Dead Man Walking

What kind of man was Nehemiah?

Well, we know he was “cupbearer to the King” – King Artaxerxes of Persia - a job spec which called for sublime responsibility and trustworthiness.  While it may have produced a confiding and even influential relationship with this most powerful of rulers, the job was, at its heart, not a particularly pleasant one.  Apart from needing to be of cheerful countenance (all the time), it was the cupbearer’s job to not only select wines for the King but to sample them too, thus being the last line of defence in the event of a poisoning conspiracy.

Rowan Atkinson takes a particularly funny look at the precariousness of working so closely alongside a powerful and fickle monarch.  It’s marginally naughty in places but worth a look.

But seriously now...let’s not overlook the significance of the fact that Nehemiah was a cupbearer to the King.  How would you take to such a job? – particularly to the gnawing uncertainty that the next taste test might well be your last?  Surely one in such a position would – from the very outset of the appointment – have had to resign himself to death’s constant companionship?

Perhaps it’s a bit of a stretch but I think it speaks a lot about Nehemiah’s character.  His stoicism reminds me of the terrifying Lt. Speirs, a prominent character in the TV series “Band of Brothers”.  On the eve of a major clash between the 101st and the 17thPanzergrenadier Division at a place later known as “Bloody Gulch”, the much feared Lieutenant Speirs puts things into perspective for a terrified rifleman called Blithe:

“You just don’t see how simple it is.  You think there’s still hope – but Blithe, the only hope you have is to accept the fact that you’re already dead. The sooner you accept that the sooner you’ll be able to function as a soldier’s supposed to.  Without mercy, without compassion, without remorse...all war depends upon it...”

And though Nehemiah was ultimately merciful, compassionate and single-mindedly focused on serving God, I imagine his service paradigm to be startling similar to that of Lt. Speirs.  During his time as governor of Judaea, he endured constant opposition yet in spite of it all remained focussed on the job at hand and continued to carry out his duties with a sense of blazing urgency.  Upon hearing of a conspiracy to have him killed, he remarks:

“Should a man like me run away? Or should one like me go into the temple to save his life?  I will not go!”

In many ways he is a prophetic embodiment of words the Apostle Paul would later write in his second letter to the Corinthians:

“We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.  For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body”

“Most people ask ‘what does it cost’.  Wise people ask ‘what is it worth?”