Nehemiah: For I Was the King's Cupbearer

The book of Nehemiah finds itself nestled among the other post-excilic books of Ezra and Esther. The first wave of Jewish people returned under Zerubbabel over 70 years previous. It was under Zerubbabel that the altar and the temple would be built. Ezra would be the next to return with a remnant of Jews. It would be Ezra that would aid in reestablishing right worship. With the people of Israel back in the land having an altar, temple, and worship, they found themselves continually harassed by foreign influences in the land because they have no wall of protection. It is this fact that touch the heart of Nehemiah. God not willing to have His people be a reproach, moves not only Nehemiah but the heart of Artaxerxes, the heathen king of the Grecian Empire. God's calling is God's enabling. Thus in Nehemiah we see a man touched with a burden. He was focused and determined to complete the burden given him by the LORD regardless of countless challenges and oppositions from enemies.