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.
(ESV)
STOP! Think a little 🤔 What is God saying to you?
- What is the writer saying?
- How do I apply this to my life?
It wasn’t only the walls of Jerusalem that were broken, there were also problems within their society. All the work on the walls had left the people very little time to tend to their fields. This had resulted in a famine. People had been forced to mortgage their fields, vineyards, and houses in order to buy grain. Others had borrowed money to pay the tax charged by the king on their fields and vineyards. The burden of the loans and taxes was so great that they had been forced to sell their children into slavery in order to pay. Other men, fellow Jews, now had their fields and vineyards.
Nehemiah was angry when he heard the news. While his anger would have been righteous, he took the time to calm down and consider the situation before responding. Then he took up the matter with the nobles. He held an assembly to address them all. He rebuked them because they were charging their own people interest in direct violation of God’s command (Ex 22:25). They were allowed to loan money but not to gain interest from another person’s distress. The biggest problem was that some Jews had helped their fellow countrymen by buying them out of slavery from the Babylonians, now they were being sold back into slavery by their fellow Jews. They were also profaning God’s reputation. God had delivered Israel from both Egyptian and Babylonian captivity. Nehemiah exhorts them to “walk in the fear of our God.” Nehemiah ends with a personal testimony and example that he and some others were already loaning people money and grain. He was personally doing something about the problem. He was not asking them to do something he was not already doing.
The noblemen responded well, but knowing that talk is cheap and it is easy to respond positively in the pressure of the moment, Nehemiah makes them take an oath that they will right the wrongs they have perpetrated.
It is very easy for those with wealth to exploit the poor. The poor are helpless and reliant and have very little means to ensure they are treated fairly. God calls on us to be generous with the wealth He has entrusted us with. We would do well to always consider how our spending affects those who have produced what we buy. Where we can, we should be helpful with our money rather than looking for every opportunity to turn a profit. Even if you don’t have a lot of money, you can be mindful of how you spend what you do have and how you use any influence or position you might have in society.
Like Nehemiah, we must also take opportunity to stand against the evils perpetuated in our society.
What can you do today to help someone less fortunate than you are?
When we are going through trials from God, there may also be other problems within the trial like in Nehemiah there to test whether we continue to rely on God or not. I was encouraged to make sure that even in the smallest of trials, I lean on God the whole way through
Ought you not to walk in the fear of our God to prevent the taunts of the nations our enemies?
This stood out to me because it shows that we must fear God and he will be the one who helps and protects us.