Be Still And Know

Nehemiah 5.14 NLT 'For the entire twelve years that I was governor of Judah—from the twentieth year to the thirty-second year of the reign of King Artaxerxes— neither I nor my officials drew on our official food allowance.' I once heard about a military officer who took his men on an arduous training exercise. They were all carrying heavy rucksacks which pushed them to their limits. At one point, they had to climb over a gate and the officer’s rucksack split open to reveal that, although it appeared to be full, it was in fact empty! It had no weight at all. In that moment, the officer completely lost the respect of his men and rightly so. He didn’t deserve it. It is impossible for leaders to command respect unless they live up to the highest standards and it was crucial that Nehemiah did so. In today’s verse he points out that, during the twelve years that he was governor of Judah, he had lived in an exemplary way. The previous governors had been so very different, laying heavy burdens on the people and d