Nehemiah 5

Introduction

Would you feel guilty if you were a millionaire? There are some churchgoing people that I have met who would certainly feel guilty with having this much money. We know from the story of the rich young ruler that this man worshipped and love money more than God. His problem was not having money or things but rather that he loved them more than he loved God. The New Testament is full of passages that tell us that we are called to be born again, however there is not a passage in Scripture that says that a successful person cannot be born again. Whenever Jesus and Zacchaeus talked in , Jesus did not tell Zacchaeus to sell everything and give to the poor, Zacchaeus repayed those who he had wronged and gave away half of his possessions (not all of them) and Jesus said that he had salvation.

As John Piper puts it, “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.” This is the heart of the matter. We must be a giving people. We must balance all of the Bible’s teaching on money. Whenever we do this we see that even if we were to sell all of our possessions, we wouldn’t have done something that necessarily pleases God. Likewise, we see with wealth that indulging ourselves at the expense of others does not please God. What we must know and what we will look at tonight in is that we are to be good stewards of what we have for the glory of God, the good of others and the advancement of the Gospel.

What Nehemiah shows us in is an individual who is living a “wartime” lifestyle on a millionaire’s budget.

Nehemiah 5 NASB95

1 Now there was a great outcry of the people and of their wives against their Jewish brothers. 2 For there were those who said, “We, our sons and our daughters are many; therefore let us get grain that we may eat and live.” 3 There were others who said, “We are mortgaging our fields, our vineyards and our houses that we might get grain because of the famine.” 4 Also there were those who said, “We have borrowed money for the king’s tax on our fields and our vineyards. 5 “Now our flesh is like the flesh of our brothers, our children like their children. Yet behold, we are forcing our sons and our daughters to be slaves, and some of our daughters are forced into bondage already, and we are helpless because our fields and vineyards belong to others.” 6 Then I was very angry when I had heard their outcry and these words. 7 I consulted with myself and contended with the nobles and the rulers and said to them, “You are exacting usury, each from his brother!” Therefore, I held a great assembly against them. 8 I said to them, “We according to our ability have redeemed our Jewish brothers who were sold to the nations; now would you even sell your brothers that they may be sold to us?” Then they were silent and could not find a word to say. 9 Again I said, “The thing which you are doing is not good; should you not walk in the fear of our God because of the reproach of the nations, our enemies? 10 “And likewise I, my brothers and my servants are lending them money and grain. Please, let us leave off this usury. 11 “Please, give back to them this very day their fields, their vineyards, their olive groves and their houses, also the hundredth part of the money and of the grain, the new wine and the oil that you are exacting from them.” 12 Then they said, “We will give it back and will require nothing from them; we will do exactly as you say.” So I called the priests and took an oath from them that they would do according to this promise. 13 I also shook out the front of my garment and said, “Thus may God shake out every man from his house and from his possessions who does not fulfill this promise; even thus may he be shaken out and emptied.” And all the assembly said, “Amen!” And they praised the Lord. Then the people did according to this promise. 14 Moreover, from the day that I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year to the thirty-second year of King Artaxerxes, for twelve years, neither I nor my kinsmen have eaten the governor’s food allowance. 15 But the former governors who were before me laid burdens on the people and took from them bread and wine besides forty shekels of silver; even their servants domineered the people. But I did not do so because of the fear of God. 16 I also applied myself to the work on this wall; we did not buy any land, and all my servants were gathered there for the work. 17 Moreover, there were at my table one hundred and fifty Jews and officials, besides those who came to us from the nations that were around us. 18 Now that which was prepared for each day was one ox and six choice sheep, also birds were prepared for me; and once in ten days all sorts of wine were furnished in abundance. Yet for all this I did not demand the governor’s food allowance, because the servitude was heavy on this people. 19 Remember me, O my God, for good, according to all that I have done for this people.

Outcry due to Extortion (1-5)

Because of the situation the Israelites were in regarding completing the wall of Jerusalem, they experienced economic depression because the harvest was less than anticipated. Because the people in the surrounding areas of Jerusalem came in to help with the completion of the wall, less hands were available come harvest time. Because of this, the economic situation was critical. There were nobles and officials who were power hungry who had taken advantage of the situation. Had these people outside the city stayed and tended their fields, perhaps they would have had food for themselves (as we see in verse 2), however because the fields were un-worked, they had to look for another way to buy food. What happened is a mortgage of sorts in verse 3. What we see in throughout the Persian Empire (and in the Roman empire in the New Testament) is that taxation was extremely heavy. We think that we are heavily taxed nowadays but it pales in comparison to what the Israelites were forced to pay in this day and age. These individuals could not afford grain, so they had to mortgage their property or borrow money to pay the taxes on their property. This real estate tax was deadly because the charge was very high.

Although the Persian kings were quite benevolent to their subject peoples in regard to religion, they were more severe in regard to taxes. These taxes gave the Persian rulers enormous wealth. When Alexander conquered Susa, he found there some 270 tons of gold and twelve hundred tons of silver. The political elite and large economic establishments, such as the Murashu firm, profited from the situation; but small landowners did not. The interest rates were high; they rose from 20 percent in the time of Cyrus and Cambyses to 40 or 50 percent at the end of the fifth century b.c. Documents from Babylon confirm that even there some landowners had to mortgage their property in order to pay their taxes

A.T. Olmstead’s book “History of the Persian Empire” has some very important information for us regarding the significance of this tax. “ Although the Persian kings were quite benevolent to their subject peoples in regard to religion, they were more severe in regard to taxes. These taxes gave the Persian rulers enormous wealth. When Alexander conquered Susa, he found there some 270 tons of gold and twelve hundred tons of silver. The political elite and large economic establishments, such as the Murashu firm, profited from the situation; but small landowners did not. The interest rates were high; they rose from 20 percent in the time of Cyrus and Cambyses to 40 or 50 percent at the end of the fifth century b.c. Documents from Babylon confirm that even there some landowners had to mortgage their property in order to pay their taxes”

Because the taxes on real estate were so high, the result was a form of slavery as we find out in . At times, a family was forced to resort to debt slavery. This was a common practice in the ancient Near East and is something we see in . A son or daughter had to work for a creditor until the person’s debt was paid (as shows us). In many cases, though, the daughter was taken as the wife of the creditor or for one of his sons. What shows us, though, is that the Sabbatical Year required that debt slaves were to be released of their service in the 7th year. The Jewish people are mortgaging their fields, selling their children into slavery and they are primarily concerned with themselves in these opening verses. They are not thinking about the ramifications that their financial decisions will have on the poor, the children or what it will do to the work on the wall.

Breneman, M. (1993). Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther (electronic ed., Vol. 10). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.

The question that we must ponder as we read these first 5 verses is: What do we think of whenever a financial crisis comes our way? Do we just think of ourselves or do we ask what the ramifications of our actions will be to those around us and to the church?

Nehemiah’s response (6-13)

There are several concerns listed in the opening 5 verses, the inability of poor Jews to work the land and provide, the way the work on the wall will suffer if people leave to work on the land, the financial burden of mortgaging the fields, the devastation to a family for selling a child into slavery and the vulnerable position that children (especially young daughters) are thrust into. Nehemiah hears of these concerns and sees them in front of his very eyes and he is angry as verse 6 tells us. Verse 7 is interesting though as it says that Nehemiah “took counsel with himself” - most commentators take this to mean that he “got control of himself” after his initial outrage. This should be the way that we react to difficult situations, is it not? We talked this morning about being justifiably angry at a situation - Nehemiah certainly has every right to be mad about the situation he and his countrymen are in, however he got control of his emotions and addressed the elephant in the room: the nobles and officials. These individuals are charging their fellow Jews interest - which was forbidden in , and . Again, Nehemiah was a man who knew Scripture and he put it to good use! We should do the same in our own lives. Nehemiah tells these people in verses 9 and 10 that what they are doing isn’t right!

After controlling his emotions, Nehemiah focused on God and the law. He calls out these people to fear God and to stop charging interest. Do we fear God in the way we deal with money? Obviously we are not under the Mosaic covenant and we are not Jews, however we can still gain valuable insight from the Old Testament as well as New Testament.

First, we see that the Lord brings poverty and gives wealth in

1 Samuel 2:7 NASB95

7 “The Lord makes poor and rich; He brings low, He also exalts.

Second, we see that everything in the Earth belongs to the Lord as says

Psalm 24:1 NASB95

1 The earth is the Lord’s, and all it contains, The world, and those who dwell in it.

Everything belongs to God and we are called to be stewards as we looked at a couple months ago in our study of the Baptist Faith and Message 2000. God is the owner, we are simply called to be good stewards of what He entrusts us with. We also know that we will be evaluated on everything that we are entrusted with.

Third, oppressing the poor is not what we are called to do in

Proverbs 14:31 NASB95

31 He who oppresses the poor taunts his Maker, But he who is gracious to the needy honors Him.

We are called to be a generous people. You must have in order to give. The more you have, the more generous you are to be.

Forth, we are to save and prepare according to .

Proverbs 6:6 NASB95

6 Go to the ant, O sluggard, Observe her ways and be wise,

,

Proverbs 6:8 NASB95

8 Prepares her food in the summer And gathers her provision in the harvest.

Wise people work hard and save in times of plenty to prepare for the droughts.

Fifth and finally, Paul calls the Corinthians to give cheerfully in and

1 Corinthians 16:1 NASB95

1 Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I directed the churches of Galatia, so do you also.

2 Corinthians 9:7 NASB95

7 Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

We have always heard it said that we are called to give 10% to the Lord, certainly in the Old Testament this was the case, however the New Testament gives no such minimum. The New Testament also does not give a maximum amount. Because of this, people should give what they have cheerfully decided in their hearts to give. Does this mean that some people are able to cheerfully give 10%? Certainly. Does this mean that someone else can cheerfully give 25%? You bet it does. Many people in the American church “check the box” of giving with a 10% amount but you can never out-give God. I’m preaching to the choir tonight, but to whom much is given, much is expected. To some people, I genuinely believe they are supposed to give more than 10% - but at the end of the day, it is a matter between them and God. Rich people should not feel guilty for being rich, they should obey what Paul says in and trust in God, not their money. They should do good and be generous.

We all have the responsibility to be generous with what we are given. And as tells us, if we need wisdom to know how to deal with a certain situation, we simply ask God for that wisdom. At the end of the day, we know that our resources are to be used to advance God’s Kingdom through the church.

We have to ask ourselves, where we are not doing this in our own lives and in the life of our church? How can we do a better job of giving? Where can we give more? Where can we go and serve next year? These are the questions that we must ask ourselves and give action to.

Back to the text, Nehemiah calls for the Jewish leaders to repent in verse 11. This is a call from a leader of the community to do what Scripture says to do. It’s all about the covenant in order to advance the kingdom of God on earth. Therefore, in order for us to repent from our wrongs today, we must know the new covenant. If someone is called to repent from their financial dealings and they do not know God or participate in new covenant of grace, they will not comply with this direction unless they have something else to gain. On the other side, those who know God and participate in the new covenant will want to honor God in their financial practices. We should want to use what we have to promote the knowledge of Jesus Christ and the advancement of the Gospel! shows these individuals did in fact repent!

Just as is the case in our society today, people will promise just about anything. However, saying and doing are completely different things! He calls the priests to have the people swear in verse 12 and he calls down a curse on those who do not fulfill their promises in verse 13 - Nehemiah was very serious about the people doing what they promised to do!

So, I ask you tonight, do you know God? Are you trusting Jesus? If so, do you feel moral indignation tonight? Maybe because you have been wronged financially or because the Word of God has been disregarded and people have gotten hurt as a result? Why do shared beliefs matter? An example: The Aztecs (ancient civilization in present day Mexico) believed that it was right to rip the heart out of the chest of a living human being. There was nothing wrong with this in their eyes. Do you want your shared belief to be right or wrong? If you want it to be correct, trust in Jesus Christ and base your behavior on Scripture. The one living and true God determines right and wrong, good and evil. There is an absolute truth and we must trust in God. The only way that you can know right and wrong, though, is to know Jesus Christ. Only then can you do what Scripture calls us to do.

Nehemiah’s unselfish leadership (14-19)

Verse 15 shows us that Nehemiah was in a situation where he had economic and food privileges - at least based on the position of being a governor. This was very common in Persian policy. He had the right to receive taxes from the people he governed to support his household. Yet, Nehemiah did not use this for his own benefit, he forfeited his “right” in order to help the people!

No one forced Nehemiah to do this. What freed him from enjoying these privileges? Experiencing something far better. Nehemiah knows something better than money and food, loving people and faith in God. Nehemiah cares more about the people being taxed to death to provide the funds to provide Nehemiah with food and wealth than he does living a carefree life. Nehemiah believes that there is something higher and better than indulging in the delights of this world as we see throughout this final section of Scripture.

Nehemiah wanted God’s name exalted and God’s people protected. He trusted God and he loved God’s people as we see in verse 16. We know that we are to love the Lord our God and Love our Neighbor as ourself, however how well are we doing on this? Nehemiah certainly loved both of these things and he was willing to surrender his privileges in verses 14-15 to make the life of his fellow Jews easier. Verses 17 and 18 show us that Nehemiah was still phenomenally wealthy!

He slaughtered an ox a day. Can you imagine doing this? Verse 14 refers to a 12 year period of time. 12 years of slaughtering 1 ox per day comes out to 4,380 oxen. He either had a massive herd of oxen to slaughter that many or he had the money to purchase that many oxen, either way he was very wealthy! We also see that he slaughtered 6 sheep per day, which comes out to 26,280 over those 12 years. This is otherworldly wealth! Nehemiah trusted God and loved the people of God and he did not take advantage of his office, however he did not feel guilty about having the resources to sacrifice an ox and 6 sheep per day. Nehemiah is rich, people around him are poor. He does much to help those people out, but he is still rich. This is not something that he seems guilty about.

If we recognize that God makes rich and poor, we see wealth as a blessing from God rather than a sin to feel guilty about. Were you blessed with great parents? If so, do you feel guilty about it? You are certainly grateful, but you’re not guilty! You praise God for this fact. You should praise God if you are wealthy, you should praise God if you have food on your plate and you should praise God in the times where times are tough. If you worship God, not money, if you are a good steward of what God has given to you, if you are helping others out with your resources and you are using your wealth to advance the Kingdom of God then you should not feel guilty about the blessings of God that He has given to you through wealth.

Nehemiah is generous and wealthy. He feeds 150 people at his own table and he provides the spread out of his savings account! God has given him much and he acts as though it is his responsibility to steward what he has been given rather than save it for himself.

Nehemiah is a man of prayer as verse 19 shows us. Why would Nehemiah ask God to remember the good that he has done, though? Some might say that this is a very selfish thing to say, but I would say that Nehemiah is highlighting the source of his selflessness. He wants to serve God and God’s people because he believes that by living by faith in what he cannot see that he will be rewarded far more than by living a life for what he can see.

Conclusion

Again, this is a message that is preaching to the choir, but this chapter of Nehemiah gives us some very good applicable points. We must see what we are living for. If you worship money, you are a sinner and should repent and trust fully in Christ, not money. If you do not love God and His people then you must repent of self-centeredness and trust in Jesus.

If God is your God, though, then do not feel guilty for being blessed by God. There are hundreds of things that divide us and separate us form one another, but the Gospel of Jesus is what unites us. Tall people who believe in Jesus should not feel guilty for being tall (in fact it becomes a burden sometimes in a marriage when your wife asks you to grab something from the top shelf!). Likewise, those who trust in Jesus Christ and who God has blessed financially should not feel guilty because God has blessed them. God is God. We will all give an account to Him based upon how we have been good or bad stewards with what He has entrusted to us. Let’s use what we have to further the Kingdom of God and help out the needy in our congregation and in our community!