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NEHEMIAH: A LEADER DEPENDENT ON GOD
Thesis: Nehemiah, one of Israel’s greatest leaders, was successful in all he did because of his dependence on God as he used his natural, God-given leadership abilities.
I. Accomplishments of Nehemiah, One of Israel’s Greatest Leaders
A. Rebuilding of the wall of Jerusalem in 52 days
B. Great impact on the people of Israel
1. Restoration of dignity to Jerusalem
2.
3.
Revived worship
Instituted reforms to solve several problems
II. Natural, God-given Leadership Abilities
A.
Characteristics of a man who deserved followers
1. Living as an example
2.
3.
4.
Sacrificially putting his people’s needs first
Great concern for his people
Attitude of persistence
B. Practical wisdom
1. A plan formulated ahead of time
2. Verification that his plans would work
3.
4.
Delegated work and responsibility
Proficiency in conflict resolution
III. Full Dependence on God
A. Emphasis on prayer
B. Recognition that the work could only be done with God’s help
C. Action because God put the desire in his heart
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The Old Testament is composed of the stories of numerous great leaders, such as
Moses, Joseph, and David. These three leaders, known for their faith in God, receive mention in the New Testament as well, most notably in the “Hall of Faith” found in
Hebrews 11. Despite the number of people of faith mentioned in this chapter, not all of
Israel’s greatest leaders were referred to in this text. As a result, some persons of faith, unmentioned in the New Testament, often go unnoticed. One such man is Nehemiah, honoured as the cupbearer to the king of Persia, 1 governor of Judah for twelve years, 2 and one who possessed many God-given leadership abilities. During his time in Jerusalem as the governor of Judah, Nehemiah accomplished many tasks, making him one of the greatest leaders of God’s people found in the Scriptures.
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Nehemiah was successful in all he set out to do, not only because of his leadership abilities, but because he used them in conjunction with a complete dependence on God.
During his time as governor of Judah, Nehemiah was able to achieve several great accomplishments, but he is most known for his role in the reconstruction of the wall of
Jerusalem. In 586 BCE, the kingdom of Judah fell to the Babylonian Empire and the
Babylonian king, Nebuchadnezzar II, put the city to the torch, leaving it in ruins.
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After
Babylonia was overthrown by the Persian Empire, the Jews were given permission to return to their land. Upon their return, the Jews started rebuilding the city, only to be
1 Jacob M. Myers, Ezra, Nehemiah , The Anchor Bible, vol. 14 (Garden City, NY: Doubleday,
1965), 96.
2 F. Charles Fensham, “Nehemiah, the Book of,” in The Oxford Companion to the Bible , ed. Bruce
M. Metzger and Michael D. Coogan (New York: Oxford University Press, 1993), 553.
3 James I. Packer, A Passion for Faithfulness: Wisdom from the Book of Nehemiah , Living Insights
Bible Study (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1995), 36.
4 Kyle M. Kates, Jr., “Nehemiah,” in The Wycliffe Bible Encyclopedia , vol. 2, ed. Charles F.
Pfeiffer, Howard F. Vos, and John Rea. (Chicago, IL: Moody, 1975), 1194.
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stopped by the order of King Artaxerxes of Persia, as alluded to in Ezra 4:23.
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After hearing of the trouble that Jerusalem was in, Nehemiah undertook the reconstruction project, completing the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem in 52 days despite powerful opposition from neighbouring nations, led by Sanballat and Tobiah.
6
Then he ordered that the people of Jerusalem live within the walls in order to protect Jerusalem.
7
As governor, Nehemiah was also able to have a great impact on the people of
Jerusalem, restoring dignity and arousing a sense of national pride. Furthermore, he appointed officers to improve the government, resolved injustices, and established order in the nation.
8
Along with Ezra, Nehemiah revived worship by encouraging reading of the law and celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles. Finally, Nehemiah instituted several reforms in order to remedy a number of problems that were evident among the people. In response to the outcry of the impoverished Jews against those who were wealthy,
Nehemiah ordered that all of the debts be forgiven. Secondly, Nehemiah and Ezra led the people in making a covenant commitment, pledging to separate themselves from foreigners (Neh 10:30), to keep the Sabbath (Neh 10:31), and not to neglect the Temple of God (Neh 10:39). Finally, Nehemiah issued a set of reforms involving purification of the Temple and restoration of acceptable worship.
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In achieving these significant accomplishments, Nehemiah was able to show his many God-given leadership abilities. First, he exhibited the characteristics of a man
5 Ralph W. Klein, “The Books of Ezra and Nehemiah,” in The New Interpreter's Bible , vol. 3
(Nashville, TN: Abingdon, 2004), 751.
6 Fensham, “Nehemiah,” 554; see also Merrill F. Unger, Unger’s Bible Dictionary (Chicago, IL:
Moody, 1966), 786.
7 Kates, “Nehemiah,” 1194.
8 Ibid.
9 David M. Howard, An Introduction to the Old Testament Historical Books (Chicago, IL: Moody,
1993), 297-300.
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whom people would want to follow, a genuine leader.
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For example, Nehemiah was a man who lived in the same way that he expected those under his rule to live, as clearly illustrated in Nehemiah 5:14-19.
11
He wrote, “I also devoted myself to working on the wall and refused to acquire any land. And I required all my servants to spend time working on the wall”(Neh 5:16).
12
The way that he lived as an example proved to be effective in leading others. “His deep and intense patriotism was contagious, causing men to leave their harvests in order to journey to Jerusalem for work on the walls.” 13
Certainly, Nehemiah’s success as a leader was at least partially due to the zeal with which he lived his life, prompting others to follow. Also evident in Nehemiah 5 is his unselfishness, as he sacrificially put the needs of the people before his own.
14
He wrote,
“The provisions I paid for each day included one ox, six choice sheep or goats, and a large number of poultry. And every ten days we needed a large supply of all kinds of wine. Yet I refused to claim the governor’s food allowance because the people already carried a heavy burden”(Neh 5:18). With this statement, Nehemiah showed his selflessness, his willingness to bear a large financial burden for the sake of the people.
Nehemiah was compassionate, with a great concern for his people.
15
This can be seen in the first chapter of Nehemiah. After hearing of the trouble that those who returned to Judah were in, Nehemiah said, “When I heard this, I sat down and wept. In fact, for days I mourned, fasted, and prayed to the God of heaven”(Neh 1:4). Such an emotional
10 , D. J. A. Clines, “Nehemiah, Book of,” in New Bible Dictionary , ed.
D. R. W. Wood and
Marshall I. Howard (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1996), 813.
11 Paul A. Stewart, Nehemiah, the Involved Layman (Glendale, CA: Gospel Light, 1968), 30.
12 Scripture references are to the New Living Translation.
13 Kates, “Nehemiah,” 1194.
14 Lloyd J. Ogilvie, The Communicator’s Commentary (Waco, TX: Word, 1982), 209.
15 Stewart, Involved Layman , 30; see also Clines, “Nehemiah,” 841.
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response to the bad news about his people illustrates his genuine love and concern for them.
Finally, Nehemiah was able to lead the people of Judah because he was persistent.
In the Book of Nehemiah, several instances are described in which the rebuilding of the
Jerusalem wall was challenged, with these challenges coming from the Samaritans,
Ammonites, Arabs, and Ashdodites.
16
In spite of these attacks, Nehemiah did not give in.
For example, in reference to the opposition of Sanballat and Geshem the Arab, Nehemiah wrote, “They were just trying to intimidate us, imagining that they could discourage us and stop the work. So I continued the work with even greater determination”(Neh 6:9).
This attitude is what spurred on the rest of the people of Judah to complete the rebuilding of the wall.
Not only did Nehemiah live as a great example to all those under his rule, he was also a man of action, with a practical wisdom given to him by God.
17
He showed this wisdom in a number of ways, the first of which evidenced in Nehemiah 2. After hearing that Jerusalem was in ruins, he not only mourned, but then formulated a plan so that he was prepared to embark upon the task at hand. This preparation can be seen in 2:5-9 where Nehemiah addresses the king, asking for permission to go to Jerusalem and following that up with a request for letters to the governors to ensure safe travel through their territories and a letter to Asaph to acquire timber for the reconstruction project.
From this conversation it is clear that Nehemiah knew exactly what he would need in order to make the appropriate requests. Furthermore, Nehemiah showed his practical wisdom by investigating the Jerusalem wall before starting to rebuild, to verify that his
16 Fensham, “Nehemiah,” 554.
17 Packer, Passion for Faithfulness , 34.
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plans could be carried out. He did this in secret in order to guarantee that the neighbouring nations did not find out about the plans, and to avoid the risk of them hindering the rebuilding before it began.
18
Nehemiah was also proficient in the delegation of work and responsibility.
19
The best example of this can be found in Nehemiah 3, a description of the rebuilding of the wall. This account includes the names of all the people who were working on the wall, each responsible for the section or gate by their own house, as organized by Nehemiah.
Not only did he effectively delegate the work of rebuilding the wall, he also used his practical wisdom to do it in the best way possible. Each builder, taking ownership for his own section of the wall, would be motivated to rebuild it with diligence, ensuring that the section that defended him be as secure as possible, as well as aesthetically pleasing.
20
In this way, Nehemiah used his practical leadership skills to enable the task to be completed efficiently and with excellence.
Finally, Nehemiah had the ability to resolve conflicts that arose among his people.
As illustrated in Nehemiah 5:1-13, the people were crying out against their fellow Jews because they were in debt and could not afford to feed their families. Nehemiah quickly stepped in and called a public meeting to address the issue. He spoke to the people, convincing the wealthy to give everything back to those indebted to them, with the following result: “The whole assembly responded, ‘Amen,’ and they praised the Lord.
And the people did as they had promised”(Neh 5:13).
18 F. Charles Fensham, The Books of Ezra and Nehemiah , New International Commentary on the
Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1982), 165.
19 Stewart, Involved Layman , 30.
20 Mark A. Throntveit, Ezra-Nehemiah , Interpretation, vol. 12 (Louisville, KY: John Knox, 1992),
78.
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Despite Nehemiah’s powerful leadership qualities, however, the most noteworthy aspect of his character was his dependence on God. Arguably, this was the most critical characteristic in its contribution to his success as a leader. Among many examples that portray Nehemiah’s dependence, the first is his prayers to God. In fact, the Book of
Nehemiah contains eleven different references to his prayers.
21
Perhaps the best example of Nehemiah’s dependence on God through prayer came after his hearing of the state of
Jerusalem, when he prayed the following: “Please grant me success today by making the king favorable to me. Put it into his heart to be kind to me”(Neh 1:11). Even though the king had previously ordered that Jerusalem must not be rebuilt, Nehemiah’s request to go and rebuild it was successful as a result of his dependence on God.
22
Second, Nehemiah acknowledged that the work would be done with God’s help.
According to Nehemiah 2:20, he replied to the scoffers, “The God of heaven will help us succeed.” Furthermore, he told the people who were in danger of being attacked by these same scoffers, “When you hear the blast of the trumpet, rush to wherever it is sounding.
Then our God will fight for us!”(Neh 4:20). These acknowledgements prove that he was truly dependent on God as he sought the completion of each task. According to F.
Charles Fensham, “Nehemiah never doubted that God was on his side and would finally grant him victory over his adversaries.” 23
Not only did Nehemiah acknowledge that the work would be done with the help of God, when the wall was completed he gave God the credit (Neh 6:16).
21 Stewart, Involved Layman , 30.
22 Gene A. Getz, Nehemiah: A Man of Prayer and Persistence (Ventura, CA: Regal, 1981), 26.
23 Fensham, “Nehemiah,” 555.
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Finally, Nehemiah acted because God put the desire in his heart.
24
There are two references to this in the Book of Nehemiah, the first coming in his description of the late night inspection of Jerusalem’s wall. He wrote, “I had not told anyone about the plans
God had put in my heart for Jerusalem”(Neh 2:12). The second example of Nehemiah acknowledging that his plans came from God occurred after the wall had been rebuilt. He wrote, “My God gave me the idea to call together all the nobles and leaders of the city, along with the ordinary citizens, for registration”(Neh 7:5). These examples give further evidence that Nehemiah’s dependence on God was crucial; he acted because God embedded the thoughts or ideas in his heart.
In conclusion, Nehemiah was one of Israel’s greatest leaders, as evidenced by his numerous accomplishments. His success, in large part, came as a result of his natural proficiency as a chief organizer. It is impossible, however, to overlook Nehemiah’s dependence on God throughout the entire book of his memoirs. Not only were his actions a result of desires that God put in his heart, he also looked to God for help throughout the events and, when the task was complete, gave God all of the credit for helping them get the work done. For these reasons, Nehemiah’s success can be attributed to his dependence on God, as he used his God-given leadership abilities to organize the completion of each task.
24 Packer, Passion for Faithfulness , 36.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Clines, D. J. A. “Nehemiah, Book of.” In New Bible Dictionary , ed. Wood, D. R. and
Marshall I. Howard, 813-14. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1996.
Fensham, F. Charles. The Books of Ezra and Nehemiah . The New International
Commentary on the Old Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1982.
________. “Nehemiah, the Book of.” In The Oxford Companion to the Bible , ed. Bruce
M. Metzger and Michael D. Coogan, 553-55. New York: Oxford University
Press, 1993.
Getz, Gene A. Nehemiah: A Man of Prayer and Persistence.
Ventura, CA: Regal, 1981.
Howard, David M. An Introduction to the Old Testament Historical Books. Chicago, IL:
Moody, 1993.
Kates, Kyle M, Jr. “”Nehemiah.” In The Wycliffe Bible Encyclopedia , vol. 2, ed. Charles
F. Pfeiffer, Howard F. Vos, and John Rea, 1192-94. Chicago, IL: Moody, 1975.
Klein, Ralph W. “The Books of Ezra and Nehemiah. In vol. 3, The New Interpreter's
Bible , 661-841 .
Nashville, TN: Abingdon, 2004.
Myers, Jacob M. Ezra, Nehemiah.
Vol. 14, The Anchor Bible. Garden City, NY:
Doubleday, 1965.
Ogilvie, Lloyd J.
The Communicator’s Commentary.
Waco, TX: Word, 1982.
Packer, James I. A Passion for Faithfulness: Wisdom from the Book of Nehemiah . Living
Insights Bible Study. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 1995.
Stewart, Paul A. Nehemiah, the Involved Layman. Glendale, CA: Gospel Light, 1968.
Throntveit, Mark A. Ezra-Nehemiah . Vol. 12, Interpretation. Louisville, KY: John Knox,
1992.
Unger, Merrill F.
Unger’s Bible Dictionary.
Chicago, IL: Moody, 1966.
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