TODAY’S READING: NEHEMIAH 1-3
Jesus is God’s cupbearer.
We know this from Jesus’ prayer in the garden. Matthew 26:39 says, “And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, ‘My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.'”
Why do I bring this up in regards to Nehemiah 1-3?
Nehemiah 1:11 says, “Now I was cupbearer to the king.”
Nehemiah was cupbearer to the king while Jesus was cupbearer to the Father. So, we can see that Nehemiah is a type or picture of Jesus.
Nehemiah 2 takes place in the month Nisan. This is the month that Jesus was crucified. It also takes place in the 20th year of King Artaxerxes. If you study the number, then you will find that it symbolizes redemption. Jesus redeemed us through the cross. Therefore, both Nisan and the 20th year of Artaxerxes are telling us that what we read in Nehemiah 2 witnesses to the time right before Jesus’ death.
Knowing this, before you read further in this blog, make sure you read Nehemiah 2.
Now that you have read Nehemiah 2, read my version below. I have rewritten Nehemiah’s conversation with Artaxerxes as the conversation between Jesus and the Father in the garden of Gethsemane.
In the month of Nisan, in the year of redemption of the Father, when wine was before him, Jesus took up the wine and gave it to the Father.
Now Jesus had not been sad in his presence. And the Father said to Jesus, “Why is your face sad, seeing you are not sick? This nothing but sadness of the heart.”
Then Jesus was very much afraid. Jesus said to the Father, “Let the Father live forever! Why should not my face be sad, when the city, the place of my people’s graves, lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?”
The the Father said to Jesus, “What are you requesting?”
So Jesus prayed to the Father. And Jesus said to the Father, “If it pleases the Father, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, that you send me to Judah, to the city of people’s graves, that I may rebuild it.”
And the Father said to Jesus (the Holy Spirit sitting beside him), “How long will you be gone, and when will you return?” So it pleased the Father to send Jesus when Jesus had given him a time.
And Jesus said to the Father, “If it pleases the Father, let words be given to me to the governors of the province Beyond the River, that they may let me pass through until I come to Judah, and letter to Asaph, the keeper of the king’s forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the fortress of the temple, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall occupy.”
And the Father granted Jesus what he asked, for the good hand of the Father was upon Jesus.
You can continue reading the rest of the chapter and see Jesus as Nehemiah. And, this continues throughout the whole book.