Today’s Nehemiah Reading (Day #5): Nehemiah chapter 5.

Walls won’t work when the enemy is within.

The walls of Jerusalem are meant to protect its citizens, but as Nehemiah is engaged in the task of rebuilding those walls, the poor people of the city come to him and tell him that they are being oppressed by their fellow Jews. In other words, the enemy is not only without, but within the city. Nehemiah promptly and effectively confronts the elites that are behaving in that way and even gets them to willingly agree to change their economic practices. However, this sour note in the rebuilding process is a foreshadowing of what will happen at the end of the book.

Today’s Leadership Lesson from Nehemiah:

The narrative then jumps ahead and we learn that Nehemiah is actually the governor and that his first term lasted 12 years! And then, he gives us this insight: though he was entitled—as governor—to tax the people to pay for food for his retinue and for himself, he never took a dime from the people; rather, he paid for everything out of his own pocket.

Great leaders serve their people.

Whom can you serve today?