Nehemiah - A Spiritual Leadership Course

All right. We're about ready to begin with the message, the main message for today. I do have quite a bit to cover. This has to be one of my favorite personages in the Bible. I have learned so much from this person. I'm so glad it's part of the Bible, although it is many times not well known. And this is part two because I cover part one about two weeks ago. And this is titled Nehemiah, a spiritual leadership course. So God designed this particular book in the Bible to be like a spiritual leadership course. I certainly was shaped by reading this book as I studied it carefully. And we're going to have a PowerPoint presentation. Yes, they're okay. Yes, they're fine. And there are seven spiritual principles we can apply in our own lives because these principles are timeless. Yes, Nehemiah applied them in his day. And God inspired him to write this autobiography, which is part of the Bible, one of the heroes of the faith. Certainly, the church will go through different trials. And that's where the spiritual leadership is needed. It was needed at that time for God to fulfill his prophecies. He calls different people to step up to the gap. And certainly, Nehemiah was the right person at the right time to carry out God's purpose of rebuilding Jerusalem and preparing it for the coming of the Jesus Christ of Messiah. Over four centuries later.

And so, to me, this is better than having all of these leadership books that you can have. And they're helpful. But here's one in the Bible that's inspired by God. And so, it behooves us to pay close attention, see how we can apply these principles. Now, our church has gone through different trials, just like it has through church history since it started on Pentecost. We believe in AD 31, when that group of around 120 received men and women that were there, received God's Spirit. And so, through almost 2,000 years of church history, we've gone through different trials. Now, many of us here have basically gone through two major trials of the church. One happened in 1995. That trial was over church doctrine, whether we were going to obey God's laws or if those laws that were given in the Old Testament and that Christ and his apostles also kept, and Christ added a spiritual dimension to that law. Remember, one of God's promises is that he's going to write his laws into our hearts when the resurrection comes. So God's law is not going to be done away, but certainly has to be kept not only in the letter, but also in the Spirit. That's what Christ brought, as mentions in John chapter 1, that Moses brought the law of God, and then it says, and Jesus Christ brought the grace of God and into it. He's talking about that truth and grace. So I want to go over these seven principles. We covered five of them, and I just want to briefly go over each. The first spiritual principle is he had a very close personal relationship with God. That's where the spiritual strength came from. So it doesn't matter where you are. That very close personal relationship with God is where we draw the strength from God.

Notice Jeremiah chapter 9 verse 23, Jeremiah chapter 9 verse 23. Certainly one of the famous verses in the Bible. It says in Jeremiah 9 verse 23.

Now, Nehemiah was well off, had a powerful office in the Persian government, but where did he draw that strength? It says in verse 23, Jeremiah 9, it says, Thus says the Lord, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom. So a person that is wise, he says, don't glory in your own intelligence and wisdom. He says, Let not the mighty man glory in his might or strength. You know, some people really develop very strong bodies, and they think that's the greatest thing that they can have. So wisdom is not the greatest thing you can have. Neither is physical strength. He says, Nor let the rich man glory in his riches. And so there are people that amass great fortunes. And maybe for them, that's really the highlight. And they think that's the best thing you can do. And basically, there's this cult of materialism, which means that you value a person's life according to how much he has. And certainly, that's not what the Bible says. He says here, don't don't glory over that. He says this, I'm going to show you one thing that is greater than all of that. He says, But let him who glories glory in this, that he understands and knows me, that strong personal relationship with God. And he knows how I am. He says that I am the Lord, exercising loving kindness, which is the word has said in the Hebrew, which is translated in the New Testament as love. God is love or loving kindness, judgment and righteousness in the earth. Talking about the name of God and his character. Well, he's describing his character here. For in these I delight, says the Lord. I delight in the people who think of me that way, as a loving father, exercising loving kindness, judgment and righteousness in the earth. And so a lot of people might have a negative perspective of God. Certainly you learn in school and with evolution and everything that God doesn't exist. And then there are others that believe in God, but don't think he's a personal God that's involved in your own personal life. And so so many people don't know God in this way. But Nehemiah certainly did. And it was a wonderful relationship. But let's see how it worked out. So in this first slide, it tells us he had that close relationship in Jeremiah 9, 23 and 24. He lived this principle. And so any person, if you want to have spiritual strength, you have to go and have a personal relationship with God. I remember a man, a student back in Ambassador College, who told me, and he was a prominent person in a speech that he gave, he talked about that he never had a father figure in his life. And so he he wandered through life and just felt there was this vacuum in his life. There wasn't something to fill it with. He says until he came into the church, and then he could fill it with God the Father. And now he had a father that he could relate to, and that gave him the strength. And so many have that same experience.

The second spiritual principle that we covered this last time was that Nehemiah was very resourceful. We can change now the slide.

He was very resourceful. He did his part to examine the problems and find the solutions by preparing to explain to the king what he needed and why, when, where, and how to do it.

Rudyard Kipling, the great British poet, once said, I have five servants that have never failed me. Their name is what, how, when, why, and where. So if you have that information, it helps so much.

And so Nehemiah was that type of person that prepared ahead of time. Because when he realized the situation in Jerusalem, that the walls were still broken down, nobody could live in Jerusalem because it could be invaded any day, any time. And so people were out in their little villages and houses. And he said, well, God has given me a position where I can do something about it, because he was a cupbearer. Cupbearer of the Persian king Artaxerxes, the first. This is all historically documented. And the cupbearer, according to one of the Assyrian lists of the salaries that were given in that area of the world, first, of course, you had the king, then you had the commander of the armies as the second, and the third was a cupbearer, because he was the intimate person that looked at what was drunk. And one of the easiest ways to get rid of a king is to poison him. But you had to have a person that was very close, that you know was loyal, that was never going to betray you. And so Nehemiah said, I'm going to sacrifice that position because I've got a relationship with God. I know the prophecies, I know that Israel has to be rebuilt. Remember, Daniel already had written his book about the time that the Messiah would appear, and the 70 weeks prophecy, and everything else. So this man stepped up to the plate, and so he had to have all the answers when he came before the king. He had to wait and fasted and prayed for that right occasion which came, and then the king said, well, why are you sad? And so then he said a prayer and then said, look at my nation, look what's happening, the walls are broken down. And so then God touched the king's heart, and the king favored the man, gave him favor. And so the king said, well, what do you need? And immediately he already knew the list of things. He even knew where to get the wood to be able to rebuild a lot of the things. There was a person, a Persian person, that was in charge of that, the forest where you cut down the things. And he had all the builders. He says, this is what I need to be able to get there. These are all the equipment that I need. And so you learn in life about leadership. You can't wait till the last minute to do things. You have to anticipate, you have to prepare ahead of time. Like Proverbs 22 verse 9 says in the Amplified version, Proverbs 22-29, he says, do you see a man diligent and skillful in his business? He will stand before kings. He will not stand before obscure men.

And, you know, true diligence requires paying attention to details, maintaining a strong work ethic, and consistently delivering high quality results. Recognition, which is brought as a result, he says, by perfecting your skills, you naturally attract the respect and attention of decision makers, leaders and those in authority, perfecting, honing your skills.

And advancement is a result. Competent workers elevate their standing, allowing them to advance their careers and outpace mediocrity. So you have to do this to be able to get those type of results. And Nehemiah was that way. He was ready, and he spent 12 years in Jerusalem rebuilding it. And when he finished, Jerusalem had all its walls. It had a thriving population inside. It had an economic system. And so he pushed and carried all of this out, which seemed impossible at the beginning.

Let's go to the third quality he had. That's the next slide. Yeah. He was humble and set a personal example, participating in the hard work and dividing the wall into sections in which he had one of those sections and personally participated in it. So here's this very top official, the Persian government. Usually those men, they don't get their sleeves dirty. They have other people do the dirty work. He didn't. And he participated in it. He carried his load. And he says they couldn't change their clothing very often because of the dangers of the enemies around them. And then the fourth and the last point that we covered the last time, we want to go to the next slide.

He showed constant courage and set a personal example by not getting intimidated and found the answers to the problem.

This man was so close to God, he imbued others with confidence, with tranquility. We're going to get this done.

Notice in Nehemiah chapter 4.

Nehemiah chapter 4.

Starting in verse 7.

Nehemiah 4 verse 7. It says, Now it happened when Samballad the Tabiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites and the Ashdonites heard that the walls of Jerusalem were being restored and the gates were beginning to be closed, that they became very angry. And all of them conspired together to come and attack Jerusalem and create confusion.

And so he had all these enemies surrounding him. He didn't have one group of friends. And they certainly were much more powerful. And did that intimidate? Nehemiah said, oh well, let's give up. No, he didn't. Kind of reminds me there of Churchill in World War II. Here the Germans had run over everybody. It looked like nobody could stop the German invasion. And he got up and he said, we're not going to give up. We will never surrender. It doesn't matter what the cost is. We will fight and we will defend our nation. And that changed the whole mentality of the people who a lot of them in the Congress there in the Parliament wanted to sue for peace.

They wanted to use Mussolini as a mediator and just say, well, as long as you leave us alone, we promise we won't get in your way. And of course, Hitler was just licking his chops. Because then he could take all the time and come in when he was so powerful that it would have been different. But look what Nehemiah did. He says in verse 9, Nevertheless, we made our prayer to our God.

First you pray. You know, God is the all-powerful. Nothing can unseat Him or Jesus Christ, their on their throne. No matter what happens, they are love and goodness, and nobody can remove that. So all of these are just momentary afflictions and a nuisance. He says, And because of them, we set a watch against them day and night. So what was Nehemiah's motto?

Pray and then do your part. They didn't say, oh, well, God, come over, send everything and help us with angels. No, what did he do? He said, a watch against them day and night. And so the enemies all of a sudden said, when are we going to be able to do this? They're ready for us. Then Judah said, the strength of the labors is failing, and there is so much rubbish that we are not able to build a wall.

So he had external dangers, and he had internal dangers. Because, of course, the walls have been destroyed, and you had to clear all of that first. And he says, people are just exhausted. We can't go on very much longer. And our adversary said, they will neither know nor see anything till we come into their midst and kill them and cause the work to cease. So it was when the Jews who dwelt near them came that they told us ten times, from whatever place you turn, they will be upon us.

He says, they're just waiting in the hills. Therefore, I positioned men behind the lower parts of the wall at the openings, and I set people according to their families with their swords, their spears, and their bows. And I looked and arose and said to the nobles, to the leaders, and to the rest of the people, do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord great and awesome, and fight for your brethren, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses. It sounded like Moses before the parting of the Red Sea.

It's the same God that we have. Many times we just lack that faith, that confidence, how big our God truly is. Continue on in verse 15, and it happened when our enemies heard that it was known to us and that God had brought their plot to nothing, that all of us returned to the wall, everyone to his work.

He always gives God the credit. He says, and that God had brought their plot to nothing. So they never had that opening. They thought, well, they'll give up, they'll drop them. Some moment they're gonna let down. And they never did. So it was, from that time on, that half of my servants worked at construction, while the other half held the spears, the shields, the bows, and wore armor, and the leaders were behind all of the house of Judah.

Those who built on the wall and those who carried burdens loaded themselves so that with one hand they worked at construction and with the other held a weapon. Every one of the builders had his sword girded at his side and he built and the one who sounded the trumpet was beside me. So he says, we have to be alert. We can't give the enemy any chance to overcome this.

Goes on to say, verse Yeah, that's...

And then I said to the nobles, the rulers, and the rest of the people, the work is great and extensive and we are separated far from one another on the wall. Wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet rally to us then, our God will fight for us. So we labored in the work and half of the men held the spears. So he just took every precaution possible to hinder that. And so he knew that if he weakened at one time it wasn't going to be successful. Just in our lives, too. How can we prepare and do our part? Do what is right? And I really admire a person that, you know, takes the bull by the horn. Okay, we got this situation. Okay, what do we do? Let's get some counseling. Let's get things going. And then you carry things out. That's part of having God's flock be at peace and be at ease and everybody chips in as they will.

So now I'd like to go to part two, which has to do with three final principles. So let's go to the next slide.

He showed, he anticipated the problems and not, let's see here, yeah, and not wait for these to come to him, staying close to God.

So he anticipated the problems and did not wait for these to come to him. Again, many times you can look beyond today, say these are the things I have to deal with. I have to anticipate. I have to prepare for them. I think sometimes just being able to prepare for a feast of tabernacles is part of God's training because so much goes into the preparation of every one of those feasts, all the things, all the details. And so you have to be on top so when that feast comes, everything is in its place. Everything possible has been thought through and taken care of. So Nehemiah faced now an assassination plot. His enemies got so frustrated they couldn't attack him because everybody was armed to the teeth and they were cautious and prepared. Now they said, well, let's just get rid of Nehemiah. And he applied the principle in Proverbs 2410. In Proverbs 2410, this is the Passion Translation, says, if you faint when under pressure you have need of courage. And so Nehemiah, he had plenty of experience having been the king's cup bear. How many plots did he have to unravel? How many people did he have to deal with? And so when the next trial comes in chapter six, this was a dirty tricks campaign, including an assassination plot that he had to cover. Notice in Nehemiah 6 verse 1, it says, now it happened when Samballat, Tabiah, Gesham, the Arab, and the rest of our enemies heard that I had rebuilt the wall and that there was no breaks left in it, although at that time I had not hung the doors in the gates that Samballat and Gesham said to me, saying, come, let us meet together among the villages in the plain of Ono. But they thought to do me harm. So they said, well, we want to make peace with you. After all, look at all the numerous people we have. Don't you want to have a peace conference together there? And Nehemiah said, oh, all you want is to draw me out, not have the protection of Jerusalem of all my men, go out there, and then you will assassinate me. So he said, sent messengers to them, saying, I am doing a great work so that I cannot come down. Why should the work cease while I leave it and go down to you? And so he just said, no, thanks, but no thanks. He didn't bite the bait. But they sent me this message four times, and I answered them in the same manner. Then Sembalot sent his servant to me as before, the fifth time, with an open letter in his hand, and it was written. It is reported among the nations, and Geshem says, that you and the Jews plan to rebel. Therefore, according to these rumors, you are rebuilding the wall, that you may be their king, and you have also appointed prophets to proclaim concerning you at Jerusalem, saying, there is a king in Judah. Now these matters will be reported to the king. So come, therefore, and let us consult together. So here's this thread about discrediting Nehemiah.

And then Nehemiah says, I sent to him, saying, no such thing as you say are being done, but you invent them in your own heart. So many times people will come up and they'll accuse you of false things, and you can't let them get the best of you. He says, for they all were trying to make us afraid, saying their hands will be weakened in the work, and it will not be done. And then he prays, now therefore, O God, strengthen my hands. So again, just close to God, and then taking action.

In verse 19, he says, afterward I came in the house of Shania the son of Delathah, the son of Ma'heetha Bell, who was a secret informer. So here you have a spy, a double agent, and he said, let us meet together in the house of God within the temple, and let us close the doors of the temple, for they are coming to kill you. Indeed, at night they will come to kill you. So here's a person that is acting like, oh, I'm an informer. I heard they're going to come after you. So I'm warning you, and let's all get together there inside the temple. And I said, should such a man as I flee, and who is there such as I who would go into the temple to save his life? I will not go in. And then I perceived that God had not sent him at all, but that he pronounced this prophecy against me because Tobiah and Sembalot had hired him. For this reason he was hired, that I should be afraid and act that way and sin, so that they might have cause for an evil report, that they might reproach me. So, of course, this is another ruse. It's another deceitful plot, which was, let's have Nehemiah discredit himself by going inside the temple, which only priests could do. And so if he was discovered there, they would say, well, what kind of governor do you have? He's breaking God's law. And so again, just very wise, because there are people that many times act like they're your friends, but they're not really. They're just trying to find a way to discredit you. And then he prays, my God, remember Tobiah and Sembalot according to these, their works, and the prophetess, Noadiah, that was a woman prophet that was against Nehemiah, and the rest of the prophets who would have made me afraid. So here's a man that had the experience to see through things, discern what is behind sometimes sweet, nice words. But as David mentioned in one of his songs, but there was venom, there was hostility inside.

Let's go forward here. So let's go to Nehemiah 6.16.

It's 6.15 and 16. It says, So the wall was finished on the 25th day of Eloh, that's the Hebrew month, in 52 days, less than two months, and they had that wall done, which looked like it was an impossible task. But you see, what he did is he divided the sections up. So it wasn't that people were just running around doing everything. No, it would have been like, you know, Bob and Gloria, if they would have had a section that would have been their family, who was in charge of cleaning up and doing it, and that was going to be, you know, the Harrington side, the section, and then you'd have, okay, the Dichyas section, and they would get together. That was all their group. And of course, that was some nice competition, because you wanted to get your wall up higher and faster than the other. And they worked together in this way. And so in 52 days, it says, and it happened when all our enemies heard of it, and all the nations around us saw these things, that they were very disheartened in their own eyes, for they perceived that this work was done by our God. Sure, God was there. When you're doing part of God's work, he's going to open the doors. He's going to show you what is necessary. He's got millions of angels at his disposal at any time to intervene. You know, God, he puts angels over our houses every night to look, and we should ask them for them to be there like our guardians. And anybody that wants to rob something or do us harm, that those powerful, holy, and loving angels will just scare them, the person, and push them out and just get them to leave the place. But you have to believe that they're angels like that. And you can ask God, and he's pleased with that. Many times we get in the trouble because we never ask God. He says, you never ask so you don't receive. This was what Nehemiah understood so well. Notice the humility and modesty of Nehemiah. He knew God was in charge. God had enabled him to complete this work, so he gave God all the glory and credit. As a man of faith, he had done everything possible on his part, and then he relied on God to do the rest. So finally, after 150 years of destruction, Jerusalem was a city again, well fortified and respected by surrounding nations. But Nehemiah's problems were not over. He had to deal with additional threatening letters from his enemies. Now, however, they could do little with a city so well protected. So we get to chapter 7.

Nehemiah verse 5. It says, Then my Lord put it into my heart to gather the nobles, the rulers, and the people that they might be registered by genealogy. And I found a register of the genealogy of those who had come up in the first return and found written in it.

So this is the sixth principle. Let's go to the next slide.

Next slide. So God put this. It wasn't enough to just build the physical walls and now have the place. He needed for the people to come back and do what they should before God. So that was the next task, which was so difficult.

In Nehemiah 7 verse 66, he mentions all of these people that were listed. And then he says in verse 66, altogether the whole assembly was 42,360. Besides their male and female servants, of whom there were 7,337, they had 245 men and women singers. So they always had that choral section. They always had their hymns. This was part of worshiping God at that time. And these people were professional singers. They also were sustained as Levites and others to be able to prepare the hymns for God's people. Then it goes on to say in verse 73, it says, so the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, some of the people, the nethinim, and all Israel dwelt in their cities. And then we come to chapter 8. We see the respect for God's laws and for his feasts. Now there is this restoration of worshiping God as it should be done. It says in verse 1, Now all the people gathered together, mentioned here the seventh month, the previous, they gathered together as one man in the open square that was in front of the water gate. And they told Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded Israel. So Ezra the priest brought the law before the assembly of men and women, and all who could hear with understanding on the first day of the seventh month. That's the Feast of Trumpets. You can see there how different parts of the scriptures were read to them. He said, Then he read from it in the open square that was in front of the water gate, from morning until midday, before the men and women and those who could understand, and the ears of all the people, were attentive to the book of the law. So Ezra the scribe stood on a platform of wood which they had made for that purpose. And then it goes on to say, verse 5, and Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was standing above all the people. Verse 6, and Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God. Then all the people answered, Amen, Amen, which means so let it be. While lifting up their hands and they bowed their heads and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground. You can imagine at that moment how thrilled they were. Finally Jerusalem is back on its feet. Finally we have a place where we can worship God in this way. We've seen the power of God. We've seen miraculously how the walls are all now covered and protected. And of course, they wanted to be part of God's work. They were so enthusiastic about it. They're understanding God's Word and what God expects of us. Because the Bible is not some sterile book. It's not some literature book. It's an instruction manual. It tells us what we can do and what God does as well.

It goes on to say that all of these Levites in verse 7, it says, the Levites helped the people to understand the law and the people stood in their place. Just like we do in the church. Well, we read from this is God's law and God's Word, but how we're going to understand it if somebody doesn't give it that understanding to be able to bring it to life and apply it in our own lives. That's the purpose that we are here. We're not here to entertain and do other things. We're here to understand God's Word, how to apply it in our lives. Verse 8. So they read distinctly from the book and the law of God, and they gave the sense and helped them to understand the reading. And then it goes on to say, verse 9, and Nehemiah, who was the governor, Ezra, the priest and scribe, and the Levites, who taught the people, said to all people, this day is holy to the Lord your God. Yes, it's the feast of trumpets. Do not mourn nor weep, for all the people wept when they heard the words of the law. Remember, God's law is like a spiritual mirror, and it shows us our shortcomings, what we need to do better in our lives. And then he says, verse 10, go your way, eat the fat, which means the nice beefy meat. Drink the sweet and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared. Invite those less than yourself. For this day is holy to our God. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is in your strength. And so they keep this feast. They also keep the feast of tabernacles. Notice in verse 18. Also, day by day, from the first day until the last day, he read from the book of the law of God. This is what we do, the feast of tabernacles. And they kept the feast seven days, and on the eighth day, there was a sacred assembly, according to the prescribed manner. And what is the result? A spiritual revival of such magnitude that it has repercussion all the way to our days. Because from what happens here, at the time of Nehemiah, is when the Jews finally renounce idolatry. They commit to keeping the Sabbaths, the feast days, the tithes. And you know what? From that day on, you can say what you want about the Jews, but they're still keeping the Sabbath, they're keeping the feast days, and they're still keeping the tithes, and the clean meats. And so let's go to chapter 10. This is the final slide as well. The seventh principle. Nehemiah persevered until the task was fully accomplished, because it wasn't just getting things started. As soon as he left, went back to serve the king, things unraveled. The leadership had gotten weak. Nobody was tithing again. They were breaking the Sabbath. And Nehemiah has to come back. And that's what happens. Notice in Nehemiah 13. Let me mention Nehemiah 10 verse 1, because that's very important. This is when they make a covenant with God. It says verse 1, Now those who place their seal on the document. And here they commit to keeping the Sabbath faithfully, keeping the feast days, keeping tithes. And he says, Now those who place their seal on the document were, number one, Nehemiah. He was the first one. Just like John Hancock, right? Put his name. First one in the Declaration of Independence that we're going to be now celebrating 250 years of it. And so they commit to this.

And so now in chapter 13, in verse 4, it says, Now before this, Eliei Sheb, the priest, having authority over the storerooms of the house of our God, the temple, was allied with Tobiah, who had been one of the traders. And he prepared for him a large room. And it says in verse 6, But during all of this, I was not in Jerusalem. For in the 32nd year of Artaxerxes, king of Babylon, I had returned to the king. So he left on the 20th year, came back in the 32nd year. And he obtained leave. Verse 7, And I came to Jerusalem and discovered the evil that Eliei Sheb had done for Tobiah, and preparing a room for him in the courts of the house of God, this man who had betrayed. And it grieved me bitterly. Therefore, I threw all the household goods of Tobiah out of the room. And he said, verse 16, I also realized that the portion of the Levites had not been given them. So the tithes had been abandoned for each of the Levites and the singers who did the work had gone back to his field. They had to produce their own goods. Now they left the temple. So I contended with the rulers. Said, Why is the house of God forsaken? He says in verse 15, In those days I saw people in Judah treading wine presses on the Sabbath, which is doing work, and bringing in chiefs, in other words, ever threshing, harvesting, and loading donkeys with wine, grapes, figs, and all kinds of burdens, which they brought into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. And I warned them about the day on which they were selling provisions. Men of Tyre dwelt there, these were the fishermen, also who brought in fish and all kinds of goods and sold them on the Sabbath. They were having market day. And then I contended with the nobles of Judah and said to them, What evil thing is this that you do by which you profane the Sabbath day? And so he says in verse 19, So it was at the gates of Jerusalem, as it began to be dark before the Sabbath, that I commanded the gates to be shut and charged that they must not be opened. In verse 20, Now the merchants and settlers of all kinds of wares lodged outside Jerusalem once or twice, and I warned them, Why do you spend the night around the wall? If you do so again, I will lay hands on you. From that time on, they came no more on the Sabbath. And so he says in verse 22, And I commanded the Levites that they should cleanse themselves, and that they should go and guard the gates to sanctify the Sabbath. And then his prayer, Remember me, O my God, concerning this also, and spare me according to the greatness of your mercy. They still always humbly asking God, Have mercy on me. This is what I am going to do for you. And at the end, it says in verse 30, So I cleanse them of everything pagan. I also assign duties to the priests and the Levites, each to his service, and to bringing the wood offering and the firstfruits at appointed times. And he ends with these words, Remember me, O my God, for good. So may the Spirit of Nehemiah always be with us and in us.