Page 69 - Principles of Leadership - Nehemiah

idolatry. Hedonism is a school of thought that argues that pleasure is the only intrinsic good. In very simple
terms, a hedonist strives to maximize net pleasure. How different this mindset is from that of our Lord, who
found his pleasure in the will of the Father. But surrendering to the will of the Father caused Him to abandon
the pleasures of this life for the sake of a servant of others. Mark 10:45 For even the Son of Man did not come
to be served, but to serve, and to give His life—a ransom for many. (HCSB) (See also Philippians 2:4-8)

The Holman commentary echoes this same warning. “Placing the last stone into the wall did not end the
opposition. Most disturbing was the compromise and damage caused by the opposition. Most disturbing was
the compromise and damage caused by Jewish leaders in Jerusalem. Their self-interest took precedence over
the community of God. As many of the Jews returned to faithful obedience and worship of the Lord, others held
tenaciously to alliances and business deals that could damage Nehemiah’s reformation efforts.” 182 Warren
Wiersbe words it this way, “If God’s people don’t protect what they have accomplished for the Lord, the enemy
will come in and take it over.” 183 Again, Raymond Brown believes that guards and gatekeepers need to cry out
against the four things: pluralism, hedonism, materialism, and relativism that shape contemporary values.
These values stand in direct opposition to servanthood, sacrifice, and surrender to the will of the Father. We
must remember that “Every Christian ministry is one short generation away from destruction, and God’s people
must be on guard.” 184

Notice the three commands Nehemiah gave to these gatekeepers. First, he said Do not open the gates of
Jerusalem until the sun is hot. The gates were to remain closed well into the morning hours. Second, they were
to let the doors be shut and securely fastened while the guards were on duty. Two different interpretations
are given for this command. Some interpret this passage to mean that the gates were to remain closed with the
bars securely fastened and only opened upon request after the sun was hot. Or that the guards on duty were
to make sure that the doors were securely fastened as part of their duty. The third part of the duty of the
guards was that they were responsible for stationing the citizens of Jerusalem as guards, some at their posts
and some at their homes.

4. Encourage strategic planning (7:4)
The city was large and spacious, but there were few people in it, and no houses had been built yet.

Notice how Nehemiah describes the city of Jerusalem. The city was large and spacious, but there were few
people in it. Years of destruction had taken a toll on the city, and most of the people had fled the city to live in
other places that would provide better opportunities and a more secure environment to raise a family. Like it or
not, that is what is happening in many of our inner cities today. Drugs, violence, and poverty are the norm, and
many people are looking for a better life. Therefore, in the West, people are looking for ways to flee our inner
cities in search of the same thing that those in Nehemiah’s day were looking for. In Africa, many are leaving
rural settings and fleeing to the cities in hopes of gaining employment. Nehemiah was left with the opportunity
to build houses that had not been built yet and to repopulate the city. Today, as in the days of Nehemiah, we
must look again at neighboring our cities so that we can rebuild our inner cities. If we do not want to re-
neighbor our neighborhoods, rebuilding our churches and inner cities will be impossible.

“Nehemiah realized that a major exercise like repopulating a city could not be achieved as easily and speedily as
rebuilding Jerusalem’s walls. Far too much was involved. He was no longer organizing a temporary workforce.
He was expecting people to uproot themselves from familiar surroundings to live in a totally different social
environment. Most of them would be moving from small rural communities, where they knew everybody, to an
urban context; it meant forsaking neighbors and friends of long standing. It was not easy to plan or carry into
effect, but he knew it was vital if the city was to prosper economically and develop socially.” 185

5. Identify the people (7:5-60)

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