NEHEMIAH 6:11

Q: What does Nehemiah mean when he calls himself “a man like me?”

A leader of the people best fits 6:11a (in other words, he would lose face with the people). After a customer satisfaction survey in our church conducted by an outside business consultant, it was determined that what we most desired out of the church was Excellence, especially no hitches in the Sunday morning service. I have known pastors who felt they needed to be a perfectionist and exhibit no weaknesses for their congregation to see. We should not place our leaders on a pedestal so that we lose faith if they do not meet our expectations.

The fact that Nehemiah was a layman excluded from inner parts of temple and he may have actually been a eunuch fits6:11b. Deuteronomy 23:1 barred eunuchs from the religious activities of the people.