Nehemiah: God's Broker Part 3

Nehemiah picked his way through the crowded streets to the sector known for its wine merchants. Three palace servants accompanied him, not because of danger, but because their palatial garb tended to clear a polite path through the pressing market throngs. There was a particular vintage he sought. It was derived from a coastal grape that gleaned its mildness from nesting and being neighbors to the great sea. Nehemiah knew the king's fondness for it, and the cupbearer's palate would sift through the various offerings and nail down the very best. He had done this countless times before, and had the assured calm of a professional; for he most certainly was just that, both in experience and demeanor. When he found what he was searching for, he would send it back to the palace by the three servants. He insisted on being sure he sent only that which he had already tasted. It would be tasted again, but he liked the idea of assuring its purity twice and that personally. There were only two places of potential danger for a king: in the palace and outside the palace. He could take care of half that risk right here in the market.

Sallu's place of business left something to be desired in the customer friendly category. It was organized in the fashion that only Sallu, and that questionable, could see the logic of the places where things landed and established residency. However, in the final moment critical to any sale, he was always able to lay hands on the necessary item. Nehemiah had done most of his business with him for years now. He was respected in the community of the Jews as one of their best citizens. He was able to be trusted, which was very important for Nehemiah. And finally his inventory was the best.

Nehemiah and Sallu located the very vintage he was seeking. He left immediately foregoing the temptation to enjoy the warm eccentricities of the wine vendor. On this particular morning his venture into the market was a double mission. It was the second part that dominated his thoughts today. His brother Hanani had just returned from Jerusalem and bore news of the situation. Nehemiah was anxious to hear of the condition and welfare of those who had left all in Babylon to re-establish the city of their fathers. He knew many of them and admired their courage to step out of the familiar. Some had left lucrative situations in Babylon in order to pursue a dream. He quietly hungered to be amongst them, but…he was the king's cupbearer, trusted and relied upon. There were only a handful of men to whom the king would blindly commit his safety, and Nehemiah was amongst them.

They met an hour and a half later in the main open air market sector of the city. Enthusiastic embraces, traditional kisses, moist eyes and laughter all graced the scene of their reunion.

Then Nehemiah had to know; his heart needed to know the bottom line: how are they?

Hanani clouded over: “It is not well with our people; it is bad Nehemiah, it bodes badly for them.” His voice dropped in unstaged grief.

“But the temple…I thought they had finished…and that they would be together and strengthening one another, and……”

“Yes the temple is up, but there are too many forces in play. The powers that be have a death grip on the situation and are not the slightest inclined to release it.”

“Well explain to me what you refer to Hanani, please give me some understanding here.” Nehemiah felt frustrated and troubled.

“Ezra has done an excellent job with the temple; but he is a scholar, a priest, not a politician. There needs to be a man who knows the ways of power. Some one familiar with the intricacies of the forces that are shaping that environment. Disillusion has set in amongst those who returned. Those who were of means are staying afloat, but the great majority are in desperate conditions economically. The neighboring peoples and their rulers are in the habit of doing as they please to the city and those who dwell there. There is no mercy, no hand extended to help. To the contrary our people are viewed as ripe for the picking. Most are in debt and have had to mortgage the little they have in order to stay alive. They are little more than slaves. Their children are sold, their lands, their vineyards as well. They are trapped and feel hopeless and forsaken. They endure socially acceptable robbery by daylight and the more honest variety by night. The foreigners around view them as a prey, and our own people of means do not treat them much better.” Hanani searched the face of his brother as he related his account. The pain that was released in his heart, etched the grief on his face.

The two talked another hour, but the joy of their reunion was overshadowed and stilled in a corner. At last Nehemiah rose reluctantly, “I must return; it nears time for the King to be served. We shall be in touch.” The two embraced and Nehemiah left heavy-laden and his spirit limping with the pain of his people.

Nehemiah is headed for a divine intersection. Crossing through that intersection is going to define his life on earth. Though a very established, wealthy, respected and powerful man, there is a vocation engraved in the baseline of his substance that has not yet been realized. There is something so special about making that journey to our core-being: God lives there.

No matter where you are today, if you are in Christ, you also have written on the underside of your deepest unseen component, a vocation. The Bible makes the incredible statement that this holy VIN (vehicle identification number) can never be filed, sanded or in anyway erased (Rom.11.29). It may never come to light, but it can't be eliminated. Making the discovery is dependent on your and my willingness to go on a quest to do so.

Parker Palmer has described this intersection of discovery for us: where your greatest joy intersects with the world's great need. We'll hang around the corner of Joy and Need next time.