Neh. 6:1-14, Good Government (3)

I have said in these posts, don’t expect good things to continue.  It doesn’t work like that.  The bigger point is: don’t put your trust in kings and presidents and public servants (Ps. 146:3-5).  The amazing thing about living under the New Covenant is that by the grace of God, the Holy Spirit, the Word of God we can live as Christ under chaotic, tyrannical or righteous governments. 

·       6:1-4: A good leader is one who understands the nature of “greatness.”  In our world, there is a lot of greatness in a “summit.”  In the cold war they were rare.  We were all agog when Nixon and Khrushchev met.  Now it seems like every month there’s a gathering of world leaders somewhere.  Nehemiah’s greatness came from doing the thing God had laid on his heart, governing the people of Jerusalem and Judea so they could get the wall rebuilt.

·       6:5-9: A good leader does not cave in to false accusation.  Wow!  Does this happen in our nation!  False accusation can involve a lie.  Or it can involve a charge against someone for doing something the one making the charge has also done but who wants to use it to bring down the “competition.”  It is nothing more or less than “gossip.”  You think that is only for the ladies club?  Wrong!  It is going on in the corridors of power.  It’s everywhere.  When you hear the words “it is reported” (v6) you can expect that nobody said anything.  The question is, will the leader under attack be willing to abide by the truth and integrity of his life and not be brought down by his enemies.  Standing under that pressure is a sign of real strength.  Nehemiah stood tall by just giving it to the Lord (v9b).

·       6:10-14: A good leader is not ruled by fear.  He is not easily shaken.  In the case of Nehemiah, fear would have led him to seek protection not afforded to the average citizen.  We see this often in our country (and it’s true everywhere; again, “there’s nothing new under the sun”).  Governmental leaders or workers with benefits not afforded the common citizen.  Again, this goes against the leader as a “shepherd.”  Nehemiah was a governor who did not “lead” but who “shepherded” the flock. 

I hope these things are helpful.  Again, let us be clear: if we do not have good leaders we are not in a hopeless situation.  As followers of Christ, we are well-equipped to fulfill our calling in any situation.  Our calling has to do with living and proclaiming the gospel of Christ.  Our bottom line is to pray for our governmental leaders so they will rule in such a way as to keep peace in our neighborhood so we can do our gospel work (1 Tim. 2:1-7).