Page 99 - Principles of Leadership - Nehemiah

Nehemiah 12:27-47

Nehemiah 12:27 At the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem, they sent for the Levites wherever they lived and
brought them to Jerusalem to celebrate the joyous dedication with thanksgiving and singing accompanied by
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cymbals, harps, and lyres. The singers gathered from the region around Jerusalem, from the villages of the
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Netophathites, from Beth-gilgal, and from the fields of Geba and Azmaveth, for they had built villages for
themselves around Jerusalem. After the priests and Levites had purified themselves, they purified the
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people, the gates, and the wall. Then I brought the leaders of Judah up on top of the wall, and I appointed
two large processions that gave thanks. One went to the right on the wall, toward the Dung Gate.
32 Hoshaiah and half the leaders of Judah followed: Azariah, Ezra, Meshullam, Judah, Benjamin,
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Shemaiah, and Jeremiah. Some of the priests’ sons had trumpets: Zechariah, son of Jonathan,
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son of Shemaiah, son of Mattaniah, son of Micaiah, son of Zaccur, son of Asaph, and his relatives:
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Shemaiah, Azarel, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethanel, Judah, and Hanani, with the musical instruments of David,
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the man of God. Ezra the scribe went in front of them. At the Fountain Gate, they climbed the steps of the
city of David on the ascent of the wall [and went] above the house of David to the Water Gate on the east.
38 The second thanksgiving procession went to the left, and I followed it with half the people along the top of
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the wall, past the Tower of the Ovens to the Broad Wall, above the Gate of Ephraim, and by the Old Gate,
the Fish Gate, the Tower of Hananel, and the Tower of the Hundred, to the Sheep Gate. They stopped at the
Gate of the Guard. The two thanksgiving processions stood in the house of God. So [did] I and half of the
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officials accompanying me, as well as the priests: Eliakim, Maaseiah, Miniamin, Micaiah, Elioenai,
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Zechariah, and Hananiah, with trumpets; and Maaseiah, Shemaiah, Eleazar, Uzzi, Jehohanan, Malchijah,
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Elam, and Ezer. Then the singers sang, with Jezrahiah as the leader. On that day, they offered great
sacrifices and rejoiced because God had given them great joy. The women and children also celebrated, and
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Jerusalem’s rejoicing was heard far away. On that same day, men were placed in charge of the rooms [that
housed] the supplies, contributions, first fruits, and tenths. The legally required portions for the priests and
Levites were gathered from the village fields because Judah was grateful to the priests and Levites who were
serving. They performed the service of their God and the service of purification, along with the singers and
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gatekeepers, as David and his son Solomon had prescribed. For long ago, in the days of David and Asaph,
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there were leaders of the singers and songs of praise and thanksgiving to God. So in the days of Zerubbabel
and Nehemiah, all Israel contributed the daily portions for the singers and gatekeepers. They also set aside
daily portions for the Levites, and the Levites set aside daily portions for the descendants of Aaron.

Next-generation leadership realizes the importance of celebrating the Lord's glory through the practice of
public worship. Celebrating God’s glory through public acts of worship goes all the way back to the days of
Nehemiah and before. “Christians in the Reformed traditions have described it as the main purpose of human
existence: our chief end glorifies God and enjoys him forever.” 215 There has been a lot written on the subject of
worship and the various styles of worship since the baby boom revival of the late 1960s, which ushered in
contemporary Christian music and worship. Jack Hayford writes in his book Majesty that he believes that the
next revival to sweep the church will be spearheaded by a renewal of worship. If Jack Hayford is right, then this

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