The Cupbearer Builder

Nehemiah was called to a building project. Of course, his work was much bigger than repairing the wall around Jerusalem. He was called to build up the people of God. The wall was broken and the gates were burnt. The people were also in bad shape, spiritually. When I think of our church kitchen, I do wonder if we are in bad shape too. Uncompliant? Not fit for purpose?

How’s our prayer life? This was Nehemiah’s secret. The wall was completed in just 52 days, yet we know from Neh 1:1 and 2:1 that he prayed for more than twice as long before the king commissioned him. He communicated his vision to his countrymen, not as a good idea, but as someone who knew God’s hand upon him. As opposition and persecution grew, Nehemiah’s prayer response also grew and the work continued.

Cupbearer as Intercessor

God’s call on Nehemiah was firstly not to be a builder of the wall, or even a builder of the people, but as a cupbearer. He tasted the king’s wine to ensure there wasn’t a plot to poison him. Nehemiah was more than a butler, but rather a trusted official living in King Artaxerxes’ palace in Iran.

A cupbearer seems to me to be a good picture of an intercessor, and Nehemiah was an intercessor who wept and prayed over his city. He was cupbearer to the King of Persia, but also to the King of Kings! He tasted the cup of God’s wrath, born in exile in Babylon and then living in Persia. He tasted the shame of the broken people back in Jerusalem, as well as the hard work, opposition and persecution full of lies and false accusations.

Jesus was surely the ultimate cupbearer. He, too, wept over his city, worked hard and experienced extreme opposition including false witnesses. It’s in the Garden of Gethsemane that we see Jesus tasting the approaching judgement of God. He who knew no sin would become sin for us (2 Corinthians 5:21). His soul was overcome with sorrow, not because of the pain he would suffer, but at the idea of being spiritually separated from his Father. He fell to the ground and prayed, ‘If it be possible let this cup pass from me; yet, not my will but yours be done’(Matthew 26:39). On the Cross Jesus drank the cup to its very dregs.

It’s heartening when a church responds with generous giving and is full of good works, but our spiritual temperature is measured by our prayer life together. If we ‘taste’ the pain of this world without much prayer, we’ll be overwhelmed. However, if we pray much without ‘tasting’ our prayers will be triumphalistic, out of touch with reality.

When we feel our cup is bitter, remember we’re only tasting. Jesus emptied the cup to its dregs. Our tasting is communion with him. It’s fellowship in his sufferings that we may know the power of his resurrection in our lives and in our church (Philippians 3:10).