Nehemiah's Leadership

INTRO

In Nehemiah, new life was coming because people were ready and watching. In chapter 11 we see that as Jerusalem grew, people were moving out to the “suburbs,” to towns just outside the city. It was necessary for some of the Israelites to make a sacrifice and live in the city. To decide who would live in Jerusalem, the people drew lots. This is what we are going to see in Nehemiah 11. The beautiful part is that Nehemiah was so organized and structured, he was able accomplish all these things.

TEACHING

Nehemiah 11:1: The leaders of Israel stayed in the center of Jerusalem. One out of ten people agreed to live in the city as well. Commentator Warren Wiersbe wrote, “Nehemiah knew the nation of Israel couldn’t be strong as long as Jerusalem was weak. But Jerusalem couldn’t be strong, unless the people were willing to sacrifice.”¹After the city was built Nehemiah knew his work was still not done. He recognized what it meant to govern over this area. Nehemiah called upon the people to live in Jerusalem.

Nehemiah 11:2: The people praised those who volunteered to move to Jerusalem. All the tribes came back together to build up the city wall, but then went back home. It’s interesting that it seemed like the people did not want to live in Jerusalem, the city they just built! Why do you think that is? Nehemiah needed people to be a part of the change in Jerusalem.

Nehemiah 11:3–36: These verses are the start of a list of all the people who were going to live in Jerusalem. These were the people who were going to help be a part of change in the city. There are two tribes back in Jerusalem—Judah and Benjamin. The rest of the ten tribes were scattered elsewhere. As you read through this passage you see the numbers of people living in Jerusalem. These men and women had a unique role in preserving the city of Jerusalem. These people are why you and I can go into Israel today. What an awesome picture!

Nehemiah 11is all about sustainability in the community. The people trusted Nehemiah as their leader. They saw how God was moving in his life and trusted Him. In Lovett H. Weems Jr.’s article, “Ten Leadership Lessons from Nehemiah,”²he provides ten things we can learn from Nehemiah:

1. God’s leader responds to a call.³

• Nehemiah knew his calling to rebuild the city wall came from God (Nehemiah 2:12b).
• Nehemiah obeyed the call and came to survey the needs for rebuilding (Nehemiah 2:11–16).
• A leader will always respond to a call!

2. God’s leader cares for the people and their situation.⁴

Once Nehemiah responded to the call, God’s heart could be seen behind it.

Nehemiah saw himself as a part of the situation, using terms like “we” and “us” (Nehemiah 2:17, 20).

Nehemiah identified that he and the people of Israel were one when he said, “We are in trouble.”

As a true leader, Nehemiah understood the issues and chose to go through the trouble instead of shying away from it.

3. God’s leader helps define the reality of the situation.⁵

As God’s leader, Nehemiah recognized issues, but not in a prideful or arrogant way.

Nehemiah evaluated the situation the people of Israel were facing (Nehemiah 2:17).

Nehemiah led the people to discuss all that needed to be done and the reality of the challenges they faced.

4. God’s direction and vision are sought by the leader and people. ⁶

Nehemiah depended upon the direction and vision for the work to be done to come from the Lord. We too have to seek His will for direction.

Nehemiah was constantly praying.

5. Prayer is essential to know God’s will.⁷

6. God’s vision is simple.⁸

God’s vision to Nehemiah was really simple—rebuild the wall.

A vision needs to be as simple as it can be.

Nehemiah stayed the course of God’s vision.

A vision or direction might look differently from what you thought, but the vision is still the same.

7. God’s leader builds a team.⁹

Because Nehemiah had the trust of the people, he was able to create a team to lead the work.

The only way the Israelites could complete God’s vision was that the people committed to use the talents God gave them to do the work (Nehemiah 2:18b).

We too have been gifted different talents from God to help complete His work.

8. God’s leader keeps the real purpose before the people.¹⁰

Nehemiah helped the people to realize that what they were doing was not just rebuilding a wall but reestablishing their position in Israel as God’s people.

Nehemiah never kept anything from the people of Israel.

9. God’s leader is not discouraged by adversity.¹¹

As the Israelites worked, they were made fun of and threatened by their enemies.

Nehemiah was personally threatened.

However, Nehemiah understood that what he was doing for God was important (Nehemiah 6:3).

10. God always has another vision.¹²

The original vision was to rebuild the wall, but once it was completed, it was time to seek God’s vision for the next steps.

God always has another vision that builds on top of what He has already established.

CLOSING

Be the change. The remnant of the Israelites moving to Jerusalem were able to be a part of the change. I encourage you today, please don’t stop praying for the peace of Jerusalem. God still has big plans for this city!