Teddy Roosevelt, our nation's 26th president was a hard charging leader. An ardent admirer once exclaimed to him, “Mr. Roosevelt, you are a great man.” In characteristic honesty he replied, “No. Teddy Roosevelt is simply a plain, ordinary man—highly motivated.” It is safe to say that his answer describes most great leaders, plain and ordinary, yet whose hearts had been captured by a compelling mission. Certainly, Nehemiah, the subject of our new series, would say that about himself. Although he would say he was a plain and ordinary man underneath, he emerges as one of the most effective leaders in history, accomplishing in 53 days what no one else could accomplish in decades. Nehemiah would be the first to say that when God needs a mountain moved, he raises up mountain-moving men. But though he lived five hundred years before the Messiah came, I think Nehemiah would he would be quick to repeat these words of Paul to every man listening: “You are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which he prepared beforehand that we should walk in them—be the mountain of a man you need to be to move your mountain!
If I were writing a promo for Nehemiah to do a TED talk, the promo might read, "Become the best leader you can be. Learn how to gather information and form workable plans. Get other people to do what you want them to do and like doing it. Manage a difficult boss. Motivate subordinates. Master six great secrets for overcoming obstacles. Learn how to succeed where others have failed. Win without intimidation."Each of these items (and more) is taught in the book of Nehemiah. But what takes this leadership study from black and white to rich color is the way Nehemiah sorts out God’s leading and then leans upon God every step of the way. That skill set is one every guy needs. So, let’s dig into our study of Nehemiah.
Historical Context of the Book of Nehemiah: The Hebrew nation began with Abraham and the covenant that God made with him and his children. That covenant was a covenant of grace; there was no righteousness in Abraham to merit God choosing him to be the head of the Hebrew race, certainly no merit in the Israelites, who were a stiff-necked, rebellious people. Although they were chosen by grace to be the nation to enjoy a covenant relationship with God, the degree of blessing in the covenant was directly proportional to their obedience to the covenant sanctions—blessings for obedience, curses for disobedience. So, membership was by God’s unconditional love and grace, not works. But blessing was through obedience, which becomes very clear in passages like, Deut 28.
“And if you faithfully obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth….But if you will not obey the voice of the Lord your God…then all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you….The Lord will bring you and your king whom you set over you to a nation that neither you nor your fathers have known. And there you shall serve other gods of wood and stone. And you shall become a horror, a proverb, and a byword among all the peoples where the Lord will lead you away.”
Keeping in mind the provisions of this covenant we skip ahead. After Solomon’s kingdom is divided because of his sin, the northern 10 tribes of Israel refused to repent of breaking the covenant sanctions even though God’s prosecuting attorneys, like Elijah and Elisha warned them that destruction would result from refusing to repent. In 722, God judged Israel by sending the Assyrian invasion. The ten northern tribes were wiped out of existence.
But the southern Kingdom, Judah, which included Jerusalem, continued on another 140 years before it, too, was judged. Southern prophets included Isaiah and Jeremiah, who predicted 70 years of captivity in Babylon. To set the stage for Nehemiah, it is worth reading the 2 Chronicles explanation of the 70-year captivity.
“The Lord the God of their fathers sent word to them (Judah) through the messengers again and again because he had pity on his people and on his dwelling place (Jerusalem). But they mocked God's messengers, despised these words and scoffed at his prophets until the wrath of the Lord was aroused against his people and there was no remedy. He brought up against them the king of the Babylonians who killed their young men with the sword spared neither young man nor young woman old man or aged. God handed all of them over to Nebuchadnezzar. They set fire to God's temple and broke down the wall of Jerusalem. They all they burned all the palaces and destroyed everything of value there he carried into exile to Babylon the remnant who escaped from the sword and they became servants to him and his sons until the Kingdom of Persia came to power.”
“70 years were completed in fulfillment of the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah. In the first year of Cyrus, king of the of Persia in order to fulfill the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah, the Lord moved the heart of Cyrus to make a proclamation throughout his realm and to put it in writing. This is what Cyrus king of Persia says, ‘The LORD, the God of heaven has given me all the kingdoms of the earth. He has appointed me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah. Anyone of his people among you may the Lord his God be with him let him go up.’” (2 Chron.36:15-24).
First group returns to Jerusalem. This decree, in 538 BC, led to the first group of Jews returning from Babylon to Jerusalem (800 miles away) and rebuilding the temple. This first group had returned to Jerusalem about 100 years before the book of Nehemiah begins. It took them twenty years to rebuild the temple, which was completed and dedicated in 516 BC. This history is recorded in Ezra 1-6. There is now a 58-year gap.
Second group returns to Jerusalem. Ezra 7 we discover that in 458 BC Ezra leads a second group of Jews from Babylon to Jerusalem, which included many priests and scribes. Ezra hammers the Jews in Jerusalem for intermarrying and bearing children to women of idolatrous religions. The book of Ezra ends with national repentance of the men who had married foreign wives. So, God’s people have returned to Jerusalem and now have repented of their idolatry. According to God’s covenant with his people, that is the requirement for God to gather his people back to Jerusalem. This happened just 13 years before the book of Nehemiah begins in 445. Let’s examine the first four verses.
“The words of Nehemiah the son of Hacaliah. Now it happened in the month of Chislev, in the twentieth year, as I was in Susa the citadel, that Hanani, one of my brothers, came with certain men from Judah. And I asked them concerning the Jews who escaped, who had survived the exile, and concerning Jerusalem. And they said to me, ‘The remnant there in the province who had survived the exile is in great trouble and shame. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates are destroyed by fire.’ As soon as I heard these words I sat down and wept and mourned for days, and I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven”
Since the original destruction of Jerusalem had taken place nearly 140 years before this conversation, the condition of the torn-down walls would have been well known to Nehemiah. Its mention would hardly result in a new outbreak of grief and fasting on his part. Hanani would have been talking about a recent destruction of Jerusalem’s wall, which must have been partially rebuilt.
NEHEMIAH’S HEART
Nehemiah was called to build the wall, but first, he wept over its ruins. I believe that the powerful leadership influence that Nehemiah would later have with those living in Jerusalem began with his heart. Notice the phrase, “as soon as I heard this.” Nehemiah’s immediate, reflexive response was to be crushed with grief. We aren’t told why this was his response. But throughout the Psalms and Israel’s history, the glory of the temple and Zion, the city of David, were constantly associated with God’s glory. It was the name of Yahweh that was being dragged through the mud and defiled. When you love the God who is so holy and morally perfect that he turns evil into good, hearing God’s reputation trashed breaks your heart. He is worthy of absolute, supreme honor and nothing less. Jesus taught us that the starting focus of prayer should be, “May your name be hallowed.” Nehemiah had a nobleness about him that defaulted to wanting God honored.
The Hebrew word used by Hanani translated great trouble means “misery” and “calamity.” It is hard to imagine the terror of living in a city without walls, of the vulnerability to marauding bands intent upon raping your wife and daughter, kidnapping your son, or stealing your possessions. Nehemiah was broken-hearted at the thought. As Jesus entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, when he foresaw the destruction of Jerusalem that would happen 70 years later, he wept. On this great day of celebration and rejoicing because the Messiah was finally entering his city, prophesied by Zehariah, Jesus could not stop himself from weeping. If we would have a heart like Jesus, we must learn to weep over the way sin destroys.
LEARNING FROM NEHEMIAH’S PRAYER—FIVE PRINCIPLES
1. He bases his request on God’s character.
Vs 5: And I said, “O Lord God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments.”
Nehemiah used “awesome” to describe God 2500 years before “awesome” became so popular! This is a summary of his prayer since he mentioned prayer and fasting day and night. It is a short statement, but it acknowledges several great attributes of God. “God of heaven” implies his sovereignty. “Great and awesome” point to his omnipotence. “Who keeps covenant,” speaks of his faithfulness to his word. “Steadfast love” points to his consistent decisions that are always best for us. When our kids ask, “Is there anything that God can’t do, our answer should be, “yes.” He cannot act in a way that is inconsistent with his character. That is the foundation of our faith.
2. He comes in humility.
Vs. 6: Let your ear be attentive and your eyes open, to hear the prayer of your servant that I now pray before you day and night for the people of Israel your servants.
The mark of a godly leader is that he goes first to God with the problems. As the cup bearer of the King, Nehemiah held a high position, much like the position of chief of staff (except that you also had to taste the wine first to make sure it wasn’t poisoned.) But Nehemiah doesn’t plead his case from a position of strength but of weakness—“Hear the prayer of your servant.” James Boise observes,
“The self-sufficient do not pray; they merely talk to themselves. The self-satisfied will not pray; they have no knowledge of their need. The self-righteous cannot pray; they have no basis on which to approach God. A true leader is not one who is self-sufficient, self-satisfied, or self-righteous. On the contrary, he knows his need and is ready to humble himself before the One who alone is sufficient for it” (Nehemiah—Learning to Lead).
3. He puts a biblical lens over the situation.
Vs. 7-8. Confessing the sins of the people of Israel, which we have sinned against you. Even I and my father's house have sinned. We have acted very corruptly against you and have not kept the commandments, the statutes, and the rules that you commanded your servant Moses. Remember the word that you commanded your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the peoples”
Nehemiah fully understands why he and his people are 800 miles from Jerusalem in Babylon, i.e. why God judged his nation and sent them into exile. They broke their covenant with Yahweh and they brought upon themselves the sanctions of the covenant. God’s prophets, especially Jeremiah, continually warned of this happening: Listen to these words from Jeremiah 9:23-16
“The Lord says: ‘Because they have forsaken my law that I set before them, and have not obeyed my voice or walked in accord with it, but have stubbornly followed their own hearts and have gone after the Baals, as their fathers taught them. Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold I will feed this people with bitter food and give them poisonous water to drink. I will scatter them among the nations whom neither they nor their fathers have known.’”
A biblical perspective begins with owning our own sin and our people’s sin. But beyond that, a biblical lens helps you know how to pray. For example, the qualities of a godly woman listed in Titus 2 tell me where to ask God to give her my wife, daughters, and daughters-in-law strength. The James 1 lens that trials are intended to make me Christ-like changes the way I pray about tough circumstances, “Help me submit to your chisel. I do want to be like Jesus.”
4. He bases his request upon God’s promise.
Vs. 9-10: “But if you return to me and keep my commandments and do them, though your outcasts are in the uttermost parts of heaven, from there I will gather them and bring them to the place that I have chosen, to make my name dwell there.’ They are your servants and your people, whom you have redeemed by your great power and by your strong hand.”
Nehemiah knew that just thirteen years earlier, because of Artaxerxes’ decree, Ezra and many of the other priests and scribes had left Babylon and gone to Jerusalem to proclaim the Law of the Lord to its inhabitants. Upon discovering that that some of them had intermarried with the pagan peoples surrounding them and adopted their customs, Ezra had wept and fasted for days. God used his broken heart over their sin to bring about a revival. The book of Ezra ended with the men who had taken pagan wives agreeing to “put them away.” Nehemiah had concrete evidence that in Jerusalem God’s people had turned back to him. So, like an attorney arguing his case, Nehemiah presses God. “God you promised that if your people return to you and keep your commandments you will bring them back to Jerusalem. And by the way, that is the place YOU have chosen for YOUR NAME to dwell. THAT is the city that is without walls.”
When we ask God to so something that his Word says is his will, we are on solit ground in prayer. Here is what the Apostle John taught. “And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him”(1 John 5:14-15). John heard Jesus say, “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.” Jesus says, “Pray based on my Word and for spiritual fruit.”
Let’s apply this principle to praying for your spouse, Christian child, or brother. This is what Paul told the Colossians he was praying for them in Colossian 1:9-12:
- That you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom
- That you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord
- That you be driven by the desire to be fully pleasing to him
- That you would bear fruit: love, joy, peace, patience…self-control.
- That every good work will be fruitful for the kingdom
- That you will continually be increasing in the knowledge of God
- That you will being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance
- That you will being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all patience.
- That you will know the joy of the Lord
- That you will develop the habit of giving thanks to the Father
- That in hard times you will never forget that you will share in the inheritance of the saints.
5. He makes a BIG, specific request.
Vs. 11. “O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant, and to the prayer of your servants who delight to fear your name, and give success to your servant today, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.”
Nehemiah, perhaps through his fasting and prayer, had decided upon a plan. He needed the God of the universe to make it happen because it was outrageous. He was about to ask King Artaxerxes for three years paid vacation and to pay the cost of rebuilding the wall from the royal treasury! Talk about guts. Many years ago, I heard this challenge: Attempt something so great for God that it is doomed to failure unless God is in it. That was Nehemiah. Chuck Swindoll writes:
Got any rivers you think are uncrossable? Got any mountains you can't tunnel through. God specializes in things thought impossible. He does the things others cannot do. The Lord is the specialist we need for those uncrossable and impossible experiences. He delights in accomplishing what we cannot pull off. But he awaits our cry. He listens for our request. Nehemiah was quick to call for help. His favorite position, when faced with problems, was the kneeling position. How about you?
For Further Prayerful Thought:
- What stood out most to you about God’s covenant with Abraham and his descendants which included sanctions, covenant blessings for obedience and covenant curses for disobedience?
- What was most attractive to you about Nehemiah’s heart?
- Which lessons about prayer most stood out. Which do you most want to remember?
