The Righteous Leader

And there was a great outcry of the people and their wives against their Jewish brethren. For there were those who said, "We, our sons, and our daughters are many; therefore let us get grain, that we may eat and live." There were also some who said, "We have mortgaged our lands and vineyards and houses, that we might buy grain because of the famine." There were also those who said, "We have borrowed money for the king's tax on our lands and vineyards... and indeed we are forcing our sons and our daughters to be slaves... for other men have our lands and vineyards." (Nehemiah 5:1–5)

A 2,500-year-old account of economic injustice reveals five timeless marks of the leader God desires.

The Story Behind the Story

It's important whenever we come to a passage like this to recognize these are not mere stories written for entertainment. They are the recorded history of one people group—the descendants of Abraham. Abraham is still recognized across the world, by those of Jewish, Christian, and Muslim background, as a central figure in history. In Genesis 12 God called him to follow by faith, and in Genesis 15 God established a covenant promising him many descendants and a land that would forever be known as the promised land.

By the end of Genesis, Abraham's descendants number only about seventy, and they are not in the promised land—they are in Egypt. The covenant was renewed with Isaac, then with Jacob, whose twelve sons became the heads of the twelve tribes of Israel. They remained in Egypt some 430 years, never integrating, continuing to speak Hebrew and worship the one true God. As they multiplied, Egypt's leaders grew alarmed and severely oppressed them until they became Egypt's enslaved labor force.

From Egypt to the Promised Land

They cried out to God, and He raised up a deliverer, Moses. Pharaoh refused to let them go—really, he fought with God, and that is always a losing ambition. After ten plagues, Israel was released. Yet they did not enter the land for another generation, wandering forty years in the wilderness—not because they couldn't find their way, but because of stubborn disobedience.

As they prepared to enter the land, Moses gave his final message, the book of Deuteronomy—thirty-one chapters, all one message. So if you think my messages are long-winded, Moses wins. In Deuteronomy 28 he recounts that if they adhere to the covenant and obey God, blessings will overwhelm them in their lands, vineyards, and homes. But if they disregard the covenant, curses will come that effectively undo every blessing.

The Cycle of Sin and Exile

Joshua led them into the land, and for a time they served God faithfully. But Judges 2:10 says that when that generation passed, a new generation arose that did not know the Lord nor His works, and they did evil in His sight. So begins the cycle that fills the Old Testament: when a righteous leader led them, they served God; when that leader died, they returned to idolatry, fell under bondage, cried out, and God in mercy sent another deliverer.

After many centuries, God was true to His word. In the eighth century BC the Assyrians under Sennacherib destroyed the Northern Kingdom. Then in 605 BC, because of continued disobedience, the Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar came against the southern kingdom of Judah, and in 586 BC he destroyed Jerusalem and the temple, the center of all life in Israel. They were carried to Babylon as captives—just as God had warned.

God's Mercy and the Return

Even in judgment, God is merciful. In Babylon, Israel turned away from idolatry. Psalm 137 says, "By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down; yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion." God sent a deliverer—not from the line of Abraham, but Cyrus, king of Persia, whom Isaiah had named more than 150 years before he was born (Isaiah 40–45). When Daniel showed Cyrus his name written in those prophecies, Cyrus released the captives.

Under Ezra, around 537 BC, they returned and laid the temple's foundation. But the work was hard and the opposition great. After completing the temple, the work languished for some ninety years. Then, in 446 BC, a group came from Jerusalem to the Persian capital of Shushan, where a young Jewish man served as cupbearer to the king.

Nehemiah the Cupbearer

The cupbearer was the king's food taster—because one way to assassinate a king was to poison him. Every meal, this man took the first bite. Not the best job, but such a person became deeply trusted, like the Secret Service of the day. This cupbearer was Nehemiah. When his brother arrived from Jerusalem, Nehemiah asked about the work and learned the city was still in rubble and chaos.

Nehemiah was broken. He prayed and fasted for four or five months until God opened a door with the king, granting him opportunity to return and rebuild the walls. Whenever God's people stand up to do God's work, they can expect opposition. The enemy always opposes first from the outside—external opposition, which we see in Nehemiah 4. When that fails, he comes covertly from the inside—which is Nehemiah 5.

You see the same pattern in Acts: external opposition in chapters 3 and 4, then internal corruption with Ananias and Sapphira in chapter 5, then external threat again, then the internal ministry breakdown in chapter 6, then Stephen's martyrdom and persecution, then another internal cultural dispute. External opposition doesn't work, so the enemy goes inside.

An Economic Crisis Circa 445 BC

Nehemiah went back to rebuild, and Jews streamed into Jerusalem from across the Persian kingdom. But that influx strained resources—there wasn't enough food. When demand is high and supply is low, price goes up. Economics has not changed in thousands of years. People mortgaged their lands, vineyards, and houses to buy grain because of famine, and borrowed money to pay the king's tax. They couldn't afford food, and they couldn't afford taxes—sound familiar?

This was a subprime, variable-interest-rate heist circa 445 BC. Taxes were high, inflation was high, wages were low, and credit was accessible but at exorbitant rates. It sounds like 2008, but it was 2,500 years ago. When supply is low and demand is high, interest rates climb. The have-nots turned to their wealthier Israelite brothers for loans, putting up houses, vineyards, lands, and finally their own children as collateral. When the debt collectors came, they took daughters into slavery.

Point One: He Hears the Lowly

Nehemiah was a righteous leader. Many times throughout history, those in such desperate positions never get the ear of those in power. But Nehemiah was willing to hear the case of the lowly and the insignificant—those without political power or resources. They had a major economic problem, and the governor was willing to listen.

Point Two: He Is Angered by Injustice

"And I became very angry when I heard their cry" (Nehemiah 5:6). The righteous leader is angered by injustice and unrighteousness. We sometimes think it's more spiritual never to be angry, often from misapplying Paul's words in Ephesians 4: "Be angry, and do not sin: do not let the sun go down on your wrath." That is not a prohibition of anger—it commands it. Be angry. For many of us, we fulfill that part well; it's the rest that trips us up.

To be angry and not sin means being angry for the right reasons and responding in the right way—angry at injustice and unrighteousness, but responding with justice and righteousness. And not letting the sun go down on your wrath means, at the very least, we should not rest until injustice is dealt with. How? Micah 6:8: "He has shown you, O man, what is good... but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God." Make those three things the aim of your life and you will be in a good place.

Point Three: He Confronts the Powerful Without Partiality

"After serious thought, I rebuked the nobles and rulers, and said to them, 'Each of you is exacting usury from his brother'" (Nehemiah 5:7). Those three words—after serious thought—matter. Most big problems don't have easy answers; if they did, they'd already be solved. We live in a culture that wants to answer every problem in 240 characters or less, when most big problems require far more.

Nehemiah called a public assembly. "We have redeemed our Jewish brethren who were sold to the nations; now will you even sell your brethren?" They were silenced. The righteous leader is not afraid to confront the powerful, and is impartial in doing so. We like to think we are impartial, but we are all given to partiality. God has none. Romans 2:11 and Ephesians 6:9 reveal we are not as impartial as we'd like to think.

Too often, people with power or resources do not receive the same justice as others—that is unjust weights and measures. Consider the 2008–2009 financial crisis: those who pushed the policies that brought it about were not prosecuted, and people are still angered by it, because there is injustice there. There is no partiality with God, though there is plenty with us. Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 5 that those sinning should be rebuked before all, that the rest might fear—I wonder if he learned that from Nehemiah 5.

Point Four: He Leads by Example

The people agreed: "We will restore it, and require nothing from them." Nehemiah took an oath from them, shook out the fold of his garment, and said, "So may God shake out each one who does not perform this promise." And the people did as they had promised.

Then in verses 14–15 we learn that Nehemiah, appointed governor for twelve years, did not take the governor's provisions. The former governors had taken more than the established forty shekels of silver, laying heavy burdens on the people; their very servants ruled over the people. Why was usury rampant among the nobles? Because that was how they had been led. But Nehemiah led by example—"I did not do so... because of the fear of God." This is not to deny that a worker is worthy of his wages; Jesus and Paul both say do not muzzle the ox. But Nehemiah refused to take more than he needed.

Point Five: He Lives with Integrity Before God and Men

Verses 17 and 18 are essentially Nehemiah's Excel spreadsheet laid open for everyone to see—full transparency about what was provided for him and those working with him. "Yet in spite of this I did not demand the governor's provisions, because the bondage was heavy on this people." And then: "Remember me, my God, for good, according to all that I have done for this people" (5:19).

Integrity is severely lacking in 21st-century Western culture. You've seen the news—Senator John McCain passed away yesterday. Whether you agreed with his politics or not, from the left, the right, and everything between, most say he had integrity. Forbes wrote, "Many disagreed with his politics, but few ever doubted his values or questioned his integrity," adding, "There is a steep hidden tax that is paid when integrity is compromised."

Integrity is doing the right thing when nobody else is watching, and it comes from the fear of God—the understanding that though no one else sees, God sees, and He sees for a purpose. Nehemiah's words "remember me, my God" reveal his expectation that this life is not only about this life; it has implications for the next. I'm convinced integrity is lacking because, for the last century and a half, Western culture has diminished the reality that God sees. If there is no God, there is no moral accountability—no one's watching, take a little here and there. But God sees.

A Mirror for Us

The righteous leader hears the case of the lowly, is angered by injustice, confronts the powerful impartially, leads by example, and lives with integrity before God and men. By God's grace, that is what He desires for you and me. How different would our nation be if our leaders lived by this worldview?

But here is the challenging reality: those leaders hold their positions because we have not held them to that standard—having not held ourselves to it. That's like holding up the mirror and saying, "That's not good." So perhaps there needs to be in our hearts some confession and repentance, asking God to help us live this way.

Closing Prayer

Father, I thank You for this story that, even though it's 2,500 years old, has very pertinent application for us today. As we move into a new season—as kids return to school and we get back into a routine—impress upon us by Your grace and through the empowering of Your Holy Spirit to be those who live with this kind of integrity.

I pray the principles of Scripture would be on our minds this week, when every one of us is given the temptation to make a decision that goes against Your covenant and command, that skirts into a gray area where we tell ourselves nothing specifically says it's wrong. Lord, help us to live according to the principle that You see and keep an accounting. Enable us as Your people to live by Your grace and Your power with integrity, self-control, honesty, and kindness, that the fruit of the Spirit would be evident in our lives.

As we prepare in the coming months to cast votes for leaders in our country, may we measure them by the judging line of Scripture's principles and not merely by political party values. And may You raise up from this church and others in our area men and women seeking to live with integrity—even to fill some of those offices and see transformation. We know there is blessing in obedience, but sin is a reproach to any people. So God, do a work in us, Your church, to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly, by Your power. Amen.