A great leader never asks anyone to do anything they wouldn’t. The head honcho might be well within their rights to tell everybody else what to do and then kick back in a lawn chair with a cold beverage. But the moment the boss goes from participant to spectator, he or she loses all moral authority. And that’s never more critical than in times of crisis. Check out Nehemiah when the threat level is at an all-time high in Jerusalem. In Nehemiah 4:21-23, the potential for terrorist attack from Sanballat and his thugs is real. As a result, Nehemiah rethinks his plan to not only continue the work on the wall but to keep the people safe. As the project goes into 24 hour mode, Nehemiah leads by example. He personally ramps up his own commitment. Everyone on the job site can be sure that Nehemiah doesn’t ask anyone to do anything he wouldn’t. Great leaders get involved. Great leaders roll up their sleeves. Great leaders lead by great example.
God’s once proud city on a hill has been a shameful pile of bricks for longer than anyone can remember. The situation is so bad that Jerusalem has become a local joke (Neh 1:3; 2:27, 29). But the LORD gives Nehemiah a vision to rebuild the broken city walls and protect the people who are returning to Jerusalem (Neh 1:4-11). God not only gives him the passion for the project but arranges for the pagan Persian King Artaxerxes to throw all of his royal resources behind this lowly royal wine steward’s dream to restore God’s city to glory (Neh 2:1-8). Despite the incredible support of the king, it didn’t take long for the opposition to rear its ugly head. A gang of bullies led by Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem huddle up to shut the project down (Neh 2:10, 19; 4:1-3, 7-8). Each time they intimidate the Israelites, Nehemiah turns to God (Neh 2:20; 4:4-5, 14). And why not? He’s the One who’s got a firm grip on the whole joint (Neh 2:10, 12, 18). Nehemiah knows that when their backs are against what’s left of the wall, God has their backs (Neh 4:20). And while this amazing leader is laser-locked on the mission of rebuilding the walls, he constantly adjusts his methods. That includes the need to ramp up security and begin working overnight shifts.
Despite the latest terrorist threat, the Hebrew work crew clocks back in on the job site. “So we labored at the work” (v21). Don’t miss the pronoun “we.” Nehemiah didn’t just make adjustments needed and head back to his beach house. He’s on the scene. He’s pulling his weight. He’s pulling long shifts just like everybody else. He’s leading by example. A few hundred years later, the Apostle Paul and his posse did the same when spending time with the people of Thessalonica. “We were not idle when we were with you, nor did we eat anyone’s bread without paying for it, but with toil and labor we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you. It was not because we do not have that right, but to give you in ourselves an example to imitate” (1Th 3:7-9). Leaders like Paul and Nehemiah provide an example to follow. Are you a leader who’s afraid to get your hands dirty?
While fifty percent of the crew works on the walls, the other fifty provides security. “Half of them held the spears from the break of dawn until the stars came out” (v21). With half his labor force now on high alert to protect from a terrorist attack, Nehemiah makes a radical decision to take this project into 24 hour mode. Normal quitting time in the ancient Near East is sunset (Dt 24:15; Mt 20:8). Remember, there’s no electricity, no floodlights, and no generators. While the passage doesn’t tell us, we can assume they lit torches so they could work through the night. A leader must be careful not to push people too hard too long. You can’t be constantly in crisis mode. You can’t always keep the pedal to the medal. You will burn people out. You’re not serving them and loving them. That will allow you to ask them to step up in special situations. For Nehemiah, this is one of those times. It’s time to work overnights.
Because the workforce is undoubtedly more vulnerable at night, Nehemiah makes another important adjustment. “I also said to the people at the time, ‘Let every man and his servant pass the night within Jerusalem, that they may be a guard for us by night and may labor by day’” (v22). He orders that everyone who’s not working overnight to come inside the city. They’ll provide the overnight security detail for third shift. Once again we see that men from outside the city worked on the project (Neh 3:5, 7, 13, 19, 27). Nehemiah is more concerned about the welfare of the people than the bricks in the wall. This move has more to do with the protection of the people he leads than the completion of the project.
The situation is so serious that Nehemiah and those closest to him kept their clothes on 24/7. “So neither I nor my brothers nor my servants nor the men of the guard who followed me, none of us took off our clothes” (v23). This is no time to be putting on your PJs. If they need to get some shut eye, they sleep in their clothes. There’s confirmation outside of the Bible of Nehemiah’s incredible work ethic during the crisis. The Jewish historian Josephus confirms this in his work Antiquities. He writes that Nehemiah “himself made the rounds of the city by night, never tiring either through the work or lack of food and sleep, neither of which he took for pleasure but for necessity” (Antiquities 11.5.8). You don’t see Nehemiah snagging eight hours worth of Zs while the night crew is taking care of business. He leads by example. He doesn’t ask anyone to do anything that he’s not willing to do.
And just in case you doubted the threat of attack, Nehemiah’s crew “each kept his weapon at his right hand” (v23). The translation from the original Hebrew is a little wonky. It literally means “each weapon his water.” You can be pretty sure that this means that these dudes have their heads on a swivel and won’t be caught off guard, even when they go get a drink of water. As a matter of fact, that’s exactly how the NIV translators put it. “Each had his weapon, even when he went for water” (v23 NIV). The implication is constant readiness. Constant vigilance. Constant preparedness. We’ve already seen how some members of the work crew “each labored on the work with one hand and held his weapon with the other” (Neh 4:17). Nehemiah leads by personally always being ready. He doesn’t rely on personal body guards. He doesn’t have a crew what look like linebackers wearing sunglasses and walkie talkies. He’s packing. He’s ready. He’s leading by example.
There’s no greater illustration of a leader getting personally involved than Jesus. He could have stayed in the comforts of the heavenly palace. He could have kicked back and not gotten His hands dirty. But He didn’t. It’s hard to wrap our brains around the luxury the Son of God left behind in order to make the ultimate dumpster dive and save us from our sin. Jesus got personally involved. He did for us what we could never dream of doing for ourselves. He lives the perfect life that we fail to live. He dies the death for our sin that we should die. He rises to new life that we don’t deserve. The King of Kings becomes the Servant of Servants. Paul lets us know that this should be the attitude of everyone who places their trust in our Savior (Phil 2:1-11). He’s not afraid to get His hands dirty. He’s not afraid to get His hands bloody. Jesus leads by example. He’s the ultimate servant leader. Jesus doesn’t ask anyone to do anything he wouldn’t Himself.
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