The Bible Binge: Giving it All Away (Nehemiah 5:1-13)

We’re all Takers

Last night I saw a clip of a first base coach at a major league game flip a ball to a small fan who came to the ballpark with a glove. The little fan missed catching the ball, and an adult sitting behind the child reached down, picked up the ball and gave it to a woman sitting next to him. He got roasted on the internet. A similar thing happened during an NFL game in Las Vegas last season. A ball meant for one person was snagged by someone else who forced their way into the handoff. Most people share a common dislike for people who go grabbing free stuff intended for someone else in public. However, the behavior of these kinds of fans is symptomatic of our society in general. People believe they are owed or entitled. There is a mentality to take as much as you can get so long as it’s legal. We are told or we come to believe that we deserve it. We don’t like it when others are doing it… but when it comes our turn, we take. And take. Looking out for number one.

Our story in the Bible Binge has a lot of that in it. People who are taking advantage of their position. And taking. The problem with this mentality is that it is not a kingdom mentality. And one word of warning… when it comes to these kinds of stories in the text, we pass the lesson off to the next guy. Well of course, the rich shouldn’t take from the poor. But the text today and the entire Bible is that we are all equally complicit in these kinds of problems. This isn’t about who has what money or who doesn’t have what money… the point is equally true of all of us because we are all sinners who are bent on taking and taking.

Ezra-Nehemiah: Temple-City

This past week, in our Bible Binge, we finished the book of Ezra and we are beginning the book of Nehemiah. Like Samuel, and Kings, and Chronicles, even though these are two books in our English Bibles, Ezra and Nehemiah are one book in the ancient Jewish Bible. Both books contain the stories of Israel as they return from exile from captivity in Babylon. Ezra is primarily about rebuilding the temple after the Babylonians destroyed it 50 years earlier. And the book of Nehemiah is primarily about rebuilding the wall and beginning to rebuild the city of Jerusalem in order to protect the few citizens and the new temple. The temple project takes about 20 years to complete.

Nehemiah is a Jew who held a pretty high position in the Persian government which was ruling the world by that time. Babylon as an empire had fallen. And Persia had taken over. And Nehemiah convinces the ruler Artaxerxes to allow him and others to rebuild the wall in Jerusalem. And the book of Nehemiah is the story of how the wall came to be rebuilt. And rebuilding the wall isn’t without its problems. There are enemies of Israel that don’t want the wall rebuilt. The enemies causes all sorts of delays. At times, the walls are vandalized and torn down. Workers are attacked. Nehemiah has to form his own militia to protect the work.

It’s the Economy

But it’s not just those who Israel’s enemies causing problems with the work of rebuilding the wall. We get to chapter 5 in Nehemiah and there’s a very real economic problem threatening to derail the entire project.

Nehemiah 5:1 There was a widespread outcry from the people and their wives against their Jewish countrymen.

Notice the writer of the account specifically mentions that the wives, the ladies are bringing the injustices that are happening to the attention of Nehemiah. This happens because the men have been busy at work rebuilding the wall sections and gates that they were assigned to. Meanwhile back at home the wives are having to deal with everything else, and they lay out 3 specific complaints:

We need food

We’re in debt to buy food

We’re in debt to pay taxes

A lot can go wrong and no one will protest. But touch the wallet? And it’s not just the terrible economy. There’s oppression going on. The husbands are working, but their take home pay isn’t enough to keep food on the table. And the vicious cycle has caused increasing debt. And now the debt is so bad, the families are finding it difficult to live. In fact, this debt has led to a very serious fourth problem:

Nehemiah 5:5 We and our children are just like our countrymen and their children, yet we are subjecting our sons and daughters to slavery. Some of our daughters are already enslaved, but we are powerless because our fields and vineyards belong to others.

Family members are now being enslaved… they are working to pay debt off and they don’t even belong to themselves. Their property is someone else’s And their children are now someone else’s. This is dept being paid out through slavery of your children. They are the collateral to survive. And so these wives bring their complaints to Nehemiah. And when Nehemiah hears this, he doesn’t go sad. He doesn’t express sorrow. No… there’s something else going on here that we’re not being told. Nehemiah is angry. And here’s why:

Nehemiah 5:6–7 “I became extremely angry when I heard their outcry and these complaints. After seriously considering the matter, I accused the nobles and officials, saying to them, “Each of you is charging his countrymen interest.”

Nehemiah is hot! He realizes that the economic conditions are being caused by some of the very ones who are working on the wall. It’s one thing for the enemies of Israel to cause grief and suffering for those working on the wall. It’s quite another for fellow citizens to be causing harm. Nehemiah realizes that the very people he is trying to help are stabbing each other in the back. Taking advantage of the situation so that those who have, have even more. In the process of helping others get food and other necessities to live, they’ve helped themselves to property and free labor. And the interest was a no-no. Way back at Sinai, in the law God gave Moses, Israelites were told that they were prohibited from collecting interest on their loans to fellow citizens.

Nehemiah’s confession

In the name of helping, those who had money were not only hurting their neighbors, but threatening to undo the building project. So, Nehemiah tells the ones who are guilty of taking advantage of their neighbors to stop it. But along the way, there are a couple of curious statements. First, he says this:

Nehemiah 5:10 “Even I, as well as my brothers and my servants, have been lending them money and grain. Please, let’s stop charging this interest.”

OK. Nehemiah is hot. Anyone notice the use of the first person here? Yeah… Nehemiah realizes he’s part of the problem. This is a confession. Do you think the wives and girlfriends who showed up with the complaints knew this? I’m sure they did. They go to Nehemiah, not just because he’s the governor of Jerusalem. He’s in on it. He hasn’t been right. And he knows it. Confronted with his sin, Nehemiah confesses his guilt. And he says, let’s stop it. All of us. We’re all in this. And I’m the first one in line to say, “no more”. We're going to stop this process. We need to stop this because we are God's people. We need to live as God's people for the sake of our brothers in this family of God and for the sake of the nations of the world.

Nehemiah’s restitution

But the second curious thing is what follows his confession. It’s not simply about stopping what they are doing. There will be restitution. Full restitution. Their actions will be in accord with their confession. Here’s how he words it though:

Nehemiah 5:11 “Return their fields, vineyards, olive groves, and houses to them immediately, along with the percentage of the money, grain, new wine, and fresh oil that you have been assessing them.”

Seems straightforward enough until you take a step back and just listen to the language he’s using. “Fields, vineyards, olive groves, houses, grain, new wine, fresh oil..” This is the language of the Promised Land… the land flowing with milk and honey. This is the language of the garden of Eden. Nehemiah could have chosen to say… whatever you took, give it back. But no… Nehemiah is after the bigger picture here. Nehemiah wants them to see that the rebuilding of the wall and their participation in what is happening in that time isn’t simply about making sure they aren’t taking advantage of each other. This is about the gospel. The gospel is at stake. The Promised Land is at stake. They are, in a sense, recreating Eden here in Jerusalem.

Nehemiah now sounds like those who believe in the Promise. Money isn’t just money. Money is part of the work of the kingdom. And this restitution he’s talking about isn’t about sitting down and counting the pennies. This is generosity. Fields, vineyards, grain, new wine, fresh oil.. that’s generosity. The restoration of Israel’s kingdom is going to be marked by generosity. Generosity doesn’t simply alleviate the suffering, generosity spreads to everyone in the picture. They aren’t city building. They are kingdom building..not just helping people survive, but thrive.

The people listen to Nehemiah. They did what they promised. And eventually the wall and the temple were rebuilt.

Zacchaeus as Nehemiah 2.0

We get to the New Testament and there’s a similar story. We read it earlier. The story of Zacchaeus, a guy with a history of ripping people off. Zacchaeus climbs a tree to see Jesus. Jesus comes by and says he’s going to Zacchaeus’ house. Zacchaeus “hurries” down the tree. Jesus stays with Zacchaeus, a “sinner”. Salvation comes to Zacchaeus house. And as a result of the salvation that shows up for the sinner, Zacchaeus is offering to repay those he ripped off up to 4 times what he stole.

Where there is salvation, the garden of Eden is being restored. There is generosity. The gospel produces generosity. Wherever there is the gospel, there is the kind of generosity where the goods of the kingdom are constantly being given away. Giving it all away is what happens when the gospel takes root. That’s the opposite of take, take, take.

From scarcity to generosity

Now… does this mean that we should all go home and give everything we have away? I’ve actually heard this preached this way. Run far, far away from anyone telling you that. And run far, far away from anyone promising you’ll get rich from giving it all away. Anyone saying that is a charlatan. That’s not the Bible. That’s not the gospel. But what it does mean is that everything we have is a gift. And we hold it loosely. Our disposition here at The Table and in our lives is not one of scarcity, but of generosity. We are constantly giving ourselves away. The idea that we give away pumpkins and water is simply an example of what it means to give what we have away.

Freedom from debt is freedom to be generous.

That seems like a pithy financial principle. And it’s true. It was true for the wives and mothers complaining to Nehemiah in Jerusalem. It’s still true. When debt is removed from their necks, they are free. Probably some of you have had that experience before. If you've struggled with the issues of debt and you've had that debt taken away, and all of a sudden you feel free, and freedom feels really good.

Freedom to be generous

But as with most things… that’s pointing to a bigger principle by which all of us here at the Table operate:

Freedom from DEBT is freedom to be generous.

That debt isn’t financial. This is what Nehemiah is pointing to when he starts talking about generosity in terms of the Garden of Eden. Sin is a debt. Sin is a burden. We owe God complete and full obedience and we don’t ever come close. And a lot of religion is about trying to pay that debt. As if we could. You owe God, we’re told. You owe God 50 pushups. You owe God 20 hours helping a neighbor. You owe God 24 hours of prayer. You name, we’re told we owe. We do owe. But there’s no way we’re ever going to be able to pay. no matter how many prayers we offer and hours we put in.

And I’ve heard preachers lay on the guilt… Jesus died for you. Now, you owe him your life. You owe him big time. In fact, there’s a popular song that goes like this, and I sang it as a kid… Jesus paid it all, All to him I owe. Because Jesus did all this for you… now you owe him.

That becomes a terrible weight and a terrible burden. There’s no way we could ever pay it back and the Bible nowhere tells us to try. Because we can’t. Here’s the reality:

Jesus paid it all. There’s nothing left to owe.

When Jesus died, he said, it is finished. He paid our debt. There’s nothing left to owe. We have no obligations. We are free. And that’s the point of Nehemiah’s use of the garden language. Jesus pays the debt we owed… and now we are free to be generous. We are free to be generous with our money. We are free to be generous with our time and our talents. That’s freedom.

You often hear me say… we don’t give our money to the Table because we owe God… or because we are somehow obligated to make up what we owe to God. Instead, we give to the Table, we give to the mission because we are free to be generous. Generosity is what finances and fuels gospel ministry here at The Table.

Giving away the Gospel

Last week, I had the privilege of speaking at the Lutheran Women in Mission’s state convention in Corpus Christi. And the star of my report was our truck. In 2022, Lutheran Women in Mission gave us $25,000 toward the purchase of a truck, 14 tables, 100 chairs, and carts for the tables and chairs. Because of their generosity, we have been able to do a lot already in our mission for the Gospel’s sake here in Los Fresnos. In fact, their generosity is helping to fuel our generosity here in Los Fresnos. We are constantly giving away the gospel here in our community and giving away what we have… instead of closed fists, we serve our neighbors with hands and arms wide open. Everywhere the Gospel goes, there is the expansion of the Garden of Eden where Jesus lives among His people.

Jesus paid it all. There’s nothing left to owe. We’re now free to be generous. With the gospel. With our finances. With our time. With our talents.

This is who we are for each other. This is who we are for Los Fresnos.

Let’s Pray.

The Table

This table is over-the-top generosity. This is the new grain, the fresh oil, the vineyards… all given to us in Jesus body and his blood. The garden of Eden given to us as a gift… given for our forgiveness, life, and salvation. This is stupendous generosity. FOR YOU.

Benediction

Numbers 6:24–26

May the Lord bless you and protect you;

may the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you;

may the Lord look with favor on you and give you peace.