Nehemiah

CH1
v1-4 personally invested in the problem
v5-11 carefully described the background, current situation and his personal accountability regarding the project

CH2
v1-2 waited for the proper moment to present the problem - he waited FOUR months; this was not a man who could be rushed into making foolish or false starts; his personal integrity/character has ALREADY established the needed credentials/credibility to present the issue; he also took nothing for granted; he was willing to admit the HIGH stakes and their effect on him: FEAR; Why? In those days they REALLY had a zero defect program: displease the King - DIE (often in rather disgustingly imaginative ways, too)
v3 presented the problem in ONE sentence!
v4 BUT waited for the King to ask for recommendations, to demonstrate interest before proceeding
v5 THEN he presented the project/solution in ONE sentence
v6-8 He ALREADY had a plan and had "back-up slides" to answer the Kings questions
v9 He approached LOCAL authorities to clearly establish HIS place in the local chain of command (THE TOP!)
v10-15 He quickly assessed local/project hurdles
	v10 local opposite: Sanballat has been identified through extra-Biblical historical records (Elephantine Papyri, discovered 1903) as the Governor of Samaria, the local power north of Judea; they would NEVER want to see Judea regain any power or influence in the area as that would directly conflict with THEIR current position of influence and power in the area
	v11-15 PERSONALLY surveyed the site, alone, without fanfare; got the lay of the land, too
v16-18 Then he briefed his staff and all involved parties as to the current sitrep, Goal (ONE sentence), HIS relationship to the project so those working for him would understand his motivations, and perhaps be better able to anticipate his attitude towards new issues during the project;
v19-20 firm response to opponents: no threats, only a statement of their Goal, their basis for confidence and a clarification to ALL who heard, that THEY had NO place in his project, lest their be ANY confusion as to WHO is WHO;
CH3 
v1-32 a personal specific accounting of ALL the players; this gives THEM recognition (like, THREE THOUSAND YEARS of recognition); i.e., he had metrics - How much of the wall each had built!
	He also sought involvement of ALL the people, the ENTIRE team - ?was it a cross-functional team given all the various crafts represented here?
CH 4: EXTERNAL Conflict
v1-3 great projects are ALWAYS the object of ridicule; this is an early example of Psy-Ops warfare;
v4-5 he did not return jeer for jeer, but relied upon personal strengths of character, INTERNAL supports (in this case his absolute trust in the personal direct involvement of the Living God in his life)
v6 the results of HIS internal strength? the PEOPLE held together; HOW OFTEN we UNDERestimate the effect of the Leaders INTERNAL character on the morale of the ENTIRE Team - IF that leader is frequently directly actively VISIBLY involved in the operation of the project;
v7-23 Now that the wall is a credible military issue, the threat changes: VIOLENCE is planned
v9 Prayed AND set up guards; day and night - he had a thorough attention to detail; he utilized ALL available assets, both personal and "public"
v11-12 Intel! and he listened to it and planned better based upon it
v13 proper placement of his available troops according to their FUNCTIONAL strengths and capabilities;
	he also grouped units by their NATURAL groupings - Families; you might turn and run from helping a stranger or even friend, but you NEVER abandon your son, your brother, your father, your mother, your sister or daughter to attacking invaders; each group had something to fight hard and viciously for; plus, there was no question as to who was in charge - each of these "small tactics units" already had an established chain of command; 
	N. established division of labor, but also a blending of tasks - though some guarded while others worked, this established a Work-Rest Cycle, so at least half of the fighting force is always rested and ready, yet still getting some work done; AND he STILL had ALL of them READY to fight; He MAINTAINED the READINESS Posture WHILE conducting the MILCON Project!
v14, 19-20 He periodically spoke to ALL of the organization/force; he gave reassurance WITH honesty (NO platitudes or false empty promises); 
	note his constant "we" references; HE worked and guarded along with the rest; he LED by EXAMPLE; 
v19-23 he ALSO had a PLAN; v 19 stated the need in ONE sentence, v 20 stated the HEART if the plan in ONE sentence; v 21 described the EXECUTION of the plan; v 22-23 developed 2ndary/backup issues of the plan'
CH 5: INTERNAL Conflict; 
	People were selfish - preying on each others disadvantages, and in DIRECT violation of Mosaic Law;
	His response? Directly pointedly stating their failure, and insisting on EVIDENCE of their change of heart by changes in their behavior; Performance Based Metrics?
v14-19 Demonstrated by his PERSONAL behavior what was expected of THEM;
CH - Second Engagement by the Enemy
	His response? He REFUSED to be drawn in by THEIR strategy; he was not simply REACTIVE, but rather made his OWN plans and STUCK to them (?similar to Tsun Tzu's advice?)
CH 7
Careful personal choice of KEY men in positions of leadership; their qualifications? FAITHFULNESS, LOYALTY, DEPENDABILITY; Men guided by INTERNAL standards and therefore NOT likely to be influenced by OTHERS
v5 NOW he takes an accounting of the HUMAN resources of his organization (?Another TQM Metric?) what result?
	for recognition?
	for accountability? to know ALL his assets
	to re-establish and confirm WHO (based on Mosaic Law) can resume the Priestly activities (v64-65)
CH 8: RENEWING the Vision
	The people sought to learn PERSONALLY the basis for their belief system
v7, 13 too many for one person to teach effectively, SO the divided the job - but ALL were given the chance to hear and learn the basis for their behavior, the REASON for their lives, the MOTIVATION for their conduct within their Culture;
v8 HAD to translate - remember, these people are PERSIAN citizens, Hebrew is no longer their 1st language
v9-12 they were grief-stricken to see how far their lives deviated from God's desire for them; But the Priests as well as N. pointed out that they should rejoice because NOW at least they KNEW what God's standard WAS for them; 
	HOW OFTEN ignorance of the plan, the standards, the expectation of leadership results in people failing to achieve what the leadership desires without even KNOWING they were failing; the leadership in the past had FAILED to effectively communicate the Vision, the Standards of the "organization" to it's people; Nehemiah SUCCEEDED in this regard, as well; 
v13-18 They put into PRACTICE what they had heard - "not hearers only, but DOERS of the Word..."
CH 9 RESTORING the Vision
	Having had time to read and consider God's Word (ALL new stuff to them), they needed to INTERNALIZE it's truth, and their COMMITMENT to it, so they RESTATED it in their OWN words;
	They started by looking back to get perspective (v6-31), then BASED upon that past record they had the confidence, they had the BASIS to ask for forgiveness, protection, blessing (v32-38)
	They made a CONTRACT with God AND EACH OTHER;
CH 10 THE CONTRACT
	Again, PERSONAL accountability; N. was BIG on it; so ALL people can SEE it, READ it for THEMSELVES to KNOW what their MUTUAL agreement is
CH 11
	The city is STILL underpopulated; if it doesn't get re-established, there will be no trade, no travelers to visit, NO ECONOMIC BASE for it's restoration;
	N. created a jointly shared unbiased “critical mass” of people to kick-start the city again; Since ALL families were represented, this made ALL the families throughout Judea have a VESTED interest in the City, and guaranteed that ALL the families would be visiting it, and caring about it, and supporting it; N. knew HOW to motivate people, knew what was important to them, and how to use those motivations to enhance the organization; he knew how to PERSONALIZE the issues for people; this is a form of consensus building;
v3-36 Accountability and Recognition
	a population census; N. was a careful man with attention to detail; he saw the need to re-establish a solid well documented basis for their culture, their city; 
CH 12
	Where as Ch 11 established the CIVIL population base of Jerusalem, THIS ch establishes the RELIGIOUS population base; WHY?
	Because it was their SINGLE UNIFYING CULTURAL BASE; Proper worship of the Living God mattered to God, so it needed to matter to the People, and to re-constitute into "One People" again, they HAD to regain their ONE Belief, and the proper practice of that belief; Don’t forget, SOME of these people are Persian and SOME are “native” Hebrews: they didn’t even share a common language or culture TILL NOW;
	The practical expression of this “ONE God, ONE People, ONE Nation” truth was the dedication of the walls to God; and N. couldn't dedicate the walls withOUT the Priests, without the PROPER worship of the One True God of Israel! 
v27-47 This guy can't help but not only describe the event, he covers all the logistical and planning aspects of the task, too;
	Also, too, he always mentions people by name (recognition and accountability)

CH 13 The LAST Crisis
He left and things fell apart (actually, DRIFTED away)
	This is actually a genuine crisis - as a true leader HE saw and understood the IMPLICATIONS way beyond the narrow perspective of the people;
	to them, this was just accommodating a local VIP
	To N., HE realized this was EXACTLY the same behavior that lead to the ORIGINAL fall of Israel 100 yrs before - FAILING to adhere to GOD'S ROE; letting other cultures and religions dilute and mutate the proper and precise worship of God - God went to excruciating detail to describe HOW they were to worship/practice Judaism - HOW could they think SOME of that was "optional" like deciding on a sun roof or "Corinthian Leather" for your chariot?? After ALL his work, N,=. saw the population going RIGHT back to the cliffs edge all Israel had jumped off before!
v11 He clearly precisely captures the KEY ESSENTIAL issue at stake! he stated the problem in ONE sentence: the issue was NOT just some trivial housing arrangement or employees benefit package dispute (v10); the REAL issue was that by DOING what they were doing they were choosing to disregard the WRITTEN STANDARD of behavior; this is FORSAKING the house of God
	When people violate the rules/regs, it's NOT just a matter of the individual "crime" - it's MORE OVER a "forsaking" of the USAF; they are showing contempt for the organization that HAS those rules;
	So how does N. deal with it?
v8-9 He PERSONALLY acted (to show the TRUE seriousness of their mis-deeds)
v11-13 he RE-established the standards of conduct
v15-31 THEY did it again - 3 examples of their behavior - NOTE: MOST people don't become murders or bank robbers; they don't LEAP into a life of gore-splashed flesh-eating crime, THEY DRIFT away, a little bit at a time; there is usually NOT a flashflood, but rather a perversely gentle EROSION of standards over time - And it ALL seems SO HARMLESS;
v15-22 Just a little extra business (like cheating on income tax, "Who could it hurt?")
	How did he deal with it? 
		1st He CALLED them on it - NOT the "act" (i.e. WHY are you working on the lawful mandatory Day of Rest?) BUT the CONSEQUENCES, the REAL issue - to violate God's law is the same as profaning Him, to show contempt for Him;
		2nd He removed the incentive for them to do these things; in v19-22 he chased off the pagan merchants who were supporting the Jews disobedience by BUYING from them on the Sabbath
v23-29 The GREATEST danger of ALL: Pagan parents will raise PAGAN children - also, by introducing foreign cultures into Israel, it draws the ENTIRE culture towards OTHER standards, other gods; 
v23-25 before you judge N. too harshly, understand, he could have KILLED ALL of them as THAT was the STANDARD of that time!
v26 he gave them an example KNOWN from history to better clarify for them the DANGER of their behavior;
v28 he was NOT a respecter of a person's "position" ONLY their BEHAVIOUR before God;
v30-31 even at the end of his personal account (really a diary) he's talking about management details
	but v 30 does explain the basis for his motivation: Purity of the Priesthood; according to their law, if there were NO priests (a strictly hereditary job), there could be NO WORSHIP - Destroy the priests, you DESTROY JUDAISM, then you destroy Israel as a NATION;
	If you lose track of WHO is genealogically in line to be a priest, you CAN'T HAVE A PRIESTHOOD! Therefore, his almost panicked reaction to the priest marrying into other nations - if they cease to exist as a CLEARLY and READILY IDENTIFIABLE genetic line, there can be NO priesthood - NO Judaism - NO ISREAL; in ONE stupid generation, an entire NATION could have been wiped out PERMANANTLY;