This book explains the Old Testament book of Nehemiah. Nehemiah is the best book ever written about leadership. It’s about an ordinary man (named Nehemiah) in the ancient Near East who accomplished extraordinary things.

That man is Nehemiah, a Jewish official who served Artaxerxes, the Persian king, in the 5th century BC. At that time, Persia was the world’s superpower, having recently (under Cyrus the Great) defeated the Babylonian Empire.*

One day, Nehemiah received a report that Jerusalem was in dire straits. Nehemiah reveals that he prayed, planned, and persuaded the king to permit him to rebuild Jerusalem.

As the leader of a great project and eventually Judah’s governor, he faced many problems and dangers. He dealt with enemies and intimidation. And he handled promotion, success, and the temptations that high office and power introduce. He became a trusted leader and revived his nation.

I recommend this book to students interested in leadership and character development.

Charles Swindoll is a well-known Bible teacher and author. He helps readers identify the leadership lessons of Nehemiah and apply them to their own lives.

(*In 597 and 586 BC, the Babylonian Empire defeated, destroyed, and enslaved Judah and Jerusalem. (Nehemiah was likely a descendant of one of the Jewish captives.) In 538 BC, Cyrus decreed that the Jews could return. But things had not gone in Jerusalem.)