Welcome to the Daily Blade. The Word of God is described as the sword of the spirit, the primary

spiritual weapon in the Christian's armor against the forces of evil. Your hosts are Joby Martin

and Kyle Thompson, and they stand ready to equip men for the fight. Let's sharpen up.

We were introduced to Nehemiah yesterday. Out of reverence for God and trusting in

God's provision, Nehemiah fervently prayed for the land and the people of his forefathers. So the

first chapter ended with us being told that Nehemiah's job is cut bearer for King Artaxerxes.

So not only would he do what he could to make sure that the king did not have his food or drink tampered with because poisoning was a common assassination tactic in those days, he would actually do that duty for the entire royal court. Okay. So needless to say, he was a really, really important person that had a really important job that required a lot of trust from the king. So let's go back to the

text here. We're going to go Nehemiah two starting in verse one. In the month of Nassan, in the

20th year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was before him, I took up the wine and gave it to the king.

Now I had not been sad in his presence. And the king said to me, why is your face sad seeing you are not sick?

This is nothing but sadness of the heart. Then I was very much afraid. I said to the king,

let the king live forever. Why should not my face be sad when the city, the place of my father's

graves, lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire. Then the king said to me,

what are you requesting? So I prayed to the God of heaven. And I said to the king, if it pleases the

king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, that you send me to Judah to the city of my

father's graves, that I may rebuild it. And the king said to me,

the queen sitting beside him, how long will you be gone and when will you return? So it pleased

the king to send me when I had given him a time. And I said to the king, if it pleases the king,

let letters be given to me to the governors of the province beyond the river, that they may let me

pass through until I come to Judah. And a letter to Asaph, the governors of the province beyond the river 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

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