CLXXXII - Nehemiah 5-6

We've seen how Nehemiah has united all Israelites to the cause of rebuilding the wall around the city of Jerusalem.  His organizational skills were excellent.  He even scheduled the rotation of workers to stand guard at all sections of the wall and gates to protect against vandalism and violence brought on by Sanballat, Geshem,and Tobiah.  But chapter 5 introduces yet another problem that Nehemiah must address.

Chapter 5

Verses 1-5 speaks of some complaints from the Israelites who were working on the wall.  These complaints were legitimate.  There was greed among the more wealthy Israelites, trying to take unfair advantage of an opportunity to squeeze money out of the less fortunate.  There was a famine in the country at this time.  Whenever there was famine there was economic hard times on the middle and lower classes, much like it is today during economic downturns.  If their crops and vineyards were not producing, there was no money coming in to the families who worked this land.  (Very few people owned land, so most of the Israelites were like "tenant farmers".)  They had no money to buy food, pay rent, or pay taxes.  They had to borrow money from the wealthier Israelites, often their landlords.  Some of the poorer people who owned land were forced to sell their property in such times of famine.  When this happened, they would generally become tenant farmers on the land they once owned.  As we learned in the Law as stated in Deuteronomy, many paid their debts by offering themselves and/or their family members into slavery.  This was a bad situation and the people complained to Nehemiah.

Verses 6-13  -  When Nehemiah heard these complaints and realized what was going on he became angry.  But he handled the problem, not in anger, but rather with reasoning.  These verses tell how he gathered all the wealthy Israelites for a meeting.  Although diplomatic, he was matter-of-fact.  He stated the situation to them, then he declared in verse 9, "What you are doing is not right".  He preached a mini-sermon to them and they felt not only shame, but also the fear of reprisal from God Himself.  As the nobles agreed to cease these acts of greed, Nehemiah called in priests to stand witness to the oath taken by the nobles, yet further invoking a seal of legitimacy to their declarations.  Note in verse 14 that  King Artexerxes had made Nehemiah governor over the territory of Judah.  {If this was mentioned earlier, I didn't catch it.  I'm still not certain of the timing of this.  I suspect that the king had done this as a result of Sanballat's efforts to discredit Nehemiah.  Remember, Artexerxes was a wise and powerful king.}  In the remaining verses in this chapter 5 we learn more of the character of Nehemiah.  As you read these verses you will see that one more characteristic he had that made him a good leader was that he set the right example by the way he lived.  Although he was the governor, which in itself made Nehemiah an important man, he displayed a humble attitude.  {Again, he makes me think of Joseph, whom God rewarded for his humility, as Joseph became the most powerful human being in the History of civilization to date.  We as Christians should learn from these almost perfect examples, as many of us are called to leadership positions of varying magnitude.}  As governor, Nehemiah received food and provender from the king.  He also had the authority to tax the citizens as he saw fit.  Nehemiah did not tax his people as the previous governors had.  He did not even accept ownership of any land.  He shared his food with the citizens, as it states that as many as a hundred and fifty people shared his table during his twelve years as governor.  {The more I learn about this man, the more respect I have for him.}

Chapter 6  -  Stubborn Opposition

One thing to note early in this chapter that in fifty two days these people rebuilt that wall that was 8 feet thick, 40 feet high, and 2.5 miles long.  However, the gates were still being built and assembled at this time.  Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem are nothing if not persistent.  Keep in mind what was at stake for these gang leaders.  If Nehemiah is successful in reestablishing Judah as an Israelite territory, these bullies would no longer "rule the roost".  And they were smart enough to realize that the completion of the wall would be the most significant step in solidifying Israelite control.  Remember, Sanballat was careful not to engage Nehemiah in battle because he knew Artexerxes would send Persian troops which would annihilate these raiders.  So, Sanballat tried something else.  They sent Nehemiah four different letters asking him to meet with them.  Nehemiah refused as he knew they would probably do him harm.  Then, they sent him a fifth letter (vss 5-7), which said they were going to tell the Persian king that Nehemiah planned to make himself king of Judah, thus seceding from the Empire.  It was all lies, but Nehemiah prayed for God to strengthen him.  {Nehemiah never forgot where his strength came from.}  However there was a renewed sense of threat felt among the Israelite leaders, so they wanted to hide Nehemiah inside the Temple for safety.  But he
knew that if he hid, that would further embolden Sanballat and perhaps discredit Nehemiah's faith in God.  Verses 14-15 he prays to God, naming not only Sanballat and Tobiah, but also some of the prophets who were trying to intimidate him.  The remaining verses tell how the all of the opposition had become discouraged and all but gave up trying to stop Nehemiah.

Next Post  -  Wall and Gates Completed