Nehemiah, He was Only a Cup Bearer

Nehemiah, cup bearer to the King of Persia, prior to that, little is known of his background, only that he was a Jew living in exile in Persia. His grandparents or great grandparents had been taken into captivity by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon around 150 years earlier. The Medes and Persians had defeated King Nebuchadnezzar and taken control of his empire, which included all the Jewish war captives.

This little Jewish war captive boy had risen to the high rank of cup bearer for King Artaxerxes. While not a coveted position, since the cup bearer's life was on the line multiple times daily due to having to taste test the King's wine before he drank it, it was a high ranking palace position with authority and a high paying salary.

Nehemiah, like Esther, had been born for such a time as this, because being the King's cup bearer put him in a unique position of already being completely trusted by the King and puts Nehemiah in the King's presence on a daily basis.

The Jews will get somewhat of a reprieve from their captivity, they will be allowed to return to Jerusalem and rebuild their war ravaged land. The Jews will return in three groups over a period of several years. The first group was led by Zerubabel and Jeshua, their mission was to build a new Temple where Solomon's Temple had been before Nebuchadnezzar and his army destroyed it. The second group of Jews returning to Jerusalem were led by Ezra, his mission was to bring God's law and order to Jerusalem.

Nehemiah will lead the third and final group of Jewish exiles to Jerusalem, his mission is to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.

How could an untrained prisoner of war accomplish leading people to a place he himself had never been before, rally a huge work force to repair a wall that some say spanned 7,000 feet, face and wisely deal with opposition, mockery and death threats, and accomplish repairing the wall, all in 52 days?

Nehemiah was only a cup bearer, but he was bearing the right cup, the King's cup.