If we are honest, we can admit that we all fall short at times. We all have moments where we mess up. A fact that even rings true in terms of our walk with God. Sometimes we simply don’t serve God how we should. Or we slowly stop giving Him our all. This is why we all need someone in our lives like Nehemiah. A man who dedicates himself to the service of the Lord and has concern for his fellow Hebrews. Every Christian needs someone else in their life that they can lean on. Someone to lead them closer to God. Someone who isn’t afraid of the pressures surrounding them. Who is willing to call you out when you aren’t living correctly.
The first impression we receive of Nehemiah is that he is a man who loves the Lord with all his heart. We see him quickly turn to prayer and fasting after receiving a report concerning the rebuilding of Jerusalem. This theme carries throughout his story. We read of the many prayers he offered to the Lord. Prayers that concerned both his own needs as well as those of others. As Christians, we should attach ourselves to someone with a similar spirit to that of Nehemiah. We need someone in our lives given to prayer. That’s willing to not only bring their needs before the Lord but ours as well.
Nehemiah 1:4–11 (ESV)
4 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. 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, 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, confessing the sins of the people of Israel, which we have sinned against you. Even I and my father’s house have sinned.
7 We have acted very corruptly against you and have not kept the commandments, the statutes, and the rules that you commanded your servant Moses. 8 Remember the word that you commanded your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the peoples,
9 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.’ 10 THEY ARE YOUR SERVANTS AND YOUR PEOPLE, WHOM YOU HAVE REDEEMED BY YOUR GREAT POWER AND BY YOUR STRONG HAND. 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.”
NOW I WAS CUPBEARER TO THE KING.
Nehemiah 4:9 (ESV)
9 And we prayed to our God and set a guard as a protection against them day and night.
Nehemiah 6:13–14 (ESV)
13 For this purpose he was hired, that I should be afraid and act in this way and sin, and so they could give me a bad name in order to taunt me. 14 Remember Tobiah and Sanballat, O my God, according to these things that they did, and also the prophetess Noadiah and the rest of the prophets who wanted to make me afraid.
King Artaxerxes appoints Nehemiah as governor over Jerusalem. An appointment that seems to have been orchestrated by God in order to place a righteous leader over His people. Today God is still placing people in positions of leadership. In roles such as pastors, elders, teachers, and even parents. We don’t need to try to be our own authority. But accept the leading of those has God has placed in our lives. Follow their righteous example. Allow them to lead us to where we need to be with the Lord.
Nehemiah 2:1–6 (ESV)
1 In the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was before him, I took up the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had not been sad in his presence. 2 And the king said to me, “Why is your face sad, seeing you are not sick? This is nothing but sadness of the heart.” Then I was very much afraid. 3 I said to the king, “Let the king live forever! Why should not my face be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers’ graves, lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?”
4 Then the king said to me, “What are you requesting?” So I prayed to the God of heaven. 5 And I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers’ graves, that I may rebuild it.” 6 And the king said to me (the queen sitting beside him), “How long will you be gone, and when will you return?” So it pleased the king to send me when I had given him a time.
You may not think you need a spiritual leader in your life. But the simple truth is that every Christian does. No matter who they are or what position they hold. We all need to be accountable to someone and have someone we look to for leadership advice. Even the Apostle Paul who wrote much of the Bible still keep himself accountable to the other Apostles. So he could ensure he was not on the wrong track.
Galatians 2:1–2 (ESV)
1 Then after fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along with me. 2 I went up because of a revelation and set before them (though privately before those who seemed influential) the gospel that I proclaim among the Gentiles, in order to make sure I was not running or had not run in vain.
God chose Nehemiah because He knew he was someone who would consistently point the people back to Him no matter the circumstances. Which is exactly what Nehemiah did time and time again. When the pressure was placed on the people by others outside the city Nehemiah keep them focused. Leading them to complete the wall in only fifty-two days. Today there are a lot of voices in the world trying to distract the church from its mission. Hoping to throw us off our game and stop us from completing the work of the Lord. We each need someone in our life that will keep us focused on our true purpose. So we can accomplish the work God has given us.
Nehemiah 4:1–3 (ESV)
1 Now when Sanballat heard that we were building the wall, he was angry and greatly enraged, and he jeered at the Jews. 2 And he said in the presence of his brothers and of the army of Samaria, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they restore it for themselves? Will they sacrifice? Will they finish up in a day? Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of rubbish, and burned ones at that?” 3 Tobiah the Ammonite was beside him, and he said, “Yes, what they are building—if a fox goes up on it he will break down their stone wall!”
Nehemiah 4:11–12 (ESV)
11 And our enemies said, “They will not know or see till we come among them and kill them and stop the work.” 12 At that time the Jews who lived near them came from all directions and said to us ten times, “You must return to us.”
Nehemiah 4:14 (ESV)
14 And I looked and arose and said to the nobles and to the officials and to 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 homes.”
Nehemiah 6:15–16 (ESV)
15 So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of the month Elul, in fifty-two days. 16 And when all our enemies heard of it, all the nations around us were afraid and fell greatly in their own esteem, for they perceived that this work had been accomplished with the help of our God.
Unlike many in our world today Nehemiah was also willing to have tough conversations. He was not afraid to call people out for their sinful behavior. Instead, he stood strong and corrected the issues he saw amongst the people. Doing all that he could to turn them back to righteous God-focused living.
Nehemiah 5:6–12 (ESV)
6 I was very angry when I heard their outcry and these words. 7 I took counsel with myself, and I brought charges against the nobles and the officials. I said to them, “You are exacting interest, each from his brother.” And I held a great assembly against them 8 and said to them, “We, as far as we are able, have bought back our Jewish brothers who have been sold to the nations, but you even sell your brothers that they may be sold to us!” They were silent and could not find a word to say.
9 So I said, “The thing that you are doing is not good. Ought you not to walk in the fear of our God to prevent the taunts of the nations our enemies? 10 Moreover, I and my brothers and my servants are lending them money and grain. Let us abandon this exacting of interest. 11 Return to them this very day their fields, their vineyards, their olive orchards, and their houses, and the percentage of money, grain, wine, and oil that you have been exacting from them.” 12 Then they said, “We will restore these and require nothing from them. We will do as you say.” And I called the priests and made them swear to do as they had promised.
Nehemiah 13:10–13 (ESV)
10 I also found out that the portions of the Levites had not been given to them, so that the Levites and the singers, who did the work, had fled each to his field. 11 So I confronted the officials and said, “Why is the house of God forsaken?” And I gathered them together and set them in their stations. 12 Then all Judah brought the tithe of the grain, wine, and oil into the storehouses. 13 And I appointed as treasurers over the storehouses Shelemiah the priest, Zadok the scribe, and Pedaiah of the Levites, and as their assistant Hanan the son of Zaccur, son of Mattaniah, for they were considered reliable, and their duty was to distribute to their brothers.
Nehemiah 13:15–18 (ESV)
15 In those days I saw in Judah people treading winepresses on the Sabbath, and bringing in heaps of grain and loading them on donkeys, and also wine, grapes, figs, and all kinds of loads, which they brought into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. And I warned them on the day when they sold food. 16 Tyrians also, who lived in the city, brought in fish and all kinds of goods and sold them on the Sabbath to the people of Judah, in Jerusalem itself! 17 Then I confronted the nobles of Judah and said to them, “What is this evil thing that you are doing, profaning the Sabbath day? 18 Did not your fathers act in this way, and did not our God bring all this disaster on us and on this city? Now you are bringing more wrath on Israel by profaning the Sabbath.”
Nehemiah 13:23–27 (ESV)
23 In those days also I saw the Jews who had married women of Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab. 24 And half of their children spoke the language of Ashdod, and they could not speak the language of Judah, but only the language of each people. 25 And I confronted them and cursed them and beat some of them and pulled out their hair. And I made them take an oath in the name of God, saying, “You shall not give your daughters to their sons, or take their daughters for your sons or for yourselves.
26 Did not Solomon king of Israel sin on account of such women? Among the many nations there was no king like him, and he was beloved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel. Nevertheless, foreign women made even him to sin. 27 Shall we then listen to you and do all this great evil and act treacherously against our God by marrying foreign women?”
The church is not in need of spiritual leaders who simply witness sinful behavior and look the other way. No we all need leaders in our lives who see wrong behavior and speak up to correct it. We live under grace and in the New Covenant. But scripture still makes it clear that those who live in sin will not see Heaven. So we need people in our lives that are willing to point out the sins we have allowed to enter our lives. We need people who can correct our path and save us from blindly stumbling towards destruction.
1 Corinthians 6:9–10 (ESV)
9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
Matthew 7:13–14 (ESV)
13 “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.
Nehemiah was also a man willing to share in the workload. He didn’t simply expect others to complete the work while He sat back and relaxed. Instead, he got his hands dirty as well and did his part to complete the wall. In that, he didn’t make life hard on those he was leading. Unlike others who had held his position before him, he took no allowance of food from the people. True spiritual leaders concerned with the work of God will exhibit the same characteristics. Willing to do as they say and not overburden those who are following them.
Nehemiah 5:14–18 (ESV)
14 Moreover, from the time that I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year to the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes the king, twelve years, neither I nor my brothers ate the food allowance of the governor.
15 The former governors who were before me laid heavy burdens on the people and took from them for their daily ration forty shekels of silver. Even their servants lorded it over the people. But I did not do so, because of the fear of God. 16 I also persevered in the work on this wall, and we acquired no land, and all my servants were gathered there for the work. 17 Moreover, there were at my table 150 men, Jews and officials, besides those who came to us from the nations that were around us. 18 Now what was prepared at my expense for each day was one ox and six choice sheep and birds, and every ten days all kinds of wine in abundance. Yet for all this I did not demand the food allowance of the governor, because the service was too heavy on this people.
Nehemiah’s life also teaches us that we are never without a need for spiritual leadership in our lives. Even after we are lead by someone for years and everything seems in order that does not mean things will stay that way if they are removed from our lives. After living in Jerusalem for twelve years and accomplishing much Nehemiah returned to the king in Babylon. Soon though he returned to Jerusalem and to his shock found the people once again living in sin.
Nehemiah 13:6–9 (ESV)
6 While this was taking place, I was not in Jerusalem, for in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon I went to the king. And after some time I asked leave of the king 7 and came to Jerusalem, and I then discovered the evil that Eliashib had done for Tobiah, preparing for him a chamber in the courts of the house of God. 8 And I was very angry, and I threw all the household furniture of Tobiah out of the chamber. 9 Then I gave orders, and they cleansed the chambers, and I brought back there the vessels of the house of God, with the grain offering and the frankincense.
We will never reach a point in life that we don’t have the potential to return to our past sins. The truth is we always will need someone in our lives who keeps us accountable for our actions. Someone who is always pointing us to God! Otherwise, we could end up right back where we started before we even realize it. So if you lose a spiritual leader in your life for any reason don’t convince yourself that you don’t need to find another. Instead, search out a new godly influence who will help keep your life always pointed to God.
No matter what you may think to need a spiritual leader in your life like Nehemiah. Someone who is always in prayer, fasting, and study. A person who wants the best for you and all believers. Willing to stand up for the truth no matter what and combat the voices of the world. No Christian is good enough to walk through this world alone. We all need someone in our life like Nehemiah to help us stay on the right track. Remember the haunting words of Paul that can only help enforce this point.
1 Corinthians 10:12 (ESV)
12 Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.
Just remember that there are false teachers in this world. You have to be careful who you allow taking a role of leadership in your life. Jesus said you can identify people by their actions. In Nehemiah’s cases, his actions show that he was a righteous God-focused man. God places leadership in our lives but also there are many false teachers who try to take that role. Look over their life and ensure the leadership you have is truly righteous like Nehemiah was.
Matthew 7:15–20 (ESV)
15 Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. 18 A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.
Don’t try to navigate through life alone without anyone to guide you. Especially as you try to live for God and draw closer to Him. Search out someone who will be able to help you and lead you towards the right path. Correcting you when you mess up. Not for any other reason than that they want to see you live your best life for God. Find the person that will be the Nehemiah in your life and clings to them. Follow them as they follow Christ right down the narrow path that leads to salvation.
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