The Kings Cup-Bearer | Page 3

called their
boy in from play, or as they put him in his little bed and took leave of
him for the night, 'The Lord is my Comforter.' Life in sunny Shushan
was surely no brighter than life in our more clouded land; they had
their times of sorrow as well as their times of joy, they had their
temptations, their cares, their anxieties, and their trials, just as we have.
How blessed for them in one and all of these to be reminded where true
comfort was to be found, so that they might turn to God in every time
of grief with the name of their little son on their lips, 'The Lord is my
Comforter.'
What do we know of Nehemiah? Can we say from our heart, 'The Lord
is my Comforter?' I take Him my every sorrow, I tell Him my every
trouble. He understands it, and He understands me, and He comforts
me as no other can. The Lord is indeed my Comforter.
So the little Nehemiah had grown up an ever-present reminder in his
parents' home of the comfort of God.
How many children Hachaliah had we are not told, but Nehemiah had
certainly one brother, Hanani. There had been some years before this a
parting in Hachaliah's family. Hanani, Nehemiah's brother, had left
Shushan for a distant land. Twelve years had passed since all the Jews
in Shushan had been roused by the news that Ezra the scribe was going
from Babylon to Jerusalem, and that he was calling upon all who loved
the home of their forefathers to go with him, and to help him in the
work he had undertaken. Bad news had been brought to Babylon of the
state of matters in Palestine; those who had returned with Zerubbabel
were not prospering, either in their souls or their bodies, and Ezra,
shocked by what he had heard, determined to go to Jerusalem that he
might reform the abuses which had arisen there, and do all in his power
to rouse the people to a sense of their duty. A brave company had set
forth with him. Eight thousand Jews had been ready to leave comfort,
luxury, and affluence behind, that they might go to the desolate city,
and endeavour to stir up its people to energy and life.

One of the 8,000 who went with Ezra was Nehemiah's brother, Hanani.
It is possible that Nehemiah himself was at that time too young to go; it
is also probable that Hachaliah, the father, having been born and
brought up in Shushan, was hard to move. So Hanani set forth alone,
and the brothers were parted.
Twelve long years, and in all probability no news had reached the
family in Shushan of the absent Hanani. A journey of five months lay
between them and Jerusalem; and in those days, when all the
conveniences we enjoy were unknown, they would not only never
expect to meet again, but they would also never anticipate the pleasure
of even hearing any news of each other, or of holding the slightest
communication.
But as the Rab-shakeh walks to the gate of Shushan, on the day on
which the story opens, he spies a caravan of travellers coming along the
northern road. They have evidently come a long way, for they are tired,
exhausted, and travel-stained. The mules walk slowly and heavily
under their burdens, the skin of the travellers is burnt and cracked by
the hot sun of the desert, their clothes are faded and covered with dust,
their sandals are full of holes.
Where can the caravan have come from? Nehemiah finds to his
astonishment that it has come from Jerusalem, the city of cities, as he
had been taught to believe it, and, to his still greater surprise, he finds
amongst the travellers his long-lost brother Hanani. What had brought
Hanani back from Jerusalem we are not told; he may have wished once
more to see his old father Hachaliah; but we can well imagine the joy
with which he would be welcomed by all, and not the least by his
brother Nehemiah.
As they walk together through Shushan to the palace, the Rab-shakeh
asks anxiously after Jerusalem. Has Ezra's work been successful? How
are matters progressing? Are the people more in earnest? Is Jerusalem
thriving?
But the travellers have a dismal tale to tell. Affairs in the Holy City are
about as bad as it was possible for them to be.

Neh. i. 3: 'They said unto me, The remnant that are left of the captivity
there in the province are in great affliction and reproach: the wall of
Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with
fire.'
In other words, things are just where they were twelve years ago; the