Broken Leader

As you open your Bible to the book of Nehemiah. I wanted to start by talking through the teams and the theme for the year. As many of you know Pastor is challenging the church this year to labor together as we begin to build not only a building but move the church forward for Christ in building up each other.

First, I want all you to know that you are the church. We as a youth are apart of that challenge to build. But it is my heart that we as a youth group lead the charge.

1 Timothy 4:12 KJV 1900

Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.

As young people we can lead the church in not only the area of spiritual growth by all of us together memorizing and quoting Romans 12. But building up each other through our teams. we have the youthfulness which bring excitement and energy to our church.

We shouldn’t think well, I’m just in middle school so I can’t do much. Because you can do a lot more than you think.

Philippians 4:13 KJV 1900

I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

So it is our burden that we build not only the young group together by supporting each other but courageously lead the charge! As we look into Nehemiah we will see how Nehemiah saw the need, had the burden, then said I will go and build. Even if I am alone in doing so. Just as Isaiah did.

Isaiah 6:8 KJV 1900

Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.

But as we will learn through this study Nehemiah lead the city of Jerusalem to build the walls of the city in 52 days. This was no small thing! even today with our machines we could not build those wall that quickly!

How did they do it?

Nehemiah 4:6 KJV 1900

So built we the wall; and all the wall was joined together unto the half thereof: for the people had a mind to work.

So, if we were all on board and joined the team and had a mind to work for Christ the sky is the limit what we could do for Him this year!

But here is where it starts. Just as It did with Nehemiah. If have to see the need! We have to be broken for our cities, for our friends, or schools, or family! We need to see that young people today are being lead by Satan and the world around us away from the Lord and be burdened for it! So WHERE ARE THE YOUNG PEOPLE LIKE NEHEMIAH??? Will you be broken for your generation and say God help us reach this generation and make a difference to my friends?!?

Nehemiah 1:1–3 KJV 1900

The words of Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah. And it came to pass in the month Chisleu, in the twentieth year, as I was in Shushan the palace, That Hanani, one of my brethren, came, he and certain men of Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews that had escaped, which were left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem. And they said unto me, The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire.

Nehemiah, cupbearer for the king of Persia, received disturbing news from his brother Hanani, who had arrived in Persia from Jerusalem. Hanani reported that the Jews in Jerusalem were suffering great affliction and reproach, the wall of Jerusalem was broken down and the city's gates were burned.

Family Name

ASK: Whose family name do you highly respect? Why? (QI )

ASK: For whose family name do you have little or no respect? Why? (Q2)

ASK: In what sense do you represent God's "family name"? (Q3)

Nehemiah felt responsible for God's family name. He wanted it to shine for all the world to see. For that to happen, he knew God's people needed to turn to God and then rely on Him to work through them. This lesson gives us a glimpse into Nehemiah's heart for God and challenges us to share Nehemiah's concern for God's "family name."

Who Is a Leader?

ASK: Are all adults spiritual leaders? Explain.

ASK: In what sense are you a spiritual leader?

Every believer can a spiritual leader to someone. Children and teens look up to us as do other believers. We should be sensitive to the needs of those we lead. We should also be sensitive to God's reputation. How do our lives reflect on God? Nehemiah was concerned about helping others so God's reputation would shine. We should share his concerns. People we lead still have needs and God's reputation is still at stake.

Background

Having previewed the idea of leadership that runs throughout Nehemiah's book, we focus our attention now on the backdrop to the story in Nehemiah 1:1-3, where we find Nehemiah, a faithful Jew, serving in the court of the king, Artaxerxes, in the Medo-Persian Empire.

The Babylonian/Medo-Persian captivity had originally come upon Judah as a chastisement from God due in part to her violation of the law. God warned that there would be one year of captivity for every year of failure to institute His law (2 Chron. 36:20, 21; Jer. 25:11, 12; 29:10; cf. Lev. 26:33-35).

The 605 BC conquering of Judah by Babylon was specifically prophesied by Isaiah to King Hezekiah in Isa. 39:7 after he showed the Temple treasures to the Babylonians (cf. 2 Kings 20:17, 18).

The Babylonian captivity of Judah was originally presided over by Nebuchadnezzar, who succeeded his father as king of Babylon in 605 BC. When Nebuchadnezzar came to Jerusalem, it appears the Jews submitted to him without a battle (2 Chron. 36:6, 7).

RESOURCE: Display resource 2 to show the geographical and historical setting of the book of Nehemiah.

Those taken captive included Daniel and his three friends (Dan. 1). Those taken captive few years later included Ezekiel (2 Kings 24:14-16). The final round of captivity in affected Jeremiah who was forced to go to Egypt where he prophesied further regarding Babylon (Jer. 43; 44; 52:31-34). The city of Jerusalem and the Temple were also destroyed in the third wave of captivity (2 Kings 25:1-21).

Daniel 5 tells the story of the fall of Babylon to the Medes and Persians on Oct. 12, 539 BC. The Medo-Persian empire then had control of the captive Jewish people. Truly God is in sovereign control of the nations (cf. Jer. 18:7-10).

I. The Man

In 538 BC, Zerubbabel led the first return of roughly 50,000 Jews after the decree of Cyrus (2 Chron. 36:22, 23; Ezra 1:1-4), which had earlier been prophesied by Isaiah.

The group that returned with Zerubbabel was significant primarily for its ultimate rebuilding of the temple in 516 BC, as prompted by the preaching of Haggai and Zechariah.

In 458 BC, Ezra led 7,000 to 8,000 Jews in the second return to the land (Ezra 7:1-10). Despite its small size, this group took part in a great spiritual revival under Ezra's leadership (Ezra 9, 10).

Nehemiah led the third wave back from captivity in 445 BC (Neh. 2). His small group was a catalyst in the enormous task of rebuilding Jerusalem's walls.

Scripture tells us nothing about the man Nehemiah outside of the book that bears his name. Surprisingly, there are no direct references to this great leader in the New Testament.

A. His family

It must have been difficult for Nehemiah's parents to raise their family in a strange land. Judging by the name they gave him, "the comfort of Jehovah," and the character traits they instilled in him, it seems evident that they were a godly couple. We know nothing of them except the testimony of their son. Effective spiritual leaders are often the product of a godly home (Ps. 127; Prov. 22:6).

ASK: Why would the name "the comfort of Jehovah" be a reminder of the need to show concern for others? (Q4) God comforts us so we might comfort others.

B. His significance

History can rightly be called "His story," meaning God's story. God is in control of times, events, and people. Although it seems strange that a Jew served in the court of a Persian king, it was by no means an accident. God had Nehemiah right where He wanted him.

Nehemiah was living in the Persian king's winter palace in Shushan (Dan. 8:2; Esth. 1:2) during the month of Chislev (November/December) (Neh. 1:1). That Nehemiah was in the winter palace and close to the king indicates that Nehemiah had an important position in Persia. Just as God had put Esther on a queen's throne in Persia to deliver the Jews from wicked Haman's plot (Esther 8), so He put Nehemiah in the royal court of a Persian king to accomplish His next major step in Israel's history.

ASK: Knowing that God controlled key people and events in Bible history, can we safely say that He controls key people and events in our lives today? Absolutely! God is as sovereign today as He was throughout the Bible. We may not witness God's miracles and obvious displays of His sovereignty like some in the Bible did, but that is not a sign that God is any less sovereign today.

ASK: Why is a belief that God is sovereign such a key conviction for a spiritual leader? Believing in God's sovereignty encourages a leader to depend on God and to refrain from using manipulation or other self-reliant means of solving problems.

TESTIMONY: Share an example of God's obvious working in your life. (Q7) As I look back at my life I can see God’s hand moving me along to the places He wanted me to be. But it didn’t begin when I became old enough to start serving Him. It started when I surrendered to the Lord’s will at your age.

II. The Setting

Like Daniel before him, Nehemiah was fixated on Jerusalem and its destroyed temple. Note his level of concern for a place he had never visited.

Nehemiah 1:2 KJV 1900

That Hanani, one of my brethren, came, he and certain men of Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews that had escaped, which were left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem.

Nehemiah's inquiry into the state of the Jews in the Promised Land came ninety-two years after Zerubbabel first led a return of captives back to Jerusalem. During those years, God used Persian kings to accomplish His plan to repopulate and restore Judah. God's pattern continued in Nehemiah's day. He planned to use Artaxerxes I to further His plans to strengthen Judah.

Hanani, and others from Judah visited Nehemiah in the king's palace. Some commentators believe that Hanani, came from Jerusalem on business unrelated to Jerusalem's condition. The text explains neither the timing nor the nature of his trip, so we don't know for sure why he went to Jerusalem or why he came back to see Nehemiah.

Nehemiah asked about Jerusalem and its residents. His questions reveal his genuine interest in and concern for God's people. His concern for them was driven by his desire to see God's people glorify God's name once again. Nehemiah could have been proudly content with his noble position in Persia and disinterested in Jerusalem and the needs of those less fortunate. This was not in his character, however. God's glory was at the forefront of his mind.

ASK: Put yourself in Nehemiah's place. What thoughts and feelings would you have in your comfortable situation upon learning about the plight of your fellow Jews in Jerusalem?

ASK: What might happen to the ministry of a spiritual leader who does not have the qualities of genuine interest and concern for others? Uncaring leaders are often driven by selfish desires. Those desires prevent them from serving others effectively because they refuse to sacrifice themselves for the sake of others.

III. The Challenges

A. Affliction

Hanani did not merely say the Jews back home were afflicted, he reported that they were "in great affliction." Hanani used a term with the root idea of "evil." In other passages the term conveys physical pain (Num. 16:15; Ps. 105:15). Sometimes it bears the idea of emotional pain (Gen 43:6; 1 Kings 17:20). In Ruth 1:21, the word describes the physical and emotional pain Naomi experienced in losing her family.

Nehemiah's kindred in Judah wrestled against discouragement and danger. Their enemies hassled them relentlessly, using political and military pressure to crush their rebuilding efforts. In addition, their disobedience to God caused them discomfort too.

B. Reproach

The Jews in their homeland were also in "reproach." To be in reproach means to be disgraced. The Jews boasted of their glorious and faithful God, but their land still lay in ruin. Their apathy and neglect gave God a bad name. It appeared to the Jews' enemies that God was a rather pathetic, anemic God. If their God was so great, why didn't they rebuild their city? Why was God's temple still surrounded by ruins left from an invasion that happened decades earlier? Hanani understandably felt embarrassed by the lack of progress in Judah. We know from the prophet Haggai that the repatriated Jews wouldn't have even built the temple if it weren't for his preaching (Hag. 1:2-5).

Haggai 1:3–15 KJV 1900

Then came the word of the Lord by Haggai the prophet, saying, Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your cieled houses, And this house lie waste? Now therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts; Consider your ways. Ye have sown much, and bring in little; Ye eat, but ye have not enough; Ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; Ye clothe you, but there is none warm; And he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes. Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Consider your ways. Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house; And I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith the Lord. Ye looked for much, and, lo, it came to little; And when ye brought it home, I did blow upon it. Why? saith the Lord of hosts. Because of mine house that is waste, And ye run every man unto his own house. Therefore the heaven over you is stayed from dew, And the earth is stayed from her fruit. And I called for a drought upon the land, and upon the mountains, And upon the corn, and upon the new wine, and upon the oil, And upon that which the ground bringeth forth, And upon men, and upon cattle, and upon all the labour of the hands. Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of the Lord their God, and the words of Haggai the prophet, as the Lord their God had sent him, and the people did fear before the Lord. Then spake Haggai the Lord’s messenger in the Lord’s message unto the people, saying, I am with you, saith the Lord. And the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people; and they came and did work in the house of the Lord of hosts, their God, In the four and twentieth day of the sixth month, in the second year of Darius the king.

ASK: Summarize Haggai's message to the remnant of Jews living in the land. Haggai told the Jews to stop trying to fill their own pockets while God's house remained in disrepair. God would not allow them to prosper in their selfish endeavors.

ASK: What was the result of his message? The Lord used Haggai’s message to stir up the people to work on rebuilding the temple.

ASK: Why is a desire to glorify God such a necessary quality in a spiritual leader? A desire to glorify God keeps a leader from being satisfied with mediocrity and prevents the leader from leading for selfish reasons.

C. Disrepair

Hanani's report included a reference to Jerusalem being "broken down" (1:3). Was Hanani's report just a rehearsal of what happened to Jerusalem in 586 BC when the walls and gates were breached and the temple burned by the Babylonians? Most likely not, for Nehemiah had a strong response to Hanani's report, suggesting he hadn't heard the news before (1:4).

From the book of Ezra, we can conclude that Hanani's report referenced a more recent breaking down of Jerusalem's walls. Ezra, in the book that bears his name, included a list of oppositions to making progress in rebuilding the temple and walls in Jerusalem (Ezra 4:6-23). The opposition under Artaxerxes I king of Persia is most likely the news that discouraged Nehemiah (4:7-23). Artaxerxes I reigned from 465-425 BC.

During Artaxerxes's reign, the repatriated Jews in Jerusalem went further than the edict of Cyrus (538 BC) had allowed and began rebuilding the city walls instead of just the temple. When their enemies, Samaritans named Rehum and Shimshai, came to realize this, they alerted king Artaxerxes I. They wrote a letter to the king, warning him that a rebuilt city would doubtless be a threat to his power (4:12-16). Artaxerxes I sent a letter in reply, forcing the Jews to stop rebuilding until he issued any additional directions (4:21). Emboldened, the Samaritans went beyond the intentions of the king's letter and mounted an attack upon the Jews, destroying the newly rebuilt sections of the Jerusalem wall (4:23). The loss likely drained the Jewish settlers of all hope and robbed them of a significant portion of their resources.

The news of this more recent devastation in Jerusalem moved Nehemiah to tears and prayer for his people. He certainly encountered "troublous times" as Daniel 9:25 predicted. God's temple and people were left seemingly defenseless.

ASK: Of what did the broken walls remind the Jews? Their disobedience and God's just punishment.

ASK: In what way were the broken walls a symbol of what needed to happen to Jerusalem's leaders and people? What "walls" in their lives needed to be broken down for the rebuilding of the physical walls to begin? The leaders and people needed to break down the walls of their disbelief and selfish living in order to begin to rebuild the physical walls. They needed broken hearts before the Lord.

Nehemiah could have easily ignored his homeland. After all, he enjoyed the comforts of palace life in Persia. His love for God and God's people, however, prevented him from adopting such an insensitive response. His heart ached for God's people and God's name. In the coming accounts, we will learn that he risked his life to restore both to their former glory. Of course, God proved faithful once again as He responded to Nehemiah's deep faith.