Leading by Example

In Nehemiah 5:14-19, we seem to have a shift from an account of what Nehemiah and others did, to a narrative from Nehemiah himself.  Here’s part of that passage:

Moreover, from the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, until his thirty-second year—twelve years—neither I nor my brothers ate the food allotted to the governor. But the earlier governors—those preceding me—placed a heavy burden on the people and took forty shekels of silver from them in addition to food and wine. Their assistants also lorded it over the people. But out of reverence for God I did not act like that. Instead, I devoted myself to the work on this wall. All my men were assembled there for the work; we did not acquire any land.
Nehemiah 5:14‭-‬16 NIV

https://bible.com/bible/111/neh.5.14-16.NIV

When a version of this series on Nehemiah was taught in my Sunday School class, one of the other teachers mentioned from a commentary that Nehemiah was a governor.  Having said that, Nehemiah wasn’t a governor at the start of the book that carries his name.  Previously, he was a cupbearer to the king.  However, we find here that he became governor, and served in that role for 12 years.

Remember how the king asked Nehemiah how long he would be gone (see Nehemiah 2:6)?  I’m not sure what Nehemiah said to the king at that time, and his stay might have been extended from his original estimate, but I think that the king probably needed to get a new cupbearer!

How does Nehemiah govern?  Apparently, as a governor, he has the right (maybe from the empire of Persia) to take money [per Schoville, cited below] from the people for himself and his “staff”.  In fact, his predecessors seem to have exploited this right, extracting both food and money.  Even the previous governors’ assistants (NIV) or servants (NASB) were oppressive.

However, Nehemiah doesn’t do this.  Not only does he not demand supplies from his Jewish brothers and sisters, but he provides meals for more than 150 people (see verse 17).  He understands that the current situation is bad enough (after all, the people are rebuilding a city wall in a hostile land, and verse 3 suggests that a famine took place), so he doesn’t need to make it worse on them.

In addition, Nehemiah doesn’t seem to treat the role of governor as being somehow “above” the work that is being done.  He and his men are actively involved in the rebuilding effort.  This is not a leader who says, “Go do that”, as much as he is a leader who says, “Follow me”.

Why does he do so?  See verse 15, where (as suggested by a commentator) his reverence for God is similar to what Nehemiah challenged others with in verse 9.

Like Nehemiah, may we be those who say “follow me as I follow Jesus”, and not “you should go do that”.

Now, I realize that Jesus did tell His followers to “Go” sometimes, but He first told them (at least some of them) to “Follow me”.   Paul, in 1 Corinthians 11:1, encouraged the believers in Corinth to “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.”.

So, let us not just tell people what to do.  Let us also be good examples for them to follow, as our actions point them to the best example of all, Jesus Christ.  Let us be willing to follow the example of Nehemiah, Paul, and Jesus Christ, and both live and tell our testimony to others.

From Sunday School lesson prepared for February 19, 2023

References:

• The Lookout, February 19, 2023, © 2022 Christian Standard Media.
• Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
• Scripture quotations taken from the NASB. Copyright by The Lockman Foundation.
• The College Press NIV Commentary – Ezra-Nehemiah, by Keith Schoville.  © 2001 College Press Publishing Co.