Nehemiah’s Leadership Playbook: Heritage Preservation

Heritage Preservation

Both the singers and the gatekeepers kept the charge of their God and the charge of the purification, according to the command of David and Solomon his son. For in the days of David and Asaph of old there were chiefs of the singers, and songs of praise and thanksgiving to God. In the days of Zerubbabel and in the days of Nehemiah all Israel gave the portions for the singers and the gatekeepers, a portion for each day… – Nehemiah 12:45-47

As we gradually wind down this series where we do a blow-by-blow analysis of the leadership examples of Nehemiah, another lesson we can learn from him is preservation of heritage. The passage above reveals how Nehemiah and his fellow leaders preserved the tradition instituted by David and Asaph hundreds of years before then.

At some point during his reign, David had modified the responsibilities of the priests and the Levites by assigning them to sing and blow trumpets nonstop at the entrance of the tabernacle in ceaseless praise and adoration to God. Our reference passage today reveals how Nehemiah upheld that tradition and did not seek to discard it in favor of a novel idea of his own.

It is not a strange occurrence these days to see leaders who are more concerned about the accolades they can receive for themselves as against serving from a sincere heart. And because this specie of leaders are more preoccupied with the name they could make for themselves they are more concerned about the monuments they could institute that would bear their names and they would not as think twice before trashing existing traditions handed to them by predecessors.

In the case of Nehemiah and Zerubbabel, they ensured that the Davidian order at the tabernacle was preserved and not discontinued in favor of new ideas which they would initiate. A good leader knows the importance of preserving the heritage of his people and would do everything within her power to see that such is not discarded at the altar of self-interest and modernization.

You Will Succeed in Jesus Name!

Also read:

• Nehemiah’s Leadership Playbook: Urban Planning
• Understanding God: He is Methodical
• Bring Something Home
• Delivered From Smoking