Burdens on the People - Nehemiah 5

As we come to Nehemiah chapter 5 we find Nehemiah still leading the building project to rebuild the walls and gates of Jerusalem. He had been allowed there by the King and even provided with letters that gave him safe passage and access to timber that he would need to complete his mission. Nehemiah was a man of prayer and Bible study and we consistently see him going to the Lord in prayer for what he needs to complete the mission. He bathes his actions in prayer and then trusts God by getting to work. They have faced the threat of attack from a group of opposing leaders in Sanballat, Tobiah, and their fellow antagonists.

Nehemiah rallied the people around the mission. He trusted that the Lord would accomplish His plan. He motivated the people and they worked together to see the work continue while also standing ready to defend it.

All seemed to be going well. But lest you think it’s all hugs and kisses, please remember that this is a group of human beings. They have a sin nature just like you and me. They were not only vulnerable to attack from those opposing their work on the outside but they were vulnerable to their own selfishness and greed just like you or I would be. This passage is about how the Jewish people were treating each other. From that we can apply it to ourselves as we relate to each other as the people of God.

Let’s ready Nehemiah chapter 5 and see what they now faced.

Read

Nehemiah 5 ESV

Now there arose a great outcry of the people and of their wives against their Jewish brothers. For there were those who said, “With our sons and our daughters, we are many. So let us get grain, that we may eat and keep alive.” There were also those who said, “We are mortgaging our fields, our vineyards, and our houses to get grain because of the famine.” And there were those who said, “We have borrowed money for the king’s tax on our fields and our vineyards. Now our flesh is as the flesh of our brothers, our children are as their children. Yet we are forcing our sons and our daughters to be slaves, and some of our daughters have already been enslaved, but it is not in our power to help it, for other men have our fields and our vineyards.” I was very angry when I heard their outcry and these words. I took counsel with myself, and I brought charges against the nobles and the officials. I said to them, “You are exacting interest, each from his brother.” And I held a great assembly against them and said to them, “We, as far as we are able, have bought back our Jewish brothers who have been sold to the nations, but you even sell your brothers that they may be sold to us!” They were silent and could not find a word to say. So I said, “The thing that you are doing is not good. Ought you not to walk in the fear of our God to prevent the taunts of the nations our enemies? Moreover, I and my brothers and my servants are lending them money and grain. Let us abandon this exacting of interest. Return to them this very day their fields, their vineyards, their olive orchards, and their houses, and the percentage of money, grain, wine, and oil that you have been exacting from them.” Then they said, “We will restore these and require nothing from them. We will do as you say.” And I called the priests and made them swear to do as they had promised. I also shook out the fold of my garment and said, “So may God shake out every man from his house and from his labor who does not keep this promise. So may he be shaken out and emptied.” And all the assembly said “Amen” and praised the Lord. And the people did as they had promised. Moreover, from the time that I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year to the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes the king, twelve years, neither I nor my brothers ate the food allowance of the governor. The former governors who were before me laid heavy burdens on the people and took from them for their daily ration forty shekels of silver. Even their servants lorded it over the people. But I did not do so, because of the fear of God. I also persevered in the work on this wall, and we acquired no land, and all my servants were gathered there for the work. Moreover, there were at my table 150 men, Jews and officials, besides those who came to us from the nations that were around us. Now what was prepared at my expense for each day was one ox and six choice sheep and birds, and every ten days all kinds of wine in abundance. Yet for all this I did not demand the food allowance of the governor, because the service was too heavy on this people. Remember for my good, O my God, all that I have done for this people.

This is the Word of the Lord. Let’s pray and ask God to help us understand and apply it to our lives.

I. Concerns Voiced by the People

If you’re spending your work time building a wall then you’re not going to have a lot of extra time to be out working in your fields. The fields, left unworked, would mean that the people would have to find food elsewhere. It seems that they allowed other people to work the fields in exchange for grain. During this time, even with the fields not being worked the king continued his tax on the produce of the fields. So it’s a complicated situation, made more difficult by the added stress of a famine in the land.

Why was this a big deal?

Because God had laid out specifics as to how the nation of Israel was to act in relation to their money.

Deuteronomy 23:19–20 ESV

19 “You shall not charge interest on loans to your brother, interest on money, interest on food, interest on anything that is lent for interest. 20 You may charge a foreigner interest, but you may not charge your brother interest, that the Lord your God may bless you in all that you undertake in the land that you are entering to take possession of it.

The people were mortgaging their fields to buy grain but they were also selling their children into debt-slavery. This was a common practice in biblical times. When someone had a debt that they could not pay, they could sell themselves, or in this case, their child into slavery to work to pay off that debt.

The Jewish wealthy people are thinking about themselves first. They are not contemplating the effect that their financial decisions and actions have on the ability of the poor among them to feed themselves or to take care of their children.

The poor people cry out against these more wealth folks about their burdens. Here were the main concers at work in this outcry.

The inability of the poor Jews to work the land and provide for themselves and their families.

The way the work on the wall would suffer and be slowed if they had to stop to go work the land.

The financial burden from mortgaging their property and borrowing money to pay the king’s tax on that land. It was a double whammy.

The pain and outright devastation from selling your children into slavery.

The fact that vulnerable children, especially daughters would be especially vulnerable when enslaved to other people.

For those being complained about, it was truly a failure of compassion.

Concern for self - selfishness - using their wealth to get more wealth and press down on those around them.

The Bible has a lot to say about money. We can’t really look at this passage and get away from that.

I found some questions in a commentary that might be helpful to ask yourself.

Do you fear God in the way you deal with your money?

Do you deal with your money in a way that reflects your concern for God’s reputation among the nations?

Do you regulate your finances according to God’s instructions in the Bible?

For years now, former pastor, author, and ministry leader, John Piper has advocated that Christians should live a “wartime lifestyle.” Here is what he writes:

“In wartime we spend money differently—there is austerity, not for its own sake, but because there are more strategic ways to spend money than on new tires at home”

He later in the same work writes, “A $70,000 salary does not have to be accompanied by a $70,000 lifestyle.… No matter how grateful we are, gold will not make the world think that our God is good; it will make people think that our God is gold” (ibid., 106).

Nothing wrong with making a lot of money, but you can either use it for yourself or for God’s glory. The point is that we ought to live like we are at war because we are. We need to live our lives making financial decisions for the good of God’s people and the advancement of the gospel instead of our temporary comforts and desires.

II. Confrontation of the Offenders

Frustration

Nehemiah hears the outcry and is initially frustrated but then he gathers himself for action. In verse 7 it says

Nehemiah 5:7 ESV

7 I took counsel with myself, and I brought charges against the nobles and the officials. I said to them, “You are exacting interest, each from his brother.” And I held a great assembly against them

He took counsel with himself. That is to say he was first ruled at heart. He was frustrated but out of the type of prayer and bible study that he was, a person who loved God above all and sought God’s glory, he took steps to correct the injustice. He was ruled at heart by God and that directed what he would do.

I love the way things are worded in this chapter. It says that Nehemiah held an assembly against them. In verses 8 through 10 we can see what he said to them.

Nehemiah 5:8–10 ESV

8 and said to them, “We, as far as we are able, have bought back our Jewish brothers who have been sold to the nations, but you even sell your brothers that they may be sold to us!” They were silent and could not find a word to say. 9 So I said, “The thing that you are doing is not good. Ought you not to walk in the fear of our God to prevent the taunts of the nations our enemies? 10 Moreover, I and my brothers and my servants are lending them money and grain. Let us abandon this exacting of interest.

He called them out for caring more about their own financial position than that of their fellow countrymen. And he calls them to change.

Notice in verse 10 that he realized that this indictment may have involved some of the people closest to Nehemiah. He calls for a course correction.

III. Call to Change

Nehemiah is truly calling them to repent from this activity.

They were sinning against one another and ultimately aginst God. The fact that he got the priests involved was recognistiont hat this was not simply between people but between them and God for how they were treating each other in the people of God.

The call was to act immediately - “this very day” They were not to wait but immediately display the fruit of repentance.

They were to give it all back and make sure the people were taken care of. They weren’t giving lip service but actively repenting of what they had been doing.

Beginning in verse 14 we have a bit of a change. You see this interesting comparison in that we have just seen the greed of some of the wealthy people and now we see the generosity of Nehemiah.

IV. Charity From Nehemiah

Nehemiah was a very wealthy man.

Listen to what Hamilton writes about his wealth:

Can you imagine slaughtering an ox a day? I don’t know how big Nehemiah’s herd of oxen was, but he referred to a 12-year period of time in verse 14. Twelve years multiplied by 365 days is 4,380 oxen. He either had a herd big enough to sustain that or he had the money to buy that many oxen. He also slaughtered six sheep per day, and in 12 years that’s 26,280 sheep. - James Hamilton

When you look at the list of what he was able to provide on his own, it’s astounding. Not only do you see him giving of his own but you also see that he refused to accept the allowance for being governor. This was the established practice for the governor of the land to have monetary and food privileges but Nehemiah breaks the pattern. He won’t take advantage of the people or the food that was to be allotted to the governor. Remember in weeks past how we saw the difference in selfless leadership and selfish leadership.

Nehemiah was free to give generously because he had something better than either food or money. He had a love for people and a faith in God. He cared more about the people who would be taxed for his portion and cares more for God’s glory to be displayed than for the benefit he would get from using these things.

Nehemiah 5:16 ESV

16 I also persevered in the work on this wall, and we acquired no land, and all my servants were gathered there for the work.

He was devoted to the mission above prestige in position, wealth, or power. He was working to advance God’s kingdom by building the walls. He wanted God’s name exalted above all.

Framing our Response:

Nehemiah desires to see the burden’s lifted off of God’s people.

Everything we see Nehemiah doing here was based on a life of sincere faith, dedicated to the glory of God and the advancement of His people. This was selfless leadership once again.

Nehemiah’s final statement demonstrates his sincere faith and that mere human judgement won’t always bring justice. Only God’s will.

Difference in opponents motives: Their deeds demonstrate their opposition of the well-being of God’s people.

Gospel connection:

The Consequences of not changing or doing again: Being shaken off…

Non-repentance faces judgement.

Jesus (the Gospel) is the only way to avoid judgement and receive adoption into the people of God.

Response:

Confront

Repent

Keep working on the mission: verse 16

Focus on the mission

Commit to a wartime lifestyle?

This passage made me think about the story of Jesus and the Rich Young Ruler or Rich Young Man.

Mark 10:17–22 ESV

17 And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 18 And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. 19 You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’ ” 20 And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.” 21 And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 22 Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

The rich young man was sad because he held his possessions and wealth higher in his heart than his desire for God. He was unwilling to rid his life of what was between him and God, namely, money and possessions. If we are going to be sold out to the mission, we have to continually look at how we are stewarding everything in our lives. It didn’t take long into this wall building project before the people got sideways because of money. We must look at the same thing in our lives. I want to close with a couple of questions for you to think on.

- Do you think beyond yourself when you think about how to deal with your mone and how you accumulate money?

- Do you ever ask whether what you do with your money harms other Christians or keeps them from being able to devote themselves to the work of the church?

This gets down to the nitty gritty. Will we respond as the people did when they were confronted and repent? Ask God to change our hearts and help us persevere in the mission He has set before us that only He can sustain us through to the end.