Then the king said to me, "What do you request?" So I prayed to the God of heaven.[Nehemiah 2:4]
Did you know the Lord can move the heart of a king? Or a prime minister? Or a president? The Bible says, "The king's heart is in the hand of the Lord, like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever He wishes" (Proverbs 21:1).
The Bible tells the story of Nehemiah, who was cupbearer to the king of Persia. A cupbearer tasted all of the king's food in case someone was trying to poison him. But in reality, Nehemiah was more than that. Being in such close proximity to the king, the cupbearer would end up being a counselor to the king. So the position of cupbearer became one of great influence. And someone in that situation wouldn't have wanted to do anything to jeopardize it.
Nehemiah, however, was a Jew. He had heard about how the walls of Jerusalem lay in ruins, and his heart went out to his fellow Jews. He thought that perhaps God had put him where he was to do something good for his people. Yet to approach the king and incur his disfavor could cost him his life.
As Nehemiah pondered all this, it made him sad. The king noticed this one day and asked Nehemiah why he was depressed, so Nehemiah explained what was bothering him. Then the king said, "What do you request?"
I love what happened next: "So I [Nehemiah] prayed to the God of heaven" (Nehemiah 2:4). No doubt it was one of those prayers on the fly, the kind you pray when you're suddenly summoned to the boss's or principal's office. Nehemiah prayed, and the Lord moved the king's heart.
We need to pray for those who are in authority over us. Pray that God would help them make the right decisions and guide and lead their steps.
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Today's Bible Reading
Joshua 18:1 The entire community of the people of Isra’el assembled themselves together at Shiloh and set up the tent of meeting there, after the land had been subdued before them. 2 There still remained among the people of Isra’el seven tribes that had not yet received their inheritance. 3 Y’hoshua said to the people of Isra’el, “How long will you delay going in to take possession of the land which Adonai the God of your ancestors has given you? 4 Appoint three men for each tribe; I will commission them; and they are to set out, go through the land and describe it according to their inheritance; then they are to come back to me. 5 They are to divide it into seven portions, with Y’hudah remaining in its territory to the south and the house of Yosef in their territory to the north. 6 You will describe seven portions of land and bring the descriptions here to me; then I will cast lots for you here before Adonai our God. 7 But the L’vi’im have no share with you, because the office of cohen to Adonai is their inheritance; and Gad and Re’uven and the half-tribe of M’nasheh have received their inheritance beyond the Yarden to the east, which Moshe the servant of Adonai gave them.”
8 So the men got up and went. Y’hoshua gave them this commission as they left to describe the land: “Go; walk through the land; and describe it; then come back to me, and I will cast lots for you here before Adonai in Shiloh.” 9 The men went and passed through the land, surveying it by cities, dividing it into seven regions and writing the results on a scroll. Then they came to Y’hoshua in the camp at Shiloh. 10 Y’hoshua cast lots for them in Shiloh before Adonai, and there Y’hoshua divided the land among the people of Isra’el according to their regions.
11 The lot for the tribe of the descendants of Binyamin came up according to their families. The border of their territory chosen by lot was between the descendants of Y’hudah and the descendants of Yosef.
12 On the north side, their border began at the Yarden, went up alongside Yericho on the north, continued up through the hills westward and arrived at the Beit-Aven Desert. 13 From there the border passed on to Luz, to the south side of Luz (that is, Beit-El); then the border went down to ‘Atrot-Adar, by the hill on the south side of Lower Beit-Horon.
14 The border was delineated as turning at the western corner and heading southward, from the hill located in front of Beit-Horon on the south; and it ended at Kiryat-Ba‘al (that is, Kiryat-Ye‘arim), a city belonging to the descendants of Y’hudah; this was the west side.
15 On the south the border extended westward from the most distant part of Kiryat-Ye‘arim, going out to the source of the Neftoach Spring. 16 Then the border went down to the farthest part of the hill located in front of the Ben-Hinnom Valley, north of the Refa’im Valley, south of the Y’vusi; and continued down to ‘Ein-Rogel, 17 where it was drawn to the north; then it went on to ‘Ein-Shemesh; continued to G’lilot, which is across from Ma‘alei-Adumim; went down to the Stone of Bohan the son of Re’uven; 18 passed alongside the ‘Aravah, heading north; and went down to the ‘Aravah. 19 Then the border passed alongside Beit-Hoglah, heading north; and the border ended at the north bay of the Dead Sea, at the south end of the Yarden; this was the south border.
20 The Yarden was to be its border on the east side.
This was the inheritance of the descendants of Binyamin, defined by its surrounding borders, according to their families.
21 The cities of the tribe of the descendants of Binyamin according to their families were: Yericho, Beit-Hoglah, ‘Emek-K’tzitz, 22 Beit-‘Aravah, Tz’marayim, Beit-El, 23 ‘Avim, Parah, ‘Ofrah, 24 K’far-Ha‘amonah, ‘Ofni and Geva — twelve cities, together with their villages. 25 Giv‘on, Ramah, Be’erot, 26 Mitzpeh, K’firah, Motzah, 27 Rekem, Yirpe’el, Tar’alah, 28 Tzela, Elef, Y’vusi (that is, Yerushalayim), Giv‘at and Kiryat — fourteen cities, together with their villages.
This is the inheritance of the descendants of Binyamin according to their families.
19:1 The second lot came out for Shim‘on, for the tribe of the descendants of Shim‘on according to their families. Their inheritance was inside the inheritance of the descendants of Y’hudah. 2 For their inheritance they had Be’er-Sheva, Sheva, Moladah, 3 Hatzar-Shu‘al, Balah, ‘Etzem, 4 El-Tolad, B’tul, Hormah, 5 Ziklag, Beit-Markavot, Hatzar-Susah, 6 Beit-L’va’ot and Sharuchen — thirteen cities, together with their villages; 7 ‘Ayin, Rimmon, ‘Eter and ‘Ashan — four cities, together with their villages; 8 and all the villages surrounding these cities, as far as Ba‘alat-Be’er, Ramah of the Negev. This is the inheritance of the tribe of the descendants of Shim‘on according to their families. 9 The inheritance of the descendants of Shim‘on was taken out of the allotment for the descendants of Y’hudah, because the portion given to the descendants of Y’hudah was too much for them, so the descendants of Shim‘on had an inheritance inside the descendants of Y’hudah.
10 The third lot came up for the descendants of Z’vulun according to their families. The border of their inheritance began at Sarid. 11 Then their border went up westward to Mar‘alah, extended to Dabeshet and on to the vadi fronting Yokne‘am. 12 Also from Sarid it turned toward the sunrise to the east to the border of Kislot-Tavor, went on to Dovrat and up to Yafia. 13 From there it passed eastward to Gat-Hefer, on to ‘Et-Katzin, went out at Rimmon and reached to Ne‘ah. 14 Then the border turned on the north side to Hanaton, ending in the Yiftach’el Valley. 15 Also Katat, Nahalal, Shimron, Yid’alah and Beit-Lechem — twelve cities, together with their villages. 16 This is the inheritance of the descendants of Z’vulun according to their families, these cities with their villages.
17 The fourth lot came out for Yissakhar, for the descendants of Yissakhar according to their families. 18 Their territory included Yizre‘el, K’sulot, Shunem, 19 Hafarayim, Shi’on, Anacharat, 20 Rabit, Kishyon, Evetz, 21 Remet, ‘Ein-Ganim, ‘Ein-Hadah and Beit-Patzetz. 22 Their territory extended to Tavor, Shachatzimah and Beit-Shemesh; and their territory ended at the Yarden — sixteen cities, together with their villages. 23 This is the inheritance of the tribe of the descendants of Yissakhar according to their families, the cities, with their villages.
24 The fifth lot came out for the tribe of the descendants of Asher according to their families. 25 Their territory included Helkat, Hali, Beten, Akhshaf, 26 Alamelekh, ‘Am‘ad and Mish’al. It extended to the Karmel on the west and to Shichor-Livnat. 27 The border turned eastward to Beit-Dagon, reached to Z’vulun and the Yiftach’el Valley on its north, then Beit-‘Emek and Ne‘i’el, went out to Kavul on the left, 28 then ‘Evron, Rechov, Hamon, Kanah and on to greater Tzidon. 29 The border turned toward Ramah and the fortified city of Tzor; next the border turned to Hosah; and it ended at the sea from Hevel to Akhziv. 30 Also included were ‘Umah, Afek and Rechov — twenty cities, together with their villages. 31 This is the inheritance of the tribe of the descendants of Asher according to their families, these cities with their villages.
32 The sixth lot came out for the descendants of Naftali, for the descendants of Naftali according to their families. 33 Their border went from Helef and the oak in Tza‘ananim, included Adami-Nekev and Yavne’el, went on to Lakum and ended at the Yarden. 34 Westward the border turned to Aznot-Tavor and went out from there to Hukok, reaching to Z’vulun on the south, Asher on the west and Y’hudah at the Yarden toward the east. 35 The fortified cities were Tzidim, Tzer, Hamat, Rakat, Kinneret, 36 Adamah, Ramah, Hatzor, 37 Kedesh, Edre‘i, ‘Ein-Hatzor, 38 Yir’on, Migdal-El, Horem, Beit-‘Anat and Beit-Shemesh — nineteen cities, together with their villages. 39 This is the inheritance of the tribe of the descendants of Naftali according to their families, the cities with their villages.
40 The seventh lot came out for the tribe of the descendants of Dan according to their families. 41 The territory of their inheritance included Tzor‘ah, Eshta’ol, ‘Ir-Shemesh, 42 Sha‘alabin, Ayalon, Yitlah, 43 Eilon, Timnah, ‘Ekron, 44 Elt’keh, Gib’ton, Ba‘alat, 45 Y’hud, B’nei-Brak, Gat-Rimmon, 46 Yarkon Springs and Rakon, with the border fronting Yafo. 47 The territory of the descendants of Dan was too small for them, so the descendants of Dan went up and fought against Leshem, captured it, defeated it by the sword, took possession of it and lived there, calling Leshem “Dan” after Dan their ancestor. 48 This is the inheritance of the tribe of the descendants of Dan according to their families, these cities with their villages.
49 When they had finished distributing the land for inheritance according to its borders, the people of Isra’el gave an inheritance within their territory to Y’hoshua the son of Nun. 50 According to Adonai’s order they gave him the city he had asked for, Timnat-Serach in the hills of Efrayim; so he built up the city and lived in it.
51 These are the inheritances which El‘azar the cohen, Y’hoshua the son of Nun and the leaders of the ancestral clans of the tribes of the people of Isra’el distributed for inheritance by lot in Shiloh before Adonai at the door of the tent of meeting. Thus they finished dividing up the land.
20:1 Adonai said to Y’hoshua, 2 “Tell the people of Isra’el, ‘Select the cities of refuge about which I spoke to you through Moshe; 3 so that anyone who kills someone by mistake and unknowingly may escape there; they will serve as refuges for you from the next-of-kin avenger. 4 He is to flee to one of those cities, stand at the entrance to the city gate and state his cause to the city leaders. Then they will bring him into the city with them and give him a place, so that he may live among them. 5 If the next-of-kin avenger pursues him, they are not to hand over the killer to him; because he struck his fellow community member unknowingly and had not hated him previously. 6 So he will live in that city until he stands trial before the community, until the death of the cohen hagadol who is in office at the time. When that time comes, the killer may return to his own city and his own house, to the city from which he fled.’”
7 So they set apart Kedesh in the Galil, in the hills of Naftali; Sh’khem in the hills of Efrayim; and Kiryat-Arba (that is, Hevron) in the hills of Y’hudah. 8 Beyond the Yarden east of Yericho they selected Betzer in the desert, on the plateau, out of the tribe of Re’uven; Ramot in Gil‘ad out of the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan out of the tribe of M’nasheh.
9 These were the cities selected for all the people of Isra’el and for the foreigner living among them, so that anyone who kills any person by mistake could flee there and not die at the hand of the next-of-kin avenger prior to standing trial before the community.
1 Corinthians 9:1 Am I not a free man? Am I not an emissary of the Messiah? Haven’t I seen Yeshua our Lord? And aren’t you yourselves the result of my work for the Lord? 2 Even if to others I am not an emissary, at least I am to you; for you are living proof that I am the Lord’s emissary. 3 That is my defense when people put me under examination.
4 Don’t we have the right to be given food and drink? 5 Don’t we have the right to take along with us a believing wife, as do the other emissaries, also the Lord’s brothers and Kefa? 6 Or are Bar-Nabba and I the only ones required to go on working for our living? 7 Did you ever hear of a soldier paying his own expenses? or of a farmer planting a vineyard without eating its grapes? Who shepherds a flock without drinking some of the milk? 8 What I am saying is not based merely on human authority, because the Torah says the same thing — 9 for in the Torah of Moshe it is written, “You are not to put a muzzle on an ox when it is treading out the grain.”[a] If God is concerned about cattle, 10 all the more does he say this for our sakes. Yes, it was written for us, meaning that he who plows and he who threshes should work expecting to get a share of the crop. 11 If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much if we reap a material harvest from you? 12 If others are sharing in this right to be supported by you, don’t we have a greater claim to it?
But we don’t make use of this right. Rather, we put up with all kinds of things so as not to impede in any way the Good News about the Messiah. 13 Don’t you know that those who work in the Temple get their food from the Temple, and those who serve at the altar get a share of the sacrifices offered there? 14 In the same way, the Lord directed that those who proclaim the Good News should get their living from the Good News.
15 But I have not made use of any of these rights. Nor am I writing now to secure them for myself, for I would rather die than be deprived of my ground for boasting! 16 For I can’t boast merely because I proclaim the Good News — this I do from inner compulsion: woe is me if I don’t proclaim the Good News! 17 For if I do this willingly, I have a reward; but if I do it unwillingly, I still do it, simply because I’ve been entrusted with a job. 18 So then, what is my reward? Just this: that in proclaiming the Good News I can make it available free of charge, without making use of the rights to which it entitles me.
19 For although I am a free man, not bound to do anyone’s bidding, I have made myself a slave to all in order to win as many people as possible. 20 That is, with Jews, what I did was put myself in the position of a Jew, in order to win Jews. With people in subjection to a legalistic perversion of the Torah, I put myself in the position of someone under such legalism, in order to win those under this legalism, even though I myself am not in subjection to a legalistic perversion of the Torah. 21 With those who live outside the framework of Torah, I put myself in the position of someone outside the Torah in order to win those outside the Torah — although I myself am not outside the framework of God’s Torah but within the framework of Torah as upheld by the Messiah. 22 With the “weak” I became “weak,” in order to win the “weak.” With all kinds of people I have become all kinds of things, so that in all kinds of circumstances I might save at least some of them.
23 But I do it all because of the rewards promised by the Good News, so that I may share in them along with the others who come to trust. 24 Don’t you know that in a race all the runners compete, but only one wins the prize? So then, run to win! 25 Now every athlete in training submits himself to strict discipline, and he does it just to win a laurel wreath that will soon wither away. But we do it to win a crown that will last forever. 26 Accordingly, I don’t run aimlessly but straight for the finish line; I don’t shadow-box but try to make every punch count. 27 I treat my body hard and make it my slave so that, after proclaiming the Good News to others, I myself will not be disqualified.[Footnotes:
1 Corinthians 9:9 Deuteronomy 25:4]
Harvest Ministries with Greg LaurieP.O. Box 4000
Riverside, California 92514-4000 United States
Phone: 1-800-821-3300
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Phone: 1-800-821-3300
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