| Introduction Every year Times magazine publishes a list of the 100 most influential people during that particular year. Stephen Covey wrote the best-seller The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (sold over 15 million copies). In 1936, Dale Carnegie published the ever popular How to Win Friends and Influence People. The common goal of these publications is to recognize and encourage good leadership, at least good according to the wisdom of the world. These are good publications to read and learn from. However, the best profile of leader, other than Jesus Christ, ever written is the book of Nehemiah. I. A Survey of the History of the Kingdom in Order to Help Us Understand Nehemiah. A. Following Solomon's reign in 960 B.C., God divided Israel into two kingdoms. 1. The Davidic king remained the king in the southern kingdom of Judah that encompassed the two tribes of Judah and Benjamin. 2. The northern kingdom, comprised of the other 10 tribes, was initially governed by Jeroboam, but it never really had a dynasty like the southern kingdom did (or good kings). B. Eventually the northern kingdom was taken captive by the Assyrians in 722 B.C. 1. The Assyrian captivity was the result of the corporate sin of Israel. 2. The Assyrians tried to conquer the southern kingdom, but God kept them from it when he turned Sennacherib around. 3. The Assyrians deported most of the Jews in the northern kingdom and replaced them with other conquered peoples. a. That was their common practice in order to weaken the conquered people. b. This practice gave rise to the Samaritans – the intermarrying of the Jews left behind and the new peoples brought in. c. The Assyrian invasion and subsequent taking away of the northern people was brutal. C. The Babylonians rose to power and conquered Assyria and continued the practice of conquering other peoples. 1. Nebuchadnezzar, who is probably the one Babylonian king everyone knows, made his way to Jerusalem in 605 B.C. and took captive the nobility of Judah. 2. The Babylonians took two more batches of captives in 597 and 586 B.C. totaling about 150,000 Jews. 3. The area around Jerusalem was left desolate, the temple, the city itself, and the wall of Jerusalem were destroyed. D. As it seems to be always the case, the Babylonians were conquered by the Persians under Cyrus I in 539 B.C. 1. The Persians changed the Babylonian policy and started repatriating all the captives. 2. Cyrus sent the first batch of Jews back to Judah in the same year he ascended to the Persian-Babylonian throne (539). Ezra 1:1-4 – Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying, thus says Cyrus king of Persia: All the kingdoms of the earth the Lord God of heaven has given me. And He has commanded me to build Him a house at Jerusalem which is in Judah. Who isamong you of all His people? May his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem which is in Judah, and build the house of the Lord God of Israel (He is God), which is in Jerusalem. And whoever is left in any place where he dwells, let the men of his place help him with silver and gold, with goods and livestock, besides the freewill offerings for the house of God which is in Jerusalem. E. By the time we find Nehemiah praying about what to do, Jews had been in Jerusalem for over 100 years. 1. The temple has already been rebuilt. 2. Judah's territory was 800 square miles, a third of which was uncultivatable (Rhode Island = 1,045), surrounded by antagonistic people-groups. 3. And it is now somewhere 440 and 424 B.C. II. Nehemiah: A Man of Character A. At one point, Ezra and Nehemiah were considered one book in the Jewish canon though they were obviously written as separate books. B. It is likely that Nehemiah began to collect the OT books. C. By the time Nehemiah heard that plans to rebuild the wall had failed, the wall had been in ruin for 141 years. Ezra 4:23 – Now when the copy of King Artaxerxes' letter wasread before Rehum, Shimshai the scribe, and their companions, they went up in haste to Jerusalem against the Jews, and by force of arms made them cease. D. Nehemiah has held a high place in history. "After performing many other splendid and praiseworthy public services, Nehemiah died at an advanced age. He was a man of kind and just nature and most anxious to serve his countrymen; and he left the walls of Jerusalem as his eternal monument." Josephus E. Nehemiah was a man of character because of his faith in God and in the promised Messiah. 1. Nehemiah was a responsible man. a. Being the king's cupbearer can only mean that he had proven himself trustworthy over a long period of time, 1:11-2:1. 1) A cupbearer was responsible for the king's safety – Persian kings rarely died of natural causes; usually a relative killed him. 2) Artaxerxes I trusted that Nehemiah would give his life for him. b. Trustworthiness is an essential characteristic of a godly person – how are you on this? Ps. 15 – A Psalm of David. Lord, who may abide in Your tabernacle? Who may dwell in Your holy hill? He who walks uprightly, and works righteousness, and speaks the truth in his heart; he who does not backbite with his tongue, nor does evil to his neighbor, nor does he take up a reproach against his friend; in whose eyes a vile person is despised, but he honors those who fear the Lord; he whoswears to his own hurt and does not change; he who does not put out his money at usury, nor does he take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things shall never be moved. 2. Nehemiah was a man of vision. a. He figured that the wall needed to be built. c. Then he put himself in a position where he could be the answer to his own prayers. d. He had a vision for the building of the wall, but he had a greater vision of whom God is and what he could do through his servant, 1:5. 1) Our problem often is not that we don't know what needs to be done. 2) Our problem is that we often don't have a big enough vision of God. 3. Nehemiah was a man of prayer. a. His first instinct was to pray, 1:5-11. b. Throughout the book we read of moments of prayer. 2) Private or public, 2:4. c. A person who has a vision of a big God will pray to him, knowing that he is big enough to take care of anything he/she brings to him. 1 Pt. 5:6-7 – Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. 4. Nehemiah was a man of action and of cooperation. a. He explained what needed to be done and inspired others to join him, 2:16-18. b. He knew how to organize the rebuilding work, chpt. 3 – in spite of opposition the people responded so enthusiastically that they mended the wall in less than two months, 6:15. c. One of the main ways he inspired people was his own example, 5:14-18. d. Nehemiah, a layman, was able to cooperate with his contemporary Ezra in spite of the fact that these two leaders were of entirely different temperaments. 1) Ezra reacted to the problem of mixed marriages by pulling his own hair. Ezra 9:3 – So when I heard this thing, I tore my garment and my robe, and plucked out some of the hair of my head and beard, and sat down astonished. 2) Nehemiah reacted to the same problem by pulling the hair of the offenders, 13:25. e. We may not be able to move mountains like Nehemiah, but we are all called to action. 1) It is rarely the case that our marriages are bad, or our kids are misbehaved, or we use pornography, or we get drunk or high because we don't know what to do. 2) We know what to do, we just don't do it. 3) We prefer hiding behind being sinners instead of doing the things God has called us to do and has given us the grace to do in Jesus Christ. 5. Nehemiah was a man of compassion. a. He renounced his own privileges and denounced the wealthy who had exploited their poorer brothers, 5:18, 8. b. He did that out of fear of God, 5:9, 15. 6. Nehemiah was a man who triumphed over opposition. a. His opponents use every strategy to intimidate him. 1) Ridicule, 2:19, 4:2-3. 3) Hired prophets to give him misleading advice, 6:10-14. b. Nehemiah responded with 2) redoubled efforts, 4:6; 7. Nehemiah was a man with right motivation. a. Although he justified his ministry, his primary motive was not to be judged aright by others or to be remembered by posterity. b. His last words summarize a frequently repeated theme, 13:31 – 5:19, 13:14, 22, 29. c. His motive throughout his ministry was to please and serve his God. d. His only reward was God's approbation. e. How often our disappointments, sorrows, troubles come from our desire to receive praise from other people. Pro. 29:25 – The fear of man brings a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord shall be safe. Why was Nehemiah a man of character? Because he tried really hard? Because it was easy for him? Because he was special? Not really. Nehemiah was a man of character because he feared the Lord, 1:11. That's the same fear that we have through Jesus Christ. Heb. 12:28 – Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.
Nehemiah was a man of character because he knew the ultimate man of character, the Lord Jesus Christ. Nehemiah was just like us and we are just like Nehemiah. We can accomplish the same great things since we serve the same great God.
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