Page 66 - Principles of Leadership - Nehemiah

There are many other books to read that are of great value. Pilgrim’s Progress was written in 1678 by John
Bunyan in Bedfordshire prison. It is an allegory about a man named Christian who sought to find the way to the
Celestial City. It is considered one of the most important Christian classical books. I highly recommend it!

But the most important book I read daily is God’s Word, the Bible. I have read it hundreds of times, but I never
stop learning more about the Lord and how to walk in this life. Here are some famous quotes about the Bible:

“Nobody ever outgrows Scripture; the book widens and deepens with our years.” -Charles Spurgeon

“The Word of God, I think of as a straight edge, which shows up our own crookedness. We can’t really tell how
crooked our thinking is until we line it up with the straight edge of Scripture.” -Elisabeth Elliot.

“The Word of God, well understood and religiously obeyed, is the shortest route to spiritual perfection. And we
must not select a few favorite passages to the exclusion of others. Nothing less than a whole Bible can make a
whole Christian.” -A.W. Tozer

“I am profitably engaged in reading the Bible. Take all of this Book that you can by reason and the balance by
faith, and you will live and die a better man. It is the best Book which God has given to man.” -Abraham Lincoln.

Today in our study, we will find that the people in Jerusalem hungered for God’s Word to follow Nehemiah’s
leadership. Let’s discover the results….

The Lesson ...

Nehemiah 7:1-72
The Servants Convictions

In the last chapter, the people completed the walls, but Nehemiah’s work is far from being done. Now,
Nehemiah will begin overseeing social reforms that were desperately needed. Nehemiah realized that God’s
hand of judgment would fall upon the Jewish people without these social reforms. Therefore, keeping the main
thing the main thing, he begins by establishing leadership in critical positions to bring about the social reforms
that were so desperately needed. Again, we must remember that everything rises and falls upon leadership. If
any team area refuses to work together as a team, it will affect the entire team because it takes teamwork to
make the dream work. If the social reforms were to become a reality, Nehemiah would have to get the right
leaders in place in order to help lead the people into spiritual revival. But what would be the criteria that
Nehemiah would look for when appointing people to the various leadership positions?

1. Honor spiritual priorities (7:1)
When the wall had been rebuilt and I had the doors installed, the gatekeepers, singers, and Levites were
appointed.

In keeping with the leadership principle of keeping the main thing the main thing, Nehemiah starts by assigning
people to security and spiritual leadership positions. Gatekeepers were assigned for security reasons, and
singers and Levites were appointed to help lead the people in areas of spiritual worship. However, from
Nehemiah 13:22, the gatekeepers were not only responsible for the security of the city, but they were also
responsible for areas of worship. Nehemiah 13:22 Then I instructed the Levites to purify themselves and guard
the gates to keep the Sabbath day holy. (HCSB) We will discover in the latter chapters that there were major

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