Reflections on Nehemiah 5

Nehemiah 05 (Contemporary English Version)

1. Some of the men and their wives complained about the Jews in power
   
2. and said, "We have large families, and it takes a lot of grain merely to keep them alive."
   
3. Others said, "During the famine we even had to mortgage our fields, vineyards, and homes to them in order to buy grain."
   
4. Then others said, "We had to borrow money from those in power to pay the government tax on our fields and vineyards.
   
5. We are Jews just as they are, and our children are as good as theirs. But we still have to sell our children as slaves, and some of our daughters have already been raped. We are completely helpless; our fields and vineyards have even been taken from us."
   
6. When I heard their complaints and their charges, I became very angry.
   
7. So I thought it over and said to the leaders and officials, "How can you charge your own people interest?" Then I called a public meeting and accused the leaders
   
8. by saying, "We have tried to buy back all of our people who were sold into exile. But here you are, selling more of them for us to buy back!" The officials and leaders did not say a word, because they knew this was true.
   
9. I continued, "What you have done is wrong! We must honor our God by the way we live, so the Gentiles can't find fault with us.
   
10. My relatives, my friends, and I are also lending money and grain, but we must no longer demand payment in return.
    
11. Now give back the fields, vineyards, olive orchards, and houses you have taken and also the interest you have been paid."
    
12. The leaders answered, "We will do whatever you say and return their property, without asking to be repaid." So I made the leaders promise in front of the priests to give back the property.
    
13. Then I emptied my pockets and said, "If you don't keep your promise, that's what God will do to you. He will empty out everything you own, even taking away your houses." The people answered, "We will keep our promise." Then they praised the LORD and did as they had promised.
    
14. I was governor of Judah from the twentieth year that Artaxerxes was king until the thirty-second year. And during these entire twelve years, my relatives and I refused to accept the food that I was allowed.
    
15. Each governor before me had been a burden to the people by making them pay for his food and wine and by demanding forty silver coins a day. Even their officials had been a burden to the people. But I respected God, and I didn't think it was right to be so hard on them.
    
16. I spent all my time getting the wall rebuilt and did not buy any property. Everyone working for me did the same thing.
    
17. I usually fed a hundred fifty of our own Jewish people and their leaders, as well as foreign visitors from surrounding lands.
    
18. Each day one ox, six of the best sheep, and lots of chickens were prepared. Then every ten days, a large supply of wine was brought in. I knew what a heavy burden this would have been for the people, and so I did not ask for my food allowance as governor.
    
19. I pray that God will bless me for everything I have done for my people.
    

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    One would think that 70 years of exile in a foreign land would have taught obedience for God's laws to the Israelites. But some among them, evidently those who had been insulated from the difficulties by their positions of power, were motivated more by personal gain than by obedience to God.  These individuals were increasing their wealth by taking advantage of the positions of power to prey on their fellow countrymen. The Jews living in Judea at that time were hit financially from several directions. First, they were depressed financially from the loss of property to their conquerors. In addition, they were in the midst of a famine, so food was in short supply plus they were working on the wall and unable to work their fields. Furthermore, they were burdened with a tax to the ruling king. Their fellow countrymen who were in positions of power, the nobles and officials, had loaned them money to help but charged interest which was forbidden under the Mosaic law. Plus they had helped enslave the daughters of those who had no other means of paying their debts. It was practices such as these that gotten them into exile in the first place.
    
    These circumstances brought an outcry from those suffering under these burdens. It threatened to stop progress in the rebuilding efforts in addition to the threat of God's judgment for these actions. When Nehemiah learned of these conditions he responded in his typical fashion.  He first took time to "seriously considering the matter." (5:7) This no doubt took considerable restraint on his part since he "became extremely angry" when he heard the complaints of the people. (5:6) But Nehemiah was not an impulsive man. "Seriously considering the matter" likely meant for him spending time in prayer seeking God's guidance and wisdom. Having done this, he addressed the situation head-on. First, he confronted the nobles and officials who were guilty of these usury practices, exploiting their leadership positions. He accused them of selling their countrymen into slavery after Nehemiah and others had bought their freedom. Furthermore, he told them, "What you are doing isn't right. Shouldn't you walk in the fear of our God and not invite the reproach of our foreign enemies?" (5:9)
    
    The guilty parties responded to Nehemiah's charges by saying, "We will return these things and require nothing more from them. We will do as you say." (5:12) This was good, but Nehemiah went a step further, summoning the priests to have the guilty parties swear an oath before them. Then he invoked God's judgment on them if they didn't keep their promises. Nehemiah's actions and the positive response of the guilty parties restored the goodwill of the people and the desire to continue their rebuilding tasks.
    
    The chapter concludes with an aside from Nehemiah pointing out that the king had appointed him governor of Judah and telling how, in that position, he had devoted himself to the construction of the wall and to furthering the welfare of the people. I believe it is noteworthy that Nehemiah, God's "man of the hour" at this point in time, worked cooperatively with the ruling king rather than in opposition. Though he was not a godly king and though he held the Jews in subservience, God was using him at that time for His purposes to judge His people. Therefore, God's role for Nehemiah was to submit to the king while working within the system to restore the Jews to their homeland.