Page 73 - Principles of Leadership - Nehemiah

Connect…

How many times have you read through the whole Bible? If you only read it occasionally, probably not many
times. But if you study it diligently, perhaps several times. We tend to concentrate on historical books because
they are more interesting. Then we concentrate on the letters of Paul and the other apostles because they
relate to us today. But we often overlook the prophets, both major and minor. They tend to be redundant.
When Ezra and Nehemiah came to Jerusalem, the people neglected the Scriptures. It was almost foreign to
them.

True change comes by applying the words of Scripture to our lives. If Nehemiah and Ezra hoped to bring
reformation to the people, then they had to bring God’s Word to the people. Today, we will see how they
began the process of helping the people understand and apply God’s Word in their lives…

The Lesson ...

B. Reforming the Community (8:1-13:31)

Ezra and Nehemiah both begin with building projects and then turn to reformations that are needed in the
community.
Ezra 1-6 Rebuilding the Temple
Ezra 7-10 Reforming the Community
Nehemiah 1-6 Rebuilding the Wall
Nehemiah 7-13 Reforming the Community

Nehemiah (8:1-18) Bring out the Book.

In the Hebrew Scriptures, the books of Ezra and Nehemiah are one book. However, in our English-speaking
Bibles, the books are separated. There is some debate on whether Nehemiah is written in chronological order
or not. The Holman Old Testament Commentary says this. “Various views are held about the historical context
of Nehemiah 8-10. The data available does not conclusively decide the issue, though it favors placing the events
of these chapters in the time period between Ezra 8 and 9, shortly after Ezra arrived in Jerusalem.” 189
Therefore, Nehemiah 7 will pick up again in Nehemiah 11. However, others hold a different position because of
the internal evidence found in Nehemiah 8:9, which says. Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe,
and the Levites who were instructing the people, said to all of them… If this passage goes back 14 years to the
return of Ezra in chapter 7, then how is Nehemiah the governor there? I would lean towards this position and
believe that the same issues had to be dealt with again in the book of Nehemiah. Therefore, many would hold
to the position that Nehemiah 8 is a chronological continuation of this book. This led to a leadership challenge
that Saint Augustine (354-430) dealt with in hammering out doctrinal differences in the early church. How does
the church deal with differences in the interpretation of the scriptures? Augustine is attributed with making this
suggestion. He said, in essential doctrines, there must be unity; in non-essential doctrines, we must deal with
each other with tolerance, and in all things, we must demonstrate love.

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