Nehemiah 4: “Continual Opposition By Nehemiah’s Enemies Is Overcome”
By
1. TIMELINE:
These graphs depict the timeline of the Old Testament, and note that the book of Nehemiah is written about a period of history after the Babylonian captivity and beginning in 445 BC.
Graph of Persian kings & Jewish companies sent out by them to Judea:
1.1. In our last study, we looked at chapter 3 of the book of Nehemiah.
1.1.1. We have seen in our study that in 445 BC that Nehemiah, a cupbearer to King Artaxerxes I, heard that the people in Jerusalem were in great distress and reproach, and the city wall was still broken down and its gates burned. This caused him to mourn, pray, and fast for four months that God might move the king’s heart and allow him to go and to rebuild Jerusalem’s wall. Finally, the Lord prepared the king’s heart for a conversation with Nehemiah, and when the king noticed that Nehemiah’s countenance was sad, he asked Nehemiah why he was sad in heart. The king then heard Nehemiah’s request and allowed him to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the city’s wall. The king gave Nehemiah all that he requested to successfully complete the job: official papers to give to the governors along the way, official paperwork to get all of the wood for building the gates, and an armed escort to assure a safe trip.
1.1.2. We saw that as we read about the repairing of the wall and the gates into the city that we ought to also ask ourselves if we are guarding the gates into our lives, and our home, in order to make sure that we do not compromise with the world. The gates are a metaphor of our lives and the city of Jerusalem in some ways symbolizes our life as one of God’s people. The work of God begins at our own house and it is within our own home that we must be first found faithful so that we might be given further responsibilities for lives. We saw that Alan Redpath has written, “A church is no stronger than its homes.”
1.1.3. We saw that the city of Jerusalem had 12 gates, just as the New Jerusalem will also have (see Rev. 21:12, 21). The number twelve is the number of a complete administration as seen in their being twelve tribes of Israel and twelve apostles chosen by Jesus. We saw that the gates of Ephraim is not mentioned until Neh. 8:16; 12:39, and the Gate of the Guard in Neh. 12:39.
1.1.4. We talked about the fact that when I was in Campus Crusade back in my college years, we used to have an illustration of the “Balanced Christian Life” that was illustrated by five equal spokes in a wheel. The spokes were named, Prayer, Witnessing, Fellowship, Obedience, the Word. If you were maintaining a proper balance of all of those you were would be living a healthy and balanced Christian life. The gates into the city sort of remind me of the complete administration of the things that we as God’s people allow to come into and out of our life. If we have a proper balance of these things we will lead a healthy and fruitful life for Christ.
1.1.5. We looked at the work that was being performed on each of the gates and structures around the wall of the city, including the symbolism of them.
1.1.6. So far in our study of Nehemiah, we have observed several principles for effective leadership in Nehemiah’s life, including that an effective leader:
1.1.6.1.He gets people to do things they wouldn’t do otherwise, and enjoy doing it.
1.1.6.2.He understands people’s needs and recognizes problems.
1.1.6.3.He does not rush into action.
1.1.6.4.He goes to the Lord first about problems.
1.1.6.5.He is willing to be a solution to problems.
1.1.6.6.He waits on God to open doors, move in people’s hearts, and give the vision God has for them.
1.1.6.7.He keeps his emotions under control.
1.1.6.8.He plans.
1.1.6.9.He is discreet, keeps some things confidential, and tells others his plans at the proper time.
1.1.6.10.He is one who has gotten a proper balance of human responsibility and divine initiative, as he prays but plans.
1.1.6.11.He uses a combination of methods to motivate people but utilizes internal motivating factors more than external ones.
1.1.7. We saw how the work each one worked on the wall nearest his house, and we saw that the work that was performed by each one proceeded going in a counter-clockwise direction around the city.
1.2. In our study today, we are going to look at chapter 4 of the book.
1.2.1. There are a couple more aspects of effective leadership that we can see from the life of Nehemiah and how he led the children of Israel in chapter 3 to the building up of the wall around the city of Jerusalem:
1.2.1.1.An effective leader is one who knows how to divide up a large project into a number of small projects that can be delegated to others to complete.
1.2.1.1.1.If Nehemiah had led the people as one big group to build one part of the wall at a time this would never have worked, and Nehemiah’s enemies would have been able to attack the city and thwart all progress.
1.2.1.2.An effective leader allows those under his leadership to have significant say in the things that they do.
1.2.1.2.1.Nehemiah allowed the people to do the work next to their house and in so doing they would have a significant say in how the wall was constructed.
1.2.1.2.2.Since they had the most at stake in seeing the wall constructed in the best possible way, this was wise for Nehemiah to give them quite a bit of say in what they were doing.
1.2.1.3.An effective leader is one who has an understanding that timing is important. Important tasks must be done first, as with those tasks upon which other tasks depend.
1.2.1.3.1.Nehemiah understood that if they were going to get this wall around the city built that they had to do it before Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem, and others had a chance to realize what they were doing, get organized, and attack them.
1.2.2. In our previous study we saw how the work was divided up, but the work was actually just beginning at that point. We will see that as the people continued to work that challenge after challenge was presented to them by their enemies, and without a great leader in Nehemiah they would have become discouraged and given up on building the wall.
1.2.3. We have seen that Sanballat and Tobiah, the enemies of the Judeans, originally laughed at the Israelites who had come to rebuild the wall around Jerusalem. However, as the work on the wall progresses, so their anger and opposition against the Judeans increases as well. Judea’s enemies begin to mock and ridicule, next openly oppose Judea, and then when the wall is built to ½ height they begin to conspire to organize a plot to attack Jerusalem and the builders.
1.2.4. We will see how major discouragement hits the Judeans when they get the wall built ½ height and realize how much work they have to get done, plus hear of how an attack by their enemies has been plotted. We will see how their leader Nehemiah deals with the increasing warfare from their adversaries.
1.2.5. We will consider principles of spiritual warfare in our study, for the enemies that Nehemiah and the Judeans faced were only being motivated by the real enemy of our souls. The thing that we as Christians need to recognize is the fact that it is only when we begin to truly serve the Lord and walk in His plans for us that the enemy of our souls will contend with us. The more we serve, seek the Lord, and seek to be used by Him, the more that we can expect that the enemy will try to hinder us and make us ineffective for Christ. Running into opposition and persecution should be looked at as an indication for the Christian that this is a good sign that he is doing God’s will and thus is a threat to hell and its designs for mankind. Likewise, if everything is going smooth in our lives and we aren’t experiencing anything in the way of opposition and persecution this is an indication that we aren’t really being effective serving the Lord.
2. VS 4:1-3 - “1 Now it came about that when Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became furious and very angry and mocked the Jews. 2 He spoke in the presence of his brothers and the wealthy men of Samaria and said, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Are they going to restore it for themselves? Can they offer sacrifices? Can they finish in a day? Can they revive the stones from the dusty rubble even the burned ones?” 3 Now Tobiah the Ammonite was near him and he said, “Even what they are building—if a fox should jump on it, he would break their stone wall down!”” – Sanballat becomes furious and he and Tobiah begin to redicule Nehemiah and the Judeans when they hear that they are rebuilding the wall
2.1. Sanballat becomes furious when he hears that these Judeans are actually going ahead with their plans and are rebuilding the wall around Jerusalem. He surely thought that this small band of Judeans could not pull off the huge and all encompassing task of rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem, even if they had official papers from King Artaxerxes I. Yet, to Sanballat’s surprise he learns that the Judeans are proceeding on and even making some good time in the work.
2.2. Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem, the Arabs, and the Ammonites are concerned that if the wall around Jerusalem is completed that this will take away from their power and control of the area. Plus, they worry that if Jerusalem were established as a city that it would take away some of their trade and draw business interests to the city.
2.3. When Sanballat says, ‘Are they going to restore it for themselves? Can they offer sacrifices? Can they finish in a day?’ it was as if he was taunting them as to whether they thought that just by their prayers that they were going to be able to complete the rebuilding of the wall.
2.4. Sanballat evidently misunderstands the enduring nature of the stones that comprised this wall when he asks, “Can they revive the stones from the dusty rubble even the burned ones?’
2.5. Tobiah is embolden by Sanballat and throws in his own taunting and ridicule when he states, ‘if a fox should jump on it, he would break their stone wall down.’ The fact was that even now that he was on the outside of this wall and it was keeping him and the rest of Judea’s enemies out of the city.
2.6. Success itself tends to breed opposition. James Montgomery Boice brings out several reasons that people oppose the success of someone else:
2.6.1. Some people are threatened by another person’s success.
2.6.2. Others are jealous.
2.6.3. Some oppose others or their projects because they have a different agenda than they do.
2.6.4. Some feel excluded.
2.6.5. People suspect the motivations of those they oppose.
2.6.6. Some people, especially leaders, lose face when others succeed.
2.6.7. Opposition comes from traditionalists—those who prefer the way things have been done in the past and do not want change.
2.6.8. Because it is opposed by Satan.
2.7. Charles Swindoll has written the following about what he calls “carping critics:”
“Carping critics typically look at situations from a human point of view—their walls, their plans, their comfort, their procedure, their arrangement—usually wrapping their derision in carefully crafted logic or, even worse, cleverly contorted Scripture. They don’t stop to think that they may be criticizing God’s project… [He goes on] People who look at life from the human point of view have problems with projects that require giant steps of faith.”
3. VS 4:4-5 - “4 Hear, O our God, how we are despised! Return their reproach on their own heads and give them up for plunder in a land of captivity. 5 Do not forgive their iniquity and let not their sin be blotted out before You, for they have demoralized the builders.” - Nehemiah writes out the imprecatory prayer that he and the Judeans prayed upon hearing of the ridicule that they are receiving from their enemies, Sanballat and Tobiah
3.1. Nehemiah’s recorded prayer here is very much like the imprecatory Psalms in which the Psalmist asks the Lord to destroy his enemies. But, was Nehemiah and Judea wrong to come against their enemies in prayer in this way and ask God to destroy them and blot them out before Him? No! Nehemiah knew that these people who where threatening them were appointed for judgment. Therefore, he could pray such a prayer and have it be according to God’s will.
3.2. In the New Testament economy we have been commanded by Jesus to love our enemies and to pray for them, so this praying of imprecatory prayers is an antiquated example of praying for us as God’s people today and should not be replicated.
4. VS 4:6 - “6 So we built the wall and the whole wall was joined together to half its height, for the people had a mind to work.” – The response of the people to the ridicule they received was to keep their hand to the task and to build, and they got the wall to ½ of its height because ‘the people had a mind to work’
4.1. There was actually something that occurred before this verse, and that is that before the stones of the wall could be put down that the area where the wall would lay had to be cleared completely off. If the land hadn’t been cleared off before the stones were laid, the wall would have not been level or even. In the same way, in our lives as Christians we are made new creatures in Christ when we first come to Him, and all things are made new in our lives (see 2 Cor. 5:17). We need to get the root of the problems and issues in our lives before we can really grow spiritually as the Lord wants us to grow. We can’t build in our lives if there is stuff that displeases the Lord and thus should first be cleared off.
4.2. Nehemiah gives credit where credit is due and states that the reason why they had progressed in such a phenomenal way thus far was because ‘the people had a mind to work.’
4.3. Evidently, the wall had consisted of two distinct parts, but now at this half-point juncture ‘the whole wall was joined together.’
4.4. The wall is ‘half its height,’ because great progress had been made. However, as happens during the completion big projects, people tend to lose focus and motivation at the “middle part” of completion.
5. VS 4:7-8 - “7 Now when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites and the Ashdodites heard that the repair of the walls of Jerusalem went on, and that the breaches began to be closed, they were very angry. 8 All of them conspired together to come and fight against Jerusalem and to cause a disturbance in it.” – When Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites heard about how that the repair of the walls was proceeding they all became very angry and now conspired to come together and attack Jerusalem
5.1. Charles Swindoll writes the following story to describe how sometimes life can get a lot more complicated than we originally might imagine: “Edit, a mother of eight in Darlington, Maryland, was coming home from a neighbor’s house one Saturday afternoon. As she walked into the house, she saw five of her youngest children huddled together, concentrating with intense interest on something. As she slipped near them, trying to discover the center of attention, she couldn’t believe her eyes. Smack-dab in the middle of the circle was a group of baby skunks. She screamed at the top of her voice, “Children, run!” Then each kid grabbed a skunk and ran!”
5.2. At this time, Judea’s enemies were in all directions. Sanballat was the governor of Samaria and was north of Jerusalem. Tobiah was the governor of Ammon and east of Jerusalem. Geshem and the Arabs were south of Jerusalem. The Ashdodites were west of Jerusalem. All of these nations stood to lose sovereignty and influence, as well as trade, if the wall around Jerusalem was completed. The rumors that the wall was half completed caused all of these who had previous been enemies of each other to come together with the common cause of attacking the Judeans and stopping the work on the walls of the city. This diagram from Gene A. Getz Nehemiah commentary shows the enemies of the Judeans:
5.2.1. Things have not changed over time, have they? Even today, the people of this world will come together for only one purpose and that is to come against the Lord and His people.
5.3. We have to wonder whether the fact that these groups did not attack the Judeans at this time had to do with their fear of coming against King Artaxerxes I and the nation of Persia, or their worry about these very motivated and courageous Judeans who were being vigilant in guarding the gaps in the wall around the city.
6. VS 4:9 - “9 But we prayed to our God, and because of them we set up a guard against them day and night.” – Nehemiah’s response to the substantiated rumors that the enemies that surrounded Jerusalem and planned to attack were to set up a guard against them day and night
6.1. As an effective leader, Nehemiah always went to the Lord first with a need. When Nehemiah hears the rumor about the nations on all sides of them coming together to plan an attack, he gets the people together and writes here, ‘we prayed to our God.’
6.2. Sometimes we as Christians can become paranoid and overreact to our circumstances out of fear. Nehemiah simply has the people set up a guard night and day over the wall, and the work on the wall continued. As we see displayed in the life of Nehemiah, an effective leader leads God’s people to deal with the enemies and problems that do exist not those that are imaginary or could perhaps exist.
6.3. As an example of an effective leader, Nehemiah did not attempt to retaliate against those who were threatening him and giving him a hard time, he left all vengeance to the Lord.
7. VS 4:10-14 - “10 Thus in Judah it was said, “The strength of the burden bearers is failing, Yet there is much rubbish; And we ourselves are unable to rebuild the wall.” 11 Our enemies said, “They will not know or see until we come among them, kill them and put a stop to the work.” 12 When the Jews who lived near them came and told us ten times, “They will come up against us from every place where you may turn,” 13 then I stationed men in the lowest parts of the space behind the wall, the exposed places, and I stationed the people in families with their swords, spears and bows. 14 When I saw their fear, I rose and spoke to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people: “Do not be afraid of them; remember the Lord who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives and your houses.”” – At this half-way mark the people grew weary and their strength was failing, plus they saw that there was still much rubbish surrounding them as they worked, then, the continual rumors that were reported to them of an impending attack by their enemies caused the people to become discouraged and fearful, but Nehemiah stationed people with weapons in all of the exposed places in the walls and spoke to the people reminding them not to be fearful because the Lord is great and awesome and will fight for them
7.1. The midway point in any large project is a difficult place to be. You have already worked hard at that point, you have now realized that the project was larger than you originally calculated it to be, and the temptation is to see the difficulties that lay ahead of you as being bigger than they really are.
7.2. To these workers who are fatigued and struggling with discouragement and fear, and they now begin to see the rubbish that is around them from the work as being bigger than it actually is. They are so discouraged that they state that they ‘are unable to rebuild the wall,’ yet the reality is that they are making great progress and simply need to proper precautions to guard the wall and stay to the task.
7.3. I am surprised sometimes by the fact that many times Christians do not recognize that when they are tired that they are vulnerable to attack and temptation. Sometimes people just need to rest instead of trying to continue on with what they are doing.
7.4. The rumors that the people have been hearing about the plans of the enemy have now begun to have a cumulative effect upon the Judeans causing discouragement. The Judeans need Nehemiah to be a leader and come up with a better plan and encourage them, and being the leader that he is, Nehemiah is up to the task.
7.5. Nehemiah comes up with a plan that will bring out the greatest vigilance and courage from the people, he has them guard and be ready to fight right there with their own families. The people now are ready and willing to fight to the death because their very families are at stake.
7.6. James Montgomery Boice brings out that Nehemiah probably figured that Judea’s enemies would not make an all-out attack against them. On the other hand, he probably figured that some sort of gorilla warfare attacks might be encountered since Judea’s enemies would be able to deny any involvement in something like that, yet at the same time could discourage the Judean’s from their work. So, Nehemiah took the threats of imminent attack seriously.
7.7. As an effective leader, Nehemiah encourages the people by causing them to take their eyes off of their circumstances and put them on the Lord. He tells them to remember how great and awesome is their God.
7.8. As an example of an effective leader, Nehemiah was “enthusiastic,” about what God was doing and maintained a positive mental attitude. Many years ago, Henrietta Mears pointed out that the word “enthusiastic” has as its origin the Greek phrase, “God in us.” Very few Christian leaders have ever been effective who were not optimistic and enthusiastic about the Lord and the faith in Him.
7.9. Charles Swindoll includes in his Nehemiah commentary a story penned by Charles Edison about his father, Thomas Edison and how that his father was an inventor with a contagious determination and optimism:
“I especially recall a freezing December night in 1914, at a time when still unfruitful experiments on the nickel-iron-alkaline storage battery, to which Father had devoted much of ten years, had put him on a financial tightrope. Only profits from movie and record production were supporting the laboratory. On that December evening the cry of “Fire!” echoed through the plant. Spontaneous combustion had broken out in the film room. Within moments all the packing compounds, celluloid for records, film and other flammable goods had gone up with a whoosh. Fire companies from eight towns arrived, but the heat was so intense, and the water pressure so low, that the fire hoses had no effect.
When I couldn’t find Father, I become concerned. Was he safe? With all his assets going up in smoke, would his spirit be broken? He was 67, no age to begin anew. Then I saw him in the plant yard, running toward me.
“Where’s Mom?” he shouted, “Go get her! Tell her to get her friends! They’ll never see a fire like this again!”
At 5:30 the next morning, with the fire barely under control, he called his employees together and announced, “We’re rebuilding.” One man was told to lease all the machine shops in the area. Another, to obtain a wrecking crane from the Erie Railroad Company. Then, almost as an afterthought he added, “Oh, by the way. Anybody know where we can get some money?”
Later on he explained, “You can always make capital out of disaster. We’ve just cleared out a bunch of old rubbish. We’ll build bigger and better on the ruins.” With that he rolled up his coat for a pillow, curled up on a table and immediately fell asleep.”
Swindoll continues, “…we enjoy the microphone, the stereo, the incandescent light, the storage battery, talking movies, and more than a thousand other inventions. In addition to being a technological genius, he refused to be discouraged.”
7.10. One of the things that you do not want to do when you are struggling with discouragement is to go and talk with someone else who tends to be depressive and pessimistic. These kinds of conversations have drug down many a Christian who was already struggling with discouragement. Conversely, we who are Christians are to lay hold of the hope that we have in Christ and be motivated by our faith in God’s ability. I believe that the admonition that we as Christians are most reminded to do in the scriptures is to “encourage one another.” We are to bolster each other’s faith and courage in the Lord above all things.
7.11. Charles Swindoll writes about how project managers have identified the typical stages of any project:
· Enthusiasm
· Disillusionment
· Panic
· Search for the guilty
· Punishment of the Innocent
· Praise for the Nonparticipants
7.12. Then, Nehemiah musters the people to be ready to fight, telling them, ‘fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives and your houses.’
8. VS 4:15-18 - “15 When our enemies heard that it was known to us, and that God had frustrated their plan, then all of us returned to the wall, each one to his work. 16 From that day on, half of my servants carried on the work while half of them held the spears, the shields, the bows and the breastplates; and the captains were behind the whole house of Judah. 17 Those who were rebuilding the wall and those who carried burdens took their load with one hand doing the work and the other holding a weapon. 18 As for the builders, each wore his sword girded at his side as he built, while the trumpeter stood near me.” – When Judea’s enemies found out that the Judeans were armed and the wall fortified, they backed off, and the people returned to their building with half of them guarding the wall and the other half working , and those who were working held a weapon in one hand or girded to their side as they worked
8.1. When Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, and the Ashdodites heard that the Judeans had heard about their plan for attack and were now guarding the gaps in the wall and carrying weapons everywhere they went, they gave up on their plan to attack Jerusalem.
8.2. The enemy now had put so much pressure on the Judeans building the wall that only half of the people could work while the other half had to guard the wall holding ‘spears, the shields, the bows, and the breastplates.’ Plus, every single worker either carried a weapon all of the time in one hand or had a ‘sword girded at his side as he built.’
8.2.1. As an application, we as Christians need to serve the Lord in the ministries that He has for us. However, we also always need to keep in mind to beware of the wiles of the enemy who prowls around looking for a straying or weak sheep. We must constantly be expecting spiritual warfare and allowing the Lord to fight on our behalf in the spiritual realm.
8.2.2. You need to maintain proper weaponry and equipment as a Christian because you are in a spiritual warfare, just as we read in Ephesians 6:10-18: “10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. 14 Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints.”
8.3. The ‘trumpeter’ followed Nehemiah around wherever he went so that if the enemies of Judea attacked the workers, he could blow the trumpet and rally the people together to fight where the attack was occurring.
9. VS 4:19-21 - “19 I said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people, “The work is great and extensive, and we are separated on the wall far from one another. 20 “At whatever place you hear the sound of the trumpet, rally to us there. Our God will fight for us.” 21 So we carried on the work with half of them holding spears from dawn until the stars appeared.” – Nehemiah comes up with a plan for all of the people to come together to fight if a trumpet blast is heard, then encourages them again that God will fight for them, then, the workflow continued with half of the people working and half guarding the wall
9.1. As an example of an effective leader, Nehemiah leads the people to work together in unity as one and look out for each other as for their own families.
9.1.1. We as Christians need to realize that the Christian life is to be lived in community and that we truly need each other. In the New Testament we are told that whatever happens to one happens to all, when one is blessed we are all blessed, and when one struggles it affects the entire body. We in the Body of Christ need to always remain in fellowship, confess our sins to each other, and be committed to building each other up in Christ. This is what body life is all about. The working on the wall by the children of Israel resembles the functionality of the body of Christ in the New Testament.
9.2. As an example of an effective leader, Nehemiah keeps a proper balance between faith and action.
9.3. Nehemiah speaks to ‘the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people,’ and tells them that if they happen to hear the trumpet blow that this indicates that an attack is under way, and they are all supposed to rally together to come and fight as one.
9.4. Nehemiah again reminds the people that they are not alone in their struggle for, ‘God will fight for us.’
10. VS 4:22 - “22 At that time I also said to the people, “Let each man with his servant spend the night within Jerusalem so that they may be a guard for us by night and a laborer by day.”” – Those who lived outside of the gates of the city were admonished to spend their nights within the city wall along with everyone else so that the city could be guarded all night with the labor proceeding during the day
10.1. Nehemiah was looking out for everyone and thus here he tells those who lived outside of the walls of Jerusalem to spend the night within Jerusalem so that they themselves be protected, but also so that they might have an even better guard ‘by night and a laborer by day.’
11. VS 4:23 - “23 So neither I, my brothers, my servants, nor the men of the guard who followed me, none of us removed our clothes, each took his weapon even to the water.” – To encourage the people and be a servant leader, Nehemiah and his brothers and servants would not remove their clothes at any time and even took a weapon with them when they went to fetch water
11.1. As an example of an effective leader, Nehemiah used his own life as a servant leader. Nehemiah and his servants and the men of the guard did not even change their clothes from this point on so that they could be an example of vigilance, focus, and sacrifice. Nehemiah was willing to sacrifice in every way and to every degree that every other person in Jerusalem had to sacrifice.
11.2. Nehemiah, his servants, and the men of the guard even went so far as to take ‘his weapon even to the water.’
12. CONCLUSIONS:
12.1. Examples of an effective leader from our study:
12.1.1.An effective leader is one who knows how to divide up a large project into a number of small projects that can be delegated to others to complete.
12.1.2.An effective leader allows those under his leadership to have significant say in the things that they do.
12.1.3.An effective leader is one who has an understanding that timing is important. Important tasks must be done first, as with those tasks upon which other tasks depend.
12.1.4.An effective leader leads God’s people to deal with the enemies and problems that do exist not those that are imaginary or could perhaps exist.
12.1.5.An effective leader does not attempt to retaliate against those who are threatening him and giving him a hard time, he leaves all vengeance to the Lord.
12.1.6.An effective leader encourages people by causing them to take their eyes off of their circumstances and put them on the Lord.
12.1.7.An effective leader is “enthusiastic,” about what God is doing and maintains a positive mental attitude.
12.1.8.An effective leader leads people to work together in unity as one and look out for each other as for their own families.
12.1.9.An effective leader keeps a proper balance between faith and action.
12.1.10.An effective leader lives his own life as a servant leader.
12.2. As Nehemiah and the Judeans did, we as God’s people need to remember to always keep to the tasks we have been given by the Lord, not react in paranoia to imagined enemies or opposition, expect spiritual warfare when you are trying to rescue lives for Christ, and take every problem to the Lord as we continue to work and serve Him. Charles Swindoll sums this up by saying, “Hand me another brick.”