8/15/2011 5:33:30 AM
SPIRITIUAL DIARY
My Worship Time Focus: A Great Assembly
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Nehemiah 5:6-13
Message of the verses: “6 ¶ Then I was very angry when I had heard their outcry and these words. 7 I consulted with myself and contended with the nobles and the rulers and said to them, "You are exacting usury, each from his brother!" Therefore, I held a great assembly against them. 8 I said to them, "We according to our ability have redeemed our Jewish brothers who were sold to the nations; now would you even sell your brothers that they may be sold to us?" Then they were silent and could not find a word to say. 9 Again I said, "The thing which you are doing is not good; should you not walk in the fear of our God because of the reproach of the nations, our enemies? 10 "And likewise I, my brothers and my servants are lending them money and grain. Please, let us leave off this usury. 11 "Please, give back to them this very day their fields, their vineyards, their olive groves and their houses, also the hundredth part of the money and of the grain, the new wine and the oil that you are exacting from them." 12 Then they said, "We will give it back and will require nothing from them; we will do exactly as you say." So I called the priests and took an oath from them that they would do according to this promise. 13 I also shook out the front of my garment and said, "Thus may God shake out every man from his house and from his possessions who does not fulfill this promise; even thus may he be shaken out and emptied." And all the assembly said, "Amen!" And they praised the LORD. Then the people did according to this promise.”
The problem that is being spoken about was that the rich Jewish people were getting interest from their brother Jews, and taking their property and family because the poor people did not have any money to buy food, for there was a famine in the land at this time. Nehemiah will address this problem in this section of Scripture.
Anger (Nehemiah 5:6). There are two questions that need to be asked in order to comment on verse five; the first question is it a sin to become angry? The second question is how come Nehemiah did not know about this problem before? The answer to the first question is no and yes. Ephesians 4:26 has this to say about anger: “26 Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger (ESV).” There is such a thing as righteousness anger and there are examples of this in the Scriptures. Moses was angry when he came down from the mountain after getting the Ten Commandments when he saw the children of Israel sinning and he threw the tablets at the people. Jesus was angry at the Pharisees “5 After looking around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, He *said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored (Mark 3:5).”
It is probably more common to see people get angry over things that have nothing to do with righteousness angry and this can surely be sinful and that is why the warning in the Ephesians passage is in the Scriptures.
As for the answer to the second question Nehemiah was commissioned to come to Jerusalem and rebuild the wall and this is what he was concentrating on at this time, but the building of this was probably revealed a problem that was there and so being the good leader that he was he is dealing with this problem.
Consultation (Nehemiah 5:7). Verse six speaks of Nehemiah’s anger and verse seven shows how a good leader will resolve a problem. Nehemiah had to think about this problem and pray about it in order to be able to act wisely about it. He was angry but now he is dealing with that anger so he can deal with the problem, and part of the solution was to call a meeting with these rich people who were sinning against the Law of Moses, for the things that they were doing to the poorer people was against God’s Law.
Rebuke (Nehemiah 5:7-11). In Nehemiah’s rebuke against these people who were sinning he first appealed to their love by reminding them that these were their realities, fellow Jews, not Gentiles. Nehemiah uses the word ‘brother’ four times in his rebuke to them. (See Psalm 131:1)
His appeal was based solidly on the Word of God, for as we mentioned before it was against the Law of God found in the Law of Moses. Perhaps these men were ignorant of the Law, but it could have been that they were more interested in making money. It is not wrong to lend money, but it has to be done in the correct manner. (See Matthew 25:27)
Nehemiah’s next appeal to them was that he reminded them of God redemptive purpose for Israel and this is found in verse eight. God redeemed Israel from Egypt and recently had redeemed them from the Babylonian captivity. Verse eight tells us that Nehemiah and also some of these rich people helped bring these Jews back to Jerusalem and the surrounding towns of Israel and now they were taking advantage of them by usury.
Dr. Wiersbe writes “What is freedom? It is life governed by truth and motivated by love. But the Jewish brokers were motivated by greed and ignoring the truth of God’s Word. Their selfishness put both themselves and their creditors into bondage.” (This story seems real familiar to me).
The next appeal to them was that Nehemiah reminded them of Israel’s witness to their Gentile neighbors and this is seen in verse nine. Let us look at two verses from the book of Isaiah: “6 "I am the LORD, I have called you in righteousness, I will also hold you by the hand and watch over you, And I will appoint you as a covenant to the people, As a light to the nations.” (Isaiah 42:6) “6 He says, "It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant To raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also make You a light of the nations So that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth.’” (Isaiah 49:6) These rich people were not setting a good example to their Gentile neighbors.
Verse nine speaks of “rear of the Lord” and Dr. Wiersbe has this to say about that: “The fear of our God is not the servile dread of a slave toward a master but the loving respect of a child toward a parent. To fear the Lord means to seek to glorify God in everything we do. It means listening to His Word, honoring it, and obeying it.”
Oswald Chambers wrote: “The remarkable thing about fearing God is that when you fear God you fear nothing else, whereas if you do not fear God, you fear everything else.”
Dr. Wiersbe goes on writing about the fear of the Lord: “To walk in the fear of God, of course, means to walk by faith, trusting God to deal with your enemies and one day balance the accounts. It means claiming Matthew 6:33 and having the right priorities in life. ‘The fear of the Lord leads to life, and he who has it will abide in satisfaction; he will not be visited with evil’ (Proverbs 19: 23 NKJV).”
Nehemiah’s fifth appeal to them was to his own personal practice and this can be seen in verse 10-11.
Nehemiah was lending money to them and not charging interest so he was not a person leads by saying do what I say not what I do, he led by example. Speaking of the “hundredth part” in verse eleven he was speaking about the interest they were charging. (This may have been as much as 12% per year). Nehemiah now tells these brokers to restore the property and money to those whom they had taken advantage. This appeal to them demonstrated that Nehemiah surely feared the Lord and not these men.
Nehemiah’s last appeal to them was to remind them of the judgment of the Lord and this can be seen in verses 12-13. At this assembly these men promised Nehemiah that they would give back what the owed to these poor people and they had to make a vow to the Lord to do this. A vow to the Lord is a serious matter (Ecc. 5:4-5).
The meeting ended with Nehemiah shaking out the folds of his robe and this symbolized what God would do with the money lenders if they did not fulfill their vow.
Next the congregation responded with an “Amen.” This was the Jewish way of giving their solemn assent to what had been said and done at that assembly (see Nehemiah 8:6 and also Deuteronomy 27:14 and following).
The last and maybe the most important thing they did next was to praise the Lord. This was to show their appreciation of what Nehemiah had accomplished through his fear of the Lord and prayer.
Spiritual meaning for my life today: Fearing the Lord in proper manner so that I need not fear anyone or anything else is what has spoken to my hear today from this section of Scripture.
My Steps of Faith for Today:
1. Fear the Lord.
2. Continue to learn contentment.
8/15/2011 6:57:26 AM
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