So now the Israelites are fasting and praying. And for a long time they talk about how merciful God has been to them in the past. And God has been merciful. The Israelites fought great battles and won, taking over so much land and becoming great and powerful. yet as soon as they were settled, they forgot about God. So God sends prophets. They kill the prophets. Then God sends someone to afflict them. And it's then, then that they remember God and cry out to them. God delivers them and the process starts all over again. Kinda reminds me of myself.

Now the men and their wives raised a great outcry against their Jewish brothers. Some were saying, "We and our sons and daughters are numerous; in order for us to eat and stay alive, we must get grain." Others were saying, "We are mortgaging our fields, our vineyards and our homes to get grain during the famine." Still others were saying, "We have had to borrow money to pay the king's tax on our fields and vineyards. Although we are of the same flesh and blood as our countrymen and though our sons are as good as theirs, yet we have to subject our sons and daughters to slavery. Some of our daughters have already been enslaved, but we are powerless, because our fields and our vineyards belong to others." Now Nehemiah's angry, so he goes to the nobles and officials. He gives a speech, and fixes the problem. Obviously God is with him. I mean, he's a cup bearer, he doesn't have any real authority. ( After this he does become a governor)

Above the Horse Gate, the priests made repairs, each in front of his own house. Next to them, Zadok son of Immer made repairs opposite his house. Next to him, Shemaiah son of Shecaniah, the guard at the East Gate, made repairs. Next to him, Hananiah son of Shelemiah, and Hanun, the sixth son of Zalaph, repaired another section. Next to them, Meshullam son of Berekiah made repairs opposite his living quarters. Next to him, Malkijah, one of the goldsmiths, made repairs as far as the house of the temple servants and the merchants, opposite the Inspection Gate, and as far as the room above the corner; and between the room above the corner and the Sheep Gate the goldsmiths and merchants made repairs. So everything's going great until Sanballat comes. He's sees, he gets mad, he tries plotting to kill them. So Nehemiahs got half his guys out there posted as gaurds and the works slowing down. A lot.

In the month of Nisan in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was brought for him, I took the wine and gave it to the king. I had not been sad in his presence before; so the king asked me, "Why does your face look so sad when you are not ill? This can be nothing but sadness of heart." I was very much afraid, but I said to the king, "May the king live forever! Why should my face not look sad when the city where my fathers are buried lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?"
The king said to me, "What is it you want?" Then I prayed to the God of heaven, and I answered the king, "If it pleases the king and if your servant has found favor in his sight, let him send me to the city in Judah where my fathers are buried so that I can rebuild it."
Then the king, with the queen sitting beside him, asked me, "How long will your journey take, and when will you get back?" It pleased the king to send me; so I set a time.
I also said to him, "If it pleases the king, may I have letters to the governors of Trans-Euphrates, so that they will provide me safe-conduct until I arrive in Judah? And may I have a letter to Asaph, keeper of the king's forest, so he will give me timber to make beams for the gates of the citadel by the temple and for the city wall and for the residence I will occupy?" And because the gracious hand of my God was upon me, the king granted my requests. So I went to the governors of Trans-Euphrates and gave them the king's letters. The king had also sent army officers and cavalry with me.

Wow, he really gave it all to God didn't he? He prayed before he asked and then he said "Because the gracious hand of my God was upon me, the king grnted my request's." That's a great attitude.

Nehemiah 1

Nehemiah's a cup bearer to king Artaxerxes and he had not gone back to Jerusalem. Hanani, one of my brothers, came from Judah with some other men, and I questioned them about the Jewish remnant that survived the exile, and also about Jerusalem.
They said to me, "Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire." When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven.

So Nehemiah prayed and asked God that he would ' Give your servant success today by granting him favor in the presence of this man.' "This man" was referring to the king Becuz he wanted to go to Jerusalem.

It's kinda weird that he wanted to go back. I wonder why he wanted to do that. I guess he had great organization skills or something, cuz he seemed pretty determines to do it.