Rebuilding After Ruins: The Leadership of Ezra and Nehemiah

Discover the extraordinary leadership principles from two ancient leaders who transformed a city in ruins into a revitalized community. When Ezra and Nehemiah returned to Jerusalem around 450 BC, they faced seemingly insurmountable challenges. The city walls had lain in rubble for 150 years, and the people had abandoned their spiritual heritage.

What happens when visionary leadership meets strategic execution? Nehemiah stunned everyone by rebuilding the entire wall in just 52 days despite fierce opposition. His unforgettable response to distractions – "I am doing a great work and cannot come down" – provides a powerful model for maintaining focus amid the countless distractions of modern leadership.

Dr. Posey breaks down three timeless leadership principles that made Nehemiah's success possible: thorough research before action, leading by authentic example alongside his people, and making tough decisions to protect the mission. Meanwhile, Ezra's parallel work of spiritual restoration shows how rebuilding physical structures and rebuilding human communities require different but complementary approaches.

Whether you're leading a business through transformation, guiding a community through rebuilding, or simply trying to stay focused on your personal mission, this episode offers practical wisdom wrapped in historical context. The principles that helped these ancient leaders rebuild from rubble can help you face your own leadership challenges with renewed clarity and determination.

The Biblical Leadership Show continues its journey through the Old Testament, with hosts Tim and Dr. Posey bringing ancient wisdom to modern challenges through their signature blend of scholarly insight and lighthearted conversation. Join them next week as they explore the remarkable story of Esther and her courageous leadership in the face of existential threat.

Chapters

• 0:28 Welcome to Biblical Leadership Show
• 2:40 Introduction to Ezra and Nehemiah
• 4:50 Historical Context of Jerusalem's Destruction
• 10:40 Nehemiah's Vision and Wall Rebuilding
• 15:30 Leadership Principles from Nehemiah
• 20:47 Faith and Strategy Balance
• 25:58 Dad Joke Intermission
• 29:40 Church History and Show Wrap-Up

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:28

Welcome, welcome, welcome that's what we're talking about To another exciting episode of the Biblical Leadership Show, Show, show.

Speaker 2: 0:40

Hey Tim, how you doing today? What's up going on there, dr Tim? Well, not too much, you know, not too much. Things are good here down in Waco, and just you know moving on one day at a time.

Speaker 1: 0:54

We're still far apart, but that's okay.

Speaker 2: 0:57

Yeah, we'll be until the end of April. Yeah, april, end of April, yep, I like it.

Speaker 1: 1:05

Yeah Well, well, exciting times. Everything's going good. You had a good sermon last week.

Speaker 2: 1:11

You know everything's uh, sleep, that's, that's the key.

Speaker 1: 1:15

Right there, there you go that's honestly 100, the best thing that you.

Speaker 2: 1:20

That is exactly right, right yeah, but yeah I'm starting to get back into it, my traveling.

Speaker 1: 1:28

I have, you know, been home for a little bit now, so I started getting back into my routine, figuring out how to make some money so I can start traveling again.

Speaker 2: 1:37

I'm glad you're. I bet your family's glad that you're back. You know, being gone from your family for like two weeks solid it's. That's hard. You know it gone from your family for like two weeks solid.

Speaker 1: 1:45

that's hard it is. It's pretty tough.

Speaker 2: 1:49

Yeah, and I'm just thinking. You know, when you're saying that we're traveling, you know that's really nothing compared to some of these military men and women that are gone, deployed for like a year that would be. You talk about sacrifice for the spouse that's left behind. You know that is just tough. That's tough and just be thankful for her.

Speaker 1: 2:09

I'm one of the people that like to hang out with my kids. Man, that's 24-7. I don't need to 24-7. I'm okay with it.

Speaker 1: 2:17

So I like my kids, so I'm all about it. Like my spouse, so it's one of those things. Right, and you've got a great family. You really really do. Yeah, I am blessed. Great family, yeah, but yeah. So anyway, we mentioned a little bit what we're going to talk about today and how and why we're doing it. You know we're going to combine two books today, but that's really not combining, since they used to be one. Isn't that correct? That's correct.

Speaker 2: 2:44

So Ezra and Nehemiah, they were contemporaries back around 450 BC. Originally, Ezra and Nehemiah was one book. It was divided into two and they have different themes, but the focus of both of them is rebuilding a different aspect of the city or the people of Jerusalem, and so there's some history behind that.

Speaker 1: 3:24

So Ezra focuses on restoring the temple and reestablishing spiritual devotion is what I have, where Nehemiah focused on rebuilding Jerusalem's walls and strengthening the community. Is that correct?

Speaker 2: 3:38

Well, ezra was a teacher. Okay, so he was a teacher, and so his real focus was on teaching and rebuilding the community. The temple had already been rebuilt, but by using the temple and focusing on the Torah and the Jewish laws and the teaching of that, he was really trying to get people back to worshiping God. So what's tragic is so the Babylonians destroyed the city of Jerusalem in 586 BC. Now we talked about last week with Daniel.

Speaker 2: 4:10

In 605 BC, there were several waves of people who were deported from Israel over to Babylon, and Daniel was a part of that group in 605 BC. Then there was some more in like 597. Then there was just a lot in 586, when the whole city was destroyed, and then that was the Babylonians. Well, you have that happened in 586 BC. Well, in 539 BC, the Persian Empire conquered the Babylonians. In 539 BC, the Persian Empire conquered the Babylonians, and so a year later, the king of Persia, king Cyrus, allowed some of the Jewish people to go back to Jerusalem, and so that's really the first wave of people going back, and so that's really the first wave of people going back.

Speaker 2: 5:09

Zerubbabel, he was the leader of that. He was the one that helped rebuild the temple. It wasn't the extravagant temple of Solomon, it wasn't the Gezabit temple that would come later for what's called Herod's temple during the time of Jesus but it was a temple. And so that happened, beginning in 538 BC. And then the second wave of people went back in 458 BC. So you have, and that was led by Ezra, and so he went back. And what's tragic about that, as we read the story, is that the Jewish people had really turned their backs on God, were worshiping other gods. That was really part of the reason for the downfall of the country and the city, you know, in the late 500s. Well, by the time Ezra got back to Jerusalem, they had taken up some of their old habits and they were, you know, not worshiping God. They were, you know, falling into sin. And so, as Ezra was preaching, the people repented. So it was a powerful message that God used him to bring the people back to God through the preaching of the Bible. And so, not too long after that was Nehemiah, and he came.

Speaker 2: 6:49

Now think about this the city of Jerusalem was destroyed. I mean literally destroyed. The walls were torn down. These walls were massive, they were all torn down just rubble. In 586 BC.

Speaker 2: 7:08

You have, 150 years later, nehemiah comes and he feels that God is letting him to rebuild the wall. Now it's been in rubble for 150 years. Now it's been in rubble for 150 years. The people have been living in rubble for, you know, like 100 years. And so it's like sometimes, you know, you walk into a situation Just think about the leadership of these two men, ezra and Nehemiah.

Speaker 2: 7:49

You walk into a situation and you might be hired to, you know, take over a business or be in a position, and you're not really told everything when you're going through the interview process. And then you walk in and you realize man, this place is a mess and it would be easy to say I'm out of here. You know, forget it. These men didn't do that. They focused on their priorities of rebuilding the people, rebuilding the city, rebuilding the people, rebuilding the city. And this is incredible. So Nehemiah was preaching, the people repented. I mean, ezra was preaching. Nehemiah came after that. The city walls had been down for 150 years. He surveyed the whole city at night so no one would know what he was doing, and he got other people to start helping him. The entire wall was rebuilt in 52 days. 52 days, I mean, that's not even two months, and it just shows the power of vision.

Speaker 1: 9:02

There was a lot of resistance to it when he was building them. Yes, there was so much conflict and they had to have armed guards protecting them while they were building the wall, and stuff, which is amazing. You know that you have that passion and you're worried about you know doing it and it's your calling right. We're going to rebuild these walls.

Speaker 2: 9:23

Yes, and so there was several people we won't get into the names and all that, but there were several people whose job it was to. They felt self-appointed to discourage Nehemiah from rebuilding the walls. And Nehemiah I think one of the most amazing passages in this particular set of two books comes from Nehemiah, chapter 6. The people are trying to discourage him from doing the work. Yes, they had to work with one hand, keep their sword in the other hand, and so these two men are trying to get Nehemiah distracted. And in chapter 6, verse 3, what a great statement by Nehemiah. So they're trying to get him from doing the work. And this is what we read in verse 3, chapter 6.

Speaker 2: 10:28

And I sent messengers to them saying, quote I am doing a great work and cannot come down. In other words, I am focused on my mission. I'm focused on the vision of redoing this. I'm not going to let anything distract me. I am focused on this. Built sections of the wall, but what a great role model. For and here's the thing there's so many things right now that can distract us. It could be negative comments, it could be world events, it could be whatever it is. And Nehemiah is a great lesson of leadership. He said I'm not going to be distracted by anything. I am going to focus on the task at hand and I'm just not going to be deterred. I'm going to put all my energy into this and in 52 days the walls were rebuilt after it had been in shambles for 150 years. So what a great leader he was, and it's just a lesson for all of us about staying focused on the vision and the mission of our organization.

Speaker 1: 11:56

Yeah, 100%. I was looking for a verse I think it was, you know, there it is Nehemiah 4-9,. But we prayed to our God and posted a guard day and night to meet this threat. And this one struck me as one of those things that you have a mission you're trying to accomplish and, from a leadership value, is to find that balance between faith and strategy. You know, as leaders, as entrepreneurs, you have to have faith.

Speaker 1: 12:26

You know, and and I was having this conversation at um, some of my meetings here a couple of weeks ago, and it's like, um, a lot of the like-minded people I hang out with you know they're just their. Their thought is I have faith, it's going to work out, and they get the doubters right. What do you mean? You have faith, don't you have a plan? I have a plan, but I have faith that it's going to work out. And it's using those words, and I know I do this with my wife all the time.

Speaker 1: 12:56

So what's the thought process there? I'm like it'll be fine. And she goes well, how's it going to be fine? You know, cause she's got that linear brain Like I need to know the steps to be fine. I'm like it'll be fine, I have faith. And then, and it just, it's the one of the things, but in this thing he had to have faith, but he also had a strategy as well. So you had to have somewhat of a plan in place, because if you didn't have the guards to guard you, to guard the wall, I mean, the naysayers would have come and knocked that stuff down every night and it would have took longer than 52 weeks to build that wall again, wouldn't it?

Speaker 2: 13:32

Well, 52 days, yeah. But here's the thing it's amazing. It's amazing what ordinary people now he, just these were ordinary people. What ordinary people now he, just these were ordinary people. These were not Mason, they were just ordinary people, but they had a leader with a vision and a strategy to get it done. So a group of people would build the wall in front of their own home and they would build a certain number of feet, and, and they would build a certain number of feet, and next person would build a certain number of feet.

Speaker 2: 14:05

But here's the thing about it so powerful Nehemiah just didn't stand there and watch them do the work. He was up there rolling his sleeves up, getting there, getting dirty, doing the work with them, and he put as much hard work as he asked them to do, and so he wasn't sitting in his desk telling people to do one thing and him not being involved. He was out there, you know, busting it and getting it done, and I think people really respect a leader that they know is going to be in there with the trenches with them. And he was. And they rallied and, yes, they had some challenges because people were trying to tear the walls down and keep them distracted and Nehemiah said we're not going to let that distract us, we're going to focus on our mission. And they got it done.

Speaker 1: 15:04

Yeah, All I can think of is I usually say my wife needs to listen to the podcast. But I'm really hoping she does? She wants me to knock down our paved walls with paved stone and put up stone walls all the way around the front of our yard on our flower beds and everything. And she's going to be like I'm the leader, let me help you, I'll guard you while you do that. I'll guard you.

Speaker 2: 15:31

I'll guard you. You go do it. You go tear that up. I'll sit here with some iced tea and I'll watch you.

Speaker 1: 15:37

You just need to have the desire to do it and the passion, and I'll watch you and I'll be the leader to help you. So, I have sort of mixed feelings if she's going to listen to this one.

Speaker 2: 15:51

Yeah, oh well. Well, let's talk about some leadership principles that I think are very important, and we've already talked about a few, are very important and we've already talked about a few. But here's one of the things that I think in developing leaders, it's important to learn. The first step is to learn the history. So what we see in Nehemiah is that he got on a donkey or a horse and went around the city and surveyed the issue, the damage of the wall. He did it at night, just to not create suspicion, but he learned the history of it, he learned the context of it, he learned what had to be done, he understood the strengths, the weaknesses, the materials. So before he even started rallying the troops, he had to do his homework. And I think that's what a really good leader does. They do their homework, they investigate. Now they might assign that to someone to do that work, but they don't just jump out and start doing something. But they don't just jump out and start doing something. They do their homework, they do their research and they want to learn as much as possible before they initiate their strategy. And then the second so after you do your homework, you learn about what needs to be done. And then the second thing is you've got to walk your talk and you've got to demonstrate by your own actions that you're willing to be a part of the solution. You're not just going to dictate this, whatever, and so you're going to live it out, you're going to be authentic about it, you're going to be transparent about it, and I think what that does is gives you credibility to be the leader. You've earned that right, which really leads to the third part, and that is leading. Sometimes, leaders, you've got to make hard decisions, keep distractions away, keep them focused, and so those are things If you just think about those three principles, for just a lot of different things.

Speaker 2: 18:17

Say, you're the team captain of a softball team, softball season is getting ready to kick off and you're just going to get out there. You can say, well, let's just gather at the field tonight at eight o'clock, you know, and just start playing. Well, you know, you haven't looked at your equipment since last August. You don't even know if the balls are still good, if the bats are broken are still good. If the bats are broken, no, it's like. No, take some time, do your research. Hey guys, we need some more equipment. We've got we've only got two softballs. We need at least a dozen. We've got no bats. I don't know what happened to them, but they're gone. I mean, so you do your research and then you lead, and that's part of leadership is learning and doing your research. All right, I've changed my mind.

Speaker 1: 19:05

I need my wife to listen to this one, I'm not saying a word, brother. You know, we had the first baseball practice of the season and it was a funny thing and my son was jumping over one of those little concrete things and he the backpack weighed so much that he went backwards and landed on the backpack.

Speaker 2: 19:30

Oh gosh.

Speaker 1: 19:32

And she goes what do you have in this backpack? What do you have in his baseball thing? I'm like, did you look in there? And she goes no, I'm like, well, I have two of my gloves, I have my baseball bat in there and I had four or five balls in there. If you could have looked in there before you went, then you would have took half the stuff out, because it's mine. I just combined it, threw it in the garage and put all the stuff in there, but they failed to look at it. They just threw it on and went. And I'm like, okay, so again now. I don't want her to listen, but I do want her to listen to hear that story. You know, looking and pre-planning and all that stuff.

Speaker 2: 20:12

Well, I just think it's part of the research, you know it's just part of the leading is doing research, and and in an organization like right now, uh, in this church, it's a, it's a large church. It's uh, uh, it's a great church. This is their 175th year of being a church.

Speaker 1: 20:32

Uh, yeah, so they were started in 1850 um and right down there they they're what I gotta figure out where the original sites, I can bring my metal detector down. Okay, so the original site down there. I got to figure out where the original site is so I can bring my metal detector down.

Speaker 2: 20:44

Okay, so the original site was down by the river and then they moved to Fifth and Jackson, which is just down from downtown, down by the Magnolia Palace, and then they moved out to Cobbs and Lake Eyre back in the 60s. And then they moved out to Cobbs and Lake Eyre back in the 60s and so when I was here at Baylor back in the 70s, the education building of that 5th and Jackson location was still standing. It's no longer standing, it's gone. You know, the Gaines have done such an incredible job in helping build Waco up and they've really helped put Waco up. Uh, and there's just uh, they've really put, helped put Waco back on the map. Uh and uh, it's really good.

Speaker 2: 21:32

What's going on downtown. It's just incredible and it's not just them, but they were a huge catalyst in making all that happen. And uh, and now it's just kind of growing and things are happening and it's just exciting. It's exciting little town to be in. So let's just ask this about sports what do you call a nervous javelin thrower A nervous javelin thrower? What do you call a nervous javelin thrower?

Speaker 1: 21:57

Person that wants to get to the point. I don't know.

Speaker 2: 22:00

How about Shakespeare?

Speaker 1: 22:03

Shakespeare. All right, what do you call a knight who is afraid to fight? How about that?

Speaker 2: 22:09

I'll throw it back at you A knight who is afraid to fight? Are we doing this in rhymes? Is that what we're doing?

Speaker 1: 22:17

I mean you're throwing out the javelin, I'm going to go.

Speaker 2: 22:19

Yeah, I don't know what do you call a night that's afraid to fight. Surrender, surrender.

Speaker 1: 22:26

Oh my gosh, I told you I'd bring a few better dad jokes, yeah you did.

Speaker 2: 22:31

I'm glad you're doing that research. Um, yeah, okay. So superheroes, you know superheroes. I haven't seen the latest superhero movie, but my favorite superhero is Typo man. Typo man, huh, typo man, uh-huh. So what's Typo man? Do he rights all the wrongs?

Speaker 1: 22:58

But I'm bum Bum-choo, I'm pumped Bumptune. I'm going to work on that.

Speaker 2: 23:02

Where's?

Speaker 1: 23:02

your buttons, man. No, I just don't think they're going over there.

Speaker 2: 23:07

Okay, where do saplings go to learn? This is spring, you know little trees are coming. Where do saplings go to learn? I don't know how. About elementary school? Where do saplings go to learn? I don't know how about elementary school.

Speaker 1: 23:27

I'm pumped.

Speaker 2: 23:31

How do you fix a broken tomato? How do I fix a broken tomato? I don't know.

Speaker 1: 23:36

I use it in salsa With tomato paste, of course.

Speaker 2: 23:42

Oh, of course, with tomato paste. Of course, oh, of course with tomato paste, of course.

Speaker 1: 23:45

Oh, my goodness, um, what do you call? Uh? What do you get if you cross a snake with a lego set?

Speaker 2: 23:51

oh, I think I've heard this one, but I don't remember what a boa constructor. Oh boa constructor, oh a boa constructor.

Speaker 1: 23:59

Oh my goodness. You know I had a few of them in the thing.

Speaker 2: 24:07

You know, up here in Dallas I was reading the newspaper, there was a robbery up at the Ikea store in Dallas and the police department are trying to solve this big unsolved robbery. They're just having a hard time putting all the pieces together.

Speaker 1: 24:34

All right, last one for me.

Speaker 2: 24:36

What did the door knocker win? What was?

Speaker 1: 24:37

the question what did the person who invented the door knocker win.

Speaker 2: 24:40

What was the?

Speaker 1: 24:40

question what did the person who invented the door knocker?

Speaker 2: 24:44

win. Oh, let's see, I don't know. I've heard this one before. I don't remember A Nobel.

Speaker 1: 24:50

Prize.

Speaker 2: 24:51

A Nobel Prize oh.

Speaker 1: 24:55

All right, that's my last one.

Speaker 2: 24:56

Is that the last one? Okay, so Diana and I went to the movie. I'm home on Thursday night, friday night. So we went to the movie last Friday night. I won't say what movie, but it was definitely wasted our money and we also. The popcorn was horrible, so we won't talk about that. But she asked me. She said how are we going to sneak some candy into the movie theater? And I said that's a great question, but I have a few twixts in my sleeve.

Speaker 1: 25:40

All right, Wonderful wonderful.

Speaker 2: 25:44

Okay, one last one. One last one. I know how did the owl manage his bad breath.

Speaker 1: 25:53

I do not know.

Speaker 2: 25:55

Altoids.

Speaker 1: 25:57

Altoids, that's pretty good word, I like that. I got one more question you got one more.

Speaker 2: 26:02

Oh question, Is this about Ezra and Nehemiah? Or just some random question like what's for lunch?

Speaker 1: 26:07

I was going to ask you about it and I guess, daniel, it was wrote in different languages or something.

Speaker 2: 26:14

Yeah, daniel, I'm trying to remember the history behind that. I'm thinking it was written in Aramaic instead of just Hebrew.

Speaker 1: 26:22

It's kind of combined Hebrew to Aramaic, to back to Hebrew or something. Yeah, Because that was one of the things I when my research. I just didn't know if there was any thoughts or hypothesis on this.

Speaker 2: 26:36

I'm sure there is. I've forgotten that, but I think the first chapter or so is written in Hebrew, and then it's Aramaic, which is the spoken language that many people spoke during the time of Jesus, and then the last part of the book of Daniel is written back in Hebrew. So that's an interesting. I just thought it was pretty interesting how. Yeah, it's interesting.

Speaker 1: 26:59

Yeah, it's very interesting Show tidbit. When my pre-show research that I, you know, I was going to ask you either on air or I was going to call you right after this and go, I forgot to ask you a question, but I figured I'd throw it in there.

Speaker 2: 27:11

So yeah, that's a good question. That's a good question.

Speaker 1: 27:14

But other than that, dr Posey, I mean, here you are, you're still on that J-O-B down there as an interim, you know? Yep, you're in Waco area. Stop by and see Dr P do the Sunday sermon.

Speaker 2: 27:28

Yeah.

Speaker 1: 27:29

You can get online as well, right?

Speaker 2: 27:31

Yeah, it's called First Waco, so First Methodist Waco, I think. The website firstwacocom and there's. You can watch it live. You can watch it recorded. We have two services. I preach at both of them. Well, we actually have four campuses. I'm only preaching at the main campus. We have other pastors that are exceptionally good that preach at the other campuses and so, but I'm honored to be at the main one, and so any campus that you choose is good, and it's just been good. So I'm here for about another month and a half, until the end of April, and then the new pastor, dr Mike Voits, is coming. He's actually a professor at a seminary in Wilmore, kentucky, right now. He was on staff at this church back in the 90s, right after seminary, and so they've called him to be the new senior pastor, and so I'm going to fill that role until he gets here.

Speaker 1: 28:34

I love it, I love it, I love it, yeah, so I'm excited for you. I know that's always a fun thing when you can do that.

Speaker 2: 28:40

It's a fun thing.

Speaker 1: 28:41

If you didn't know the story, this is full circle. You know where he started and where he's going to. Well, I don't know, he might have like 12 more churches.

Speaker 2: 28:50

I don't know. I don't know.

Speaker 1: 28:52

You never know how it works.

Speaker 2: 28:53

You never know. So next week, I think, we're going to discuss at least on the calendar we're going to discuss the book of Esther. What an incredible woman she was. We can learn so much from her faithfulness to God, and so we look forward to talking about that, and so we look forward to talking about that. We're getting to the point where we're almost to the end of the Old Testament. We've just got a few more weeks to go and then we'll start on the New Testament. It's been a fun journey, and if this is your first week to join us, I say thank you so much for joining us. We've been working on the books of the Bible one at a time, sometimes, like today, two at a time since last August. The goal is to finish all the books and the leadership principles of each book by the end of the summer, and so we thank you for joining us. Tell someone else about the Biblical Leadership Show, and we just appreciate you listening, absolutely we do the Biblical Leadership Show and we just appreciate listening.

Speaker 1: 30:02

Absolutely we do, and check us out. Send us texts, send us prayer requests, whatever you might have. Check us out biblicalleadershipshowcom and other than that. Dr P, I'm going to see you next week or I'm going to talk to you next week and we'll see what we can do to put together a little Esther meeting, maybe. Maybe we'll see you, or maybe I'll just see you from a hundred miles away. And uh, check us out. Biblicalleadershipshowcom and Dr Peep takes out and make it a great day. Great day, thanks guys.

Speaker 2: 30:35

All right, bye.