March 9, 2025 • 30 mins
In this installment of The Passion Project, Pastor Neil Silverberg walks us through Nehemiah 5, revealing how internal injustice can derail even the most determined community. Neil, simply called Neil when he’s teaching, underscores that while rebuilding Jerusalem’s walls was a monumental task, neglecting to show economic justice threatened to undo it all. Families poured their time and effort into construction, yet they found themselves going hungry, mortgaging fields, and even selling children into debt slavery—all because wealthy Jews were charging interest in direct violation of God’s law.
Neil shows how Nehemiah responds with righteous anger, but not rash words. Before confronting the nobles, Nehemiah “took counsel with himself,” choosing his approach carefully. The question at hand was bigger than just lost property; it was about the community’s covenant identity. If God had freed them from Egyptian bondage, why were they now enslaving one another financially? By reminding everyone to “walk in the fear of God,” Nehemiah addresses the spiritual roots of the crisis. His bold confrontation hits home, and the wealthy immediately repent, restoring land and forgiving debts. Their united “Amen” and praise to God mark a turning point—a reminder that transformation is possible when hearts bow to the Lord’s standards.
Neil then highlights the sacrificial leadership Nehemiah models. Despite serving as governor, Nehemiah refuses his rightful food allowance and instead feeds 150 people daily out of his own pocket, laboring on the wall just like everyone else. This resonates with Jesus’ message in Matthew 20:26-28, where greatness is found in serving, not dominating. In a single chapter, we see a blueprint for genuine revival: passionate confrontation of injustice, humility in leadership, and a renewed commitment to God’s ways.
For us today, Neil points out, the story begs a crucial question: does our faith change how we treat others, especially those in need? Nehemiah 5 suggests that real spiritual renewal can’t sidestep financial ethics. If our community thrives outwardly but is compromised internally by exploitation or indifference, God’s redemptive purpose stalls. By walking in the fear of God and embracing generosity, we can restore not just broken walls, but broken hearts and relationships. Whether in families, churches, or broader society, this blend of justice, repentance, and love stands as a potent force for transformation.
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Neil Silverberg (00:03):
We are in a series entitled the Passion
Project and it's a study of theOld Testament book of Nehemiah.
How many have been enjoyinggoing through Nehemiah?
Isn't it wonderful?
It really is.
This message is calledOppression and Generosity.
Oppression and Generosity.
We're going to talk today aboutmoney.
(00:24):
Part of our message will dealwith money.
How many know the Bible has alot to say about money and how
to steward it?
And so this chapterdemonstrates how stewarding our
money improperly can hinderGod's restoration program.
So Nehemiah, by the way, wasmentioned last week by Mark was
(00:46):
one of two vessels God used torebuild the temple of God after
it had been destroyed in 587 BCby the Babylonians.
The other one was Ezra thescribe, and together Ezra and
Nehemiah were the tworepresented two components
needed for true spiritualrecovery work.
(01:07):
First came on the scene Ezra,and he restored the word of God
to the people of God.
You know it says of Ezra inchapter seven of Ezra, verse 10,
for Ezra had set his heart tostudy the law of the Lord and to
do it and to teach his statutesand rules in Israel, and to do
it and to teach his statutes andrules in Israel.
All true spiritual recoverywork.
(01:28):
There must be a return to theauthority of Scripture.
The authority of Scripture isdefinitely needed and in all
true spiritual recovery work theBible is front and center.
This is followed by Nehemiahand Nehemiah in Hebrew.
(01:48):
Anybody know what Nehemiah inHebrew is?
It means God's comforts, godcomforts.
It's based on the Hebrew wordnecham, meaning to comfort
meaning, and his name representsthe true work of the spirit.
(02:09):
In any genuine work of God,word and spirit are necessary
elements working together,because in the Hebrew Bible,
ezra and Nehemiah are one book,not two, but one.
So together they represent, youknow, the necessary elements
that God does when he's doing awork of restoration.
This morning I want to readchapter 5.
(02:29):
We're going to be in chapter 5.
So the words will be on thescreen If you want to look there
, or in your Bibles will be inNehemiah 5.
I'm reading from the EnglishStandard Version Now.
There arose a great outcry ofthe people and of their wives
against their Jewish brothers,for there were those who said
(02:49):
with our sons and our daughters,we are many, so let us get
grain that we may keep alive,eat and keep alive.
There were also those who saidwe are mortgaging our fields,
our vineyards and our houses toget grain because of the famine.
And there were those who saidwe have borrowed money for the
king's tax on our fields, ourvineyards and our houses to get
grain because of the famine.
And there were those who saidwe have borrowed money for the
(03:10):
king's tax on our fields and ourvineyards.
Now, our flesh is as the fleshof our brothers, our children
are as their children.
Yet we are forcing our sons andour daughters to be slaves, and
some of our daughters havealready been slaved, but it is.
I was very angry when I heardthis outcry and these words.
I took counsel with myself andI was brought charges against
(03:38):
the nobles and the officials.
I said to them.
I said to them you are exactinginterest, each from his brother
.
And I held a great assemblyagainst them and said to them we
, as far as we are able, havebrought back our Jewish brothers
who have been sold to thenations.
But you even sell to yourbrothers that they may be sold
(03:58):
to us.
They were silent and could notfind a word to say.
So I said the thing you aredoing is not good.
Ought you not to walk in thefear of our God, to prevent the
taunts of the nations and ourenemies.
Moreover, I and my brothers andmy servants are lending them
money and grain.
Let us abandon this exacting ofinterest.
(04:21):
Return to them this very daytheir fields, their vineyards,
their olive orchards and theirhouses and the percentage of
money, grain, wine and oil thatyou have been exacting from them
.
Then they said we will restorethese and require nothing from
them.
We will do as you say.
And I called the priest andmade them swear to do as they
(04:43):
had promised.
I also shook out the fold of mygarment and said so may God
shake out every man from hishouse and from his labor who
does not keep the promise.
So may he be shaken out andemptied.
And all the assembly said Amenand praised the Lord.
And the people did as theypromised Verse 14.
(05:20):
The former governors who werebefore me laid heavy burdens on
the people and took from themfor their daily ration 40
shekels of silver.
Even their servants lorded itover the people, but I did not
do so because of the fear of God.
I also perceived in the work onthe wall and we acquired no
(05:41):
land and all my servants weregathered there for the work.
Moreover, there were at mytable 150 men, jews and
officials, besides those whocame to us from the nations that
were around us.
Now, what was prepared at myexpense for each day was one ox
and six choice sheep and birds,and, every 10 days, all kinds of
(06:04):
wine in abundance.
Yet for all this, I did notdemand the food allowance of the
governor, because the servicewas too heavy on this people.
Remember for my good, oh my God, all that I have done for this
people.
Thank you, father, for thisportion of scripture.
Lord, we ask you to open it upto us by the power of the Holy
(06:27):
Spirit, in Jesus' name.
And everyone said amen and amen.
Let me take a minute and reviewwhere we've been in our journey
through Nehemiah.
When the book opens, we see thatthe Jewish people are
rebuilding the wall aroundJerusalem.
The temple had been built, butthe wall had been destroyed, and
(06:49):
this book is about therebuilding of the wall of around
Jerusalem.
We need to ask why is buildinga wall around the city of
Jerusalem so important?
Why, first of all, a wallspeaks of protection from their
enemies, and this is the key tounderstanding its importance.
In ancient times, a city'swalls were all they had to
(07:12):
protect themselves, and sobuilding this wall was very
critical.
But they represent more thanprotection.
They represent distinction aswell.
Everything inside the walls isdesignated the holy city.
So when the walls are brokendown, it speaks of the failure
of the people of God to bedistinct from the world.
(07:35):
We have to ask the questionwhat good is a wall around the
city of Jerusalem if the peopleof God are not living in a
distinct manner from thosearound them?
Israel was called to be a lightto the nations, but how could
they fulfill that calling if,internally, they were no
different than the nations?
So that is why rebuilding thewall is so important in this
(07:59):
book of Nehemiah.
When the book opens up, we seethat Nehemiah is living in
Persia and he's the cupbearer tothe king.
He's the guy that would drinkthe wine for the king and
prevent him from being poisoned.
Great job, huh.
While in Persia, nehemiahreceived word that the
Israelites in Jerusalem were ingreat difficulty.
(08:21):
We've seen this already aswe've marched through the early
chapters of Nehemiah.
The city is in disrepute due tothe fact that the wall was
burned down and destroyed.
Immediately, nehemiah is calledto action, and what's the first
thing he does?
The first thing he does is pray, which is always the first
thing we should do when we'recalled to action.
(08:41):
The first thing he does is pray, and all through the book
Nehemiah is presented as a manof prayer and we can learn much
from his prayer life.
Those who want to be effectivein terms of spiritual work know
the central place that prayerholds.
And Nehemiah specifically praysthat God would open a door for
(09:01):
him to return to Jerusalem.
And the next chapter, chapter 2, the Persian king Artaxerxes
grants him his request and evenfunds it and sends him back to
Jerusalem to rebuild the citywalls.
And the first thing Nehemiahdoes when he returns to the city
is he inspects the walls.
Nehemiah builds his team and inchapter 3, the rebuilding
(09:25):
begins.
But as is often the case in anytrue work of spiritual value,
there is always opposition, andScott's going to be talking
about that opposition, whichreally comes to the front in
chapter 6 next week.
Now we come this morning tochapter 5, and we see in this
(09:46):
chapter that God is not so muchbuilding a wall as he is
building a faithful people.
Nehemiah and his team face manychallenges.
Those challenges don't justcome from the outside, but they
come from the inside.
We Christians like to thinkmuch about the corrupt nature of
our culture and why it'scorrupt and it is corrupt, but
(10:09):
what about what's in us?
That's what Nehemiah is talkingabout.
This chapter begins with a greatoutcry against their Jewish
countrymen, and it's veryimportant that we realize the
word outcry, which appears herein Nehemiah 5, only appears one
other place in the Bible, in thebook of Exodus, when it talks
about the children of Israelbeing in bondage to Egypt and
(10:32):
their cry reached up to the Godof Abraham, isaac and Jacob, and
God heard their cry anddelivered them.
That word outcry in Exodus isthe same word used here in
Nehemiah 5.
In this account, the peoplewere being oppressed, not
against Egypt, though, butagainst their own Jewish
(10:53):
brothers.
There are three differentcomplaints against their
brothers in the opening verses.
Very important that werecognize that.
First, in verse 2, the peoplesaid there's a famine going on,
and we are many, and there isn'tenough grain.
These were large families whosehusbands and families are the
primary breadwinners and areattending to the wall for no pay
(11:17):
.
This meant that they had notime for the usual work to buy
eat, to earn money, to buy food.
The first group's problem waslife-threatening, they were
literally starving.
And then the second groupappears in verse 3.
We see that there are peoplewho are mortgaging their fields,
their vineyards, their housesto get grain, and this meant,
(11:43):
sadly, that the second group wason a trajectory to insolvency,
and this was the problem.
And then the third group someof them were forcing their sons
and daughters to be slaves.
This might be a reference, bythe way, to Exodus 21, where if
a Jew fell into debt to anotherJew, he could pay his debt by
(12:05):
becoming a slave for six yearsand then, after six years, they
were free to leave.
They paid their debt.
By the way, there was aprovision made in that
commandment that if, after sixyears, you say I love my master,
where can I go and find amaster better than this?
(12:25):
They would literally cut yourear, and your ear being cut was
a sign that you were a bondslave and you were indebted to
serve that master forever.
You're not serving anymore outof duty, you're serving out of
love.
And this is what was happeningin verses four and five.
(12:47):
And the Israelites said oneauthor said many had to borrow
money from their Jewish brothersto pay the Persia king's tax on
their assets.
However, on top of this loan,the wealthy Jewish brothers were
charging interest.
Property might be taken in apledge pending a repayment of a
(13:08):
loan.
However, taking interest from afellow Israelite who borrowed
out of poverty and need was amajor no-no.
Some were so behind in payingtheir debt that they were
selling their sons and daughtersinto debt slavery.
While this practice was legal,it nonetheless hit them
financially strapped familiesquite hard and simply added
(13:33):
insult to injury.
Now how does Nehemiah respondwhen he hears this?
He says I was very angry.
There's a lot we can learn fromthis.
Listen, he says I was veryangry.
There's a lot we can learn fromthis.
Listen, he says I was veryangry when I heard their outcry
and these words.
I took counsel with myself andI brought charges against the
nobles and the officials.
What if we handled our angerthis way?
(13:55):
We would expect him to say Iwas very angry when I heard this
and I freaked out.
But that's not what he says.
He doesn't handle that way.
Instead, he says I was angrywhen I heard their outcry and I
took counsel with myself.
I love that phrase I tookcounsel with myself.
It indicates he collected histhoughts and prayed.
(14:17):
Now, nehemiah was justifiablyangry when he heard these words.
The situation called for anangry response.
Sometimes, when I say thatChristians are shocked because
they've embraced the idea thatanger is never justified, but
you'll not find that inscripture.
It actually says.
Paul says in Ephesians be angrybut sin not.
(14:41):
So anger is called for at timesand this is one of those times
when it's justifiable because ofthe situation called for an
angry response.
There are times when angryresponses are totally justified,
especially in the New Testament.
How many remember when Jesuswent into the temple and he
(15:01):
stood up and said please don'tdo that.
That's not nice.
No, he made a whip, a cord, awhip out of cords of rope and
drove them out.
And you see in that story thewrath of the lamb, see in that
story the wrath of the Lamb.
And in fact in Revelation,chapter 6, john says he hears
(15:30):
the Lamb say fall on us.
People say fall on us and hideus from the face of him who is
seated on the throne, and fromthe wrath of the Lamb, for the
great day of their wrath hascome and who can stand.
So the New Testament allows foranger as long as it's righteous
.
Anger and be angry, but sin not.
So he says.
I took counsel with myself and Ibrought charges against the
nobles and the officials.
I said to them you are exactinginterest, each from his brother.
(15:53):
And I held a great assemblyagainst them and said to them we
, as far as we are able, havebrought back our Jewish brothers
who have been sold to thenations.
But you even sell your brothersthat they may be sold to us.
They were not dealing withtheir brothers properly
according to the commandmentfound in Leviticus 25.
(16:14):
Listen to the commandment.
If your brother becomes poorand cannot maintain himself with
you, you shall support him asthough he was a stranger and a
sojourner and he shall live withyou.
Take no interest from him, butfear your God that your brother
may live beside you.
(16:35):
You shall not lend him yourmoney at interest, nor give him
food for profit.
I am the Lord, your God, whobrought you out of the land of
Egypt to give you the land ofCanaan and to be your God.
That last verse is significant.
It says why do you lend yourmoney at no interest?
Because you fear God.
(16:56):
The law of God is supposed togovern the people of God.
They were not to loan money andinterest.
Why?
Because they were brothers andbecause the Lord brought you out
of slavery, so don't you dareenslave your brother.
And Nehemiah calls for a greatassembly against them.
It's interesting to note thatthe previous attempts at
(17:17):
opposing rebuilding the wallwere not able to do it, but this
financial opposition wassuccessful at stopping the work
on the wall.
Isn't that interesting?
It speaks to the fact that whenGod's people fail to live
distinctly from those aroundthem and oppress their brothers
financially, they are unable tobe part of God's building
(17:41):
program.
Listen to what Scripture saysabout financial oppression.
Whoever oppresses the poor toincrease his own wealth or gives
to the rich, will only come topoverty.
Proverbs 22.16.
How about Proverbs 14.3?
Whoever opposes a poor maninsults his neighbor, his maker.
(18:05):
Whoever opposes a poor man,insults his maker.
It's little wonder that whenPeter preached the gospel on the
day of Pentecost, the firstthing the Spirit of Jesus did
was form a new communitycharacterized by financial
liberality.
Remember what it says as aresult of the Pentecost, the
(18:31):
pouring out of the Spirit andthe repentance of 3,000 people,
it says all who believed weretogether and had all things in
common.
This is incredible.
This became, by the way, anecessity because many of the
(18:53):
Jews who responded to Peter'sgospel came from the diaspora,
the technical term for thescattering of Jews throughout
the whole world, and theycouldn't go back.
They wanted to stay inJerusalem, to be part of the new
community.
So it became necessary fortheir needs to be met, because
(19:13):
they needed housing and food inorder to remain.
This is the total opposite ofwhat the people were doing in
Nehemiah's time.
This is the total opposite ofwhat the people were doing in
Nehemiah's time.
There, the rich Jews wereoppressing the poor.
You know, when the Spirit waspoured out at Pentecost, it
created what has been called adivine socialism.
(19:34):
A divine socialism.
This is what resulted from thesupply of manna.
Remember, in the wilderness, itsays, when they measured it with
an omer whoever gathered muchhad nothing left.
Whoever gathered little had nolack.
And Nehemiah rebukes them,saying the thing you are doing
(19:54):
is not good.
Ought you not to walk in thefear of our God to prevent the
taunts of the nations, ourenemies?
You know, the only way to getfree from financial oppression
is to walk in the fear of God.
Nehemiah calls them to action.
He says return to them thisvery day their fields, their
(20:16):
vineyards, their olive orchardsand their houses and the
percentage of money, grain, wineand oil that you've been
exacting from them.
And the people respondedimmediately.
Wasn't it incredible to see theimmediate response.
How many wish that everybodyyou talked to and rebuked would
respond that way.
Be nice, wouldn't it?
(20:37):
Here's what the people said wewill restore these and require
nothing from them.
We will do as you say.
And I called the priests andmade them swear to do as they
had promised.
I also shook out the fold of mygarment and said so may God
shake out every man from hishouse and from his labor who
(20:58):
does not keep this.
So may he be shaken out andemptied.
And all the assembly said Amenand praise the Lord.
And the people did as theypromised.
What a response.
Nehemiah calls them back to thefear of the Lord.
You know, the fear of Godproduces obedience hearts.
(21:19):
That's why the assembly saidimmediately amen, and they
praised the Lord, because thefear of God produces obedient
hearts, and that kind ofrepentance always produces true
worship.
That's why all the assemblysaid amen and they praised the
Lord corporately for what Godwas doing.
(21:39):
Now Nehemiah, on the other hand, himself modeled what true
generosity looks like.
It said, moreover, from thetime I was appointed to be their
governor in the land of Judah,from the 20th year to the 32nd
year of Artaxerxes the king 12years.
(22:01):
Neither I nor my brothers atethe food allowance of the
governor.
The former governors who werebefore me laid heavy burdens on
the people and took from themfor their daily ration 40
shekels of silver.
Even their servants lorded itover the people, but I did not
do so because of the fear of God.
(22:22):
I also persevered in the workon the wall, and even Nehemiah
was involved in the work on thewall.
Moreover, there were at mytable 150 men, jews and
officials, besides those whocame to us from the nations and
were around us.
Now, what was prepared at myexpense for each day was one ox
(22:43):
and six choice sheep and birds,and every 10 days, all kinds of
wine in abundance.
Yet for all this, I did notdemand the food allowance of the
governor, because the servicewas too heavy on this people.
Remember, for my good, o my God, all that I have done for this
people.
(23:04):
Nehemiah was appointed governorby the Persian king, artaxerxes.
As governor, he was given adaily food allowance that only
the rich could enjoy, butneither Nehemiah or his team
took advantage of it.
The former governors laid heavyburdens on the people and took
(23:26):
from them the daily rations.
Nehemiah says even theirservants lorded it over them,
the people.
But that's not how Nehemiahviewed this exercise of
authority.
He said but I did not do so.
Lorded over the people becauseof the fear of God.
This reminds me.
Six centuries later, the LordJesus taught his followers what
(23:49):
true leadership consists of.
Remember what he taught.
It's found in Matthew 20, 20through 28.
Remember James and John, thesons of thunder.
They get their Jewish mother toappeal to the Lord.
It's one way to move God's hand.
If it's not, if you're havingtrouble moving God's hand, find
(24:09):
a Jewish mother to plead withhim.
And the mother of James andJohn came to him, kneeling
before him, and said I have arequest.
The Lord said yes, what is it?
She said pray that grant thatmy two sons may sit on your
right and left hand in yourkingdom.
And Jesus said you don't knowwhat you're asking.
(24:30):
Are you willing to drink thecup that I was going to drink?
And they said yes, we'rewilling.
He said you will drink the cupthat I drink, and that's of
course, meaning that they wouldsuffer.
James was killed by the swordand John outlived James and the
other apostles.
They tried to kill John,according to church history, by
(24:53):
throwing him in a cauldron ofburning oil, but he wouldn't die
.
So they exiled him to Patmos.
But he said, when the ten otherdisciples heard that they had
tried to get their mom tocontrol the Lord, they were
offended and they were angrywith the two.
(25:14):
But Jesus called them alltogether.
Remember what he said.
He says you know that therulers of the Gentiles lorded
over them and their great onesexercised authority over them.
It shall not be so among you,but whoever would be great among
you must be your servant, andwhoever would be the first among
you must be your slave, even asthe Son of man came not to be
(25:38):
served, but to serve and to givehis life a ransom for many.
Wow, wow.
Nehemiah mirrored whatgenerosity looks like.
This is incredibly incredible,especially in the lieu of the
financial oppression that wasrampant among the people at the
(25:59):
time.
But Nehemiah refused to enrichhimself at the expense of the
people.
He said but I did not do sobecause of the fear of God.
We need a restoration in God'shouse today of the fear of the
Lord.
What the scripture says aboutthe fear of the Lord we should
(26:19):
study earnestly, and we sawpreviously that Nehemiah
indicted the people for theirfailure to fear the Lord.
The thing you are doing, hesaid, is not good.
Ought you not to walk in thefear of our God to prevent the
taunts of our enemies or nations?
We learned that the only way toget free from financial
(26:41):
oppression is by walking in thefear of the God.
Here in this passage, we learnthat the fear of the Lord makes
one to be generous when it comesto handling our money.
In an article entitled GodFears Respond to Economic
Injustice Promptly, luke Bobosays this.
In a stark contrast to hisJewish brother's greed and
(27:03):
perpetuation of economicinjustice, nehemiah models
generosity, grace and fairness.
As governor, nehemiah had theprerogative to raise taxes for
his food allowance, which wasvery great one ox, six choice
sheep per day, along with birdsand much wine.
Nehemiah's predecessors laidheavy burdens on the people and
(27:27):
took from them their dailyration of 40 shekels of silver.
These former governors usedtheir position for their
personal enrichment and fortheir servants' enrichment.
Unlike his predecessors, though, nehemiah did not lord it over
his people.
Nehemiah not only refused tolay his heavy financial burden
(27:48):
on the people, but he and hisservants labored side by side
with their fellow Jews on thewall project.
Nehemiah did not desire to livecomfortably while his people
were in great need.
Additionally, nehemiah hostedJews and delegates from the
nations at his table, providingfood and drink at his own
(28:09):
expense.
Listen carefully to what thisauthor had said.
Nehemiah models generosity,grace and fairness, elements we
desperately need in the house ofGod today.
He's a true example of a godlyleader.
He's a true example of a godlyleader.
Kosti Hinn writes this.
Much like today, there wereleaders throughout the Bible who
(28:32):
used their positions of powerto abuse and exploit people for
their own gain.
And much like today, there areleaders throughout the Bible who
use their position as for good.
Nehemiah is one of the mostprominent examples of spiritual
leadership that viewed authorityas God-given privilege, a
responsibility, really not amandated right.
(28:55):
Nehemiah held a job as theking's cupbearer and later as
governor, and used his positionof influence to carry out God's
agenda.
Warren Wiersbe strikes theheart of leadership challenges
when he writes In our day ofpublic scandals in almost every
area of life, how refreshing itis to meet a man like Nehemiah,
(29:17):
who puts serving the peopleahead of gain for himself.
He is a great example of that.
So this financial oppressionwas met by repentance on the
people's part, which Nehemiahcalled for, and Nehemiah's own
example of generosity and graceled this move of God.
(29:43):
Let's pray.
Led this move of God, let'spray.
Lord, god, thank you for thegodly example you've given us in
your servant, nehemiah.
Lord, may you raise up a newgeneration of Nehemiahs in our
day who use their position ofauthority as a God-given
(30:04):
responsibility, not a mandatedright.
Raise up leaders in our day whouse their position of influence
to carry out your agenda.
Use these leaders to deliveryour people from oppression in
all its forms.
In Jesus' name, and everyonesaid amen.
We are in a series entitled the Passion
Project and it's a study of theOld Testament book of Nehemiah.
How many have been enjoyinggoing through Nehemiah?
Isn't it wonderful?
It really is.
This message is calledOppression and Generosity.
Oppression and Generosity.
We're going to talk today aboutmoney.
(00:24):
Part of our message will dealwith money.
How many know the Bible has alot to say about money and how
to steward it?
And so this chapterdemonstrates how stewarding our
money improperly can hinderGod's restoration program.
So Nehemiah, by the way, wasmentioned last week by Mark was
(00:46):
one of two vessels God used torebuild the temple of God after
it had been destroyed in 587 BCby the Babylonians.
The other one was Ezra thescribe, and together Ezra and
Nehemiah were the tworepresented two components
needed for true spiritualrecovery work.
(01:07):
First came on the scene Ezra,and he restored the word of God
to the people of God.
You know it says of Ezra inchapter seven of Ezra, verse 10,
for Ezra had set his heart tostudy the law of the Lord and to
do it and to teach his statutesand rules in Israel, and to do
it and to teach his statutes andrules in Israel.
All true spiritual recoverywork.
(01:28):
There must be a return to theauthority of Scripture.
The authority of Scripture isdefinitely needed and in all
true spiritual recovery work theBible is front and center.
This is followed by Nehemiahand Nehemiah in Hebrew.
(01:48):
Anybody know what Nehemiah inHebrew is?
It means God's comforts, godcomforts.
It's based on the Hebrew wordnecham, meaning to comfort
meaning, and his name representsthe true work of the spirit.
(02:09):
In any genuine work of God,word and spirit are necessary
elements working together,because in the Hebrew Bible,
ezra and Nehemiah are one book,not two, but one.
So together they represent, youknow, the necessary elements
that God does when he's doing awork of restoration.
This morning I want to readchapter 5.
(02:29):
We're going to be in chapter 5.
So the words will be on thescreen If you want to look there
, or in your Bibles will be inNehemiah 5.
I'm reading from the EnglishStandard Version Now.
There arose a great outcry ofthe people and of their wives
against their Jewish brothers,for there were those who said
(02:49):
with our sons and our daughters,we are many, so let us get
grain that we may keep alive,eat and keep alive.
There were also those who saidwe are mortgaging our fields,
our vineyards and our houses toget grain because of the famine.
And there were those who saidwe have borrowed money for the
king's tax on our fields, ourvineyards and our houses to get
grain because of the famine.
And there were those who saidwe have borrowed money for the
(03:10):
king's tax on our fields and ourvineyards.
Now, our flesh is as the fleshof our brothers, our children
are as their children.
Yet we are forcing our sons andour daughters to be slaves, and
some of our daughters havealready been slaved, but it is.
I was very angry when I heardthis outcry and these words.
I took counsel with myself andI was brought charges against
(03:38):
the nobles and the officials.
I said to them.
I said to them you are exactinginterest, each from his brother
.
And I held a great assemblyagainst them and said to them we
, as far as we are able, havebrought back our Jewish brothers
who have been sold to thenations.
But you even sell to yourbrothers that they may be sold
(03:58):
to us.
They were silent and could notfind a word to say.
So I said the thing you aredoing is not good.
Ought you not to walk in thefear of our God, to prevent the
taunts of the nations and ourenemies.
Moreover, I and my brothers andmy servants are lending them
money and grain.
Let us abandon this exacting ofinterest.
(04:21):
Return to them this very daytheir fields, their vineyards,
their olive orchards and theirhouses and the percentage of
money, grain, wine and oil thatyou have been exacting from them
.
Then they said we will restorethese and require nothing from
them.
We will do as you say.
And I called the priest andmade them swear to do as they
(04:43):
had promised.
I also shook out the fold of mygarment and said so may God
shake out every man from hishouse and from his labor who
does not keep the promise.
So may he be shaken out andemptied.
And all the assembly said Amenand praised the Lord.
And the people did as theypromised Verse 14.
(05:20):
The former governors who werebefore me laid heavy burdens on
the people and took from themfor their daily ration 40
shekels of silver.
Even their servants lorded itover the people, but I did not
do so because of the fear of God.
I also perceived in the work onthe wall and we acquired no
(05:41):
land and all my servants weregathered there for the work.
Moreover, there were at mytable 150 men, jews and
officials, besides those whocame to us from the nations that
were around us.
Now, what was prepared at myexpense for each day was one ox
and six choice sheep and birds,and, every 10 days, all kinds of
(06:04):
wine in abundance.
Yet for all this, I did notdemand the food allowance of the
governor, because the servicewas too heavy on this people.
Remember for my good, oh my God, all that I have done for this
people.
Thank you, father, for thisportion of scripture.
Lord, we ask you to open it upto us by the power of the Holy
(06:27):
Spirit, in Jesus' name.
And everyone said amen and amen.
Let me take a minute and reviewwhere we've been in our journey
through Nehemiah.
When the book opens, we see thatthe Jewish people are
rebuilding the wall aroundJerusalem.
The temple had been built, butthe wall had been destroyed, and
(06:49):
this book is about therebuilding of the wall of around
Jerusalem.
We need to ask why is buildinga wall around the city of
Jerusalem so important?
Why, first of all, a wallspeaks of protection from their
enemies, and this is the key tounderstanding its importance.
In ancient times, a city'swalls were all they had to
(07:12):
protect themselves, and sobuilding this wall was very
critical.
But they represent more thanprotection.
They represent distinction aswell.
Everything inside the walls isdesignated the holy city.
So when the walls are brokendown, it speaks of the failure
of the people of God to bedistinct from the world.
(07:35):
We have to ask the questionwhat good is a wall around the
city of Jerusalem if the peopleof God are not living in a
distinct manner from thosearound them?
Israel was called to be a lightto the nations, but how could
they fulfill that calling if,internally, they were no
different than the nations?
So that is why rebuilding thewall is so important in this
(07:59):
book of Nehemiah.
When the book opens up, we seethat Nehemiah is living in
Persia and he's the cupbearer tothe king.
He's the guy that would drinkthe wine for the king and
prevent him from being poisoned.
Great job, huh.
While in Persia, nehemiahreceived word that the
Israelites in Jerusalem were ingreat difficulty.
(08:21):
We've seen this already aswe've marched through the early
chapters of Nehemiah.
The city is in disrepute due tothe fact that the wall was
burned down and destroyed.
Immediately, nehemiah is calledto action, and what's the first
thing he does?
The first thing he does is pray, which is always the first
thing we should do when we'recalled to action.
(08:41):
The first thing he does is pray, and all through the book
Nehemiah is presented as a manof prayer and we can learn much
from his prayer life.
Those who want to be effectivein terms of spiritual work know
the central place that prayerholds.
And Nehemiah specifically praysthat God would open a door for
(09:01):
him to return to Jerusalem.
And the next chapter, chapter 2, the Persian king Artaxerxes
grants him his request and evenfunds it and sends him back to
Jerusalem to rebuild the citywalls.
And the first thing Nehemiahdoes when he returns to the city
is he inspects the walls.
Nehemiah builds his team and inchapter 3, the rebuilding
(09:25):
begins.
But as is often the case in anytrue work of spiritual value,
there is always opposition, andScott's going to be talking
about that opposition, whichreally comes to the front in
chapter 6 next week.
Now we come this morning tochapter 5, and we see in this
(09:46):
chapter that God is not so muchbuilding a wall as he is
building a faithful people.
Nehemiah and his team face manychallenges.
Those challenges don't justcome from the outside, but they
come from the inside.
We Christians like to thinkmuch about the corrupt nature of
our culture and why it'scorrupt and it is corrupt, but
(10:09):
what about what's in us?
That's what Nehemiah is talkingabout.
This chapter begins with a greatoutcry against their Jewish
countrymen, and it's veryimportant that we realize the
word outcry, which appears herein Nehemiah 5, only appears one
other place in the Bible, in thebook of Exodus, when it talks
about the children of Israelbeing in bondage to Egypt and
(10:32):
their cry reached up to the Godof Abraham, isaac and Jacob, and
God heard their cry anddelivered them.
That word outcry in Exodus isthe same word used here in
Nehemiah 5.
In this account, the peoplewere being oppressed, not
against Egypt, though, butagainst their own Jewish
(10:53):
brothers.
There are three differentcomplaints against their
brothers in the opening verses.
Very important that werecognize that.
First, in verse 2, the peoplesaid there's a famine going on,
and we are many, and there isn'tenough grain.
These were large families whosehusbands and families are the
primary breadwinners and areattending to the wall for no pay
(11:17):
.
This meant that they had notime for the usual work to buy
eat, to earn money, to buy food.
The first group's problem waslife-threatening, they were
literally starving.
And then the second groupappears in verse 3.
We see that there are peoplewho are mortgaging their fields,
their vineyards, their housesto get grain, and this meant,
(11:43):
sadly, that the second group wason a trajectory to insolvency,
and this was the problem.
And then the third group someof them were forcing their sons
and daughters to be slaves.
This might be a reference, bythe way, to Exodus 21, where if
a Jew fell into debt to anotherJew, he could pay his debt by
(12:05):
becoming a slave for six yearsand then, after six years, they
were free to leave.
They paid their debt.
By the way, there was aprovision made in that
commandment that if, after sixyears, you say I love my master,
where can I go and find amaster better than this?
(12:25):
They would literally cut yourear, and your ear being cut was
a sign that you were a bondslave and you were indebted to
serve that master forever.
You're not serving anymore outof duty, you're serving out of
love.
And this is what was happeningin verses four and five.
(12:47):
And the Israelites said oneauthor said many had to borrow
money from their Jewish brothersto pay the Persia king's tax on
their assets.
However, on top of this loan,the wealthy Jewish brothers were
charging interest.
Property might be taken in apledge pending a repayment of a
(13:08):
loan.
However, taking interest from afellow Israelite who borrowed
out of poverty and need was amajor no-no.
Some were so behind in payingtheir debt that they were
selling their sons and daughtersinto debt slavery.
While this practice was legal,it nonetheless hit them
financially strapped familiesquite hard and simply added
(13:33):
insult to injury.
Now how does Nehemiah respondwhen he hears this?
He says I was very angry.
There's a lot we can learn fromthis.
Listen, he says I was veryangry.
There's a lot we can learn fromthis.
Listen, he says I was veryangry when I heard their outcry
and these words.
I took counsel with myself andI brought charges against the
nobles and the officials.
What if we handled our angerthis way?
(13:55):
We would expect him to say Iwas very angry when I heard this
and I freaked out.
But that's not what he says.
He doesn't handle that way.
Instead, he says I was angrywhen I heard their outcry and I
took counsel with myself.
I love that phrase I tookcounsel with myself.
It indicates he collected histhoughts and prayed.
(14:17):
Now, nehemiah was justifiablyangry when he heard these words.
The situation called for anangry response.
Sometimes, when I say thatChristians are shocked because
they've embraced the idea thatanger is never justified, but
you'll not find that inscripture.
It actually says.
Paul says in Ephesians be angrybut sin not.
(14:41):
So anger is called for at timesand this is one of those times
when it's justifiable because ofthe situation called for an
angry response.
There are times when angryresponses are totally justified,
especially in the New Testament.
How many remember when Jesuswent into the temple and he
(15:01):
stood up and said please don'tdo that.
That's not nice.
No, he made a whip, a cord, awhip out of cords of rope and
drove them out.
And you see in that story thewrath of the lamb, see in that
story the wrath of the Lamb.
And in fact in Revelation,chapter 6, john says he hears
(15:30):
the Lamb say fall on us.
People say fall on us and hideus from the face of him who is
seated on the throne, and fromthe wrath of the Lamb, for the
great day of their wrath hascome and who can stand.
So the New Testament allows foranger as long as it's righteous
.
Anger and be angry, but sin not.
So he says.
I took counsel with myself and Ibrought charges against the
nobles and the officials.
I said to them you are exactinginterest, each from his brother.
(15:53):
And I held a great assemblyagainst them and said to them we
, as far as we are able, havebrought back our Jewish brothers
who have been sold to thenations.
But you even sell your brothersthat they may be sold to us.
They were not dealing withtheir brothers properly
according to the commandmentfound in Leviticus 25.
(16:14):
Listen to the commandment.
If your brother becomes poorand cannot maintain himself with
you, you shall support him asthough he was a stranger and a
sojourner and he shall live withyou.
Take no interest from him, butfear your God that your brother
may live beside you.
(16:35):
You shall not lend him yourmoney at interest, nor give him
food for profit.
I am the Lord, your God, whobrought you out of the land of
Egypt to give you the land ofCanaan and to be your God.
That last verse is significant.
It says why do you lend yourmoney at no interest?
Because you fear God.
(16:56):
The law of God is supposed togovern the people of God.
They were not to loan money andinterest.
Why?
Because they were brothers andbecause the Lord brought you out
of slavery, so don't you dareenslave your brother.
And Nehemiah calls for a greatassembly against them.
It's interesting to note thatthe previous attempts at
(17:17):
opposing rebuilding the wallwere not able to do it, but this
financial opposition wassuccessful at stopping the work
on the wall.
Isn't that interesting?
It speaks to the fact that whenGod's people fail to live
distinctly from those aroundthem and oppress their brothers
financially, they are unable tobe part of God's building
(17:41):
program.
Listen to what Scripture saysabout financial oppression.
Whoever oppresses the poor toincrease his own wealth or gives
to the rich, will only come topoverty.
Proverbs 22.16.
How about Proverbs 14.3?
Whoever opposes a poor maninsults his neighbor, his maker.
(18:05):
Whoever opposes a poor man,insults his maker.
It's little wonder that whenPeter preached the gospel on the
day of Pentecost, the firstthing the Spirit of Jesus did
was form a new communitycharacterized by financial
liberality.
Remember what it says as aresult of the Pentecost, the
(18:31):
pouring out of the Spirit andthe repentance of 3,000 people,
it says all who believed weretogether and had all things in
common.
This is incredible.
This became, by the way, anecessity because many of the
(18:53):
Jews who responded to Peter'sgospel came from the diaspora,
the technical term for thescattering of Jews throughout
the whole world, and theycouldn't go back.
They wanted to stay inJerusalem, to be part of the new
community.
So it became necessary fortheir needs to be met, because
(19:13):
they needed housing and food inorder to remain.
This is the total opposite ofwhat the people were doing in
Nehemiah's time.
This is the total opposite ofwhat the people were doing in
Nehemiah's time.
There, the rich Jews wereoppressing the poor.
You know, when the Spirit waspoured out at Pentecost, it
created what has been called adivine socialism.
(19:34):
A divine socialism.
This is what resulted from thesupply of manna.
Remember, in the wilderness, itsays, when they measured it with
an omer whoever gathered muchhad nothing left.
Whoever gathered little had nolack.
And Nehemiah rebukes them,saying the thing you are doing
(19:54):
is not good.
Ought you not to walk in thefear of our God to prevent the
taunts of the nations, ourenemies?
You know, the only way to getfree from financial oppression
is to walk in the fear of God.
Nehemiah calls them to action.
He says return to them thisvery day their fields, their
(20:16):
vineyards, their olive orchardsand their houses and the
percentage of money, grain, wineand oil that you've been
exacting from them.
And the people respondedimmediately.
Wasn't it incredible to see theimmediate response.
How many wish that everybodyyou talked to and rebuked would
respond that way.
Be nice, wouldn't it?
(20:37):
Here's what the people said wewill restore these and require
nothing from them.
We will do as you say.
And I called the priests andmade them swear to do as they
had promised.
I also shook out the fold of mygarment and said so may God
shake out every man from hishouse and from his labor who
(20:58):
does not keep this.
So may he be shaken out andemptied.
And all the assembly said Amenand praise the Lord.
And the people did as theypromised.
What a response.
Nehemiah calls them back to thefear of the Lord.
You know, the fear of Godproduces obedience hearts.
(21:19):
That's why the assembly saidimmediately amen, and they
praised the Lord, because thefear of God produces obedient
hearts, and that kind ofrepentance always produces true
worship.
That's why all the assemblysaid amen and they praised the
Lord corporately for what Godwas doing.
(21:39):
Now Nehemiah, on the other hand, himself modeled what true
generosity looks like.
It said, moreover, from thetime I was appointed to be their
governor in the land of Judah,from the 20th year to the 32nd
year of Artaxerxes the king 12years.
(22:01):
Neither I nor my brothers atethe food allowance of the
governor.
The former governors who werebefore me laid heavy burdens on
the people and took from themfor their daily ration 40
shekels of silver.
Even their servants lorded itover the people, but I did not
do so because of the fear of God.
(22:22):
I also persevered in the workon the wall, and even Nehemiah
was involved in the work on thewall.
Moreover, there were at mytable 150 men, jews and
officials, besides those whocame to us from the nations and
were around us.
Now, what was prepared at myexpense for each day was one ox
(22:43):
and six choice sheep and birds,and every 10 days, all kinds of
wine in abundance.
Yet for all this, I did notdemand the food allowance of the
governor, because the servicewas too heavy on this people.
Remember, for my good, o my God, all that I have done for this
people.
(23:04):
Nehemiah was appointed governorby the Persian king, artaxerxes.
As governor, he was given adaily food allowance that only
the rich could enjoy, butneither Nehemiah or his team
took advantage of it.
The former governors laid heavyburdens on the people and took
(23:26):
from them the daily rations.
Nehemiah says even theirservants lorded it over them,
the people.
But that's not how Nehemiahviewed this exercise of
authority.
He said but I did not do so.
Lorded over the people becauseof the fear of God.
This reminds me.
Six centuries later, the LordJesus taught his followers what
(23:49):
true leadership consists of.
Remember what he taught.
It's found in Matthew 20, 20through 28.
Remember James and John, thesons of thunder.
They get their Jewish mother toappeal to the Lord.
It's one way to move God's hand.
If it's not, if you're havingtrouble moving God's hand, find
(24:09):
a Jewish mother to plead withhim.
And the mother of James andJohn came to him, kneeling
before him, and said I have arequest.
The Lord said yes, what is it?
She said pray that grant thatmy two sons may sit on your
right and left hand in yourkingdom.
And Jesus said you don't knowwhat you're asking.
(24:30):
Are you willing to drink thecup that I was going to drink?
And they said yes, we'rewilling.
He said you will drink the cupthat I drink, and that's of
course, meaning that they wouldsuffer.
James was killed by the swordand John outlived James and the
other apostles.
They tried to kill John,according to church history, by
(24:53):
throwing him in a cauldron ofburning oil, but he wouldn't die
.
So they exiled him to Patmos.
But he said, when the ten otherdisciples heard that they had
tried to get their mom tocontrol the Lord, they were
offended and they were angrywith the two.
(25:14):
But Jesus called them alltogether.
Remember what he said.
He says you know that therulers of the Gentiles lorded
over them and their great onesexercised authority over them.
It shall not be so among you,but whoever would be great among
you must be your servant, andwhoever would be the first among
you must be your slave, even asthe Son of man came not to be
(25:38):
served, but to serve and to givehis life a ransom for many.
Wow, wow.
Nehemiah mirrored whatgenerosity looks like.
This is incredibly incredible,especially in the lieu of the
financial oppression that wasrampant among the people at the
(25:59):
time.
But Nehemiah refused to enrichhimself at the expense of the
people.
He said but I did not do sobecause of the fear of God.
We need a restoration in God'shouse today of the fear of the
Lord.
What the scripture says aboutthe fear of the Lord we should
(26:19):
study earnestly, and we sawpreviously that Nehemiah
indicted the people for theirfailure to fear the Lord.
The thing you are doing, hesaid, is not good.
Ought you not to walk in thefear of our God to prevent the
taunts of our enemies or nations?
We learned that the only way toget free from financial
(26:41):
oppression is by walking in thefear of the God.
Here in this passage, we learnthat the fear of the Lord makes
one to be generous when it comesto handling our money.
In an article entitled GodFears Respond to Economic
Injustice Promptly, luke Bobosays this.
In a stark contrast to hisJewish brother's greed and
(27:03):
perpetuation of economicinjustice, nehemiah models
generosity, grace and fairness.
As governor, nehemiah had theprerogative to raise taxes for
his food allowance, which wasvery great one ox, six choice
sheep per day, along with birdsand much wine.
Nehemiah's predecessors laidheavy burdens on the people and
(27:27):
took from them their dailyration of 40 shekels of silver.
These former governors usedtheir position for their
personal enrichment and fortheir servants' enrichment.
Unlike his predecessors, though, nehemiah did not lord it over
his people.
Nehemiah not only refused tolay his heavy financial burden
(27:48):
on the people, but he and hisservants labored side by side
with their fellow Jews on thewall project.
Nehemiah did not desire to livecomfortably while his people
were in great need.
Additionally, nehemiah hostedJews and delegates from the
nations at his table, providingfood and drink at his own
(28:09):
expense.
Listen carefully to what thisauthor had said.
Nehemiah models generosity,grace and fairness, elements we
desperately need in the house ofGod today.
He's a true example of a godlyleader.
He's a true example of a godlyleader.
Kosti Hinn writes this.
Much like today, there wereleaders throughout the Bible who
(28:32):
used their positions of powerto abuse and exploit people for
their own gain.
And much like today, there areleaders throughout the Bible who
use their position as for good.
Nehemiah is one of the mostprominent examples of spiritual
leadership that viewed authorityas God-given privilege, a
responsibility, really not amandated right.
(28:55):
Nehemiah held a job as theking's cupbearer and later as
governor, and used his positionof influence to carry out God's
agenda.
Warren Wiersbe strikes theheart of leadership challenges
when he writes In our day ofpublic scandals in almost every
area of life, how refreshing itis to meet a man like Nehemiah,
(29:17):
who puts serving the peopleahead of gain for himself.
He is a great example of that.
So this financial oppressionwas met by repentance on the
people's part, which Nehemiahcalled for, and Nehemiah's own
example of generosity and graceled this move of God.
(29:43):
Let's pray.
Led this move of God, let'spray.
Lord, god, thank you for thegodly example you've given us in
your servant, nehemiah.
Lord, may you raise up a newgeneration of Nehemiahs in our
day who use their position ofauthority as a God-given
(30:04):
responsibility, not a mandatedright.
Raise up leaders in our day whouse their position of influence
to carry out your agenda.
Use these leaders to deliveryour people from oppression in
all its forms.
In Jesus' name, and everyonesaid amen.
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