Nehemiah: Leader Protector

by P.L Hickling | Category: Leadership In Remnant Times | Jul 1993

Man of Care

Nehemlah, a Jew who Iived~in the 5th century B.C,, was cupbearer to Artaxerxes, king of Persia.

Part of a cupbearer's function was to taste the wine before it was given to the king, thus protecting him against attempts at poisoning; but constant personal contact meant that they became in many cases confidants and personal favourites of the king, and so wielded considerable political influence. Nehemiah had therefore a high official position at the court of Artaxerxes, and one could not have blamed him for merely caraying out his duties honestly, feeling that he had been called to a different sphere of service from the rest of his people. However, when he heard from his brother Hanani about Jerusalem, that "the survivors who are left from the captivity in the province are there in great distress and reproach, the wall of Jerusalem is also broken down, and its gates are burned with fire"~1~, he mourned over its state, so that his noraally equable demeanour became sad. This was dangerous, because sadness before the monarch could be taken to imply disaffection.

Nonetheless, his feeling was so genuine that it could not be concealed; he cared more for the city of God than for his own position. When he, a little

later, was given the opportunity to go to Jerusalem as Governor, he accepted it not as an opportunity for selfaggrandizement but because he was concerned for the welfare of the holy city. He understood what the broken down state of the walls meanL While a city was thus defenceless, it could not repulse any enemies who came against it, and it could not even control trading activities, or the mixing of its people~witi~ others. In the case of Jerusalem this was most important, because it was surrounded by pagans who had no allegiance to the law of God or respect for His Temple, and unholy alliances with them would subvert the whole purpose of the return of the exiles.

Man of Prayer

At the very first, Nehemiab's care led him to prayer. He intended to do something; but before anything else he fasted and prayed to God~2~ His prayer was a microcosm of what prayer should be (3), and is in many ways comparable with the 'Lord's Prayer', which He gave to His disciples as an exemplar (4) First, Nehemiab acknowledged the might and majesty of God and His faithfulness, then he confessed the sins which he and his people had done. His subsequent petitions were based on the

promises of God.

Nehemiab continued to pray and

fast over the matter for some time, until about four months later Arlaxerxes noticed his sadness. Neheiniab was greatly afraid, for the reason we have stated, but he explained the cause of his melancholy. When the king asked "What do you request?" Nehemiab had to answer irnnnediately, but be had the instant inward recourse: "I prayed to the God of heaven". This was not the panic-stricken last resort of a man at his wits' end: it was a call to the God whom he knew to be at hand; with whom he was already familiar. Prayer can be instant; but prayer which is only instant can never bring calm assurance and true communion.

Too many people today am unwilling to be conspieuously different from others; l.ad.rship ean help to give them the resolu~ tiontobe so.

Man of decision

When Nehemiab was asked by the king what he wanted he had to answer decisively; he would have lost his God-given opportunity if he could not give precise answers to the king, who wanted to know there and then what Nehemiab intended to do and for how long he would be absenL Nehemiab had the answers; he had found out the time, and he knew what official permits and requisitions for materials

were needed. Having gone to Jerusalem with the king's authority and blessing, he showed a similar decisiveness and determination to know the facts. He went Out at night and viewed the broken down walls of Jerusalem, having only a few men with him, and saw for himself the amount of work that was needed. Knowing this, he could place his plans before the inha~ itants of Jerusalem, telling them of the way in which God had been good to him, and that the king had spoken favourably.

To fulfil God's purpose for him Nehemiab had to be a clear-sighted man of decision, able to gather and marshal the facts which he needed, and base his actions upon them. Such a confident man of business might seem the antithesis of the otherworldly spiritual man, but we have seen where his real confidence lay; "the hand of my God which had been good upon me" (5). All kinds of men are of use in God's sevice; the scholar, the contemptative, the preacher, the worker with his hands, the leader and the orgaeeeer. Nehemiab, had' in the providence of God, been brought to his position in the kingdom of Irersia so that he could lead and protect the people of God, and thus he served God inhis time.

Leader

Neheaaah's words to the people were characteristic of leahrhhip:

"Come and let us build" ~ Leadership means what it says; it is not telling other people to do things, but

encouraging them to follow one who is already putting in his own effort. In Nehemiah's case, his commitment to the work of rebuilding Jerusalem's walls was such that neither he nor his guard claimed any privilege of rank, but were ready to defend by night and work by day, sleeping in their clothes to this end (7) He had grants from king Artaxerxes for the timber needed for the gates and other places, but without his drive and initiative the people would never have done what they did. After all, it was some seventy years since the Temple had been rebuilt, and the walls of Jerusalem were still broken down. If ever the people of God were to resume their position as a community serving Him they had to be able to keep out those who would not obey God's law, as Nehemiah subsequently did (8), but they either did not appreciate this or did not have the strength of will to set about the work despite the opposition. The materials which Nehemiah was able to have supplied helped, of course, but he was able to make each man feel that the part which he repaired (in one case together with his daughters) was a worthwhile contribution to the whole; so "the people had a mind to work" (9)

Protector

His leadership was also required to stiffen the people's resolve to work in the face of the attacks of external enemies, and he organized the defence of the workers so that they could both fight when necessary and build. We

hope to cover this aspect more thoroughly in a later article. However, it is worth noting how the builders were to be protected from their enemies. Nehemiah arranged that each man should be armed, and a trumpeter beside him could summon reinforcements to any danger poinL To this extent, they protected themselves; but Nehemiah added, "Our God will fight for us" (10) He knew that neither he and a guard, nor self-defence would avail apart from the work of God. On the other hand, it was no good expecting a work of God if the people were unwilling to do anything; very largely, His work is done through human

~ The whole history of the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem had shown that while the people of Jerusalem did not recognize that it was necessary for their position as the people of God to have something to separate them from the pagans outside, or while they did not think that they could do it, nothing would be done. Nehemiab's contribution was to show them that it needed to be done, that it could be done with the help of God, and to lead and guide them while it was done; and it was done; in fifty two days.

Nehemiah and Christ

In many respects, Nehemiah can be seen as an illustration of the Lord Jesus; although it is obviously a case of comparing the greater with the lesser. He who was

Rich beyond all splendour,

All for love's sake becamest poor;

Thronesfor a manger didst

surrender,

Sapphire paved courts for stable floor.

(Frank Houghton).

The Lord came into the world and indentified Himself with mankind. He cared deeply for the men and women He came to save, to the extent of giving Himself. He cared especially for the house of God - "My Father's house" - and for the little flock which He gathered around Him, to whom the kingdom of God was to be given. Care for the disciples was expressed in the Lord's prayer for them immediately before His betrayal and arrest: "I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours" (Ii) He knew the attacki which would be made by the world on them, and He knew that prayer was the most effective means to repulse them. In an even greater way than Nehemiah did, the Lord led from among His disciples, not regarding even the lowliest task as beneath Him, as when He washed the disciples' feet (12)

Leadership Today

Nehemiab offers lessons for leaders in churches of God today. He was distressed because he saw that the

walls separating the people of God from the pagans outside Jerusalem had broken down, and he resolved to help them rebuild their defences. There are no physical walls to build today, of course, but there remains a need to defend the truth of God, and to recognize a difference between those who are "inside" and those who are "outside". Unfortunately, too many people today are unwilling to be conspicuously different from others; leadership can help to give them the resolution to be so. That leadership needs to be based upon prayer, both for the people as a whole and for strength to lead. Thus based, leaders must be fully informed and act decisively, but not in an authoritarian way; that is "come and ..." rather than "go and ...". However, it can be a failing in capable men that, because they can do most things better than others, they will do them all themselves and waste the abilities of the others. A true leader gives the people "a mind to work".

References; quotations from the New

King James version

1. Neh. 1:3.2. Neh. 1:4.3. Neh~ 1:5-

11. 4.MaL6:9-13. S. Neh. 2:1&

6. Neh. 2:17.7. Ne~ 4:23. & Neh.

13:15-21.9. Neh. 4:6.10. Neh. 4:20.

11. John 17:9. 12. John 13:3-17.

P.L Hickling | Jul 1993
Leadership In Remnant Times