Israel had come through some dark days, but finally, there was a glimmer of hope. After 70 years in Babylonian exile, the Persian Empire had conquered the Babylonians and passed an edict that allowed the Israelites to return to their homeland, the Promised Land that God had given to their forefathers. Some of the people had returned and were trying to get Israel back on its feet, but progress was slow. Even though the temple had been rebuilt, the walls around Jerusalem were still heaps of rubble and the gates were still a charred crisp; they had been this way for 140 years, and no one had done a thing about it.
Nehemiah was an Israelite still living in Susa, one of the capitals of the Persian Empire. He had risen to the prestigious position of cupbearer to King Artaxerxes. One day, Nehemiah’s brother, Hanani, returned to Susa from Jerusalem with a report on the condition of the city. When Nehemiah heard the report, he was inspired to go to Jerusalem to rebuild the walls and improve the condition of the people. King Artaxerxes appointed him governor over the land of Judah and he ruled for twelve years. The Lord was with him and he was able to accomplish many things that others could not. He was a good governor!
There are many things that we can learn from the Book of Nehemiah, but today I would like to focus on Nehemiah’s leadership. Throughout the book, we see the various character qualities that made Nehemiah such a good governor. As we look at these seven qualities today, I would like for you to think about this: If God has called you to a leadership role, these are qualities that you should be emulate. If God has called you to a supporting role, these are qualities that you should look for in a leader, whether you are choosing a political leader, community leader, business leader, religious leader!
Since its debut in 1989, Steven Covey has sold over 15 million copies of his influential book The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. I wonder how many copies my sermon Nehemiah: Seven Qualities of a Good Governor I will sell? Whether I sell any or not, let’s take a look at these seven qualities of a good governor!
7 Qualities of a Good Governor
1.) Trustworthiness (1:11)
A trustworthy person is someone who is reliable, responsible, and can be trusted completely. Trustworthiness is the bedrock of credibility and it is built through honesty and dependability over a long period of time. It is an essential quality for good leadership!
How do we know that Nehemiah was trustworthy? Look at 1:11 where Nehemiah tells us that he was cupbearer to the king. The cupbearer was responsible for tasting the king’s wine before every meal to make sure that it didn’t contain any poison. It was a high ranking and prestigious position because the king had to literally trust the cupbearer with his life. The fact that a Persian king would appoint an Israelite to the position of cupbearer shows that Nehemiah was completely trustworthy.
How trustworthy are you? How honest are you? How reliable are you? When choosing a leader, make sure he or she is someone who keeps their word!
2.) Compassion (1:1-4)
Compassion is a deep awareness of the suffering of another and a genuine desire to relieve it. You can be a leader without compassion, but not a very good one. A good leader seeks to improve the condition of the people he or she is leading.
We see Nehemiah’s compassion in 1:1-4. When he heard the report that the walls of Jerusalem were still broken, his own heart broke and he sat down and wept. He mourned and fasted and prayed for some days because his people were in a state of disgrace and they didn’t have any protection from their enemies. His compassion for his people compelled him to leave the comforts of Persia to improve the condition of Jerusalem.
How compassionate are you? Does your heart break over the suffering of the people under you and around you? When was the last time you were brought to tears by the condition of another person? Wouldn’t you want to follow someone who actually cares about your wellbeing?
3.) Prayer (1:5-11; 2:4-5)
As with compassion, a person can be a leader without prayer, but he or she can’t be a good one. When leaders disconnect the physical world from the spiritual world, they miss so much of life. Prayer displays personal humility and dependence on the divine. When one doesn’t know the answer to a problem, they at least need to know where to go to get the answer.
Nehemiah was a man of prayer. Throughout the book of Nehemiah, we see him praying all the time. Most of chapter 1 is his prayer for the people of Israel. In 2:4-5, we see him praying before he asked King Atraxerxes to allow him to go and rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. In 4:9, he prayed for protection from their enemies. In 6:9, he prayed for strength to complete his work. He constantly relied upon God and he was a good governor.
During the Civil War a friend of Abraham Lincoln was a visitor at the White House. “One night I was restless and could not sleep. . . From the private room where the President slept, I heard low tones. Instinctively I wandered in, and there I saw a sight which I have never forgotten. It was the President kneeling before an open Bible. His back was toward me. I shall never forget his prayer: “Oh, Thou God that heard Solomon in the night when he prayed and cried for wisdom, hear me. . . . I cannot guide the affairs of this nation without Thy help. Hear me and save this nation.'”
Isn’t it interesting to think about how our county’s perspective on prayer has changed? One hundred and fifty years ago Abraham Lincoln was revered for his praying; two months ago Texas Governor Rick Perry was ridiculed for hosting a prayer rally. Are you a person of prayer?
4.) Action (2:4-20; 4:9)
The flipside to a good leader being a person of prayer is being a person of action, and Nehemiah had the perfect balance. He prayed about everything before he did anything, but then he moved toward action. He wasn’t a person that was so heavenly minded that he was of no earthly good.
After Nehemiah prayed, he asked King Artaxerxes for permission to leave his service to go and rebuild the walls around Jerusalem. Then, he went to Jerusalem, inspected the walls, formed a plan, communicated it to the people, challenged the people to rebuild the walls, and assured them that God would give them success.
Later, when the workers were faced with threats of an invasion from their neighboring enemies, Nehemiah coupled prayer with action again by posting guards day and night to meet the threat. Nehemiah was a good leader because he was a person of action.
There is an old story preachers tell about a man trapped on the top of his house during a flood or hurricane or tsunami (insert your own natural disaster). The water is swiftly rising. As this man sits on his roof, fearful of being swept away by the current, he cries out to God, “God please deliver me.”
A few moments later, a farmer friend arrives with his boat. “Hey, friend, want a ride to safety?” he asks. “No,” replies the man on top of his house. “God is going to deliver me.”
An hour later, the water is up to the gutters. A voluntary rescue person comes by on his yellow raft. “Hey, let’s get you off of there—and on to safety,” he yells. But the man on top of his house refuses to go. “God is going to deliver me.”
Another hour passes and now the water is halfway up the roof. Roof Man is now on top of his chimney, nervously looking down at certain death and destruction. Fortunately, another volunteer swings by in a canoe and offers to ride Roof Man to safety. But Roof Man refuses. “No, God is going to deliver me.”
A couple of hours pass by and the water sweeps over the top of Roof Man’s house. He is carried away by the current and drowns. When he gets to Heaven, he meets Jesus and says, “I though you were going to deliver me.” Jesus looks down at Roof Man and says, “I sent a boat, an inflatable raft, and a canoe—but you refused each one.”
Like faith and deeds, prayer must accompany action! We don’t pray for rescue and then refuse help! We don’t pray for healing and then refuse medicine. We don’t pray for someone’s soul and then refuse to tell them about Jesus. A good leader balances prayer and action! How well do you balance the two?
5.) Fearlessness (2:3; 6:1-14)
Fearlessness doesn’t necessarily mean absence of fear, but not being hindered by fear. Some people live their lives paralyzed by fear. They are so afraid that they don’t do anything. Fear often holds people back from doing all that God wants them to do. Do you know that the Bible contains the phrase “Don’t be afraid” over 100 times?
We see Nehemiah’s fearlessness in two places. First, in chapter 2, he asked King Artaxerxes for permission to return Jerusalem to rebuild its walls. When one is cupbearer to the king, you don’t just ask for permission to take on another project. But Nehemiah did, and his request was granted. If he hadn’t faced his fear and taken a risk, he never would have left Persia.
Second, in chapter 6, Nehemiah was fearless in the face of his enemies who were trying to intimidate him into stopping the work on the walls. He refused to cave in to their threats and kept the work going. If Nehemiah would have been given in to fear, the work would have stopped and nothing would have been accomplished.
How about you? Do you live your life in constant fear? Are you willing to take some calculated risks or has fear paralyzed you from doing all that God has called you to do? Are you easily intimated by others? A good governor is fearless!
6.) Organization (3)
In chapter 3, we see how the walls were rebuilt. The people were organized into groups and were assigned to specific districts and tasks. Some laid beams and drilled bolts while others rebuilt gates, hung doors, and set stones. Everyone had a responsibility and they worked together. Nehemiah wisely assigned people to the section of the wall that was closest to their own home to motivate the quality of their work.
If Nehemiah hadn’t been organized, there is no way they would have been able to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem in 52 days. How about you? How well are you organized? My old pastor used to say, “How are you going to clean up the world if you can’t clean up your own bedroom?
7.) Justice (5)
If someone does not act with honesty, fairness, and equitability, they cannot be respected, and therefore, cannot effectively lead. We see Nehemiah’s commitment to justice in chapter 5. During the post-exilic years when Israel was trying to get back on its feet, wealthy Israelites were taking advantage of their poor neighbors. They were being forced to mortgage their homes and land to pay their taxes and keep food on their tables. So, Nehemiah passed an edict which canceled all the debts in the land and instituted fair economic policies.
Are you a person of justice? Don’t you want to be governed and led by someone who is committed to justice? Justice is a quality found in a good governor!
Well, there is no doubt that Nehemiah was a good governor. The quality of his character allowed him to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem in 52 days and help Israel regain its dignity during his 12 years in office. For those of us who are called to leadership, let us model our own character after that of Nehemiah. For those who are called to support, look for these qualities when electing a leader.
Like Nehemiah, our Lord Jesus Christ left the comforts of his home to help a people in need. He, too, was trustworthy, compassionate, a man of both prayer and action, fearless in the face of opposition, organized in his work, and executed he justice in everything he ever did. But instead of coming to build a wall, he came to tear a wall down. He came to destroy the wall between us and God because of our sin. His compassion compelled him to die on the cross to satisfy his Father’s justice and bless us with the hope of a better life now and a perfect life in heaven for eternity! Nehemiah was a good governor of Israel, but Jesus is the great governor of the universe!