I hope you enjoyed your reading
and reflecting on Nehemiah over the past nine days!
Here
are the results of a character study I did in 2006. Try not to look at it until
you have completed your own study.
Nehemiah’s General
Character Qualities: Compassion, Humility, and Boldness
Nehemiah exemplified the quality of compassion. He
mourned over the distress and reproach of the remnant and ruin of the city. He
cared about the wall, but he also cared about the people inside the wall. His
response was to sit down and weep and mourn for days (1:3). He not only felt
compassion but also lived out his compassion by praying and fasting and then
putting God’s plan into action with passion. His compassion led to his passion
for pursuing the building of the wall.
He also exemplified the quality of humility. He went
straight to God in prayer in humble dependence on Him for his every action.
Nehemiah was humble enough to realize that this was a God-sized task, and he
needed God’s direction and strength to accomplish it. He did this in fasting
and prayer at the beginning of his concern (1:5-11) and in an “on the spot”
prayer when he had to speak to the king (2:4). He continued to humbly rely on
His God even in opposition.
Nehemiah also exemplified the quality of boldness. He went to
God boldly in prayer, and He reminded God of His promises:
Remember the word which You commanded Your servant Moses,
saying, "If you are unfaithful I will scatter you among the peoples, but
if you return to Me and keep My commandments and do them . . . I will gather
them from there and will bring them to the place where I was chosen to cause My
name to dwell." (1:8-9)
This is
a direct promise from Deuteronomy 30:1-4. Essentially, he was “praying the
promises” back to God in His prayer in Nehemiah 1:5-11!
In addition to boldness before the King of kings, he was also bold in asking
King Artaxerxes if he could go to Judah to rebuild it (2:5). He is also bold in
the face of opposition (4:4, 5, 9).
18 Specific Qualities and
Actions That Made Him an Effective Leader
Nehemiah was:
- Passionate – He had the heart passion to do the
impossible despite the obstacles.
- Dependent on and
confident in His God – He
prayed to his God every step of the way; and in the end, his enemies “lost
confidence for they recognized that this work had been accomplished with the
help of [their] God” (6:16).
- Cautious – He did not tell others what God had put
on his heart until after he had inspected the wall and looked at the task
before him (2:12-16). He assessed the situation before talking to people.
- Wise – He elicited support from the key "changemakers"
in the culture. He went to the Jews, priests, nobles, and officials to cast a
vision for rebuilding the wall. Consequently, they said, “Let us arise and
build” (2:18). These people were the
best people to influence others
to do the job.
- Confident – “I told them how the hand of my God had
been favorable to me" (2:18). He was confident that God had directed him.
Consequently, he could go with confidence to these leaders in the society with
his vision.
- A team gatherer – He gathered those leading Jews and had
them “buy in” to the vision so that when they were mocked by the pagans around
them, Nehemiah could confidently say, “The God of heaven will give US success;
therefore WE His servants will arise and build” (2:20).
- Persevering – He did
not let opposition keep him from
the task. When they were mocked by Sanballat and Tobiah, he went directly to God to
ask for justice, “. . . Return their reproach on their own heads . . . they
have demoralized the builders” (4:4-5). He went right back to building the wall
to half its height despite the opposition (4:6)!
- Motivating – The people had a “mind to work” (4:6)
despite the obstacles. Nehemiah was passionate, and he passed that passion on
to the Jews working on the wall. He also motivated them to return to work when
they were fearful (4:15).
- Strategic – He set up defenses in strategic places
(4:13).
- Encouraging – When others were fearful, he encouraged
them to “remember the Lord” (4:14) and look to Him and not at the dire
situation.
- A Sacrificial
Servant – He
was there day and night with the others in the protection of the wall (4:13).
He did not eat the Governor’s food allowance “because of the fear of God”
(5:15) and “applied himself to the work on this wall” when he could have just
delegated the “dirty work.” He modeled servant leadership.
- Peaceable – When there was conflict within the Jewish
community, he resolved it peaceably by contending with the “nobles and the
rulers” (5:7) and providing a solution.
- Non-controlling –When negotiating a resolution with the Jews
he said, “May God shake out every man . . . who does not fulfill this
promise" (4:13). He left the follow-up to God.
- Focused – When Sanballat and Geshem sent a message to meet with him he
replied, “I am doing a great work and I cannot come down. Why should the work
stop while I leave it and come down to you?” (6:3) He kept the goal in mind
continually.
- A finisher – He never gave up and finished the wall in
fifty-two days!
- A Delegator – When the wall was finished, he put men
“in charge of Jerusalem” because they were “faithful and God-fearing men”
(7:2).
- Not a
Self-Promoter – He
returned the hearts of the people back to God and gave the glory back to God.
Nehemiah could have created a following that worshiped him, but He gave God the
glory. He had Ezra read the law and the Feast of Booths was reinstituted (Nehemiah 8). In addition, the people
confessed and worshiped God (9:3).
- Goal-oriented – He kept the ultimate goal of reestablishing worship in
Jerusalem in mind!
Comparing and Contrasting the
Leadership of Ezra and Nehemiah
Ezra was a
priest, a descendant of the Levites. He was the "most learned
interpreter of the Law, and the man, more than any other, who shaped the
returned exiles into the 'people of the book'" (NASB Open Bible, Ezra Introduction). While
he did not have a part in the rebuilding of the temple or wall, he did lead the
rebuilding of the worship life of Israel. He was a priest who
got a special call to rebuild people by establishing them in the Law and
restoring them in covenant. he specifically dealt with the problem of mixed
marriages. His primary mission was for religious purposes.
In contrast, Nehemiah held a "secular" job as cupbearer to the king and could be called a
"layman" in today's language. He was a Jew with a regular job who
received a special call to go and rebuild the wall. He was a rebuilder of a wall and an organizer
of people. He
displayed leadership by getting a specific task done despite opposition and
motivating others to rely on their God and complete the task. His primary
mission was the task which might have also carried
political connotations because he eventually became governor of Judah for
twelve years before returning to Persia.
While there are many contrasts between the two in their leadership styles and tasks,
the men had much in common. Both men held an unswerving devotion to a
covenant-keeping God. They both practiced fasting, prayer, and praise. They
relied on their God in their decision-making process and in the face of enemies.
They also did not hesitate to give glory to God when their specific missions
were completed.
"God enriched His people with protection by the wall Nehemiah rebuilt and
by the law Ezra reestablished" (Holman Bible Handbook). They both
worked as a team in God's reestablishment of His people in Judah.
Which Leadership Style Do
You Most Relate To?
God confirmed the answer to this question as I walked and prayed
through Face to Face: Praying the Scriptures
for Intimate Worship today,
this prayer came on the page:
"Like
Ezra, I want to set my heart
to study Your Word, to obey it and
to do
it, and to teach it to others"
(Ezra
7:10).
I had
to laugh! This is the passion of my heart! I want others to know God through
His Word! There is no question that I relate much more to Ezra than Nehemiah.
Nehemiah was a great administrator, and I would love to work with someone like
Nehemiah because I do NOT have those kinds of leadership skills!
If you want to find out more about your leadership style, here is a great test:
Final Conclusions on
Nehemiah’s Life and Leadership
The biggest lesson that we can learn from the life and leadership
of Nehemiah is the fact that he led by following God in every action. He
followed God by continually praying and praising. His inner life was an
integral part of why he succeeded because his plans were not really his plans;
they were God’s plans. Nehemiah chose to get out of God’s way and simply be a
vessel for His purposes. He chose to stop and pray and praise rather than rush
ahead with his fleshly plans. Because he knew they were God’s plans, he could
go forward with confidence despite the opposition.
APPLICATION
I'll just share my own personal application, but I would also love
to hear yours!
There are many personal applications from the life of Nehemiah. I am confirmed
in my desire to prayerfully go through every minute of my day, in every
challenge, listening to His voice and allowing Him to direct my steps on a
moment-by-moment basis rather than just during the times set aside for
“devotion.” My prayer time has been consistently strong for many years, but it
has been my heart’s desire to also experience the “pray without ceasing” kind
of prayer life in every waking moment of my day.
I first journaled about this desire in 1983 when I first
read The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence. It is easy to
disconnect from our Power Source when things get busy or stressful. Thankfully,
I have seen growth in this area to a point where I am communicating with Him
when I first wake up and through most of the day even in the middle of
stressful times. Nehemiah encourages me to excel still more in this area. I will
do this by setting aside focus prayer point times throughout my day to evaluate
my communion with Him.
I also am challenged by Nehemiah’s ability to confidently go on with his work
regardless of opposition. He continued to pray and allowed God to be His
defense. This aspect of his life and actions has been so encouraging to me, and
it has reminded me of a time in 2001 when God led me in meditation through the
book of Nehemiah amid spiritual attack and opposition. God
encouraged me to keep working at “building” up women and not give up. He
told me to be strategic by putting on my defensive weapons as I worked
regardless of what the “Sanballats” may say. I want to grow more in
fearlessness and perseverance and Nehemiah definitely encourages me to do this.
Another possible application is to take the test I linked above and discuss it
with your friends!
PRAYER
Thank You for this rich study of Your Word. Thank You so much for
teaching us through the life of Nehemiah. May we be compassionate, humble, and
bold as we lead. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.
