Heads Up

In Nehemiah chapter three, we see two more things that need to be said about Nehemiah’s relationship to his work. First, he coordinated the effort. He not only divided the task into manageable units and then assigned the right people to each part but also fit the whole together so there were no gaps and…

After dividing the project of rebuilding the wall around Jerusalem into sections, Nehemiah made his assignments. This is what chapter 3 is primarily about. It is a list of those who rebuilt the gates and each adjoining section of the walls. Notice first, that Nehemiah delegated the authority. Nothing in the chapter makes a specific…

When faced with a large task many managers do not know where to begin. They look at the looming task ahead and attempt to address several facets at the same time. Soon they fail! Nehemiah correctly saw the project of rebuilding Jerusalem’s walls as massive. However, as we follow Nehemiah in chapter three we notice…

In humor, as every really funny person knows, timing is everything. A punch line badly timed ruins the joke, while a line rightly timed makes it. In a list of leadership skills, timing may not quite be everything, as it is in comedy, but it is important. Nehemiah seems to have been aware of this…

One of the complaints raised against the Bible is that it is impractical and too “spiritual” to be of real use. The opinion is usually voiced by those who do not know the Bible well, though in fairness to their view it is right to acknowledge that the Bible does have spiritual goals. Even Nehemiah,…

We saw in Nehemiah 1 a great model of prayer that had elements of a formal petition: adoration, confession, thanksgiving, and supplication. It gives insight into Nehemiah’s habits of personal devotion. Here we see something else. Nehemiah is talking to the king (ch.2). The king asks what Nehemiah wants. He realizes that after months of…