And may I have a letter to Asaph, keeper of the king’s forest, so that he will give me timber to make beams for the gates of the citadel to the temple, for the city wall, and for the house I will occupy.” And because the gracious hand of my God was upon me, the king granted my requests.and a letter to Asaph the keeper of the king’s forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the citadel by the temple, for the wall of the city, and for the house that I will occupy.” The king granted my requests, because of the good hand of my God on me.And a letter unto Asaph the keeper of the king’s forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the palace which appertained to the house, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall enter into. And the king granted me, according to the good hand of my God upon me.and a letter unto Asaph the keeper of the king’s forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the castle which appertaineth to the house, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall enter into. And the king granted me, according to the good hand of my God upon me.
4 sermons cite this verse
… I don't know the right people. No, Nehemiah 2 verse 8 shows us his attitude. He said, the king granted me this request because the gracious hand of God was upon me. He was saying, it may not look like it in the natural, but I have a secret weapon, something that you cannot see. The favor of God is on my life. Nehemiah went out and started rebuilding the wall. he had all kinds of opposition. City leaders wouldn't give him a permit. Critics tried to stop him. Bandits came up and he had to fight them off. One thing after another, he just kept being his best, doing what God called him to do. That should have taken him years and years, but Nehemiah rebuilt that wall in just 52 days. What was that? God taking him further, faster. God had it all lined up. God gave him favor with the king. God arranged the right people, the resources, the protection. Should have taken years. That wall had been down for a long time. …
… God gives provision. This is Nehemiah chapter 2 verses 6 through 9. Verse 6 of chapter 2. Then the king said to me, the queen also sitting beside him, how long will your journey be and when will you return? So it pleased the king to send me. And I set him a time. Furthermore, I said to the king, this is Nehemiah talking to the king, if it pleases the king, let letters be given to me for the governors of the region beyond the river that they must permit me to pass through till I come to Judah. And a letter to Asaph, the keeper of the king's forest, that he must give me timber to make beams for the gates of the citadel which pertains to the temple, for the city wall, and for the house that I will occupy. Y'all missed a great spot right there. He's getting some wood to build the temple. He's getting some wood to build the gates. He's getting the wood for the temple. …
… that they may let me pass through until I come to Judah. and a letter to Asaph, who was the keeper of the king's forest out there, that he could give me carte blanche to take as much timber for the beams of the gates of the fortress of the temple as I want, for the wall of the city and for the house that I shall occupy. And the king granted me what I asked for the good hand of my God was upon me. Then I came to the governors of the province beyond the river, also known for us as the Alamance campus, okay? So Alamance, we love you guys out there, but I gave them the king's letters. Now the king had sent with me officers of the army and horsemen. But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite heard this, it displeased them greatly that somebody had come to seek the welfare of the people of Israel. Sanballat and Tobiah. You're going to want to remember those names. …
… that they may let me pass through until I come to Judah. And a 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 king granted, just like with Ezra, granted to Nehemiah what I asked for the good hand of my God was upon me. There you see the same refrain. Now I want you to look at verse 9. Then I came to the governors of the province beyond the river and gave them the king's letters. Now the king had sent with me officers of the army and horsemen. Okay, Nehemiah, he travels with an armed escort. So obviously, the moral of the story is, you should always take every precaution that is available to you. Famously, in Nehemiah chapter 4, 9, one of my favorite verses, and we prayed to our God and set a guard as a protection against them day and night. They had opposition. You know what we're going to do? We're going to pray. …