Nehemiah, A Courageous Leader of Men
Read Nehemiah 9:5-37, for a background of the repentant history of Isreal.
The name Nehemiah means “Jehovah comforts.” Nehemiah traveled from the luxury of a lavish palace to a war zone. He was also a man of prayer and compassion, for he wept for Jerusalem. His prayers were the catalyst for the return of Israel from the Godly punishment they deserved as described in II Chron. 6:36-39 and Deut. 30:1-6.
Israel had a disappointing history that was summarized in the book of Nehemiah. They had 120 years as a united kingdom. Then the nation divided into two kingdoms. The southern kingdom of Judah had 20 kings, out of which only eight were Godly and good. The other twelve ranged from bad to evil. The northern kingdom of Israel had twenty kings also, but none were Godly. Out of 40 kings there were only eight good ones in the lot.
Nehemiah was born and raised in Babylon. Though he had never been to Jerusalem, we believe his family had taught him to have a heart for the Holy City. The Jews that wanted to return to Israel had been allowed to do so about 90 years prior, but the kingdom of Judah was in terrible shape. The Jews that had remained in Jerusalem were hostile to the newly arrived Jews, perhaps thinking that the new arrivals would want to regain their former territory. God’s Temple was in poor condition. The wall and gates of Jerusalem were destroyed. The people had taken on the pagan practices of the Samaritans, Ammonites and Arabs living in the region.
Nehemiah and many of the Jews who remained in Babylon were doing well financially and much better spiritually than those who had returned to Judah 90 years earlier. Hanani, Nehemiah’s brother, took a trip to Judah and was amazed and shocked at how truly horrible the conditions were. Everything was in ruin and the people were intermarrying with the pagans and BECOMING PAGANIZED.
Nehemiah was not of royal blood nor was he a priest. He was a regular guy. He had a somewhat prestigious position as cup bearer for the King and it is also thought that he was the night watchman as the King slept. His duties included tasting the wine that King Artaxerxes was about to drink to make sure that it was not poisoned. Poison was a weapon of choice for some palace intrigues. Nehemiah had a good position but with scary finality in regard to retirement benefits.
Nehemiah used both sacred and secular leadership to establish Israel. He led the people in rebuilding the physical walls of the city and with Ezra they rebuilt the spiritual walls that defined and strengthened God’s people. His story is very exciting.
When Nehemiah arrived in 444 BC, he did his work unannounced. He knew that he would experience stiff opposition, but he had a heart like God’s and would not give up because he knew that he was doing God’s will.
Nehemiah realized that his first job was to rebuild the wall around Jerusalem. This was a monumental, seemingly impossible task, but in order for the people to protect themselves from their enemies, they had to have a wall to keep intruders out. He quietly got things moving and developed a cadre of really good workers to help him supervise. He used limestone, which is a soft rock that gets really hard after it is exposed to sunshine, for the walls and gates, with no mortar. Each block was perfectly cut to fit.
He had tremendous strength of character and was a great motivator. In fact, most of the people were so happy to have some good leadership that they went above and beyond the call to help. They were sick of corruption and abuse, just as we are today. Amazingly, Nehemiah was able to rebuild the wall and gates in just 52 days!
Nehemiah got things settled and working well, and served as Governor of Judah for about 12 years. But guess what? When he returned to his home in Babylon, Judah fell apart again. It was like he hadn’t even been there! The Jews were not keeping the Sabbath, were marrying pagans and had returned to their former corruption. Tobias the Ammonite even moved into the courtyard of God’s Temple! The presence of a strong leader, or lack thereof, makes all the difference in a country. Some time around 432 BC Nehemiah returned to Judah. He chased Tobiah out of the temple area and threw out all of his things, just like Jesus would one day do.
We, also, must not fall into spiritual paralysis like the 50,000 that lived in Jerusalem when Nehemiah first arrived. We must all learn to truly believe in the power of prayer, as Nehemiah did. Do we care enough to pray for God’s work and His people?
Nehemiah was a wonderful leader. He had all the princes and Levites sign a covenant to promise that they would not return to their former ways and activities. The people also agreed. His final words at the end of his book are, “Remember me, my God, with favor,” We are sure that he doesn’t have to worry.
