Nehemiah: a man of ability, courage, and action!

The son of Azbuk, a prince of Beth Zur. Restorer of the wall of Jerusalem, (Neh. 3:16). The leader of the returning exiles under Zerubbabel (Ezr. 2:2 and Neh. 7:7). Cupbearer to King Araxerxes (Neh. 1:11 and 2:1) Opposed by Sanballat, Tobiah and Geshem. Compassionate and defender of the poor, (Neh. 5:10). Reformed the teaching of Moses’ law and led the people to a great prayer of confession, (Neh. 9). Thought the people how to handle both sword and trowel in the rebuilding of a great wall.

What I see in Nehemiah:

He was concerned about his people:

Neh. 1:2 Hanani, one of my brothers, came from Judah with some other men, and I questioned them about the Jewish remnant that had survived the exile, and also about Jerusalem.

Neh. 2:2 so the king asked me, “Why does your face look so sad when you are not ill? This can be nothing but sadness of heart.”

He was a man of prayer:

Neh. 1:4 When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven.

Neh. 2:4 The king said to me, “What is it you want?” Then I prayed to the God of heaven, …

He has God’s favour:

Neh. 2:8 And may I have a letter to Asaph, keeper of the royal park, so he will give me timber to make beams for the gates of the citadel by the temple and for the city wall and for the residence I will occupy?” And because the gracious hand of my God was on me, the king granted my requests. 

Neh. 2:18 I also told them about the gracious hand of my God on me and what the king had said to me.

He had vicious enemies:

Neh. 2:10 When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard about this, they were very much disturbed that someone had come to promote the welfare of the Israelites.

Neh. 2:19 But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official and Geshem the Arab heard about it, they mocked and ridiculed us. “What is this you are doing?” they asked. “Are you rebelling against the king?”

He was a man of vision:

Neh 2:17-18 Then I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace.” I also told them about the gracious hand of my God on me and what the king had said to me.

He was a man of strategy:

Neh. 2:12 I set out during the night with a few others. I had not told anyone what my God had put in my heart to do for Jerusalem. There were no mounts with me except the one I was riding on. (Neh. 3)

Neh. 4:19-20 Then I said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people, “The work is extensive and spread out, and we are widely separated from each other along the wall. Wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet, join us there. Our God will fight for us!”

He was a man with confidence:

Neh. 2:20 I answered them by saying, “The God of heaven will give us success. We his servants will start rebuilding, but as for you, you have no share in Jerusalem or any claim or historic right to it.”

Neh. 6:8 I sent him this reply: “Nothing like what you are saying is happening; you are just making it up out of your head.”

He was a man of compassion:

Neh. 5:6-7 When I heard their outcry and these charges, I was very angry. I pondered them in my mind and then accused the nobles and officials. I told them, “You are charging your own people interest!” So I called together a large meeting to deal with them …

Neh. 5:15 But the earlier governors—those preceding me—placed a heavy burden on the people and took forty shekels of silver from them in addition to food and wine. Their assistants also lorded it over the people. But out of reverence for God I did not act like that.

He was a man of provision:

Neh. 6:3…But they were scheming to harm me; so I sent messengers to them with this reply: “I am carrying on a great project and cannot go down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and go down to you?”

Neh. 6:15 So the wall was completed on the twenty-fifth of Elul, in fifty-two days.

He was a man who honour God: 

Neh. 6:16 When all our enemies heard about this, all the surrounding nations were afraid and lost their self-confidence, because they realized that this work had been done with the help of our God.

Neh. 7:2 I put in charge of Jerusalem my brother Hanani, along with Hananiah the commander of the citadel, because he was a man of integrity and feared God more than most people do. (Neh. 8 and 9)

He was a leader:

All in all, what I have seen in Nehemiah is a character of a great leader that we learn a lot from his life. He was a governor who lived from 444BC to about 410 BC. It is written in history that Nehemiah cooperated with Ezra who restored the temple of God, especially in the public instruction in the law (Neh. 8), that makes him a great leader.

We need many Nehemiahs who are men of ability, courage and action!!

Sources: NIV bible and Zondervan All-In-One bible reference guide copy right 2008.