Nehemiah, An Authentic Leader and Builder for God
As The Holy Bible, ESV, commentary notes, Nehemiah courageously “did what God had put into his heart (2:12; 7:5) and found the joy of the Lord was His strength (8:10).”
When Nehemiah heard the concern for his fellow Jews, that the wall of Jerusalem was broken down, he wept, fasted and prayed to God. Nehemiah had a deep heart for the people of God and cried out to God on their behalf. Nehemiah was first and foremost a man of prayer. And as such, he shared God’s heart for the people of God. Because of this, he had a great deal of passion about the work that God was calling him to.
Nehemiah had vision. Nehemiah had an overall picture of what God gave him to do. However, he did not push ahead in his own strength to fulfill what was in his heart. He was convinced of the greatness of the work God had given him to do[1] and acted on this vision by stepping out in faith.
God confirmed for him that He was behind it by opening the doors for the work to be accomplished. Nehemiah received approval, endorsement and support from the one who had authority over him, the king. Nehemiah was not only a great leader but he prospered in his work because he was a submitted follower and gained the support of his leadership before he moved ahead.
Nehemiah had a well thought out plan. Nehemiah spent the hours necessary to survey the work that needed to be done and develop a plan that could be effectively implemented. Warren Wiersbe notes in his book Be Determined: Standing Firm in the Face of Opposition that a good leader does not rush into his work without a plan, but patiently gathers the facts first hand and then plans his strategy.
Nehemiah was also an influential /charismatic leader who had the ability to communicate the vision and invite others in to it. The people had a mind to work because Nehemiah helped them to understand the problem and the vision in such a way that they were excited about participating. The people all wanted to be involved with something bigger than themselves.
Nehemiah broke the humongous task of rebuilding the wall into a manageable task by assigning each household a portion of the wall to rebuild. In this way, everyone had a personal sense of accountability, investment, and accomplishment. People built side by side with families sharing in their building effort together.
Nehemiah listened to the Spirit and had discernment about who he associated with. He made room for and motivated the people of God but he did not listen to the critics with ulterior motives. Nehemiah never compromised his vision for the sake of cooperation with others. Warren Wiersbe notes that while “cooperation in the Lord’s work is a noble thing, leaders must take care that they cooperate with the right people at the right time for the right purpose; otherwise they may end up cooperating with the enemy.”
Being in the will of God did not mean the Nehemiah would not experience opposition. As the Jews put their hands to what their heart prompted and began to be fruitful in their labors, opposition naturally arose. The enemy was angry. Nehemiah did not panic but instead trustingly looked to God to intervene. When Nehemiah faced opposition, he prayed, developed a plan to protect the people, motivated and encouraged the people in their labors, and strengthened areas of vulnerability.
Warren Wiersbe notes that the enemy’s tactic is to get one to lose their perspective and spend so much time defending themself that they will neglect their work. He notes that Nehemiah did not make this mistake but simply prayed and went back to work.
Because Nehemiah dealt with the opposition in faith and trust rather than panic and a loss of perception, it resulted in the people developing a deeper sense of vision, shared faith in God, and a common language / understanding around building (what to do when they heard the trumpet blast, etc).
As the building went on and was laborious, conflict and instances of injustice arose within the community of believers. Nehemiah did not close his eyes to the issues but addressed them by calling the people into a greater sense of community and care for each other. He committed to “shake out” those who would not live up to their promises and commitments. Warren Wiersbe notes that as the body of Christ, “we belong to one another, we affect one another, and we can’t escape one another.”
Nehemiah never asked the people to do more than he was willing to do. Nehemiah lived a reproachless and generous life with his time and efforts. He demonstrated that he was a leader willing to take on the greatest burden and sacrifices himself. Warren Wiersbe noted that Jesus said in Luke 22:27, “I am among you as one who serves” and Nehemiah had this same attitude. He was willing to sacrifice personal gain for the spiritual good of others. He noted that Nehemiah quietly sacrificed so that others might have more. He wrote about Nehemiah, “He didn’t want praise or reward from the people; he wanted only the reward God would give him for his sacrificial service (see 13:14).
Nehemiah refused to allow the enemy to frighten or derail his efforts. When the enemy tried to attack him directly, he prayed and asked God to strengthen his hands. He stood under the tremendous pressure in the strength of God and did not back down in his efforts.
New Life Application Study Bible commentary notes “When difficulties come, there is a tendency for conflict and discouragement to set in. We must recognize that there are no triumphs without troubles. When problems arise, we must face them squarely and press on to complete God’s work.”
Once the wall was complete, Nehemiah set his heart to further develop a sense of community. People were enrolled by genealogy, gave funds into the treasury, and were gathered together for the reading of the Law.
He also took the time to celebrate and dedicate the wall with great joy ( Neh. 12:43). They stopped to recognize the efforts of the people and that the work was only accomplished with God’s help (Neh. 6:16).
Ultimately, in all that Nehemiah did he directed the community towards God. He demonstrated faith and holiness in his own life and called others out into the same. Nehemiah created space for people to honor God in all they did in their daily lives. He established a holy day, kept the Feast of Booths, drew the people to repent and to establish a written covenant with God to follow all His laws and obey His commandments.
When the people sinned against God, Nehemiah was deeply grieved and confronted the people, taking it upon himself to direct the people to do what was right in the eyes of God. When people failed to follow what was right, he warned them and took action.
[1] Warren Wiersbe, Be Determined: Standing Firm in the Face of Opposition, ChariotVictor Publishing, Colorado Springs, Colorado, 1992
When Nehemiah heard the concern for his fellow Jews, that the wall of Jerusalem was broken down, he wept, fasted and prayed to God. Nehemiah had a deep heart for the people of God and cried out to God on their behalf. Nehemiah was first and foremost a man of prayer. And as such, he shared God’s heart for the people of God. Because of this, he had a great deal of passion about the work that God was calling him to.
Nehemiah had vision. Nehemiah had an overall picture of what God gave him to do. However, he did not push ahead in his own strength to fulfill what was in his heart. He was convinced of the greatness of the work God had given him to do[1] and acted on this vision by stepping out in faith.
God confirmed for him that He was behind it by opening the doors for the work to be accomplished. Nehemiah received approval, endorsement and support from the one who had authority over him, the king. Nehemiah was not only a great leader but he prospered in his work because he was a submitted follower and gained the support of his leadership before he moved ahead.
Nehemiah had a well thought out plan. Nehemiah spent the hours necessary to survey the work that needed to be done and develop a plan that could be effectively implemented. Warren Wiersbe notes in his book Be Determined: Standing Firm in the Face of Opposition that a good leader does not rush into his work without a plan, but patiently gathers the facts first hand and then plans his strategy.
Nehemiah was also an influential /charismatic leader who had the ability to communicate the vision and invite others in to it. The people had a mind to work because Nehemiah helped them to understand the problem and the vision in such a way that they were excited about participating. The people all wanted to be involved with something bigger than themselves.
Nehemiah broke the humongous task of rebuilding the wall into a manageable task by assigning each household a portion of the wall to rebuild. In this way, everyone had a personal sense of accountability, investment, and accomplishment. People built side by side with families sharing in their building effort together.
Nehemiah listened to the Spirit and had discernment about who he associated with. He made room for and motivated the people of God but he did not listen to the critics with ulterior motives. Nehemiah never compromised his vision for the sake of cooperation with others. Warren Wiersbe notes that while “cooperation in the Lord’s work is a noble thing, leaders must take care that they cooperate with the right people at the right time for the right purpose; otherwise they may end up cooperating with the enemy.”
Being in the will of God did not mean the Nehemiah would not experience opposition. As the Jews put their hands to what their heart prompted and began to be fruitful in their labors, opposition naturally arose. The enemy was angry. Nehemiah did not panic but instead trustingly looked to God to intervene. When Nehemiah faced opposition, he prayed, developed a plan to protect the people, motivated and encouraged the people in their labors, and strengthened areas of vulnerability.
Warren Wiersbe notes that the enemy’s tactic is to get one to lose their perspective and spend so much time defending themself that they will neglect their work. He notes that Nehemiah did not make this mistake but simply prayed and went back to work.
Because Nehemiah dealt with the opposition in faith and trust rather than panic and a loss of perception, it resulted in the people developing a deeper sense of vision, shared faith in God, and a common language / understanding around building (what to do when they heard the trumpet blast, etc).
As the building went on and was laborious, conflict and instances of injustice arose within the community of believers. Nehemiah did not close his eyes to the issues but addressed them by calling the people into a greater sense of community and care for each other. He committed to “shake out” those who would not live up to their promises and commitments. Warren Wiersbe notes that as the body of Christ, “we belong to one another, we affect one another, and we can’t escape one another.”
Nehemiah never asked the people to do more than he was willing to do. Nehemiah lived a reproachless and generous life with his time and efforts. He demonstrated that he was a leader willing to take on the greatest burden and sacrifices himself. Warren Wiersbe noted that Jesus said in Luke 22:27, “I am among you as one who serves” and Nehemiah had this same attitude. He was willing to sacrifice personal gain for the spiritual good of others. He noted that Nehemiah quietly sacrificed so that others might have more. He wrote about Nehemiah, “He didn’t want praise or reward from the people; he wanted only the reward God would give him for his sacrificial service (see 13:14).
Nehemiah refused to allow the enemy to frighten or derail his efforts. When the enemy tried to attack him directly, he prayed and asked God to strengthen his hands. He stood under the tremendous pressure in the strength of God and did not back down in his efforts.
New Life Application Study Bible commentary notes “When difficulties come, there is a tendency for conflict and discouragement to set in. We must recognize that there are no triumphs without troubles. When problems arise, we must face them squarely and press on to complete God’s work.”
Once the wall was complete, Nehemiah set his heart to further develop a sense of community. People were enrolled by genealogy, gave funds into the treasury, and were gathered together for the reading of the Law.
He also took the time to celebrate and dedicate the wall with great joy ( Neh. 12:43). They stopped to recognize the efforts of the people and that the work was only accomplished with God’s help (Neh. 6:16).
Ultimately, in all that Nehemiah did he directed the community towards God. He demonstrated faith and holiness in his own life and called others out into the same. Nehemiah created space for people to honor God in all they did in their daily lives. He established a holy day, kept the Feast of Booths, drew the people to repent and to establish a written covenant with God to follow all His laws and obey His commandments.
When the people sinned against God, Nehemiah was deeply grieved and confronted the people, taking it upon himself to direct the people to do what was right in the eyes of God. When people failed to follow what was right, he warned them and took action.
[1] Warren Wiersbe, Be Determined: Standing Firm in the Face of Opposition, ChariotVictor Publishing, Colorado Springs, Colorado, 1992
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