Page 18 - Principles of Leadership - Nehemiah

“One of the most meaningful terms to describe Yahweh’s character in the Old Testament is 'Covenant of love”
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(Exodus34:5-7). Nehemiah will pick up this thought of being a covenant-keeping God again in verse eight. But
he also reminds God about His graciousness with those who love Him and keep His commands. Here is where
we run into a problem. God is gracious, and He keeps His words and covenants. However, none of us keeps His
commandments, and we repeatedly break God's covenants. But God continues to pursue a love relationship
with every one of us. However, each and every one of us has a love problem. God says in John 14:15 that if you
love me, you will keep my commandments. “Obedience is the outward expression of your love for God…
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Therefore, if you have an obedience problem, you have a love problem.”

Nehemiah realized this problem and went on to say now, Lord, let Your eyes be open, and Your ears be
attentive to hear Your servant’s prayer that I now pray to You day and night for Your servants, the Israelites.
“The more I have studied the process of rebuilding, the more convinced I have become that one never rebuilds
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until he personally identifies with the need and weeps over the ruins.” He reminds God that he is willing to be
our Lord's servant. He speaks using anthropomorphic imagery of ears and eyes, evoking the Exodus context
where Yahweh saw and heard the cry of Israel when they were slaves in Egypt. He further builds upon this
imagery by reminding God that these people are Your servants, the Israelites. This is similar to the prayer of
Moses that is found in Exodus 32:11. With all of this in mind, we now come to look inward with penitence.

3. Looking inward with penitence (1:6b-7)
Nehemiah 1:6b I confess the sins we have committed against You. Both my father’s houses have sinned. 7 We
have acted corruptly toward You and have not kept the commands, statutes, and ordinances You gave Your
servant Moses.

Nehemiah says Lord, we have a real problem here, and it has nothing to do with your graciousness. I confess
the sins we have committed against you. Both my father’s houses have sinned. 7 We have acted corruptly
toward You and have not kept the commands. In this passage of scripture, we are introduced to something
that modern theologians call corporate confession. Notice how many times Nehemiah uses the plural pronoun
we. Nehemiah realized that “the beginning of leadership is a battle for the hearts and minds of men.” He was
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able to do this because he believed in something called corporate confession in his heart. “Notice the words'
we' and 'I.” The confession was not on behalf of someone else's failure. The confession had to do with
Nehemiah's part in the problem. What do we do when we conflict with another person? We usually blame the
other person (our fallen state coming through again). We usually think of six or seven ways the other person
has manifested his stubbornness and unwillingness to change, but we seldom consider our part in the problem.
But it works both ways. So, the very first thing Nehemiah said regarding the problem was, “Lord, I am culpable.
I am not only wanting to be part of the answer; I am confessing myself to be part of the problem.”
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“I plead with you, as you go before God in prayer concerning any unreasonable personality conflicts, have the
attitude reflected in these words: 'Lord, I bring before you these areas where I have irritated. This is my realm
of responsibility. I can't change him. But God, I can tell you that this is my part in it; forgive me." This attitude
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of corporate confession allowed Nehemiah to capture the hearts and minds of the people he would later work
with. Nehemiah refused to play the blame game that is so often played in churches, which hinders any
rebuilding process. He realized that “It only takes one person to get the entire rebuilding process started, and
he left a lasting legacy, testifying that one person willing to take the initiative can make a dramatic difference
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and be living proof that… It’s never too late for a new beginning!”

4. Looking back with gratitude (1:8-10)
Nehemiah 1:8 Please remember what You commanded Your servant Moses: “If you are unfaithful, I will
scatter you among the peoples. 9 But if you return to Me and carefully observe My commands, even though
your exiles were banished to the ends of the earth, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place
where I chose to have My name dwell.” 10 They are Your servants and Your people. You redeemed them by
Your great power and strong hand.

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