1 the other morning. (Again, shoutout to Jennifer Lane and her book HIStory in 366 Days; a year of daily devotions centered around our need and God's plan for redemption!) In the first verse of Nehemiah, we discover he is "the son of Hachaliah." Whoever he is. Nehemiah says he is, at the time, in Susa, a capital city of the Persian Empire. He has received word regarding the grievous condition of Jerusalem and its residents and longs for God's mercy. The next several verses --until the end of the chapter --are Nehemiah's confession on behalf of his people and his plea for God's favor: Nehemiah is preparing to go before the Persian king and request permission to return to Jerusalem and restore the city (and Judah's fear of the Lord).

So, what do we know about Nehemiah so far? He is the son of Hachaliah --whoever he is --and a follower of the God of Israel. He is, at the time, a subject of the king of Persia. BUT it is not until the end of chapter one, eleven verses in, and after we are shown that Nehemiah is a faithful servant of the Lord, that this is revealed:

For I was the king's cupbearer. (v. 11)

Nehemiah was not some ordinary exile struggling to adjust to life in a new country, working someone else's land, being daily harassed by soldiers or shunned at the local market. Nehemiah was not a priest without a temple or a politician without a constituency. Nehemiah lived at the palace of the king of Persia! He was in the monarch's presence daily. He tasted rich foods and likely rested his head on --well, more than a stone. His clothes were provided and maintained. He might not have been a royal, but he certainly would have lived like one. What sort of resume' wouldn't lead with that? Nehemiah's. Eleven powerful verses make it pretty clear, his identity was linked to his service --not to a king, but to The King. Sure, he's the son of Hachaliah --whoever he is --but from the very beginning of the account, his focus is on the state of God's people in God's city. His go-to is not his influence before the king or his political connections; his go-to is God. He humbles himself before the One who created the land on which Jerusalem was built. He humbles himself before the One who is sovereign over those who built the gates as well as those who burnt them. He humbles himself before the only One who can forgive and restore. He shares his plight with his employer but humbles himself before his God. He was the king's cupbearer... by the way. It was convenient he could obtain from his boss the right and resources to rebuild the city, but definitely not necessary. 

What if the king had not allowed him to go? Can you see Nehemiah prostrate before his ruler, begging for permission to return to Jerusalem? I can't. God put it on Nehemiah's heart to restore the glory of God's holy city for the glory of God, and God would provide whatever was necessary to carry out that work. Nehemiah was certain of that. He left behind the splendor of service to a king to lead his people in returning to The King. His claim to fame would not be as cupbearer, but as one whose identity was firmly fixed in obeying the God of Israel. 

What would you say is the most important part of your identity? Is it the fact you're a parent? Is it your degree? Is it the family in which you grew up, or even the church you attend? Is the most important part of your identity what you do to pay the bills or what you spend most of your time doing? When your book is closed, your story is written, do you want to be known among the world's arbiters, or do you seek the approval of The Master alone? Will you be recognized by the great sums you managed and the business relationships you developed, or will you be known for laying up treasure that moths and rust cannot destroy? Will your epitaph read "cupbearer"? "Daughter of Fred"? --whoever he is. Or will it boldly proclaim, "servant, laborer, child of God"?