NEHEMIAH

BCNZ 2007

In the context of Old Testament history, when the Jewish entity returns in stages from Babylon, Holmgren¹ described it as Israel Alive Again. Two key figures have been involved in the process of rebuilding the nation from captivity and the ruins of Jerusalem. One is Ezra, the scribe to reestablish the life of the Jewish community and the other is Nehemiah, a competent leader chosen by God to accomplish the task of restoration the surrounding ruin wall. This essay will discuss Nehemiah as a leader who is able to get things done through the willing cooperation of his people amidst opposition. And what we can learn about his style of leadership for our ministry.

The literary context of the text has been identified by LaSor and friends². It helps us to understand chronologically with the text, as follow; Neh. 1-7 is his account of prayer, arrival in Jerusalem, rebuilding the wall and organization for the ‘city council’. From chapter 8-10 Ezra enters the scene by reading the book of the Law and the impact on the hearers. From chapter 11-13 deals with Nehemiah’s memoirs of the dedication of the wall and his second governorship.

Nehemiah as the cupbearer

Early in the book, he is the cupbearer to king Artaxerxes in Shushan. His duty is to make sure that the wine being offered to the king is not poisoned if someone tried to kill the king. Ancient historians suggested that the cupbearer of a king is in a strategic position to exercise influence to the monarch³. When one of his brethren came with men from Judah, he asked the wellbeing of the people who had returned from the exile and about Jerusalem. Upon hearing the bad news, he sat down, wept and mourned for many days. Nehemiah begins to intercede with God confessing his people sin and his own. He reminds God of his promise to Moses; “But if you turn unto me, and keep my commandments, and do them; though some of you were cast out unto the uttermost part of the heaven, yet will I gather them from there, and will bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set my name there” (1:9). He also asks favor to God in the sight of the king (v.11). The opportunity comes when the king saw Nehemiah’s sad face during his duty and asked for the reason. Then the king granted the petition of Nehemiah’s shopping list after a ‘split second prayer’ to the God of heaven (2:4). It is noteworthy that in the text Nehemiah has been engaged with prayer eleven times in many occasions (1:5;2:4, 4:4; 4:9, 5:19,6:9; 6:14, 13:14, 22, 29, 31). So first things first a competent leader starts with prayer.

Nehemiah as the project manager

After he arrived in Jerusalem, beginning in chapter 2 verse 11 he changed his profession from a cupbearer to a site manager to rebuild the broken wall and the gates around the city. He conducted the site survey on a horse in the darkness of the night. He saw enough what had to be done and a project plan popped up in his mind, but he kept it by himself (15-16). Next he communicated his plan to the officials, the priests and the wider community about the situation of the ruin wall and how to restore it. Further he did mention the good news that God has helped him through the sponsorship of the king & the queen. He finished his briefing with: “Let us rise up and build” (v.18). The people responded and the project started to move. So a competent leader should be able to communicate his vision, goals & objectives and how to achieve them. In addition he/she knows how to inspire the heart of the audience and to motivate executing the plan enthusiastically.

The oppositions are coming

However when the official of the Ammonite (Tobiah ),Sanballat the Horonite and Geshem the Arab who lived on the land heard about the plan, they started to oppose the project. Firstly, they began with a laughed and Nehemiah responded with: ‘The God of heaven will prosper us and you have no right, heritage or memorial in Jerusalem’. Secondly, through ridicule and Nehemiah’s response was only prayer to God. Thirdly, when the gap at the wall was getting closed, the enemies of the Jews became very angry and threaten to attack. However the working Jews have been look after by a set of watched men day and night (4:9). Fourthly, a two prongs of discouragement set in on the working ‘bees’. One is the enormous pile of the rubbish and the other is the ongoing intimidations from the enemy. So the strength to carry out the work-load begins to diminish. On the other, in anticipation of the threat Nehemiah made the necessary precaution by setting up half of his crew to bear weapon and half of the rest work on the site. On the wall the worker’s both hands have been equipped with a working tool on one hand and a weapon on the other. In addition he encouraged people not to be weary since God has brought the evil council of the enemy to nothing. So practically they labored every day until late at night. The fourth opposition came from within regarding mortgages and usuries practice among the Jewish people that some of their daughters became slave (5:5). The outcry came to Nehemiah. He called for a great assembly and addressed the issue head-on and made the lenders promised in front of the priests to restore everything back.

The last three oppositions (chapter six) come from the enemy of the Jews by asking Nehemiah to make compromise (4 times through letter), through slander, and through treachery. Despite the ongoing oppositions, Nehemiah was able to handle it straightaway all of them, knowing that God heard his prayer. After fifty-two days the project finished completely. So a competent leader doesn’t afraid to confront any hindrances in view of the task that God has given the approval to proceed.

Nehemiah as the governor

He has shown an unselfish example as one of the traits of a great leader. Though he was a governor appointed by the king he was not using his daily provisions to enrich himself or oppressed people to extort money as the former governors were, but was willing to share his abundance with his co-workers (5:14-19). After the wall has been rebuild, he resumed his governorship by assigning delegation of authority to Hanani his brother and Hananiah the leader of the palace for the city of Jerusalem (7:1-3) and the registration of the people according to their genealogy. In chapter 8 – 10 Nehemiah step aside to give room for Ezra and his team to restart with the renewal of the spiritual side. He knows that it is not his expertise to exercise authority in a field that he is not proficient with. A similar line has been noted by Boice. With the start of chapter 8 the narrative shifts to the third person, and the first-person does not resume until the start of chapter 12:27. Though Nehemiah was still very much involved with the rebuilding of the nation, he was aware that Ezra is the man for the spiritual renewal of the chosen nation ⁴. After Ezra and his team have done the job, he resumed his duty with the restoration of tithes, Sabbath day and mixed marriages. So a competent leader is willing to step aside when the time has come that another should his/her place.

In conclusion Nehemiah starts everything with prayer first and do it from time to time during the task. With the wall in place he wanted to repopulate Jerusalem and to correct the social, economic and religious affair of that day. In partnership with Ezra and with God’s help he has preserved the people of God from which came Jesus Christ, the savior of the world and the longing of all old covenant’s hopes and promises⁵.

Themes and principles of Leadership in the context of contemporary Ministries

It should be clear at the outset that the world’s idea of leadership is completely in contrast with the Scripture. But Jesus called them to him, and said unto them, You know that they who are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and their leaders exercise authority over them. But so shall it not be among you: but whosoever would be great among you, shall be your servant: And whosoever of you will be the first, shall be servant of all (Mark 10:42-44).

To begin with, a Christian leader should have at least 3 C’s. They are character, confidence and courage.

It started with the character first. He/she must have a genuine relationship with the living Lord. A daily prayer and intake of God’s word should become a habit. Barber wrote: His character came directly from his practice of godliness and his close communion with the Lord. What Nehemiah was before God provided the personal dynamic that inspired a downtrodden people to undertake seemingly impossible task. This same quality of character also helped him persevere against seemingly insurmountable odds. ⁶

Another personal trait is confidence in the Lord, and not dependence on self-ability. Nehemiah’s character may be noticeable directly of his knowledge of the Scripture that enabled him to make discernment from being deceived by those who pretended to be his friend. He is not self-dependence, but God-dependent. A striking comparison has been developed by Sanders⁷

Lastly with courage Nehemiah is able to face and deal with the oppositions. Even he goes the extreme by threatening to lay hands on the obstinate (13:21). His relation with God was so closed that he does not fear of what others might think of him or do to him. This doesn’t mean that he should ignore the problem inside the community/organization or the challenges from the outside. On the contrary a competent leader by all means will do anything he/she can to accomplished the task with perseverance. Oswald Sanders developed further on Nehemiah as an exemplary leader⁸. Beside prayer and courage he asserted that genuine concern for people’s welfare (1:6) is also paramount for the success of the project. Even his enemy had notice it (2:10).

On practical side a leader should be able to set goals realistically and how to plan to reach it. He/she knows to organize the time, the resources and prioritize the daily duties into the total operation. He/she has the foresight and the tact to solve people problem without being trap in ‘respecting some key personalities’. So a competent leader should anticipate opposition and handle it without delay. All of this could be learned through practice & experiences.

In conclusion we can take home from the book of Nehemiah the 3’s C and genuine concern for others as the essential qualities for a leader. Principles of managing people to get things done can be acquired through learning by doing. Yet the most trait of a competent leader is the spiritual discipline of knowing Him as the source of all wisdom for leadership. That is the alpha and omega of Nehemiah’s style of leadership.

Bibliography

Barber, Cyril J. Nehemiah and the Dynamics of Effective Leadership New Jersey, Loizeaux Brothers Inc. 1976

Boice, James M. Nehemiah – Leading to Lead BS 1365.4 BOI

Holmgren, Fredrick C. Ezra & Nehemiah – Israel Alive Again Michigan, Grand Rapids: The Handsel Press Ltd.,1987

LaSor, William S. etc. Old Testament Survey. Eerdmans Publishing Company; 2^nd edition, 1996.

Sanders, J.Oswald Spiritual Leadership Chicago, Moody Press, 1980. Swindoll, Charles R. Hand Me Another Brick Nashville, Thomas Nelson Publisher. Rev.Ed. 1990.

¹  Fredrick C. Holmgren, Ezra & Nehemiah – Israel Alive Again Michigan, Grand Rapids, The Handsel Press Ltd.,1987

²  William S. LaSor etc. Old Testament Survey. Eerdmans Publishing Company; 2^nd edition ,1996. p550-565

³  Charles .R. Swindoll Hand Me Another Brick Nashville, Thomas Nelson Publisher. Rev.Ed. 1990. p22-23

⁴  James M. Boice. Nehemiah – Leading to Lead p132-133

⁵  William S. LaSor etc. Old Testament Survey. Eerdmans Publishing Company; 2^nd edition ,1996. p563

⁶  Cyril J.Barber. Nehemiah and the Dynamics of Effective Leadership New Jersey, Loizeaux Brothers Inc. 1976. p110

⁷  J.Oswald Sanders Spiritual Leadership Chicago, Moody Press, 1980. p35

⁸  J.Oswald Sanders Spiritual Leadership Chicago, Moody Press, 1980., p241-248