The Strength a Leader - ANB W4, D4 - 3.28.13

Thursday, March 28                                                     The Strength of a Leader

Nehemiah 6.1-14

It is amazing how the devil will try anything to get one of God’s people to fall away. Even when it appears to be nice and innocent, Satan tries his lure. Here we see how Satan again attempts to use Sanballat and Tobiah and, now, Geshem the Arab to entice Nehemiah away from the camp. On the surface this invitation extended to Nehemiah would give the impression of an innocent means of diplomacy seeking to find a middle ground of cooperation. But because Nehemiah lived his life through prayer and the guidance of God alone he understood that there was much more at stake. He saw the intentions of their invitation and stood firm on the wisdom of God. In a way you have to admire the persistence of Sanballat and his cronies. Four times they send this same invitation to Nehemiah. But, more admirable than the aforementioned persistence is the resolve shown by Nehemiah to trust in God and abide by his strength.

Leaders are often judged by their strength under fire. How they stand in criticism and handle the tough situations is under the constant scrutiny of the public eye, whether they are a political figure, religious leader, or a corporate head. Nehemiah stands on the strength provided by God and then allows the strength of God to stand for him as Sanballat responds. The fifth time that Sanballat contacts Nehemiah he sends with his messenger a second letter that is noted as “an open letter” in the ESV or “an unsealed letter” in the NIV. While this seems to be a minute detail in the text, it actually bears great significance in what is transpiring before Nehemiah. If I were to contact a missionary in India by way of old fashioned mail, when they receive the letter it would have been opened by the government and read so as to ascertain any incriminating information. There is little respect for private conversation. Very similar was the “mail” system of the Ancient Near East. Any official communication would be sent with a seal so that what was in the letter would be trusted as authentic and original. If the seal was broken, the letter would be suspect to tampering or that its contents were made known to people who had no business knowing what the letter entailed. If it were a genuinely unsealed letter, as is the case here, it was something that the letter writer intended for the carrier to read and possibly share with others. For Nehemiah and the Israelites this meant that the slanderous statements of their intentions would be spread throughout the region causing an uprising against them.

What Sanballat had plotted through the sending of an unsealed letter came back to bite him in the end. Nehemiah refuses to get caught up in a flesh driven war of words and simply dismisses the charges against him and his people. He knew that God would assure their success in the completion of the wall. Sanballat assumed that Nehemiah was no different than he was and that he would give in to his own ambition, politically maneuver himself to greatness, and be concerned primarily with self-preservation. Sanballat and his buddies failed to recognize that Nehemiah had an unfailing devotion to God and did not see the depth of his self-sacrificing service. Nehemiah relied fully on God for strength and direction, asking God to strengthen his hands so that he could do the work. Even as Shemaiah came to Nehemiah and sought to dissuade him from the work on the wall, Nehemiah understood the plot was still against him. His discernment again was a sign of his reliance on God and the strength that he needed from God to lead the people. His discerning eye was so key to his strength as a leader and we see that over and over again in Nehemiah 6.

We must pray for our leaders. We ask God that our pastor will be a man who yields himself daily to God and seeks his will but, as we seek to become that dynamic church for our community Sanballat and his crew will seek to cause our leader to fall. Today, let us pray for the strength of our leader in these specific ways: (1) that his motives and conduct be blameless, (2) that he understands the opposition while dealing shrewdly and wisely with those who seek to compromise God’s work, (3) that he clearly sees which issues are critical enough to address an which are wasteful distractions, (4) that he remember that the will of God is eternal and has primacy over any individual, and (5) that his rest is in the strength of God to lead, guide, and direct his path as well as the path of our church. Also, pray for the church staff and deacons as the come alongside of our pastor and help shoulder the mantle of leadership over the next several months and years.