Leadership Lessons From NehemiahSample

Day 9: Commit to a Local Church

In Nehemiah 8, the wall has been rebuilt, he's brought justice to the poor, and challenged the community to be more generous and manage their resources as the Lord had commanded them. Only then does he turn to Ezra to restore the people's souls. 

We read earlier that Ezra was part of earlier journeys back to Jerusalem and about how Nehemiah had helped get approval from the King to rebuild the wall, even when the King had explicitly stopped that work before. Nehemiah used his position of influence with the King to get the wall rebuilt but, when it’s time to restore the hearts of the people, he turns to Ezra.

In Chapter 8 of Nehemiah, Ezra and 13 other priests read the Scriptures to all the people as they gather at the "water gate". I think the location is important – they don't meet in the temple where the groups would have been segregated. Instead, every man, woman, and child old enough to understand gathers to hear Ezra read the Bible to them.

At this water gate, they build a huge platform where Ezra stands above everyone gathered and simply reads the Scripture to the people. Ezra also had 13 other priests to his left and his right, and 13 Levites below the platform among the people to explain the Scripture to them. Here in Nehemiah, we have the first example of small group bible studies! 

I read several different biblical scholars' interpretation of why Nehemiah includes this in his biography (after all, Ezra had his own Book) and why Nehemiah chose Ezra instead of himself to lead the reading and interpretation of Scripture. After all, it's clear when you read Nehemiah that he knows the Scriptures and is a gifted communicator and leader. I think Nehemiah does this and then includes it in his historical account of the 12 years of restoration for a very specific reason.

In Nehemiah's era, Jerusalem is ground zero for his faith. It is literally the Promised Land. From Abraham to Joseph to David to ultimately Solomon building the temple there, Jerusalem is holy ground. 

For us today, this is often seen as a preview of the capital C Church in Christianity. I believe that Nehemiah's biography including Ezra's reading of the Scriptures foreshadowed that the church needs to be restored not only by pastors and prophets but also by leaders of industry and statesmen. Perhaps even more importantly, each group needs to lean heavily on the other.

Ezra needed Nehemiah's leadership and credibility to help restore the wall, lead the people, and bring restoration. In today’s story, Nehemiah similarly leans on Ezra for church leadership.

I think today that the Lord would want many of us modern-day "Nehemiahs" to both stand up and support the Church in deeper and more meaningful ways but also turn to our church leaders for their support. In Nehemiah's era, this would have been Jerusalem. Today, this would be the local church. While that doesn't mean that all of us should be full-time vocational ministers, it does mean that God's church today is built with Nehemiahs and Ezras collaborating together. Regardless of which vision God has placed on your heart, stand up and lead with excellence but know you'll need the other group's support.