Nehemiah was taken captive and made to serve Artaxerxes as the cup bearer. And somehow, he found a way to do it joyfully even though his heart yearned for home and to return to Jerusalem. I wonder if he felt a bit jealous of those who had been left in the city – the remnant who were not exiled to another country but allowed to remain behind. I wonder if he dreamed about how fortunate they were that they could still worship in the temple and could enjoy the fruits of their labors. I wonder if he hoped and prayed he would be allowed to return and join them. How uncomfortable it must have felt to be in the service of a foreign king day after day.
Yet, it would appear that he maintained a good spirit about him and had built relationship with the king because when his brother Hanani returned with others and reported on the distress of the people and Nehemiah wept and mourned, the king took notice of his sadness and asked him why he was sad. This was a very dangerous moment for Nehemiah. The king could order him put in prison or executed depending on how he answered or even before he answered – just because he appeared sad in the king’s presence. But Nehemiah had prepared himself for this moment. He had been fasting and praying. Still, when the moment came, Nehemiah felt fear. As I read Nehemiah, the book of Esther is running through my mind. There are great similarities…
Lesson 1: Good leadership is not the absence of fear, but the preparation of the heart and the courage to move forward regardless of the potential consequences. Both Nehemiah and Esther fasted and prayed before going on behalf of their people into the very dangerous situation before the king.
As Nehemiah shared his personal pain regarding the state of Jerusalem with the king, he was praying. King Artaxerxes responded with tenderness. “What is it you want?” Nehemiah 2:4 And Nehemiah forged ahead through his fear, praying for God’s wisdom and protection even as he spoke to the king. Nehemiah obviously had given some thought to this while he was fasting and praying. He asked for some very specific things and they were way out of line for his position! “If it pleases the king and if your servant has found favor in his sight, let him send me to the city of Judah where my fathers are buried so that I can rebuild it.” Nehemiah 2:5 And, “If it pleases the king, may I have letters to the governors… safe conduct… timber to make beams for the gates of the citadel… and for the city wall and for the residence I will occupy?” Nehemiah 2:7-8 Obviously, God went before him and the king granted his requests and even more.
Nehemiah went with the king’s blessings and provisions, but more importantly, he went with God’s blessings and provisions. He was clearly called by God to a place of leadership with the people. And he called on God’s wisdom and assurance throughout the process. Before he even took the first step, he humbled himself before God in repentance for the sins of the people and for his own sin of disobedience in the past. He reminded God of his covenant with the Jewish people, particularly the part about “if you return to me and obey my commands, then even if your exiled people are at the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen as a dwelling for my Name.” Nehemiah 1:9
Lesson 2: Good leadership grows out of a vision that comes through humbling ourselves before the Lord and seeking his face. It is not our will, but his to move forward. Our part is obedience to him.
This would be a great place to say, “And they lived happily ever after.” But just as that often isn’t true today, it was not true for Nehemiah. Not everyone was happy with his plan to rebuild and it was not long before opposition came in the form of threats, taunting, intimidation and slander. But Nehemiah did not bend to the fear. Rather, he encouraged the people and equipped them to deal with the opposition. “But we prayed to our God and posted a guard day at night to meet this threat.” Nehemiah 4:9 He organized the people to work side by side, and equipped them with weapons to carry with them as they worked. He taught them to trust God and keep working.
Lesson 3: Good leadership is aware of the problems and encourages and equips the team to pray to God and work together remembering the goal.
Apparently, the nobles and officials in Jerusalem thought they were more special than the common people and were taking advantage of them, becoming wealthy at their expense. When this was brought to Nehemiah’s attention, he pondered it and then using what he knew from the Law and knew that they knew from the Law, he charged them saying, “You are exacting usury from your own countrymen!... What you are doing is not right. Shouldn’t you walk in the fear of our God to avoid the reproach of our Gentile enemies?... Give back to them immediately [what you have taken from them]” Nehemiah 5:7, 9, 11 And the nobles and officials decided to do as Nehemiah said. His wisdom, which was God’s wisdom, made sense to them. He led by example, not using his position to gain more wealth, but rather to share with others from his own provisions. (Nehemiah 5:14-18)
Lesson 4: Good leadership does not favor the wealthy and powerful over the poor and needy but is concerned with true justice for all. It does not use the position of power to gain more wealth, but rather shares the wealth with all.
Nehemiah continued to lead the people through all the difficulties until the project was completed. Then he appointed the priests and Levites to their duties and replaced the provision for them by the offerings of the people. He shared the leadership at this point as they brought together the people and instructed them in the Law once again. As they read and instructed the people, they were overcome by tears of repentance and then joy. They continued to learn about their traditions and the meanings of those traditions which led to a great celebration. “From the days of Joshua son of Num until that day, the Israelites had not celebrated it like this. And their joy was very great.” Nehemiah 8:17
Lesson 5: Good leadership passes the torch and celebrates meeting the goals and fulfilling the vision.
Nehemiah is full of great teachings on prayer, humbleness, justice, obedience, and more. But today, leadership came to the fore in the reading of this book. Nehemiah led by following God. I wonder how many opportunities I have had to lead by following God that I missed because I didn’t see myself as a leader, because I wasn’t listening to what God was saying, or because I allowed fear to stop me before I even began.
Maybe the most important principle hasn’t even been said yet: Good leadership grows out of obedience – to God, to his Word, to his Spirit within us.
As I humble myself before God, he provides the vision, the courage and the means to fulfill his will for my life and for the ministry he desires to accomplish through me. May I listen more closely for his voice and humbly respond in obedience as Nehemiah did.
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