This weeks study, is on someone whom many may associate as a gentleman, but not as savage. And he was not, at least not to the common definition of the word. He waged no wars, nor was he rebellious, nor was a violent man. This man is Nehemiah. 

    See, Nehemiah was not a king. Nor a warrior. He lived in persia, under the king King Artaxerxes while the Israelites were in exhile. He was also the cup bearer. The cup bearer was a special job-it was only given to someone the king trusted implicitly, as he was the only one allowed to serve the drinks to the kings table-and was also often required to sample the drinks to make sure they were not poisoned. So, we see from the get go that Nehemiah was already a honorable man-to have obtained such a position. Especially as he was not a native persian-but a member of a group of people that they had taken captive. 

   Another indication of his honor, is the king not only trusted him, but respected him. The king not only noticed when Nehemiah came in sad, but asked why, and then listened to his answer. We can also infer courage here, Nehemiah had the courage to not only answer honestly-but to ask the king to let him return to Israel, the land the persians had taken the jews from and rebuild Jerusalems walls-a sign many a king would have taken as a sign of rebellion. 

  We see even more though. Nehemiah Didn't just tell the king what he wanted to do, he had a plan laid out. He set goals, and plans to implement them, and was intentional with his requests to the king about what he needed. We see this even more once he arrived in Jerusalem, and began work. He organized work crews, in an efficient manner, and completed construction in 52 days. He was a man on a mission, and he set in place clear, concise plans. Each group of people worked on the wall closest to them.

  Heres where we see the "savage" Is when Jerusalem was threatened by nearby Sanballat and Tobiah and other arabs.  However, it wasn't the savageness we saw previously with King David and Joshua, we see a more defensive approach. Instead of declaring war on his enemies and ravaging through their camps with swords and spears slaying as he went, he took up a defensive posture. He armed everyone-had half the workers stand gaurd at all times while the other half worked, and developed a system where even the workers carried weapons while working. He also developed a system of communication, where if their enemies attacked, everyone would flock to the point of attack and defend against the attackers. He took a defensive-but intimidating approach to defending Jerusalem. He also used wisdom, and avoided putting himself into situations where he might be killed by his enemies, for they tried to trap him more then once. Though while he never used force, he made it quite apparent that there was no retreat in him, and was more then willing to use whatever force was necessary.

   Nehemiah also reformed the government, and forced the leaders to stop oppressing the poor through over-taxation and loans with excessive interest, and he, along with ezra, led Israel in a mighty revival for God. He showed true leadership. He developed a plan, organized the people-most of which did not know him-and convinced them to work together. He defended Israel. And he did so, all within the rules of the country that controlled Israel. He honored the foreign leaders who held Israel in confinement. He figured out how to do what Jesus told us to do in the NT-to honor those put in authority over us. He didn't do it through conniving, deceipt, or even violence, though we see he was certainly capable of it. He excercised incredible self restraint, a trait that I think every savage Gentleman HAS To possess. Without self restraint, we are not gentlemen, we are just savage. He treated the poor with respect, and helped them out. He did not take anything more then what he needed-even though as governor he had the legal right to more. 

Are there any more traits or actions of Nehemiah that qualify him to be a "Savage Gentleman"

How can we apply the actions of Nehemiah today? what can we do to show the same leadership?

How can we further Gods cause, while at the same time respecting the rules of the land?

Can you think of a time where you showed self restraint where it would have been tempting to lash out?