Hand Me Another Brick

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.

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

Nehemiah is a Jewish official who served the Persian king Artaxerxes 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 had to handle promotion, success, and the temptations that high office and power introduce. But he became a great person with impeccable character and revived his nation.

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

(*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 well.)