Two weeks ago we talked about the increased trials and adversity Nehemiah was facing as work on the wall progressed. The intensity of the struggles seemed to increase the higher the wall became, and while Nehemiah was faithful with going to God first to determine next steps, the hits just kept coming. As we all know, that sounds pretty par for the course and as we’ll find today, the struggles were far from over and while they were able to keep their enemies at bay, trouble began to stir from within.
As we will soon learn in Nehemiah Chapter 5, Jerusalem’s economy is in ruins and Nehemiah is in the process of replacing a corrupt government. Due to the increasing number of people returning to Jerusalem there wasn’t enough food to go around, there were outrageous taxes on debt, and increased interest on lending. The people were in crisis and because of their desperate need to take care of each other and their families as well as their obligations to their debt, they stopped working on the wall. In fact, they went on strike. What we find is while the people of Jerusalem were drowning in this emergent state, they acted out of fear and panic, rather than following the laws that were originally established by God.
Nehemiah 5
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 (I consulted with myself- New American Standard, Righteous Anger) 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.
The silence was actually good, as the officials knew they had done wrong and were therefore convicted. In accordance to God’s law, Jews were not to charge interest to fellow Jews or enforce permanent slavery.
9 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? 10 I and my brothers and my men are also lending the people money and grain. But let us stop charging interest! 11 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.”
12 “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. 13 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!” At this the whole assembly said, “Amen,” and praised the LORD. And the people did as they had promised.
What Nehemiah did following his rebuke with the officials was of equal importance. He set up a plan right away that was to be followed from that point forward. Nehemiah set forth 4 steps that leaders and followers alike should adhere to when mistakes or setbacks take place.
1. Determine to Stop It- You CANNOT gradually stop sinning
Colossians 3:5-8, “And that means killing off everything connected with that way of death: sexual promiscuity, impurity, lust, doing whatever attracts your fancy. That’s a life shaped by things and feelings instead of by God. It’s because of this kind of thing that God is about to explode in anger. It wasn’t long ago that you were doing all that stuff and not knowing any better. But you know better now, so make sure it’s all gone for good: bad temper, irritability, meanness, profanity, dirty talk.”
2. Make specific plans to correct the situation as quickly as possible- Rectify the wrong as best you can.
3. Declare your plans for correction in a promise before God-Nehemiah moved quickly so as not to allow human nature to supercede and to hold those accountable.
4. Realize the serious nature of your vow to God- God takes our vows very seriously and Nehemiah used the opportunity to remind the people that God was watching.
There are a lot of obvious comparisons to what we experience even today in the 21st century and the same rules apply. Sin is sin. In regards to finances, there are four insights to consider.
1. God is pleased with the wise handling of our money- The bible is full of resources on being a good steward. In fact, it’s one of the most talked about topics in the entire book. That should tell us the level of importance this is to God and just how seriously we should approach the organization of our finances.
2. Prolonged personal sin takes a heavy toll on the public work of God- Holding onto that sin is what prevents us from allowing Him to fill our hands with His best. In a book called, “Praying God’s Will For Your Life” Stormie O’Martian says, “When sin is left unconfessed a wall goes up between you and God. Even though the sin may have stopped, if it hasn’t been confessed before the Lord, it will still weigh you down, dragging you back toward the past you are trying to leave behind and keeping you from moving into the future God has for you”
3. Correcting sin in our lives begins with facing it head-on- Develop a righteous anger over the sin that keeps you from experiencing oneness with the Master. Get mad and then get rid of it! The enemy will go to great lengths to keep you distracted and he knows that sin is a tantalizing way of doing so.
4. Correction is often carried out more effectively when we make a public promise- Confide in a fellow believer, your small group, someone to help hold you accountable in your obedience to the Lord both financially and otherwise.
During this time Nehemiah is elected governor. As any leader knows, following someone else is never easy. If the person was a good leader and the people liked him/her, it could be very difficult for people to warm up to you because you’ll never be as good as “so and so”. Or, the last leader was a bad one who treated the people poorly and was only focused on his/her own agendas. This type of situation could cause people to not trust new leadership or embrace any new policies even if they’re good! In Nehemiah’s case, he was following bad leadership who had even worse policies in place that sought to do nothing but put more coins in the governor’s purse.
So, Nehemiah had his work cut out for him and difficult decisions to make, because staying the course was not an option and making any big changes that took away less authority from the governor was frowned upon by outsiders. However, Nehemiah went to the King of Kings who guided him on how to best serve the people. Nehemiah wanted to return Jerusalem to its rightful owner, God, and in order to do so they would have to abide by God’s laws. In this case it meant spreading the wealth, not gaining it, ending taxes/charging interest, and maintaining focus solely on the wall while tending to the welfare of the people.
14 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. 15 But the earlier governors—those preceding me—placed a heavy burden on the people and took forty shekels[a] 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. 16 Instead, I devoted myself to the work on this wall. All my men were assembled there for the work; we[b] did not acquire any land. 17 Furthermore, a hundred and fifty Jews and officials ate at my table, as well as those who came to us from the surrounding nations. 18 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. 19 Remember me with favor, my God, for all I have done for these people.
“Adversity is sometimes hard upon a man; but for one man who can stand prosperity, there are a hundred that will stand adversity.”
~ Thomas Carlyle~
There are very few that can handle prosperity because of the freedom and opportunities it brings. When given more wordly favor, it then becomes exceptionally difficult to continue to seek His. Swindoll says, “It’s ironic, but more of us can survive a demotion with our integrity in tact better than we can a promotion”. The right kind of leader is able to have a balanced equilibrium. Let us be mindful that God wants us to experience success and wealth, as long as we are taking care of those around us who are less fortunate, and we are still seeking Him and His desires in all that we do.
When we are called into new positions of leadership, it is extremely easy to get wrapped up in the feelings of fear, inadequacy, and even defeat long before it begins. The enemy can pack a whollup when he wants to, and for those that believe that Christians are meant to be a quiet presence, lingering in the shadows, such feelings can really take a toll. But bear in mind here that if God is calling you into a role and He has given you the anointing (not the world) then you have every right to walk in His confidence because you are covered by the blood of Jesus Christ and nothing can touch you as long as you are in the shelter of His wings. Now, this does not mean that you won’t face the struggles of the calling, because you absolutely will, but He will see you through.
I’m not sure if you’ve been paying attention, but our nation could really use more Godly leadership. It seems, in some instances, that we’re falling apart at the seams and our moral compass is in need of some serious repair. Swindoll says, “Our prayer should be that God will raise up more Christians in strategic spots: college professors, university presidents, business executives, filmmakers, artists, governors, senators, and others who can fashion and frame the minds of the public. There are already some Christians in these roles, but not nearly enough.”
Nehemiah is an exemplary example of such leadership, which was why he was elected governor and God prepared a way and gave him all the skills he’d need. As with walking into any new leadership role, Nehemiah had to address the current policies and determine the appropriate next steps for Jerusalem by constructing the policies that God called Him to implement. Because of the current state of the economy and his moral stature, Nehemiah did not employ all of the privileges that came with his new position. One such privilege was being able to have full access to a food allowance to use as he saw fit. Instead of taking advantage of such a privilege, he shared the food as well as his dinner table with all who needed to eat.
Swindoll mentions four major areas of testing that come with a promotion: privileges, policies, projects, and people.
Privileges- Nehemiah exercised a great deal of integrity and therefore opted to not indulge in all the privileges he was privied to because of his position. While privileges can be a blessing, they can also cause one to become more prideful, more wordly-thinking, with a fictional, and most of the time, temporary sense of security.
Policies- There is always pressure to adhere to a previous leaders policies or creating your own for the betterment of the people but both come with its own set of consequences/outcomes.
Projects- Nehemiah kept his sights on the project he was sent to complete alone. The wall. Only God’s projects matter.
People- Nehemiah was very attentive to the needs of his people and while he took great care in feeding them, he was also attentive to their other needs. When he noticed their financial struggles and the toll it was taking on them, he lessened the pressure on the wall and even slowed down the process. He realized that without the people he would have no wall, so by accommodating he was taking care of them and still remaining obedient in completing the wall.
It is remarkable to me to think of Nehemiah beginning this journey as a cupbearer to the king, then a builder, and then as a governor. Looking over his past, it wouldn’t have made much sense to hire Nehemiah for a leadership role because his resume would not have reflected the experience. Don’t get me wrong, he was a wonderful man who was well-respected, but his credentials didn’t match the criteria for such leadership. However, God ordained this man to take on the task because He knew that only Nehemiah would be the perfect fit. God wasn’t at all interested in where he went to school, what honors he received, or what fraternity he was a member of. What God was interested in was that Nehemiah only had eyes for Him and that because he was a God-fearing man, he would be able to take on all the adversity of man. God stretched Nehemiah, expanded his territory, and gave him far more than he ever could have asked.
There have been times in my life where I have found myself asking, “Lord, is this it?”. Surely there’s more to this life… Is this all I’m good for? While I’m grateful for all that God has blessed me with, I have to be honest in saying that through my human, far-sighted eyes, it’s so hard to see how where I’m at could lead to something much further than my front door.
Darlene Wilkinson wrote, “Every summer I look forward to attending our town’s annual Fourth of July parade. This year the weather is perfect- sunny and warm with a light breeze. Hundreds of people line the streets, which are abuzz with anticipation. I maneuver myself for a better position in the crowd as our local high school band rounds the corner. The sound of trumpets reaches my ears. Finally, horses, clowns, and floats come into view. That’s when I notice her- a little girl with curly blond hair just a few feet to my right. She is standing on her tiptoes, stretching her small frame as high as she can to see over the heads of children in front of her. Moments later, an extra-wide man moves in front of the girl, and she’s left looking at the back of his belt. As I watch, she begins to jump up and down, desperately trying to catch a better view. Finally, unable to handle her frustration any longer, she cries out, “I can’t see Daddy! I want to see more!” A tall, nice-looking man who has been standing a short distance away comes over, reaches down, and tenderly lifts her up into his arms. She smiles with delight. Finally she’s able to fully enjoy the parade. That’s the picture that comes to mind when I think about what happens when God knows I am “stretching for a better view” of my life. It’s as if He picks me up in His loving arms and shows me something I couldn’t see from my current or limited perspective.”
You might recognize Darlene Wilkinson as she is the wife of Bruce Wilkinson who wrote “The Prayer of Jabez”. This book was based on 1 Chronicles 4:10 where it says the following:
1 Chronicles 4:10
10 Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, “Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.” And God granted his request.
This was not an arrogant request from Jabez but rather a strong, urgent desire for God to pour out his blessings and extend great favor upon him. He wanted the very best from God and wanted to experience the entire magnitude of God’s purpose for his life. In the last verse of Nehemiah chapter 5 he is asking God to not recognize him for his awesomeness in leadership, but as a request to continue holding him accountable, for God to continue to protect him, and to expand his territory in whatever way God saw fit.
Like Jabez, many of us have experienced times when as hard as we try, we simply can’t see past the belt in front of us. We don’t have the height to see over and we don’t have the eyes to see beyond, but He does. Just like the little girls daddy, our daddy wants to scoop us up and give us the opportunity to see what He can see. The Lord wants nothing more than to bless us, to enlarge our territories, to keep His hand with us, and to protect us from evil.
What does it look like to have this prayer answered in your life specifically? We know that God answers our prayers based on our individual needs, so what one answered prayer would look like for one will probably not look that way for another. It may also be intimidating to consider praying to God to “enlarge your territory” as most of us have plenty going on in our current territories. However, what if you ended this prayer with ‘for you’? Father bless me for your kingdom, enlarge my territory for you! Would that lighten the load a bit?
