Nehemiah 5: Return- The Unrest Within (Sermon at FFMC 8/8/21)

 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^[a] 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.

 

Introduction

Nehemiah is the story of an inspired leader, but it is also the story of how others around them respond to their character and actions. Some of us are leaders in church and at work, and some of us are not. The book of Nehemiah is not only for leaders though - it is for those of us who are led as well. – God has a word today for all of us.

In the preceding chapters of the book of Nehemiah we have seen how he responded to God’s call to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, how he prepared himself for the task, how he began the work on the wall, and how he faced external enemies. Nehemiah 5 tells us of internal troubles. There had bee issues in the front lines, but now we see trouble within the city, amongst the people of God.

 Picture this: Nehemiah is engaged on the great task God has laid before him – the task that has burdened his heart, made him weep for days - the task that has been prepared for by personally going to the ground. It has been bathed with prayer. it has been faced as a team with others. It is God’s appointed task. And yet in actually doing it he has faced difficulty after difficulty.

 Very typical of any enterprise – even when God calls us to do something, it does not mean that we will have an easy time. We might think that when we do God’s will, all will be smooth sailing. But Nehemiah faced external and internal opposition. And this opposition can be great and dangerous.  The enemy uses both frontal attack and infighting against God’s people.

 What was the situation?

 

1. The suffering of the people (v. 1-5)

A “great outcry” (5:1) is the typical reaction of protest under oppression (cf. Ex 2:23).  We know that farmers were away from their fields and homes, because they stayed in Jerusalem to work on the walls (4:22); there was a famine (v. 3); and previous administrators had burdened the people (v. 15). They were not rich to start with, and the focus on the wall had made times harder. The very work that God had appointed contributed to social and economic difficulties. (Illustration) Times were so bad that children were sold into slavery, houses and vineyards were mortgaged, and money was borrowed at interest. How bad is bad?

 “Now our flesh is as the flesh of our brothers, our children are as their children.”  We are one people – neighbours, and yet…! “Of their wives” speaks of family concerns. Women rarely have a voice in Nehemiah, but here they speak up. There is emotional as well as financial pain.

Do we hear the outcry?

 

2. The attitude of the ruling class (“nobles and officials” v.7)

These are the aristocrats and the political rulers.

The first thing that they did was that they were treating fellow Israelites as slaves. According to Mosaic law (Lev. 25:39–43, Dt 15:12) a man who became poor could sell himself, along with his family, to a fellow Israelite in order to get back on his feet financially; he was to be treated as a hired worker, not as a slave. And he would do this for a maximum of 6 years. The involvement of the children here was probably because they were less able to contribute economically to the household and were more dispensable. There is a suggestion that the children were not being treated well. (v.5 ‘enslaved’)

 The second thing they did was to exact interest.  The law prohibited not only usury, but interest of any kind (Ex. 22:25–27; Lev. 25:35–37; Deut. 23:20). This did not necessarily apply to commercial loans, but the purpose of these laws was to protect the poor (applicable to charitable loans, not commercial loans).

•       If you lend money to any of my people with you who is poor, you shall not be like a moneylender to him, and you shall not exact interest from him. (Ex 22:25)

•       “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. (Dt 23:19-20)

Compassion was built into the law!

 It was not foreigners but fellow Jews who were forcing these intolerable measures on each other. The attitude of the ruling class had exacerbated the impact of the human and economic cost of rebuilding. They did not share in the “big picture” purpose. They sought personal gain. It would have been easy to say that ‘everyone is doing it’ or “we are not doing anything illegal!” It was only necessary for them to allow “business as usual” without any compassion or thought for the bigger picture.

Do you have a shared vision? Or do you just do your own thing and get selfish advantage for yourself?
Application:

• Unity of vision: brick, wall, cathedral
• Strict official, formal, business relationship when they could have been compassionate.

Let it be said that when Nehemiah scolded them the nobles and rulers responded rightly. ”They were silent and could not find a word to say.”(v.8) “Then they said, “We will restore these and require nothing from them. We will do as you say.” (v.12)  And the people did as they had promised. (v.13)

They didn’t argue. They quickly complied with Nehemiah’s authority. They followed up on their verbal commitments. In other words, they took well to correction. And so should we all – when someone points out how we have failed to follow the laws of God, we likewise should have a tender conscience, quick to repent and quick to make things right.

3. Nehemiah’s response

1.       He had a good attitude. On one hand, he was ‘very angry’ (v.6). Anger is not a sin. Jesus was angry. Anger shows what are we passionate about? On the other, he ‘took counsel’ with himself (v.7). He didn’t act on impulse. How easy it is to say and do rash things when one is angry!

 2.       He confronted the problem. This took courage. He did not try to be nice. Some people never want to offend. He corrected of the issue by ensuring justice. He “brought charges”(v.6). He also softened justice with appeals to ‘brotherhood’ (v.8) He gave reasonable motivations (v.9): fear of God, prevent taunts of enemies. He identified with them (v.10) although his loans were clearly not the same as theirs. He “made them swear”(v.12). This act was a renewal of their commitment to keep the laws of Moses. He brought them face to face with spiritual reality. In this covenant renewal Nehemiah dramatized the curses for failing to keep the oath (cf. Jer. 34:8–22).

 3. He led by example

• An example of humility. A governor had the right to collect taxes for his personal support (‘the food allowance of the governor’ v. 18). Politicians see the position as an opportunity to be rich. Even their servants benefited. Nehemiah waived this right for the benefit of the people. Nehemiah’s reason for being governor was service, not personal benefit. Instead, Nehemiah and his servants built the wall and worked (v.16). There was no arrogance about his own importance, no demand to be regarded specially. Like Paul 1 Cor. 9:4, 12; 2 Thess. 3:8, 9, Like Jesus (Php 2:4-11)
• An example of generosity. He also supported visitors/diplomats According to Persian custom, Nehemiah as governor had to entertain the officials under his authority as well as visiting dignitaries from other countries. He not only did not take what he was entitled to, he gave what he did not have to. He was an example for what he did not take and what he did not keep.
• An example of piety. Nehemiah was a man who had conviction rather than ambition. There are many good leaders like that, but not many will say, ‘But I did not do so, because of the fear of God’ (v.17) I could have, legally, legitimately – but I did not. I did not do what others did, because I know God.

 

Conclusion

I never previously understood Nehemiah's repeated requests for God to "remember" him (5:19, 6:14, 13:14, 13:22, 13:21). Even the last words of the book are a cry for God to remember. Does God forget anything? Is Nehemiah doing good only for God to reward him?

Nehemiah’s prayers are not the cries of an insecure individual. This is a man with nothing to hide - nothing to be ashamed of, who has done his best and who asks for justice from God. Perhaps also, knowing the special loneliness of leadership and seeing all the ups and downs of his service, this is a man who perhaps knew that apart from God, it might be that no one else would remember him.

This is both warning and encouragement for all of us who lead! God sees and hears. And He inspired the book of Nehemiah. God answered Nehemiah’s prayer.

 

Let us in Fairfield learn from the word of God as we face conflicts and wrongdoing and difficulties in church

• Take opposition to God’s work in your stride
• Have a wide vision of the work of God
• Go beyond business as usual
• Set an example for others
• Above all, the Lord sees you. The Lord remembers you.

Video here