Nehemiah, the cupbearer to the king of Persia, persuaded the king to support the rebuilding of the city of Jerusalem (Neh 2:5) and motivated Israel to rebuild ruins that had been abandoned for more than 140 years (586 BC-445 BC). He led the rebuilding project while under the constant threat of attack by Israel’s antagonistic neighbors. He completed the rebuilding of the walls around Jerusalem within only fifty-two days. If this were not enough, Nehemiah demonstrated great humility and wisdom as he enabled Ezra and the Levites to help bring spiritual revival to the nation of Israel. The book of Nehemiah is a tremendous narrative on godly leadership. Let us drink deeply from it, and may God use us to be the answer to this leadership crisis in our communities and ultimately in our world today. --Gregory Brown (Nehemiah: Becoming a Godly Leader
