Leader Power
Let us rebuild
Key Scripture: Nehemiah Chapter 13
Key Thought: Without the right kind of leadership, a community will inevitably regress into selfdestructive behaviors. It is therefore our responsibility to choose the right kind of leaders and to be the right kind of leaders.
Introduction: Leadership that Revives vs Leadership that Backslides
Chapter 13 tells the story of further reforms that Nehemiah undertook in the land of Judah. As you read through the varied actions that he took to bring a wholistic revival in the Nation they sound repetitive-this is because they are. After an absence from Judah, of what may have been several years, Nehemiah returns to Judah and in essence has found that the nation is backslidden. Once again, he finds that the people are ignoring the sanctity of the Sabbath and not paying their tithes despite their promises to do so. In part due to this the religious workers have stopped functioning and the Temple, the center of Jewish religious life, was neglected. In addition the people had once again began to intermarry.1 To add insult to injury, some of the Temple rooms had been given over to one of Israel’s enemies, Tobiah, for personal use because he had a deal and a relationship with the leadership of the priesthood.
It is in this context that Nehemiah has to once again reinstitute reforms. He has to do what he did before. He has a particular cutting rebuke to the leadership and the nobles of the land in vs (17) he says why are you profaning the Sabbath in this way. Nehemiah therefore represents a stark contrast of leadership the leadership of the Nobles that were running things in his absence
and His kind of leadership. Two leadership profiles are presented here, the leadership of Nehemiah who presided over revival and the leadership of the nobles that presided over backsliding.
From this story, as we prepare to choose our own National leadership, we want to learn a few lessons about the kind of leadership we need. Our thesis is that it is the kind of leadership that Nehemiah displayed.
The Kind of Leadership that We Need
- We Need Leadership that is Consistent in Righteousness
Nehemiah had departed for an extended period of time-anywhere from 1 year to 10 years or more before he eventually returns for this second term as Governor. When he comes back his concern is just as pressing just as urgent as it was all those years earlier when he first became governor of Judah, he has an overriding concern to establish righteousness in the land. His cry is “why?” Why have the leaders and the people done evil and departed from following the Law of the land and of God. He had this unrelenting concern because as
a civic leader he knew that righteousness was tied to the prosperity of the nation.
This is the kind of leader Israel needed. This is the kind of Leader Malawi needs.
We must reject the notion that righteousness is reserved for the religious sphere. The
scripture says;
Righteousness exalts a nation,
but sin is a reproach to any people. Proverbs 14:34
In contrast to this scripture this erroneous perspective holds that faith belongs in church and not at work. It is the idea that our faith commitment that our understanding of right and wrong, moral and immoral should not in some way impact in our law, our policies, and our public practices. Is a notion that is alien to Biblical Christianity, but I would want to put forward to you as well is logically and philosophically bankrupt.
Nehemiah was consistent in his righteousness.
- We Need Leadership that is Passionate About the People
Nehemiah was deeply passionate about the vision that God had given him of a Nation rebuilt. This vision was the driver of his passion. If the vision could be achieved of a nation that followed the good law of God, then he knew that his people who he cared about so much, God’s People, would prosper and flourish in the land. He was so passionate that it resulted in great anger (see 13:25) and he remained angry until the people pledged to change their ways.
This is the kind of leader Israel needed. This is the kind of Leader Malawi needs.
Passionate about the people. There must be a sense that our leaders have some level of personal care about us. That they are passionate to see the fulfillment of key targets and objectives, to see the vision for governance achieved and that underlying that commitment is the belief that when the objectives of his government are achieved, the life of people will be made better.
Nehemiah was passionate about the vision.
- We Need Leadership that is Diligent in Work
There are several episodes within this chapter that demonstrate the diligence of Nehemiah. With every problem that was noted he was diligent to map out remedial action and ensure that it was taken. He was diligent in making sure that the people followed through on the actions that had been agreed.
IssueRemedial ActionTemple Rooms Abused and given to Israel’s
EnemiesAnd I was very angry, and I threw all the household furniture of Tobiah out of the chamber. 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.
The Work of the Temple NeglectedThen I called all the Levites back again and restored them to their proper duties.
Business was taking place on the Sabbath in Contradiction to the lawThen I commanded that the gates of Jerusalem should be shut as darkness fell every Friday evening, not to be opened until the Sabbath ended. I sent some of my own servants to guard the gates so that no merchandise could be brought in on the Sabbath day.Men of Judah had married foreign wivesSo, I confronted them and called down curses on them. I beat some of them and pulled out their hair. I made them swear in the name of God that they would not let their children intermarry with the pagan people of the land.
Nehemiah was not just a talker, he was also a doer. He was a man of action. Not only was he diligent in his action, he was diligent to ensure that those that worked for him followed through as well. He was diligent to make sure as well that the right people were appointed.
I assigned supervisors for the storerooms: Shelemiah the priest, Zadok the scribe, and Pedaiah, one of the Levites. And I appointed Hanan son of Zaccur and grandson of Mattaniah as their assistant. These men had an excellent reputation, and it was their job to make honest distributions to their fellow Levites. 13:13
This is the kind of Leadership Israel Needed. This is the kind of leadership Malawi needs.
Nehemiah was diligent in his work.
4. We Need Leadership that is Self-Aware
The book of Nehemiah is interspersed with “Remember prayers”. Most of the time Nehemiah prays to God “remember me” but on other occasions he prays remember my enemies. In Chapter 13 there are three “Remember Prayers” vs 14, 22, 29. The prayer that is captured in vs 22 is of particular note
Remember this good deed also, O my God! Have compassion on me according to your great and unfailing love. 10:22-NLT
Remember me, O my God, concerning this also, and spare me according to the greatness of Your mercy! -NKJV
In making this Remember Prayer to God after he has restored the sanctity of the sabbath, he demonstrates an awareness of the reality that even the remembrance of God that he seeks as a result of what he has done, is foundationally rooted in the grace of God. Nehemiah has already demonstrated that he is fully aware that he personally is a sinner in need of mercy (1:6). His commitment to righteousness did not signify that he had attained a state of faultlessness or that he was fully deserving of gifts that he sought from God, he was selfaware not just of himself but also of the historical and present-day weaknesses of the community.
The Kind of leaders that we need are those that are fully attuned to the totality and complexity of who they are and are fully attuned to the totality and complexity of the communities that they lead.
Self-aware leaders are able to go back and look into the most painful chapters of our history not to stoke up age old hurts, nor to attempt to justify what cannot be justified but rather to say may God heal us.
Self-aware leadership was the kind of leadership Israel needed. Self-aware leadership is the kind of leadership Malawi needs.
Conclusion
- Leadership that is Consistent in Righteousness
- Leadership that is Passionate About the People
- Leadership that is Diligent in Work
- Leadership that is Self-Aware
I believe that God has already prepared the kind of leader that we need. I believe we will get that leader and that on or before the 3rd of July he will be sworn in and therein will commence a new.