Seeds for 09/25/2024 - Nehemiah 5:1-8
Scripture:
1 Now the men and their wives raised a great outcry against their fellow Jews. 2 Some were saying, “We and our sons and daughters are numerous; in order for us to eat and stay alive, we must get grain.”
3 Others were saying, “We are mortgaging our fields, our vineyards and our homes to get grain during the famine.”
4 Still others were saying, “We have had to borrow money to pay the king’s tax on our fields and vineyards. 5 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.”
6 When I heard their outcry and these charges, I was very angry. 7 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 8 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.
Observation:
As often happens when we set about doing some good work in the Lord, problems arise. So far, the challenges from outside have been on display. Now, we see challenges from within. What’s happening here?
First, there is an injustice happening within the community. Some within the Jewish community in Jerusalem are unable to get grain to feed their families and others have to borrow money to pay the king’s tax on their fields. And their fellow Jews are profiting from their desperate situation, as Nehemiah makes clear in verse 7. This is explicitly forbidden in the Torah in Leviticus 25:35-37.
35 “‘If any of your fellow Israelites become poor and are unable to support themselves among you, help them as you would a foreigner and stranger, so they can continue to live among you. 36 Do not take interest or any profit from them, but fear your God, so that they may continue to live among you. 37 You must not lend them money at interest or sell them food at a profit.
Second, injustice provokes anger from Nehemiah (verse 6). There is such a thing as righteous anger. When wrong is perpetrated, anger is an appropriate response. Rage is not anger. Rage is losing control of one’s emotions. Anger is one’s emotions channeled.
Third, Nehemiah reflects before he responds (verse 7). He “heard their outcry and these charges” and became angry. But he did not respond or confront anyone until he “pondered them in [his] mind.” Good example.
Application:
What do you think about this distinction between anger and rage?
When have you seen someone do a good job of thinking before speaking, as Nehemiah does here?
What else might the Holy Spirit be speaking with you about in the text today?
Prayer: Lord, give me love enough to be angry at injustice. Give me wisdom enough to think before I respond. Amen.
“But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.” (Matthew 13:23)
If you liked this post from Seeds of Faith, why not share it and/or subscribe?
All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™