The final action taken by Nehemiah in his attempt to consolidate his earlier work and prepare for the tasks to come was to provide for those who would now be working in the temple. We find this in the last verses of the chapter. “Some of the heads of the families contributed to the work. The governor gave to the treasury 1,000 drachmas of gold, 50 bowls and 530 garments for priests. Some of the heads of the families gave to the treasury for the work 20,000 drachmas of gold and 2,200 minas of silver. The total given by the rest of the people was 20,000 drachmas of gold, 2,000 minas of silver and 67 garments for priests” (vv. 70-72).
The chapter ends by noting, “The priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers and the temple servants, along with certain of the people and the rest of the Israelites, settled in their own towns” (v. 73). We know that a number of the wealthier Jewish families were teamed up with Tobiah, since Nehemiah says so. They would be hostile to Nehemiah’s plans and reforms. But in fairness to the rich, it needs to be noted that not all were opposed to Nehemiah. Otherwise, where would the considerable wealth mentioned in verses 70-72 have come from? It is hard to evaluate the true purchasing power of sums of ancient money. But if the notes in the New International Version are correct—they represent only the best judgment of scholars—the families of Israel gave gold and silver worth, in today’s currency, more than five million dollars. That made a considerable endowment for the temple service.
And Nehemiah’s care to provide it shows that, although he was a layman, he cared not only for secular matters but for the spiritual well-being of the people too. In fact, this is what follows in the second half of his memoir. What do we see about Nehemiah at this point? We have already seen many great traits of leadership. Here we see four more. First, he realized the need for new leaders and worked to seek out and appoint them. Second, he knew that these new leaders nevertheless needed clear and proper guidelines to be effective. Although he was delegating the work, he was still in charge. Third, he knew that God’s work must be supported financially. Finally, he also knew that:
Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain.
Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain (Psalm 127:1).
It is a lesson every true leader needs to learn, for his personal life and for what he seeks to accomplish.
