"Yourpeople will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age-old foundations; you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls" (Isa. 58:12).*
"The work of restoration and re form carried on by the returned exiles, under the leadership of Zerubbabel, Ezra, and Nehemiah, presents a picture of a work of spiritual restoration that is to be wrought in the closing days of this earth's history."1
Three grave spiritual problems confronted Israel as they returned from Babylonian captivity. First, the sin of materialism caused the Israelites to become lax toward God's cause, leading them to neglect the rebuilding of the Temple, to withhold their tithe and offerings, and even to break the Sabbath (see Neh. 10:31-39; 13:15-22).
Second, the Israelites lost a sense of vision for their larger mission. "With fatal shortsightedness they turned again and again from their glorious destiny and selfishly appropriated to themselves that which would have brought healing and spiritual life to countless multitudes." 2 "The chosen people did not become the light of the world, but shut them selves away from the world as a safe guard against being seduced into idolatry. The restrictions which God had given ... were so perverted as to build up a wall of partition . . . , thus shutting from others the very blessings which God had commissioned Israel to give to the world." 3
A third obstacle Israel faced was a lack of spiritual leadership. Nehemiah himself spoke of leaders who had problems with stewardship and who led the people toward an inward-focused, self-serving religion (see Neh.
13:1-11). Without Nehemiah's leadership the rebuilding of Jerusalem would have languished. What was so remarkable about Nehemiah's leadership style?
A leadership of vision
Nehemiah had a vision for his people. It was a God-given vision, not his own. To make this vision work, he had to deal with Israel's primary problems, and Nehemiah dealt with them head-on. He did not pander to materialism (see Neh. 5:10-14; 10:31- 39). He fought self-serving religion (see Neh. 4:6; 11:1,2). He worked for respect for spiritual leadership (see Neh. 12:44, 45). Nehemiah gave Israel a clear-cut goal, placing before them a measurable God-given objective. As a result, Israel "worked with all their heart" (Neh. 4:6). They responded zealously toward a common purpose. "If the leaders in the cause of truth show no zeal, if they are indifferent and purposeless, the church will be careless, indolent, and pleasure-loving; but if they are filled with a holy purpose to serve God and Him alone, the people will be united, hopeful, eager." 4
A leadership of prayer
Nehemiah was a person of prayer. Prayer was very much the source of his strength and the power behind his plans. At times for days he "mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven" (Neh. 1:4). "As he prayed a holy purpose formed in his mind." 5
A self-sacrificing leadership
Nehemiah set aside a secure career in the king's court to serve God and His people. Even as governor of Judea, he willingly worked on the wall alongside common laborers (see Neh. 4:23). He chose not to take many of the financial benefits that were due his office (see Neh. 5:14-18). He lent poor Israelites his own money with out interest (see verse 10). He even risked his life to see the wall completed (see Neh. 6:11).
A bold leadership
Nehemiah was so sure that his plan was God-inspired that he worked with great boldness and confidence. He ventured to ask the king for resources. He confronted the external op position, and faced Sanballat and Tobiah. But even more courageously, he faced every internal opposition to the cause of God.
In his first speech, he exhorted the Israelites to rebuild the wall that "we will no longer be in disgrace" (Neh. 2:17). Those are strong words. When the nobles and officials were exacting usury from poor Israelites, Nehemiah rebuked them even though he needed their support for building the wall (see Neh. 5:1-12).6
A delegating leadership
Nehemiah had enough confidence in the people to give them real responsibility and the necessary authority to carry out their assigned work. When the grassroots people were given this hands-on assignment, they worked diligently (see Neh. 3:5, 20).
The doctrines of the priesthood of believers and spiritual gifts have been in our midst for a long time, but where lies the real power and control? In the hands of the clergy. Ellen White strongly advocates using laypersons in carrying out God's tasks: "God can and will use those who have not had a thorough education in the schools of men. A doubt of His power to do this is manifest unbelief; it is limiting the omnipotent power of the One with whom nothing is impossible. Oh, for less of this uncalled-for, distrustful caution! It leaves so many forces of the church unused; it closes up the way so that the Holy Spirit cannot use men; it keeps in idleness those who are willing and anxious to labor in Christ's lines." 7
One program that has helped to delegate, and thus motivate, people in regard to frontier mission work is the Adopt-a-People program. Evangelical Christians have empowered local churches to "adopt" unreached people groups with the specific goal of planting indigenous churches. This entails recruiting, training, funding, sending, supporting, praying for, and overseeing their own frontier mission team until the goal is accomplished.
Those who would doubt the effectiveness of such a program may well consider the results. Already one half of the 12,000 unreached people groups have been adopted, with someone responsible for reaching them.
Isn't it time that we involve local churches in the task of reaching the unreached population segments by encouraging, coordinating, training, and enabling the laity for such responsibilities? The work will be finished the way it started with local churches taking the lead (see Acts 13:1-3).
An open-minded leadership
Consider how Nehemiah dealt with the problem of Sanballat and Tobiah. After the wall reached half its in tended height, Sanballat, Tobiah, and the rest of Israel's enemies threatened an outright attack on the city in order to stop the building. When Nehemiah heard about this, he decided to make some important adjustments. Half the men would stand as armed guards while the other half worked on the wall (see Neh. 4:6-8, 16). Nehemiah was open to making necessary adjustments when con fronted with new circumstances.
Our global mission requires openmindedness. With 40 percent of the world population still unreached by the gospel, we need courageous, openminded leaders who are willing to make adjustments and try innovative methods to fulfill the mission. Such a step may mean streamlining the organization or sacrificing some pet theories or shifting more people and resources into frontier areas, but the initiative must come from the leadership.
A leadership that keeps discipline After work began on the wall, Nehemiah needed to evaluate it. He found that the nobles of Tekoa "would not put their shoulders to the work" (Neh.3:5). He also found Baruch "zealously" repairing a section (see Neh. 3:20).
Upon his return from Persia, Nehemiah discovered that Eliashib the priest had provided Tobiah a room in the Temple. "Not only had the temple been profaned, but the offerings had been misapplied. This had tended to discourage the liberalities of the people. They had lost their zeal and fervor, and were reluctant to pay their tithes." 8
Nehemiah promptly rebuked the erring leaders and replaced them with trustworthy men. Then "all Judah brought the tithes . . . into the store rooms" (Neh. 13:12). A leadership that believes in discipline and administers it without fear or favor can do much in building confidence in the mission of the church.
Communicating leadership
"Nehemiah bore a royal commission requiring the inhabitants to co operate with him in rebuilding the walls of the city, but he did not de pend upon the exercise of authority. He sought rather to gain the confidence and sympathy of the people." 9
After his arrival in Jerusalem, Nehemiah first assessed the situation for himself by looking it over. Be cause of this thorough preparation, "he was able to speak of the condition of the city with an accuracy and a minuteness that astonished his hearers." 10 He also communicated with the people "about the gracious hand of ... God upon" him and "what the king had said" to him (Neh. 2:18).
Communication and a constant link with God helped establish his author ity and leadership with his people. "Nehemiah's whole soul was in the enterprise he had undertaken. His hope, his energy, his enthusiasm, his determination, were contagious, inspiring others with the same high courage and lofty purpose. Each man be came a Nehemiah in his turn and helped to make stronger the heart and hand of his neighbor." 11
Nehemiah's leadership proved contagious. With his commitment to the stewardship and mission of God's cause, with his style of leadership, many in turn became Nehemiahs themselves.
What of today? With the potential of almost eight million Nehemiahs in our midst, with the promise of the Holy Spirit ever present, is there any thing too difficult for the Seventh-day Adventist Church to accomplish? "The God of heaven is pleading with His erring children to return to Him, that they may again cooperate with Him in carrying forward His work in the earth. They are to reveal an unselfish interest in the building up of His work in all parts of the world." 12
* All Scripture passages in this article are from the New International Version.
1. Ellen G. White, Prophets and Kings (Mountain View, Calif.: Pacific Press Pub. Assn., 1943), p. 677.
2. Ibid. p. 705.
3. Ibid. p. 708.
4. Ibid. p. 676.
5. Ibid. p. 629.
6. Ibid. p. 648.
7. ______, Testimonies for the Church (Mountain View, Calif.: Pacific Press Pub. Assn., 1948), vol. 9, p. 259.
8. ______, Prophets and Kings, p. 670.
9. Ibid., p. 637.
10. Ibid.
11. Ibid., p. 638.
12. Ibid., pp. 706-708.
