NEHEMIAH THE BUILDER
LESSON NO. 7 THE TWO GREAT ATTITUDES AND ONE IMPORTANT AS FOUND AMONG GODLY LEADERS Chapter 7

“That I gave my brother Hanani, and Hananiah the ruler of the palace, charge over Jerusalem: for he was a faithful man, and feared God above many.” —Nehemiah 7:2 (KJV)

THE WALLS HAD BEEN REBUILT in a record time of 52 days! And the reason for this: “For the people had a mind to work” (4:6). Nehemiah believed that after having the walls rebuilt, it was an opportune time to put the people in places of leadership and service to righteously and responsibly govern the nation of Israel. The new walled city made the whole nation ready for spiritual, political and social re-structure and re-organization. He knew that it would not be easy to choose leaders among these people and introduce radical reforms but still he proceeded by conducting a national census of the people by genealogy and their leaders on the basis of a registry. Here we find that the Bible is always particular with numbers. That is why attendance is always counted and leaders are numbered. Even in the New Testament, we have the Lord and the book of Acts as examples. The total number of the people surveyed is recorded in verses 66 and 67. Hanani, the brother of Nehemiah and Hananiah were chosen to be his deputies in Jerusalem to govern the people. Nehemiah was made the ultimate leader of the nation and he was properly called and addressed as “Tirshatha” (vv.65-70).

WHY THESE MEN WERE CHOSEN TO BE LEADERS OF GOD’S PEOPLE?

In verse 2, we find the answer: “That I gave my brother Hanani, and Hananiah the ruler of the palace, charge over Jerusalem: for he was a FAITHFUL man, and FEARED God above many.”

We have three (3) key words here in this chapter that made these men approved and qualified leaders before God and the nation of Israel: FAITHFUL, FEAR and GIVING.

A. Faithful is “emeth” in Hebrew language and is rendered as trustworthy, firm and reliable.

1. God said it of:

1.1. Samuel (1 Samuel 2:35)
1.2. Davie (1 Samuel 22:14)
1.3. Daniel (Daniel 6:4)
1.4. Abraham (Gal. 3:9)
1.5. The book of Proverbs spoke much of it (Prov. 11:13; 14:5; 27:6).

2. The Lord rewards faithful men (Matt. 24:45; Luke 12:42-43).

3. It is a strong requirement for stewards (1 Cor. 4:2).

4. Apostle Paul spoke of Tychicus and Epaphras as faithful ministers (Eph. 6:21; Col. 1:7).

5. Apostle Paul thanked God for counting him faithful (1 Tim. 1:12).

6. Moses was declared to be faithful (Heb. 3:5).

B. Fear is “yare” in Hebrew language and is rendered as reverence, honor and respect.

1. Job spoke of it (Job 28:28).
2. David in his psalms spoke of it (Ps. 19:9; 34:11; 111:10).
3. Solomon spoke of it (Proverbs 1:7; 8:13; 9:10; 10:27; 14:26, 27; 15:16, 33).
4. Isaiah had beautiful words for it (Isa. 33:6).
5. It promoted growth and stability in the first century ekklesias (Acts 9:31).

C. Giving generously to the work of God has been evident first in the lives of the chief leaders (the Tirshatha and some of the chief of the fathers, priests, Levites) and then in the lives of the people of Israel (vv.70-73):

70 And some of the chief of the fathers gave unto the work. The Tirshatha gave to the treasure a thousand drams of gold, fifty basons, five hundred and thirty priests’ garments.

71 And some of the chief of the fathers gave to the treasure of the work twenty thousand drams of gold, and two thousand and two hundred pound of silver.

72 And that which the rest of the people gave was twenty thousand drams of gold, and two thousand pound of silver, and threescore and seven priests’ garments.

73 So the priests, and the Levites, and the porters, and the singers, and some of the people, and the Nethinims, and all Israel, dwelt in their cities; and when the seventh month came, the children of Israel were in their cities.

CONCLUSION

Today, more than ever we need leaders like Nehemiah and the kind of God’s people whose lives are characterized by FAITHFULNESS, FEAR OF THE LORD and CHEERFUL GIVING. And if we follow their example, sure enough the Gospel ministry here in the Philippines will be greatly blessed and prospered.

—BMA’s Messages 02.21.16