In this daily Bible reading is the account of Nehemiah organizing the dedication of the completed Jerusalem wall. Nehemiah had restored order and proper worship in Jerusalem, much like it was in the days of King David. The priests and Levites were again dedicated to their duties. Additionally, the people supported them with tithes of money, produce, and livestock.
After order was restored and the wall completed, Nehemiah returned to serve the Persian King Artexerxes, as he had done before. Nehemiah was the King’s cupbearer. He had been absent from these duties for 12 years.
After a period of time, Nehemiah returned to Jerusalem and found that things had begun to erode again. The people stopped supporting the Levites. As a result, the Levites left their Temple duties and return to their fields.
Nehemiah quickly restored order and stopped this erosion. He demonstrated that good leadership is needed to maintain order. Without good leadership things tend toward disarray, and order is lost. We have experienced this in America with various presidents. Some have been good leaders and some have not. The results of both rapidly became evident.
