Untitled Sermon (6)

Nehemiah Chapter 5

This chapter shows how Nehemiah dealt with a very serious socioeconomic problem that most likely caught him off guard. Up until this point the challenges to the wall project have largely come from “out of house”. This new challenge came from within these new walls. This poses an interesting dilemma Nehemiah because rebuking opposition outside of your sphere of influence is easy. (Give workplace example) (Parenting example of correcting someone else’s child) But Nehemiah must now act as disciplinarian and judge for his own people.

The current financial situation in Judea was a difficult one. The Persian King collected an estimated 20 million darics from his subjects each year, and most of it was melted down into bullion for his coffers, and never returned to the provinces. This lack of circulation caused those on the lower end of the socioeconomic spectrum to really struggle. In addition to this there was a famine in the land. About 75 years earlier the prophet Haggai had described a famine in Israel, and as we see from Scripture, famines were not uncommon in Canaan.

Remember that the wall was rebuilt in 52 days, so there was not a lot of time for stopping and gathering all of the workers together. In fact some scholars say that there is no way this general assembly would have taken place during the project. I disagree and side with those who say that this account happens during the project for a reason. The ugly, sinful usury that was taking place amongst the Jews was cancer that threatened to break down not only their wall, but their hearts. This issue had probably been present in the Israelite communities for hundreds of years, and Nehemiah is the one who stands in the gap to end injustice.

Read chapter 5 verse by verse

So a little context here, it is important to notice that in verse 1 it is clear that the “great outcry” was raised against Jews, by Jews. This was a systemic problem within the Jewish culture. God had given specific, clear instructions to his people on how they ought to deal with each other financially.

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What are some unique things that you notice from this chapter?

Women joined in the public complaint...

Nehemiah was filled with righteous anger against true social injustice...

The people responded well to his rebuke… How often does this happen in the church?

Nehemiah wastes no time in quickly confronting those who are acting wrongly, and thereby gets a good response. If he had wasted time, delayed, or softpedaled his response, things would have gone differently, and his weakness in leadership would have been exploited by those who stood to gain from this slave trade of countrymen.

What are some leadership traits that Nehemiah shows in this chapter?

Nehemiah sacrifices what is rightly his in order to be an example for the people. Paul leads in this same way. Christ did the same through his sacrificial life.

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What differences or similarities can you notice between the ideal method laid out by Jesus in Matthew, and the account we have from Nehemiah?

Two parties in play here, the people, and Nehemiah. Both fall under the scope of this scenario Jesus lays out.

How would big C look different if all conflict was handled this way? How about little c?

Is the response to authority we see in Nehemiah normative for our church today? How about within the realm of our citizenship?

Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. 2 Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.

This call for submission is so key to our witness as believers. Everything Christ did was about submission to the Father’s will, and unlike us, he had the right to do as he wished! For those of us who are husbands and fathers, if we cannot submit to simple authorities in our lives, how can we teach our families to submit to God.

A couple introspective takeaways....

What are some “in-house” issues we are ignoring in our own lives and church because addressing them would be uncomfortable?

Whose earthly authority do we need to work on respecting? (Elders, workplace management, government) I have found it helpful to spend time thinking about WHY I need to respect earthly authority.

What are some “rights” we have that we can lay down for the benefit of other believers?