Care for Each Other
Nehemiah • Sermon • Submitted
0 ratings
· 6 viewsNotes
Transcript
Sermon Tone Analysis
A
D
F
J
S
Emotion
A
C
T
Language
O
C
E
A
E
Social
Introduction
Introduction
1 Now there arose a great outcry of the people and of their wives against their Jewish brothers.
2 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.”
3 There were also those who said, “We are mortgaging our fields, our vineyards, and our houses to get grain because of the famine.”
4 And 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 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.”
6 I was very angry when I heard their outcry and these words.
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
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.
11 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.”
12 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.
13 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.
14 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.
15 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.
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.
17 Moreover, there were at my table 150 men, Jews and officials, besides those who came to us from the nations that were around us.
18 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.
19 Remember for my good, O my God, all that I have done for this people.
Have you ever been so focused on a project that you neglect other necessary areas of life?
Neglect of Others
Neglect of Others
1 Now there arose a great outcry of the people and of their wives against their Jewish brothers.
2 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.”
3 There were also those who said, “We are mortgaging our fields, our vineyards, and our houses to get grain because of the famine.”
4 And 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 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.”
Not all crying out is worth listening to, but when we get the background of this story we see that the outcry was over food, money, and neglect of fellow Jews. Often times when there is a large God given and necessary project we can get so focused on the project that we neglect our personal responsibilities as well as the needs of those around us in the church.
The Wall Construction caused laxity in the field. It is easy to understand that with the threat of ambush and the lack of security with the wall incomplete, that the Jews needed to focus on the wall. However, with such a focus during the planting and growing seasons, it had major negative consequences. What we see in this passage could be labeled a lack of balance. And here is how it worked.
A laxity in the field caused poverty and opportunity. It caused poverty because there were no crops to sell and buy. But it also created an opportunity for the rich. People would need to borrow money to buy food, pay taxes, and take care of their families. So the rich became just like the cash advanced payday loan places we see all over town. Because of this the rich prospered. The nobles and wealthier Jews were profiting off of their brothers and sisters in need. What resulted from that is horrifying.
The rich prospered
The poor sold their kids or their kids were forced into debtors slavery. Some of the kids were sold to pay taxes, which means these young women in particular were sold off to be married to some nobles son. The debtors slavery was working for free to pay off a debt which meant you couldn’t get ahead because there was no one to work the fields and no money to buy the seed to work the fields.
Old Testament law has much to say about how people are to be treated especially when they belong to the heritage of God’s chosen people.
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.
10 “When you make your neighbor a loan of any sort, you shall not go into his house to collect his pledge.
11 You shall stand outside, and the man to whom you make the loan shall bring the pledge out to you.
12 And if he is a poor man, you shall not sleep in his pledge.
13 You shall restore to him the pledge as the sun sets, that he may sleep in his cloak and bless you. And it shall be righteousness for you before the Lord your God.
Deuteronomy
Deutoronomy 24:10-13
7 The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is the slave of the lender.
39 “If your brother becomes poor beside you and sells himself to you, you shall not make him serve as a slave:
40 he shall be with you as a hired worker and as a sojourner. He shall serve with you until the year of the jubilee.
41 Then he shall go out from you, he and his children with him, and go back to his own clan and return to the possession of his fathers.
42 For they are my servants, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt; they shall not be sold as slaves.
43 You shall not rule over him ruthlessly but shall fear your God.
Lev. 25:
And this is just a sampling of what the Old Testament says about the treatment of the people of Isreal amongst themselves.
How does this situation correlate to modern times?
The church and neglect of each other
What causes us to neglect our Christian Family?
The dichotomy of being a Christian: Loving God (focusing on building the kingdom wide), loving others (focusing on building the church deep)
Lack of Love Coming to Light
Lack of Love Coming to Light
6 I was very angry when I heard their outcry and these words.
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
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.
11 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.”
12 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.
13 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.
Nehemiah 5:6-
Anger at Sin
Biblical truth is the standard
Repentance of sin
The issue was a lack of fear of God and the building of God’s Kingdom
The solution: restitution and swearing to follow through
The result: God was worshipped
The Example of Leadership
The Example of Leadership
14 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.
15 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.
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.
17 Moreover, there were at my table 150 men, Jews and officials, besides those who came to us from the nations that were around us.
18 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.
19 Remember for my good, O my God, all that I have done for this people.
Nehemiah 5:14-
Nehemiah was more concerned about how God’s reputation looked than his own
Nehemiah loved his fellow Jew more than himself