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“When Sanballat, Tobiah, and the Arabs, Ammonites, and Ashdodites heard that the repair to the walls of Jerusalem was progressing and that the gaps were being closed, they became furious. They all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and throw it into confusion.”
[Nehemiah 4:7-8 HCSB]
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Unhinged
Why have the non-Jews in Nehemiah 4 become so unhinged? It’s pretty simple. When you refuse to kowtow to false narratives, it makes those desiring power and/or sin very angry. Nehemiah contends that the Jews have every legal right to serve God and establish Jerusalem.
He’s correct. But that doesn’t fit the popular narrative of his neighbors. They believe that a strong Jerusalem is bad for business. They don’t want YHWH worshipped. They don’t want believers in absolute truth in their area. Thus, they have made up a false narrative that pretends the Jews have no right to exist in Judah.
Public presence
Of course, this problem is not limited to the 5
th c. B.C. [or in the vernacular of a currently popular false narrative, B.C.E.] For example, just consider open public witness to God. Nehemiah 4 displays Gentiles particularly upset over the idea of public worship of YHWH in Jerusalem; that’s why they mention sacrifices. One can easily find their spiritual descendants today. Just post an article mentioning God and then read the comments below. You’ll find that the mocking response is very similar to what you read in Nehemiah. People are grudgingly OK with you privately worshipping. But if you try to build any kind of presence, if you live out your worship in the public square, they will attack.
Everywhere
Further, this dynamic extends beyond church. Heather Heying, who describes herself as a committed non-Christian socialist, knows that when you refuse to bite on false narratives, it makes those desiring power very angry. Last year, Dr. Heying was fired from her university because she refused to violate clear scientific facts. Look at what she wrote in response:
Postmodernism [has] abandoned rigor and replaced it with “lived experience” as the primary source of knowledge. Little credence is given to the idea of objective reality…our protestors said scientists are particularly prone to racism…because scientists persist in using terms like “genetic” and “phenotype” when discussing humans. First, they came for the biologists… – Heather Heying
Dedicated plots to overthrow absolute truth and sow confusion occur in all fields – even journalism. For example, Michael Cieply was a reporter for the New York Times who left to join an online news service. Asked why he left the Times, Cieply said, “We [reporters at the Times] were required to match stories with what internally was often called ‘the narrative.'” – Michael Cieply
In the face of such antagonism, wise people will learn from Nehemiah. Empowered by God, the Jews refused the false narrative, choosing God’s absolute truth instead. They swam upstream and achieved great success while always remaining true to truth. By God’s grace, our stories can be the same.
As Bruce Riley Ashford recently wrote in a news piece titled “Christian Shaming:”
In response to Christian shaming, Americans should be clear…there is nothing in the world wrong with being Christian in public. For Christians, our beliefs are deeply held convictions that should shape our identities, organize our lives, and motivate us to be good neighbors and citizens. There is nothing wrong with Mike Pence, Tim Tebow, Nick Foles, or Tony Dungy making a connection between their faith and their public lives.
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March 8, 2018 | False Narratives
March 1, 2018 | Building A Great Team
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“The wall was completed in 52 days, on the twenty-fifth day of the month Elul. When all our enemies heard this, all the surrounding nations were intimidated and lost their confidence, for they realized that this task had been accomplished by our God.”
[Nehemiah 6:12 HCSB]
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The best teams are crafted in unity found only in God
For Christians, our unity is a fact. It is a solid base upon which we must build. When we do so, when we live out our essential unity through missional teamwork, the accomplishments can be positively staggering. Sadly, that causes many both inside out outside the church to assume that the prime factor is human. This is a tragic mistake. God is the One in us to will and to work for His good pleasure.
Nehemiah built an incredibly diverse team (or better, set of teams) where nearly everyone worked very hard with a clear mission before them. Further, those who served were both developed and appreciated. Anyone desire to achieve a big, hairy, audacious goal would be wise to follow Nehemiah’s example. Yet, we must not forget that it is the Lord who accomplishes the work in and through us. We can only achieve things of lasting value by God’s grace working through His Spirit. That’s why those who submit and serve before the Lord as a lifestyle can achieve powerful unity no matter how fractured their age.
When I was a little kid, war protest songs were the rage. I think that may be part of why that Boomer generation tested out as more unhappy, lonely, suicidal, and drug addicted than any generation since. Anyway, you couldn’t turn on the radio without hearing some song about San Francisco…or the evil man…or imagining a world with no religion.
But in the midst of that malaise, there was a great song, titled “Get Together.” It was written by a Chet Powers, and originally recorded by The Kingston Trio and a few others. But the big hit came when a group called The Youngbloods re-released “Get Together” in 1969. It became a bestseller and was sung in a lot of church youth groups. Here are some of the lyrics:
Some may come and some may go
We shall surely pass When the one that left us here Returns for us at last We are but a moment’s sunlight Fading in the grass Come on, people now
Smile on your brother Everybody get together Try to love one another right now If you hear the song I sing Come on, people now In the midst of all the hate and put downs and riots of 1969, why was that song a hit? Because deep down American culture knew that unity is desirable. And sacrificial unity requires hope. You can fear or love. Not both. Why can you choose to sacrificially love? How is it you are able to get together and love others? Because you aren’t alone. You have hope because Jesus left you here for a purpose and He is coming back.
Great letters
As I taught on this recently, I received some wonderful notes. Here are a few that I believe will help each of us build truly fulsome teams that rely on the Spirit as they achieve greatness.
Wayne, leadership and dependence on God go together! I recommend people think through Proverbs 2, which has practical steps to live the combination out.
Wayne, you put me on to Mervin Breneman. I found this great quote in his book, “In Nehemiah we constantly read about the “leaders” of the people. God raises up leaders, and those in charge, such as Nehemiah, must pay attention to developing leadership and delegating responsibility to the leaders. Nehemiah teaches us the balance between efficient organization [with] good leadership and dependence on God at the same time. The two should not and need not be contradictory.” [Mervin Breneman, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther (NAC Vol. 10) pp. 254]
You said, “Nehemiah developed people by giving them authority and responsibility. People learn by doing!” That made me think of one of my favorite quotes from D.L. Moody – “A great many people have got a false idea about the church. They have got an idea that the church is a place to rest in…To get into a nicely cushioned pew, contribute to the charities, listen to the minister, and do their share to keep the church out of bankruptcy is all they want. The idea of work for them-actual work in the church-never enters their minds.”
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January 25, 2018 | Trust And Your Teams
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“Even I, as well as my brothers and my servants, have been lending them money and grain. Please, let us stop charging this interest.”
[Nehemiah 5:10 HCSB]
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Trustworthy
I recently led a study through the trustworthiness of Nehemiah, examining how God used that reliability to change the world. Two businessmen I respect sent excellent applications of that principle to the workplace.
Dale Young shared:
Your sermon on Nehemiah as trustworthy really resonated with me. In his popular work The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, Patrick Lencioni identifies 5 things that make teams dysfunctional. He arranges them in a pyramid, because each higher one “stacks” on the lower one. And what is the most basic, foundational reason a team is dysfunctional? You guessed it: “Absence of Trust.” As humans, we don’t cooperate or get help with our weaknesses when trust is not present.
I totally agree with you that when Nehemiah admitted “I and my brothers and my men are also lending the people money and grain. But let us stop charging interest!” (Neh. 5:10) that he was very likely admitting that he had previously charged interest himself as well. This shows vulnerability as a leader; and when the leader does it, it builds trust on the team. Nehemiah is leading by example and setting a foundation of trust. We must do the same in all our teams. Here is a copy of Lencioni’s chart…
 Ben Quezada wrote this note: “Wayne, I am sending you an article about how trustworthiness is critical for effective teams at work. It reminded me of Nehemiah’s impact.”
Here’s a quick digest of the great article Ben shared. It’s by Justin Bariso in INC Magazine:
The best companies are made up of great teams. You see, even a company full of A-players won’t succeed if those individuals don’t have the ability to work well together. That’s why not too long ago, Google set out on a quest to figure out what makes a team successful. They code-named the study Project Aristotle, a tribute to the philosopher’s famous quote “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.”
Bariso then goes into some details about how they defined effectiveness and what they measured. Here is the bottom line:
So, what did they find? The researchers found that what really mattered was less about who is on the team, and more about how the team worked together. What matters most is trust.
– Justin Bariso, “This Single Quality Contributes Most to Team Success”
Now, in the interest of full disclosure, I have some sad news. If you research Project Aristotle as I did, you’ll be sad to learn that Google misses the most critical aspect – that for trust to develop one needs trustworthy people.
Don’t you miss it! Trust cannot flourish without trustworthy people. Those who are trustworthy help build effective teams.
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January 18, 2018 | Serious Stress, Serious Response
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During the month of Nisan in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was set before him, I took the wine and gave it to the king. I had never been sad in his presence, so the king said to me, “Why are you sad, when you aren’t sick? This is nothing but depression.” I was overwhelmed with fear and replied to the king, “May the king live forever! Why should I not be sad when the city where my ancestors are buried lies in ruins and its gates have been destroyed by fire?” Then the king asked me, “What is your request?” So I prayed to the God of heaven and answered the king…
[Nehemiah 2:1-5 HCSB]
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Serious stress
Nehemiah’s situation at the beginning of chapter 2 contains layers of danger that we struggle to understand. Most of us grew up with a western, independent understanding of personal freedom. The Declaration of Independence runs deep in our DNA. Our ideas of liberty are very individualized.
That is extremely different from what Nehemiah lived under in Persia. Even people today who grow up under modern totalitarianism don’t grasp the full power of the Persian monarchy. The medieval idea of “divine right” kingship gets close, but the Persian Emperor ruled by more than mere divine allowance. He was understood more akin to how Roman Catholics view the pope.
The Persian word for this was Farr-e-Izadi. It’s a special grace bestowed upon the king by the gods – a blessing which endows him with strength and insight, enabling him to overcome the forces of evil.The Greek historian Herodotus, living in the same age as Nehemiah, called the Persian view of kingship “mystical and singular in the world.”
One did not get ill in the emperor’s presence, nor could one be depressed. Such was supposedly impossible because the king exuded mystical health and wellness that overcame evil and made negativity unreasonable. Anyone who was negative in the presence of the great king was killed. They had to be removed as they were obviously demonic or defective if the Farr-e-Izadi didn’t work on them.
Serious response
Thus, we understand why Nehemiah was rightly fearful when the king noted he was upset. This is life or death! So, look at what Nehemiah did…
He prayed to YHWH! Specifically, he prayed to אֱלֹהִיםשָׁמַ֫יִם Elohim Samayim [Ell o heme’ Shah my’ eem] – the God of heaven or the God over all.
Lest you think that he seeks primary help from the most powerful man on earth, Nehemiah makes clear that he prays to God alone. This is so counter-culture! According to the Persian world in which he lived and breathed, Nehemiah is in the presence of the one person who can overcome the forces of evil. Only Artaxerxes has the power and vision to provide the protection for Jerusalem that Nehemiah wants.
But Nehemiah prays only to God. Now, he honors Artaxerxes. He gives the ritual positive greeting, “May he live forever!” He even asks the king for help. But when the king answers positively, it’s clear this blessing came from God. It was not the king nor even his possibly sympathetic queen that open the way for Nehemiah. It was God alone.
There is serious stress in nearly every life on earth? How do you handle yours? While human assistance can be important, we would be better off with we imitated Nehemiah and prayed first.
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January 11, 2018 | Catalyst
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So I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in. Jerusalem lies in ruins and its gates have been burned down. Come, let’s rebuild Jerusalem’s wall, so that we will no longer be a disgrace.” I told them how the gracious hand of my God had been on me, and what the king had said to me. They said, “Let’s start rebuilding,” and they were encouraged to do this good work.
[Nehemiah 2:17-18HCSB]
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Catalyst
Nehemiah was an amazing catalyst! His presence and character sped up all the positive reactions around him – something the Lord intends for all His servants. To better understand how all Christians can be catalytic like Nehemiah, I recently used a couple of science experiments. (In case you want to do the same, the ones I performed are easily accessible online: “the elephant’s toothpaste” and a time lapse of rock candy crystalizing.) In response, a chemical engineer sent this fascinating list of facts with his correlations in parentheses:
Notes
My personal preparation notes for studying Nehemiah are accessible HERE. Thank you for the blessing of learning and growing in Christ together.
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December 22, 2017 | Giving Up His Lane
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“Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God
as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.” [Genesis 3:4-6 NLT]
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Itty bitty living space
I taught recently on the counter-intuitive way that Jesus’ acceptance of limitations fosters Christian security. We can rest securely in Messiah precisely because of Jesus’ embrace of human limitations.
Jesus was and is fully human. For His sojourn on earth, God the Son emptied Himself of His divine privileges. That means that one with the full power and authority of God chose to limit Himself to a little human body. As Robin William’s genie declared in Alladin, that’s “phenomenal cosmic power; itty bitty living space.” And that self-surrender changes everything for all of us on this road of life with Him.
Giving up His lane
Last week I was driving down Eldorado, one of the main east-west thoroughfares in our town. I was in the middle lane and eventually needed to get over to turn left. About a mile before my turn, I clicked the left turn indicator. I was driving right at (or possibly a tick above) the speed limit. But the minute I turned on that blinker, the car 30 feet back in the left lane sped up.
The lady got going at least 10 mph over the limit, just to cut me off. So did the woman behind the first car and the man in the vehicle behind her. Three cars sped up to ensure that I could not limit their progress. Finally, the fourth driver stayed the speed limit and I was able to safely merge. After experiencing the others, I didn’t trust her at first; but she waved, and I moved in.
Now, which of those drivers best resembles Jesus? Right. The one who gave up privilege to make room. Which driver are you? Oh, that’s much too convicting! Forget that…
Let’s instead talk about Jesus. Philippians 2 says that God the Son’s self-emptying is ultimately seen in the cross. Talking about accepting limits! He let Himself be literally nailed in place! He did so because through the cross Jesus paid for our sins. That’s how He made a way for those who trust Him to merge into the family of God.
And that – Jesus’ self-emptying – is the foundation of our security. Jesus acceptance of insecurity, inconvenience, and limitations allows those who trust Him to live securely in His resurrection life.
The Charlie Brown illustration
One of the most popular short films of all time is A Charlie Brown Christmas. It depicts brilliantly how Jesus acceptance of insecurity fosters our security. Two years ago, Jason Soroski wrote two brilliant, brief columns on this and I highly recommend them:
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