Who was Nehemiah?  He is mentioned five times in the book and never outside of the book (Neh 1:1, 8:9, 8:10, 10:1, 12:26 and 12:47).^[1] The book of Nehemiah fits the reign of Artaxerxes 1 of Persia (464-423 BC). Esther is Artaxerxes step mother and perhaps instrumental in Nehemiah's appointment as King's cup bearer (to protect the king from poisoning and acted as butler and advisor). Selecting and tasting the king's wine gave him constant and personal access to the king.  This means he had some influence on the monarch (e.g. Pharaoh's butler had on Joseph).  He was able to convince a pagan king to support a religious project. He put his life on the line by wanting to help them rebuild the broken city walls. 

If ever a servant of the lord deserved a diamond - studded platinum and gold medal for persistence in finishing a tough job in a dangerous place, that person is Nehemiah. He gave and influential job as a cupbearer to the king of Persia to go to the ruined city of Jerusalem where he rebuilt the walls and reset the gates so the city could get moving again (Wiersbe 2010: 55).

There is no mention of Nehemiah having a family. Perhaps he was a Eunuch  as was quite often the case.  Eventually, he became the governor who showed his administrative and leadership abilities. He was a mover and a shaker - his integrity and honesty paid off when serving a pagan king. 

Was Nehemiah a Leader?

Leadership is about influence. The question to ask is then, "Did Nehemiah exert influence on the people he was leading?" Singlehandedly, he managed to influence a group of discouraged, passive people by mobilising and motivating them to join him in the rebuilding project - repairing the city walls of Jerusalem that were in ruins for nearly a century.  When Nehemiah challenged them "Let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem and end this disgrace!”, the people's immediate reply was, “Yes, let’s rebuild the wall!” and they began the good work (Neh 2:17-18).

（picture from the Internet）

Later on an internal strife arose concerning greed (5:1-15). The wealthier Jews charged interests on their poorer brethrens who had to mortgaged their lands, and sold their children into slavery because of poverty. Nehemiah listened to their complaints and rebuked the rich money- lenders (5:7) and appealed for restitution to be made. He was also successful in influencing them. We read, “We will give back everything and demand nothing more from the people. We will do as you say” (5:12). In spite of opposition and internal strife, he was able to influence them to continue on the rebuilding project till it was completed successfully after 8 weeks!

Nehemiah also cleansed the temple of Tobiah's sacrilegious furniture (13:4-9) and  holy vessels were restored and tithes brought back to the treasury (13:15, 22-23).

Nehemiah besides rebuilding the broken city walls of Jerusalem also restored the authority of God's Word (Torah) in the nation (Neh 8:1-8). Like Ezra, he (re) instituted the Word of God and reformed the people (unfortunately, the enforced of God's Word as the standard was short-lived). He also reintroduced the Feast of Tabernacles which had not been celebrated since the days of Joshua where in addition to festivities, there was the reading of God's Word (Torah) which included repentance and confession of sin by the priests and people (9:3-5).        

In Nehemiah 10:1-29, after leading the people through confession and repentance, he led  the people to recommit themselves to God and covenant  signing. It was a time of reverence and reflection. The people promised to obey the word and adhere to it faithfully (10:29). Nehemiah set the example by signing the covenant first showing his commitment to do likewise. This showed he took the word of God seriously. 

In sum, in its basic definition, a leader is someone who has the ability to influence others. Nehemiah was able to influence the people to do what needed to be done and successfully.   Hence, we reach an inevitable conclusion that Nehemiah could be legitimately called a leader. The axiom of leadership is - the greater the influence, the greater the leadership. The weaker the influence the weaker the leadership.

Leadership Qualities of Nehemiah

What are some of the leadership qualities  that can be gleaned from his life and ministry?

# 1  Nehemiah was a Leader with a Sense of Destiny.

One day Hanani, his brother  and a group of  Jews brought sad news to him - a pitiful report on the condition of Jerusalem's ruined walls. He was in the Persian capital city of Susa at that time. He saw a need and decided to do something about it.  He sought the Lord for a few months. With a sense of destiny (i.e. he was God's man of the hour)  backed by a call, he initiated the rebuilding project. Qualities of an initiator include:1) They know what they want; 2) They push themselves to act; 3) They take more risks; 4) They make more mistakes; and 5) they go with their gut.^[2]

Nehemiah saw a problem and was distressed. Instead of complaining or wallowing in self-pity and grief he took action. Nehemiah knew that God wanted him to motivate the Jews to rebuild Jerusalem walls, so he left a responsible position in the Persian government to do what God wanted. Nehemiah knew God could use his talents to get the job done.  From the moment he arrived in Jerusalem, everyone knew who was in charge. He organized, managed, supervised, encouraged, met opposition, confronted injustice, and kept going until the walls were built. Nehemiah was a man of action.^[3]    

He mobilized and motivated the people through prayer, presentation and persuasion. He met problems head on by confronting them and finding solutions. He made his life count. He refused to be distracted by his enemies by not meeting up with them for discussion, nor sought to argue with his opponents. He took their threats seriously by having reinforcement. He chose to concentrate on the work he was doing. "The hunter in pursuit of an elephant does not stop to throw stones at birds" (African proverb). Having that sense of destiny, he saw the rebuilding project through till it was completed.

# 2  Nehemiah was Dependent on God.

He demonstrated his dependence on God by praying to him and waiting on God 's timing (divine appointment) before plunging into the rebuilding project.  He was sensitive to God's timing because when he heard the sad news about the ruined walls, he did not go and meet the king immediately. Instead, he took about three days to rest, pray and plan. When he sensed the time was right, he went through proper channels.   Nehemiah secured Artaxerxes' permission, protection and provision for the rebuilding project. He gave credit  to God  when the king granted his request. "And the king granted these requests, because the gracious hand of my God was upon me" (1:9). Somehow, he believed that God was working behind the scene.  

（picture from the Internet）

Dependence on God is the best way to overcome self-sufficiency and self-confidence. By giving credit to God for his success (cf. Neh 2:20), he demonstrated his dependence on him.

# 3  Nehemiah was a Prayerful Leader.  

When he heard the sad news from Hanani and others about the ruins in Jerusalem (1:1-4), he did not grumble, complain, form a committee, look for scapegoats, blame others or even God (not God's will for walls to be rebuilt).  Instead, his first course of action was prayer to God^[4]  (1:4; 2:4; 4:4; 5:19; 6:9, 14; 13:14, 22, 29, 31).

He believed in the power of prayer and knew the value of on-the-spot praying. He totally identified with the situation of the people by:  a) mourning - he grieved over personal and public sin, its consequences and reality; 2) fasting - willing to give up something essential [food] to human survival for something more important (i.e. God’s will in the matter); and 3) praying -  willing to bring his thoughts honestly before God.

He prayed because he believed in the power of prayer. Prayer opened communication channel with God, gave him clarity (new perspective on the situation), conviction (help establish priorities), and a commitment (gave a sense of purpose).^[5]  A prayerful leader gives priority to prayer.