Remember this good deed, O my God, and do not forget all that I have faithfully done for the Temple of my God and its services (Nehemiah 13:14).

Remember this good deed also, O my God! Have compassion on me according to your great and unfailing love (Nehemiah 13:22).

Remember them, O my God, for they have defiled the priesthood and the solemn vows of the priests and Levites (Nehemiah 13:29).

Remember this in my favor, O my God (Nehemiah 13:31).

As others have commented on this reading, after Nehemiah leaves for a time, the people and leaders return to their sinful ways, forgetting what Nehemiah and Ezra taught them, as well as the promises they made to God. 

What draws my attention today is not their disobedience but Nehemiah's single-minded devotion to the Lord. His actions were almost all "negative" in terms of what the people were doing. He would not have won any popularity contests. During this time, I can only guess that people came to him or were sent to him to tell him to be "nicer" or "gentler," because certain person's, like Tobias, had their feelings hurt by his direct and drastic actions (Nehemiah 13:8), not to mention those that Nehemiah cursed and beat and pulled out their hair (Nehemiah 13:25).

One brother recently shared with me that he waited seven years before confronting another brother with a wrongdoing. Over that time, he said he prayed for the brother. And after seven years, he finally felt that this other brother would start to consider what he had to say. 

I can appreciate the sincerity of this brother, and if the matter were only personal, I can see the merit in the approach. However, many other people were impacted. Seven years of silence meant that the brother that did the wrong may have been totally unaware of the wrong he did and may have harmed others over that time. The Scriptures nowhere tells us to wait but to make things right:

So if you are presenting a sacrifice at the altar in the Temple and you suddenly remember that someone has something against you, leave your sacrifice there at the altar. Go and be reconciled to that person. Then come and offer your sacrifice to God (Matthew 5:23-24).

My dear brothers and sisters, if someone among you wanders away from the truth and is brought back, you can be sure that whoever brings the sinner back will save that person from death and bring about the forgiveness of many sins (James 5:19).

Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself. Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ. If you think you are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourself. You are not that important (Galatians 6:1-3)

If another believer sins against you, go privately and point out the offense. If the other person listens and confesses it, you have won that person back. But if you are unsuccessful, take one or two others with you and go back again, so that everything you say may be confirmed by two or three witnesses. If the person still refuses to listen, take your case to the church. Then if he or she won’t accept the church’s decision, treat that person as a pagan or a corrupt tax collector (Matthew 18:15-17).

"Christian" mysticism teaches contemplative silence, where almost no confrontation is in order. "Christian" mysticism even teaches that it is unnecessary to share the Gospel. One of the most famous quotes along this line is the one attributed to Francis of Assisi: "Preach the Gospel. With words if necessary." As "spiritual" as this sounds, it is completely unbiblical. For the Bible clearly teaches, "Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God" (Romans 10:17).

What is the biblical method for addressing wrongs? It is not silence. It is not waiting. It is "speaking the truth in love" (Ephesians 4:15).

Current Christian psychology has many things backwards. It teaches believers to forgive, even when there is no repentance by the offending party. Even though the Scriptures are clear that forgiveness is to be modeled after the Lord's forgiveness, where there is repentance. Thus, Jesus teaches, "If another believer sins, rebuke that person; then if there is repentance, forgive" (Luke 17:3). There are certainly numerous passages exhorting believers to forgive one another, but only a few provide the parameters for forgiveness. We are to forgive where there is repentance. This is how the Lord forgives us (1 John 1:9 "If you confess...then he is faithful and just to forgive..."; Colossians 3:13 "Forgive as the Lord forgave you"). Now to those who contend that Christians should always forgive everyone, why did Jesus say to His disciples after conferring upon them the Holy Spirit,

If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven (John 20:23).

If believers are always to forgive, why does He even specify a situation where the disciples would not forgive someone. No, my friends, even the Lord does not forgive someone of their sins apart from repentance. Isn't this what Peter preached at Pentecost?

Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins (Acts 2:38).

Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord (Acts 3:19).

Repentance is essential to forgiveness (Luke 13:1-5). Understanding this clear truth, why would any Christian teach unconditional forgiveness apart from repentance. I believe it is because forgiveness is mixed up with another confused concept, namely, "unconditional love." Does God love us unconditionally?  Yes and No. When love is understood as God's sovereign choice, as His faithfulness to His covenant promises, His elective love, then it is unconditional, because it arises simply and purely from God's own mind and not anything in us. However, when Israel disobeys, Israel is punished, destroyed and even condemned. Christians too can be punished and destroyed because of their evil behavior; however, we are not ultimately condemned because of God's elective love, His faithfulness to His promise in Christ. However, even this is somewhat conditional because we only enter into it through repentance. So then, where there is no repentance, there is no unconditional love, for the unconditional love was enabled on the cross by the precious blood of Jesus Christ. Even after this, because of our sinful natures, Christians are still commanded to daily repent of their sins for forgiveness so that these sins do not hamper our fellowship with God (1 John 1:9). 

Christian leaders do a great disservice to the Christian faith when they teach Christians to forgive where there is no repentance. Even if it provides some kind of psychological salvo, it is biblically wrong, and it poses a kind of universalist concept of love at the expense of God's justice.

On the other side to this, there is a gross lack of emphasis on correction and rebuking. While Christians are not called to forgive where there is no repentance, Christians are very much called to correct and rebuke their brothers and sisters, so that the wrong may be revealed and opportunity given for repentance. When there is no correction, it is tantamount to condoning the wrong behavior. Consider God's Word to Ezekiel on this responsibility:

Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the people of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me. When I say to the wicked, ‘You wicked person, you will surely die, ’ and you do not speak out to dissuade them from their ways, that wicked person will die for their sin, and I will hold you accountable for their blood. But if you do warn the wicked person to turn from their ways and they do not do so, they will die for their sin, though you yourself will be saved (Ezekiel 33:6-9).

We too are called to be our brother's keeper.

 How blessed are we that we live in such a time after Christ's birth, after God's plan of redemption was fulfilled in the death and resurrection of Jesus and in such a place that we can freely worship the one true God! Praise the Lord for His mercy and grace!

We see how quickly they forgot what they promised to do recorded in the previous readings! God knows exactly who we are and what we are not capable of. Just as Moses and Joshua said to the Israelites when they told them that they would follow the Lord, the Israelites hadn't changed a bit. We are not far from them at all as well. That's why we need the Lord every second, every minute and every hour. Today's reading humbles me again because I see myself in them so clearly. I raise up my voice many times to blame others for their weakness because I'm blind to my own fault. I've been vehemently against many FB friends about their theological views and different aspects of the faith that we share in the Lord. My judgmental spirit went over the line and became a poison to kill others instead of building up each other in our spiritual walk. I am learning how difficult it is to speak the truth in love and to discern between what is wrong and what is merely different. I do not want to be a religious despot but at the same time do not want to be tolerant of everything that led the Israelites astray. I ask for wisdom to God today so that I may be as meek as sheep but strong as lion facing what is against our Lord!

Nehemiah closes with the listing of the clans & leaders, dedication of the new wall of Jerusalem & the purging of sin from the land.

Nehemiah's life story provides many principles of effective leadership.  (1) Have a clear purpose & keep evaluating it in the light of God's will. Nothing prevented Nehemiah from staying on track.  (2) Be straightforward & honest.  Everyone knew exactly what Nehemiah  needed, and he spoke the truth even when it made his goal harder to achieve.  (3) Live above reproach.  The accusations against Nehemiah were empty & false. (4) Be a person of constant prayer, deriving power & wisdom from your contact with God.  Everything Nehemiah did glorified God.

Leadership appears glamorous at times, but it is often lonely, thankless, and filled with pressures to compromise values & standards. Nehemiah was able to accomplish a huge task against incredible odds because he learned that there is no success without risk of failure, no reward without hard work, no opportunity without criticism, and no true leadership without trust in God!

This was taken from the KJV Life Application Study Bible.  I thought it is really good what Nehemiah shows us about leadership.  I have a lot to pray about & a lot to learn.