Welcome! Today we continue our series on Ezra and Nehemiah, focusing on Chapters 5 and 6. The year is 445 BC, and the location is Jerusalem.In Nehemiah 1 and 2 we were introduced to Nehemiah as the cupbearer of the Persian King Artaxerxes. Nehemiah learned of the state of disrepair of the walls of Jerusalem as well as of the downcast “defeated” mindset of the people there, and he wept and prayed for them, praying specifically that God would use him to help the situation. After several months of prayer and fasting, through a miraculous series of events, the king decided to send Nehemiah himself to take charge of rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem.
Upon arriving in Jerusalem, Nehemiah looked over the walls one night, and then he spoke to the people and encouraged them to begin rebuilding the walls under his leadership. They agreed, and despite some initial opposition in the forms of taunting from several non-Israelite leaders of surrounding regions, they began to rebuild. In Nehemiah 3 and 4, we see the work going on in earnest.
Chapter 3 provides details about who worked on what portions of the walls and gates, and it was interesting to look at these details and see where various locations along the wall came into play in the earlier past as well as at the time of Jesus. For example, one wall is described as the wall adjoining the Pool of Siloam. The Pool of Siloam is the location in John 9 where Jesus heals a man born blind.
Now, this wall-rebuilding was a huge project. These walls were tall and very thick, in some cases enclosing rooms, living spaces within them. Simultaneously the walls were being rebuilt on all sides of Jerusalem, and there was steady progress.
In Nehemiah 4 we see opposition to the building. An area leader named Sanballat the Horonite, along with his associates and his Samarian army, taunted the people and the work. Tobiah the Ammonite also taunted the people and called their work shoddy and useless. Nehemiah’s response was to pray boldly that God would turn their insults back on their own heads and that they would be given over as plunder to the Israelites. Then Sanballat, Tobiah, and three other groups plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem.
On top of this, the people of Israel, once they found out, became afraid and began to repeat the same things the enemies said. In response, Nehemiah stationed men to serve as soldiers, guarding the people and the work. And Nehemiah reminded the people to remember the Lord’s greatness and not be afraid, but rather, be prepared to fight boldly if it came to it. From then on, half the people served as soldiers while the other half continued to build. So the work continued, and the people overcame their fear. This brings us to Chapter 5.
Now the men and their wives raised a great outcry against their fellow Jews. Some were saying, “We and our sons and daughters are numerous; in order for us to eat and stay alive, we must get grain.” Others were saying, “We are mortgaging our fields, our vineyards and our homes to get grain during the famine.” – Neh. 5:1-3
It’s important to understand that from Neh. 4, work was going on at a feverish pitch. After perhaps a month or so of this, the people begin to complain as described here. From Nehemiah 4, we saw that work of some kind was going on day and night, 24/7. At night, people served as soldiers, as guards, protecting the people of Jerusalem. All day, some served as guards while others did the building. The result was a total disruption of everyday work, of making a living.
On top of this, there was a famine. It would appear that the local crops had failed, or perhaps the previous years’ crops had failed, leading to a shortage of grain. Or it may not have been the local crops, but those in a wide region, leading to surging prices everywhere. There was no pay for being a soldier, or for working on that wall. Money was running out in many families, and people were very anxious. Some were going deep into debt, mortgaging their fields, vineyards, and homes. If they had had credit cards back then, they would have maxed those out too.
Still others were saying, “We have had to borrow money to pay the king’s tax on our fields and vineyards. Although we are of the same flesh and blood as our fellow Jews and though our children are as good as theirs, yet we have to subject our sons and daughters to slavery. Some of our daughters have already been enslaved, but we are powerless, because our fields and our vineyards belong to others.” – Neh. 5:4-5
It is important to remember that although the Israelites had been allowed to return to Jerusalem, it was certainly not like it was in the brief “golden days” of Israel, when they more or less followed the laws given by God to and through Moses, laws about land ownership, taxation, and so on. These are fascinating things to study. I’m just going to touch a few highlights, but if you want to study it on your own, look at Exodus 21 and Leviticus 25.
I will say a few things – when it came to slaves, you didn’t buy a slave for life, but for 6 years. Basically, you could “rent” a person, but not buy them, unless the person serving as a slave desired to become a servant for life. And there were also laws about how a servant was to be treated, protecting them from severe abuse.
When it came to land, each tribe had land originally allotted to them. This land could be bought and sold, but again, not forever, but for a period until the jubilee, every 50years, when everything would revert to the original tribes. And there were rules about not taking advantage of someone in distress (what we today call price gouging). If someone did have to sell their land, a relative was supposed to redeem it back for them if they could. Interestingly, there was an exception for houses in walled cities; in this case, permanent ownership was permitted, if a relative did not redeem it back within a year of being sold.
There were rules that if an Israelite became poor and unable to support himself and his family, you were to help him and were prohibited from taking any interest or profit from them. And if they had no choice but to work for someone else, you were not allowed to take him as a slave (even a temporary slave for 6 years), but to employ him as a hired worker, and only until the next Jubilee, when he and his family were then required to be released to go back to their own lands.
The key thing to understand here is that these principles were not being followed. For various reasons, some Israelites in the years since the initial return to Jerusalem had become relatively wealthy, and they were taking advantage of the current situation – the lack of working for pay because of building the wall as well as the famine. The poor, the hungry, the suffering among the Israelites were being forced to borrow money at whatever interest rate was being offered. And they were even taking fellow Israelites as slaves.
I should point out that although the results of the situation were different from things we see in America today, there are some similarities. The people were being taken advantage of by others, not so unlike some of the abuses that occurred in the mortgage industry prior to the bust. There was an unemployment problem – not because jobs weren’t available, but because people had to work without pay on the wall.
There was a taxation problem. Artaxerxes became rich off of the taxes he imposed on the Israelites and the other peoples and nations he controlled. When Alexander the Great conquered Susa, the place where Nehemiah had served as cupbearer and the home of Artaxerxes, Alexander found 270 tons of gold bullion. At today’s prices, around $1300 an ounce, that comes out to more than $11 billion. And that was just at Susa. And when people borrowed to pay for those taxes, think exorbitant credit card rates, or think about those rip-off payday and title loans, and you get the idea. Who were the lenders? Israelites.
When I heard their outcry and these charges, I was very angry. I pondered them in my mind and then accused the nobles and officials. I told them, “You are charging your own people interest!” So I called together a large meeting to deal with them and said: “As far as possible, we have bought back our fellow Jews who were sold to the Gentiles. Now you are selling your own people, only for them to be sold back to us!” They kept quiet, because they could find nothing to say. – Neh. 5:6-8
Just a point here – we again see Nehemiah’s wisdom. He was angry and he… immediately acted on his anger? No. He thought through things before taking action. And then, with a good plan in place, he brought the people together and laid out his charges against them.
So I continued, “What you are doing is not right. Shouldn’t you walk in the fear of our God to avoid the reproach of our Gentile enemies? I and my brothers and my men are also lending the people money and grain. But let us stop charging interest! Give back to them immediately their fields, vineyards, olive groves and houses, and also the interest you are charging them—one percent of the money, grain, new wine and olive oil.” – Neh. 5:9-11
I don’t think this means that they were charging 1% interest per year. I think this means that in this short time, this few weeks of intense building, they had already accumulated 1% interest charges on the loans. And so what Nehemiah is telling them to do is to give everything back to them plus 1%, and to do it right now. No bungled mortgage modification programs here.
By the way, you may think the prohibiting of collecting interest from fellow Israelites in the law seems harsh, but back then, there wasn’t artificial paper money like we have that could be inflated. Unlike our situation, the normal inflation rate on goods was ZERO. Our crazy paper money system is what has produced an expectation of inflation every year, every month.
The problem here was plain and simple greed. I have read that in the winter of 1777, in our own revolutionary war, the troops of the Continental Army suffered severe frostbite not because of the winter, which was actually unusually mild, but because Bostonians refused to give blankets to the troops. They instead wanted to sell them to them, at an immediate profit of more than 1000 percent. I think this is a good comparison to the situation in Jerusalem in this chapter. The people who are giving their all for the wall were being exploited, and it was outrageously wrong. It was evil. To make a family go into slavery at such a time to make a profit?! It was shocking.
And so, what was the response?
“We will give it back,” they said. “And we will not demand anything more from them. We will do as you say.” Then I summoned the priests and made the nobles and officials take an oath to do what they had promised. I also shook out the folds of my robe and said, “In this way may God shake out of their house and possessions anyone who does not keep this promise. So may such a person be shaken out and emptied!” – Neh. 5:12-13
I love the physicality of this picture. It’s not a pleasant thought to think of an angry God mercilessly shaking down a mere man because he has done the same to his brothers, to fellow Israelites.
At this the whole assembly said, “Amen,” and praised the Lord. And the people did as they had promised. – Neh. 5:13b
Picturing the result, I can imagine the joy that this produced in those who were oppressed but also in those who had done the oppressing. I am reminded of Zaccheus and his encounter with Jesus, and his giving back the money he too had obtained greedily and improperly. Zaccheus was a happy man. And if you have seen the movie Flywheel, there is a wonderfully humorous situation involving a repentant used-car dealer that is also quite similar. If you have never seen this Christian movie, I highly recommend it.
Moreover, from the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, until his thirty-second year—twelve years—neither I nor my brothers ate the food allotted to the governor. But the earlier governors—those preceding me—placed a heavy burden on the people and took forty shekels of silver from them in addition to food and wine. Their assistants also lorded it over the people. But out of reverence for God I did not act like that. Instead, I devoted myself to the work on this wall. All my men were assembled there for the work; we did not acquire any land. – Neh. 5:14-16
We have just had elections, and we have a new governor. I don’t know what our new governor will do, but I love what governor Nehemiah did. Knowing that any money, any excesses he takes must come from the people he governs, he cuts his government to the bone, and he keeps it that way through his 12 year tenure described here. He did not add his own taxes to pay for a lavish lifestyle; and his men didn’t get any special treatment either. No special health care plan for them. They worked on the wall just like everyone else. And for a governor, just one step down from a king, he certainly didn’t live a kingly lifestyle. His government was so small that Ron Paul and his son, Rand, would be impressed. He didn’t ask his people to serve him; he served his people.
Furthermore, a hundred and fifty Jews and officials ate at my table, as well as those who came to us from the surrounding nations. Each day one ox, six choice sheep and some poultry were prepared for me, and every ten days an abundant supply of wine of all kinds. In spite of all this, I never demanded the food allotted to the governor, because the demands were heavy on these people. Remember me with favor, my God, for all I have done for these people. – Neh. 5:17-19
Governor Nehemiah did have 150 people eat at his table, a reasonable entourage. But note what it says about who paid for it: Nehemiah himself! This wasn’t cheap! I think the funding for this must have come from initial gifts given to him by the King. This impresses me so much! Nehemiah gave up his own wealth rather than tax – even appropriately, modestly – rather than tax his people. Dare I say it? This is in such stark contrast to what we see going on in our federal government; it is as different as night and day.
By the way, if that last sentence makes you feel uncomfortable somehow, don’t let it. I don’t believe Nehemiah was wrong to pray this. I don’t feel it is boasting. I believe it is claiming the promises of God. Nehemiah lived under the Law, the Mosaic covenant. And a big part of that covenant was that God said he would bless those who follow his laws, and curse those who didn’t. Nehemiah here is not saying he’s sinless, nor is he trying to impress God. He’s simply saying, I’ve tried my best to serve you, and I remember your promises in the Law. Remember me with favor.
Continuing on into Chapter 6:
When word came to Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab and the rest of our enemies that I had rebuilt the wall and not a gap was left in it—though up to that time I had not set the doors in the gates—Sanballat and Geshem sent me this message: “Come, let us meet together in one of the villages on the plain of Ono.” – Neh. 6:1-2a
But they were scheming to harm me; so I sent messengers to them with this reply: “I am carrying on a great project and cannot go down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and go down to you?” Four times they sent me the same message, and each time I gave them the same answer. – Neh. 6:2b-4
You know, you are not paranoid if everyone really is out to get you! Do you ever notice that when someone famous dies, it seems like within the hour the web is filled with long detailed obituaries about this person’s life. You know that people have been working on these while they were still alive. It’s all kind of creepy to me.
Well, was a letter already written by Sanballat and his buddies to the people of Jerusalem, informing them of the great tragedy, the freakish accident, in which their wonderful leader Nehemiah fell and hit his head on a rock? They of course offer most sincere condolences. “And this means you won’t continue on that wall project, right? That’s OK, we think it looks nice as it is. You don’t need any doors. They would only clash with the overall color scheme.”
What’s really creepy is that they tried this over and over again. I love Nehemiah’s politically astute answer. It’s also very clever, in that it surely made them mad. Getting the work to stop was the whole point of having the meeting. If Nehemiah agreed to stop, great! If not, well, there was always that unfortunate accident that could happen. Nehemiah was wise to say “Oh? No” to Ono.
Then, the fifth time, Sanballat sent his aide to me with the same message, and in his hand was an unsealed letter in which was written: - Neh. 6:5-6a
“It is reported among the nations—and Geshem says it is true—that you and the Jews are plotting to revolt, and therefore you are building the wall. Moreover, according to these reports you are about to become their king and have even appointed prophets to make this proclamation about you in Jerusalem: ‘There is a king in Judah!’ Now this report will get back to the king; so come, let us meet together.” – Neh. 6:6b-7
So now they resort to a second tactic. I believe the first was an attempted appeal to pride. An offer to meet with these great and mighty leaders! “You’ve arrived, Nehemiah! Come join our club!” That, of course, failed totally, so they moved on to lies and the threat of spreading the lies and getting him in trouble with the king. If, as I said, the first tactic was an appeal to pride, the second was an appeal to fear. “We are going to bury you, Nehemiah, unless you come to us and do as we say. We can get the king to kill you.”
We have here a classic confrontation between the fear of man and trust in the promises of God. The threat is real. It is believable. Why are they building that wall? Isn’t that the logical next step? Over and over in Scripture we see this confrontation. Do you fear man more or trust God more? I think of the repeated situations for the disciples in Acts. And throughout the history of the church, for 2000 years, this confrontation occurs again and again. You can be sure that somewhere in the world, probably at a great many locations, right now, this confrontation is taking place. How did Nehemiah reply?
I sent him this reply: “Nothing like what you are saying is happening; you are just making it up out of your head.” They were all trying to frighten us, thinking, “Their hands will get too weak for the work, and it will not be completed.” But I prayed, “Now strengthen my hands.” – Neh. 6:8-9
Outwardly, he writes a bold response, in effect, almost laughing it off. “You are nuts!” And then Nehemiah explains the motivation – to make them so afraid that they decide, on their own accord, to stop the work. Did they frighten them? I think so. I don’t think Nehemiah is being flippant when he follows the statement with “Their hand will get too weak” with the prayer, “Now strengthen my hands.” I think they were feeling weak. They were afraid.
It’s OK to be afraid! It’s normal, and natural. But it’s not OK to stay afraid. Like Nehemiah, we should respond in prayer. Nehemiah is praying for strength. We too should be quick to pray for what we lack. You probably know the verse that says perfect love casts out fear. This doesn’t mean Christians don’t get afraid. It means that Christians don’t have to stay afraid.
Remembering God and His love, praying for a deeper understanding of it in situations we are afraid, is the answer to overcoming fear.
One day I went to the house of Shemaiah son of Delaiah, the son of Mehetabel, who was shut in at his home. He said, “Let us meet in the house of God, inside the temple, and let us close the temple doors, because men are coming to kill you—by night they are coming to kill you.” – Neh. 6:10
But I said, “Should a man like me run away? Or should someone like me go into the temple to save his life? I will not go!” I realized that God had not sent him, but that he had prophesied against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. He had been hired to intimidate me so that I would commit a sin by doing this, and then they would give me a bad name to discredit me. – Neh. 6:11-13
This is so devious, so evil – right up there with South Carolina politics. It’s a setup! These verses don’t say how Nehemiah figured this out, but certainly God was behind it. If Nehemiah had given into his fear, he single-handedly would have demoralized the entire rebuilding effort.
You need to remember that some kind of tactic like one of the three we have just seen must have been previously successful. There were previous attempts to rebuild the walls, attempts that had resulted in failure. It was news of such a failure that drove Nehemiah to prayer and fasting when he was back in Susa as a cupbearer.
Sanballat and the others knew that their tactics had worked before, and they were expecting them to work again. I hope you appreciate what a harsh environment Nehemiah had to work in. And he had to make the right decision every time, attack after attack. Look at his prayer in response to this incident:
Remember Tobiah and Sanballat, my God, because of what they have done; remember also the prophet Noadiah and how she and the rest of the prophets have been trying to intimidate me. – Neh. 6:14
So you can see there were even more incidents than those that are spelled out in detail.
So the wall was completed on the twenty-fifth of Elul, in fifty-two days. When all our enemies heard about this, all the surrounding nations were afraid and lost their self-confidence, because they realized that this work had been done with the help of our God. – Neh. 6:15-16
It’s been about 6 months since Nehemiah came to Jerusalem. It’s not entirely clear what the 52 days refers to. It may mean from the end of an incident described in earlier verses. The time frame is October. And what a flip in positions! Who is feeling intimidated now? Who has lost their confidence? It’s not the Israelites.
Reading the account, it is easy to give credit just to Nehemiah, or to the Israelites, but this is not what Nehemiah says. The surrounding peoples are not intimidated by Nehemiah or the Israelites. They are intimidated because they have done something that should have been impossible. As much as they would like to believe otherwise, they are forced to conclude that the work has been done by the God of Israel.
It’s a hard thing to think about, but sometimes God uses oppression to teach unbelievers that He is real. Nobody likes to go through trials where you reach the end of yourself, where you truly have no more strength and are forced, in desperation, to cry out to God for help. But sometimes it is God’s will that we go through these things. Sometimes it is part of God’s grand plan to use these things to bring more of the unbelieving world to surrender in faith to Him.
Also, in those days the nobles of Judah were sending many letters to Tobiah, and replies from Tobiah kept coming to them. For many in Judah were under oath to him, since he was son-in-law to Shekaniah son of Arah, and his son Jehohanan had married the daughter of Meshullam son of Berekiah. Moreover, they kept reporting to me his good deeds and then telling him what I said. And Tobiah sent letters to intimidate me. – Neh. 6:17-19
Nehemiah goes on to describe one more challenge, one more source of stress, one more thing that drove him to prayer, that drove him to depend on God. Recall that Tobiah is the leader of the Ammonites, a co-conspirator with Sanballat and Geshem. What is going on? It says that many of the Israelites were sending letters to Tobiah, and Tobiah wrote back. These people were friends of Tobiah, “bound by oath” to him. The implication is that they were business partners, and more. These verses go on to say that he is connected to the Israelites through marriage as well.
As Nehemiah was leading the people to build the wall, and after, it is clear that many of the Israelites didn’t really like Nehemiah. He was an outsider. He had ruined their business dealings, charging interest and the like. The walls were going to make it harder to maintain business with non-Israelites. As a result, Nehemiah had many enemies among the Israelites, especially the movers and shakers, the powerful, the elite, the successful businessmen. And these Israelites are trying to get Nehemiah to help with their special interests, and their special interests are all tied to Tobiah. We are talking about lobbying here. There really is nothing new under the sun. Nehemiah was being forced to deal with politics. We’ll see more about where this leads next week.
But to wrap up, let’s talk about applications. There are so many applications! From Chapter 5, we should fight injustice. We should avoid profiting on others’ misfortunes. We should be generous. We can even be active in politics. From Chapter 6, we see a godly example of how to live victoriously despite opposition, threats, conspiracies, and dirty politics. Note that Nehemiah does not stoop to their level.
He does not get distracted. He continues to do what he has been called to do.
But what strikes me most, the application that I take most to heart, and one I would encourage you to write down, is that we need to live truly in the presence of God.
Note how Nehemiah writes: he falls into prayer again and again, naturally, seamlessly. It is as if this entire letter is a letter to God. I would even say that Nehemiah sees his life as a letter to God.
What about you? Do you see how you live your life as a love letter to God? I think of the parable of the talents. Our life is a loan to us. God gives it to us and asks us to invest it, to make it multiply. What are you doing with this life He has given you? Are you like Nehemiah, continually in God’s presence, talking with Him, asking Him for strength, for wisdom, for help, asking Him to make your life one that multiplies into the Kingdom? Or do areas of your life look more like those friends of Tobiah? Are most of your efforts focused into how you live for this world? Have you made unholy alliances? Where is your heart?
Nearly every decision, nearly everything Nehemiah does, is done while thinking about what God would want. His work life – whether to have a meeting, how to conduct it, even how to pay for things – everything related to his job is done in the presence of God. His political life – the same. How he responds to trials – the same. His life is just one long continual conversation with God.
I challenge you try to do more of this – this week. Put on your calendar at work a 5 minute meeting with God. Ask Him for wisdom about your daily decisions – not just the big stuff, but the little stuff too. Mothers, do the same at home. Students, do the same with regards to your studies, even your social engagements. God loves us! He cares for us! Jesus died for us! God raised Him from the dead for us! God cares about our daily lives, the big things and the little things. Living even a week like Nehemiah lived can transform your life.
One day I went to the house of Shemaiah son of Delaiah, the son of Mehetabel, who was shut in at his home. He said, “Let us meet in the house of God, inside the temple, and let us close the temple doors, because men are coming to kill you—by night they are coming to kill you.” – Neh. 6:10
But I said, “Should a man like me run away? Or should someone like me go into the temple to save his life? I will not go!” I realized that God had not sent him, but that he had prophesied against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. He had been hired to intimidate me so that I would commit a sin by doing this, and then they would give me a bad name to discredit me. – Neh. 6:11-13
This is so devious, so evil – right up there with South Carolina politics. It’s a setup! These verses don’t say how Nehemiah figured this out, but certainly God was behind it. If Nehemiah had given into his fear, he single-handedly would have demoralized the entire rebuilding effort.
You need to remember that some kind of tactic like one of the three we have just seen must have been previously successful. There were previous attempts to rebuild the walls, attempts that had resulted in failure. It was news of such a failure that drove Nehemiah to prayer and fasting when he was back in Susa as a cupbearer.
Sanballat and the others knew that their tactics had worked before, and they were expecting them to work again. I hope you appreciate what a harsh environment Nehemiah had to work in. And he had to make the right decision every time, attack after attack. Look at his prayer in response to this incident:
Remember Tobiah and Sanballat, my God, because of what they have done; remember also the prophet Noadiah and how she and the rest of the prophets have been trying to intimidate me. – Neh. 6:14
So you can see there were even more incidents than those that are spelled out in detail.
So the wall was completed on the twenty-fifth of Elul, in fifty-two days. When all our enemies heard about this, all the surrounding nations were afraid and lost their self-confidence, because they realized that this work had been done with the help of our God. – Neh. 6:15-16
It’s been about 6 months since Nehemiah came to Jerusalem. It’s not entirely clear what the 52 days refers to. It may mean from the end of an incident described in earlier verses. The time frame is October. And what a flip in positions! Who is feeling intimidated now? Who has lost their confidence? It’s not the Israelites.
Reading the account, it is easy to give credit just to Nehemiah, or to the Israelites, but this is not what Nehemiah says. The surrounding peoples are not intimidated by Nehemiah or the Israelites. They are intimidated because they have done something that should have been impossible. As much as they would like to believe otherwise, they are forced to conclude that the work has been done by the God of Israel.
It’s a hard thing to think about, but sometimes God uses oppression to teach unbelievers that He is real. Nobody likes to go through trials where you reach the end of yourself, where you truly have no more strength and are forced, in desperation, to cry out to God for help. But sometimes it is God’s will that we go through these things. Sometimes it is part of God’s grand plan to use these things to bring more of the unbelieving world to surrender in faith to Him.
Also, in those days the nobles of Judah were sending many letters to Tobiah, and replies from Tobiah kept coming to them. For many in Judah were under oath to him, since he was son-in-law to Shekaniah son of Arah, and his son Jehohanan had married the daughter of Meshullam son of Berekiah. Moreover, they kept reporting to me his good deeds and then telling him what I said. And Tobiah sent letters to intimidate me. – Neh. 6:17-19
Nehemiah goes on to describe one more challenge, one more source of stress, one more thing that drove him to prayer, that drove him to depend on God. Recall that Tobiah is the leader of the Ammonites, a co-conspirator with Sanballat and Geshem. What is going on? It says that many of the Israelites were sending letters to Tobiah, and Tobiah wrote back. These people were friends of Tobiah, “bound by oath” to him. The implication is that they were business partners, and more. These verses go on to say that he is connected to the Israelites through marriage as well.
As Nehemiah was leading the people to build the wall, and after, it is clear that many of the Israelites didn’t really like Nehemiah. He was an outsider. He had ruined their business dealings, charging interest and the like. The walls were going to make it harder to maintain business with non-Israelites. As a result, Nehemiah had many enemies among the Israelites, especially the movers and shakers, the powerful, the elite, the successful businessmen. And these Israelites are trying to get Nehemiah to help with their special interests, and their special interests are all tied to Tobiah. We are talking about lobbying here. There really is nothing new under the sun. Nehemiah was being forced to deal with politics. We’ll see more about where this leads next week.
But to wrap up, let’s talk about applications. There are so many applications! From Chapter 5, we should fight injustice. We should avoid profiting on others’ misfortunes. We should be generous. We can even be active in politics. From Chapter 6, we see a godly example of how to live victoriously despite opposition, threats, conspiracies, and dirty politics. Note that Nehemiah does not stoop to their level.
He does not get distracted. He continues to do what he has been called to do.
But what strikes me most, the application that I take most to heart, and one I would encourage you to write down, is that we need to live truly in the presence of God.
Note how Nehemiah writes: he falls into prayer again and again, naturally, seamlessly. It is as if this entire letter is a letter to God. I would even say that Nehemiah sees his life as a letter to God.
What about you? Do you see how you live your life as a love letter to God? I think of the parable of the talents. Our life is a loan to us. God gives it to us and asks us to invest it, to make it multiply. What are you doing with this life He has given you? Are you like Nehemiah, continually in God’s presence, talking with Him, asking Him for strength, for wisdom, for help, asking Him to make your life one that multiplies into the Kingdom? Or do areas of your life look more like those friends of Tobiah? Are most of your efforts focused into how you live for this world? Have you made unholy alliances? Where is your heart?
Nearly every decision, nearly everything Nehemiah does, is done while thinking about what God would want. His work life – whether to have a meeting, how to conduct it, even how to pay for things – everything related to his job is done in the presence of God. His political life – the same. How he responds to trials – the same. His life is just one long continual conversation with God.
I challenge you try to do more of this – this week. Put on your calendar at work a 5 minute meeting with God. Ask Him for wisdom about your daily decisions – not just the big stuff, but the little stuff too. Mothers, do the same at home. Students, do the same with regards to your studies, even your social engagements. God loves us! He cares for us! Jesus died for us! God raised Him from the dead for us! God cares about our daily lives, the big things and the little things. Living even a week like Nehemiah lived can transform your life.
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