The admirable qualities of Biblical characters are often hidden behind the words of certain Biblical passages. Nehemiah is a good example as can be seen in Nehemiah 2:
He was proven. After being brought as a slave to a foreign land he worked diligently within his new circumstances. He eventually worked his way up to being the King's cup-bearer (or wine steward, or wine servant).
He earned a high level of trust, for the wine servant had close contact to the king. The king and his security team knew Nehemiah would neither stab nor attempt to poison the king.
He was familiar and on conversational terms with the king. When he perceived Nehemiah was sad the king cared enough to be concerned -- and the king was interested in Nehemiah's welfare.
The king also realized Nehemiah was a capable leader in his own right. He knew Nehemiah could conceive, organize and guide the reconstruction of Jerusalem, so he sent him off to accomplish it.
The Bible does not state these facts directly to us, we have to imagine them through reading the story, by hearing the words and viewing the actions. There's a lot to be learned backstage.
