Intro: Wealth and Worship is our first topic, Scripture has more than 800 verses on the subject of money. Jesus had a lot to say about money. Roughly 25% of his teaching was on money, including how money reflects our hearts priorities and how someone cannot worship God and money. (Matt. 6:19-24) Nehemiah’s eyes are opened to the oppression of the poor around him and he is convicted to confess his own sin and call those also doing injustice to repent and seek restitution.
The Outcry: Ne 5:1-5. As people are sacrificing their time and lively hood to rebuild the wall for the good of the city, others are taking advantage of them while at the same time benefiting from their labor.
• How has building the wall made people vulnerable to being taken advantage of?
• Where do you see examples of that in the city today? In the church as a whole?
• In what ways can we be the cause of internal fighting that distracts us from the mission?
• How do we prevent this from happening? (Eph 4:2,3, Heb. 10:23-25)
5:1 Now there arose a great outcry of the people and of their wives against their Jewish brothers. 2 For there were those who said, “With our sons and our daughters, we are many. So let us get grain, that we may eat and keep alive.” 3 There were also those who said, “We are mortgaging our fields, our vineyards, and our houses to get grain because of the famine.” 4 And there were those who said, “We have borrowed money for the king's tax on our fields and our vineyards. 5 Now our flesh is as the flesh of our brothers, our children are as their children. Yet we are forcing our sons and our daughters to be slaves and some of our daughters have already been enslaved, but it is not in our power to help it, for other men have our fields and our vineyards.”
Righteous Anger: Nehemiah 5:6-8
• Think about the response of Nehemiah to the injustice he sees?
• Does it bother you that Nehemiah become angry? Why or why not?
• What makes you angry?
• What is the difference between righteous anger and anger that is sin?
6 I was very angry when I heard their outcry and these words. 7 I took counsel with myself, and I brought charges against the nobles and the officials. I said to them, “You are exacting interest, each from his brother.” And I held a great assembly against them 8 and said to them, “We, as far as we are able, have bought back our Jewish brothers who have been sold to the nations, but you even sell your brothers that they may be sold to us!” They were silent and could not find a word to say.
Repentance: Nehemiah 5:9-13
• What does Nehemiah do to right the injustice he sees?
• How does he practice what he preaches?
• What do you think enables the nobles to respond the way they did?
• What does that tell us about transforming the city for Jesus?
• What should we do with our righteous anger for the examples we see above?
9 So I said, “The thing that you are doing is not good. Ought you not to walk in the fear of our God to prevent the taunts of the nations our enemies? 10 Moreover, I and my brothers and my servants are lending them money and grain. Let us abandon this exacting of interest. 11 Return to them this very day their fields, their vineyards, their olive orchards, and their houses, and the percentage of money, grain, wine, and oil that you have been exacting from them.” 12 Then they said, “We will restore these and require nothing from them. We will do as you say.” And I called the priests and made them swear to do as they had promised. 13 I also shook out the fold of my garment and said, “So may God shake out every man from his house and from his labor who does not keep this promise. So may he be shaken out and emptied.” And all the assembly said “Amen” and praised the Lord. And the people did as they had promised.
Humility and Hospitality: Nehemiah leads by example through his repentance, the sacrifices he makes for the sake of his mission, and his desire to honor God. This short passage in Nehemiah shows, through the actions of Nehemiah, the humble character of leaders that God calls to accomplish His purposes.
An Example of Leadership: Nehemiah 5:14-19 Note that Nehemiah is not boasting but rather calling leaders to his example of compassion and care for the people.
• If you were to be honest, where do you find your security and hope?
• What does it mean for you to live by the integrity of Nehemiah?
• What privileges or rights are you willing to set aside for the sake of the kingdom?
• Can you think of an example where you did this?
• What does it mean to you to bear the cost of the Gospel out of your own pocket?
• Would you be comfortable praying the prayer in verse 19? Why or why not?
14 Moreover, from the time that I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year to the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes the king, twelve years, neither I nor my brothers ate the food allowance of the governor. 15 The former governors who were before me laid heavy burdens on the people and took from them for their daily ration forty shekels of silver. Even their servants lorded it over the people. But I did not do so, because of the fear of God. 16 I also persevered in the work on this wall, and we acquired no land, and all my servants were gathered there for the work. 17 Moreover, there were at my table 150 men, Jews and officials, besides those who came to us from the nations that were around us. 18 Now what was prepared at my expense for each day was one ox and six choice sheep and birds, and every ten days all kinds of wine in abundance. Yet for all this I did not demand the food allowance of the governor, because the service was too heavy on this people. 19 Remember for my good, O my God, all that I have done for this people.
1. A great cry (Neh. 5:1–5) In the midst of a “great work” for a “great God”, a “great cry” (5:1) was heard. They were crying against their own people!, and the economic situation had become so desperate that even the wives (who usually kept silent) were joining in the protest.
Four different groups of people were involved in this crisis.
1. There were the people who owned no land but who needed food (v. 2).
2. Landowners who had mortgaged their property in order to buy food (v. 3).
3. Debtors borrow money (v. 4).
4. The wealthy Jews who were exploiting their own brothers and sisters by loaning them money and taking their lands and their children for collateral (Lev. 25:39–40).
2. Repentance (Neh. 5:6–13) It is one thing to confront foreign enemies and quite something else to deal with your own people. A young Moses learned that it was easier to dispose of an Egyptian master than to reconcile two Jewish brothers (Ex. 2:11–15). Nehemiah showed true leadership in his responses.
1. Anger (Neh. 5:6). This was not the flaring up of a sinful temper but the expression of righteous indignation at the way the businessmen were oppressing their brothers and sisters. Moses expressed this kind of holy anger when he broke the stone tables of Law (Ex. 32), and so did Jesus when He saw the hardening of the Pharisees’ hearts (Mark 3:5).
2. Consultation (Neh. 5:7). Nehemiah put his heart and his head together as he pondered the problem and sought God’s direction. “He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty” (Pr. 16:32). If a leader can’t control himself, he will never control others successfully.
3. Rebuke (Neh. 5:7–11). Nehemiah’s rebuke consisted of six different appeals.
a. He appealed to their love by reminding them they were robbing their own brothers (7).
b. His appeal was based solidly on the Word of God, for the Law of Moses forbade Jews to exact interest from one another. The Bible has a lot to say about the use of money.
c. He reminded them of God’s redemptive purpose for Israel (Neh. 5:8). In the past, God redeemed Israel from Egypt; and recently, He had redeemed them from Babylon. Their selfishness put both themselves and their creditors into bondage.
d. He appealed to Israel’s witness (v. 9) God calls us to be a “light to the Gentiles”, How could some build the wall on the one hand but enslave their neighbors on the other?
e. He appealed to his own personal practice. Nehemiah practiced what he preached :10–11
f. He appealed to the judgment of the Lord (vv. 12–13). Nehemiah had them take an oath in the presence of the priests. 2 options; worship our wealth or worship with our wealth.
Rather than merely allowing the guilty to repent, Nehemiah demanded that they also practice restitution, a Christian practice that sadly has not been as widely practiced as it should be. If those who had sinned merely repented, the sinning would have stopped, but apart from restitution, the victims would have still remained with devastated lives. It is often not enough to simply say we are sorry to God and others for our sins and sweep it under the rug. We also need to repay and restore what we have stolen and broken. Nehemiah was himself guilty of this same sin, and rather than making excuses, he led by example of repentance and restitution.
3. A great example (Neh. 5:14–19) As children of God, our example is Jesus Christ and not the leaders of this world (Luke 22:23–30). “A cross stands in the way of spiritual leadership,” writes J. Oswald Sanders, “a cross upon which the leader must consent to be impaled”.
• A GODLY LEADER PUTS THE MISSION ABOVE THEIR PERSONAL INTERESTS. It was customary in that day for political leaders, like Ne, to collect additional taxes to increase their own wealth. Some of it was reasonable, to pay a governor a salary, living expenses, staff, a generous budget. Nonetheless, Nehemiah didn’t raise taxes for himself. To do so would have harmed his pastoral witness to the poor, from whom he would have amassed his wealth. The result; Nehemiah willingly denied many of his own personal interests for the sake of the mission.
• A GODLY LEADER MUST BE WILLING TO GIVE THEIR LIFE TO A CAUSE IF THEY HOPE TO SUCCEED. Nehemiah devoted 12 yrs of his life to this project. He demonstrates the simple leadership principle that real change takes time because there are no shortcuts to success. Eugene Peterson calls this kind of leadership “long obedience in the same direction.”
• A GODLY LEADER OFTEN OPENS THEIR HOME TO PRACTICE HOSPITALITY Among his requests to the King, Nehemiah asked that a large home be built for his personal use. While some would criticize him for such a request, we see that he used it as his base of operations and welcomed 150 people there every evening for dinner as a lavish demonstration of hospitality. It is one way the character of God and the gospel can be made visible.
• A GODLY LEADER MUST MAKE GREAT FINANCIAL SACRIFICES TO BEGIN A NEW WORK Not only did Nehemiah forego the usual wealth given a leader, he also paid for all his personal and ministry expenses out of his own pocket. This included formal dinners with high quality meats and wine. He is an example of someone righteous and rich. He spent his money in ways that helped people.
• A GODLY LEADER STORES UP TREASURE IN HEAVEN Jesus Himself taught that the treasures we amass on earth will one day disappear, but through good works done out of a heart of love for God in light of His grace to us, we can store up eternal treasures in heaven (Matt 6:20, Luke 18:22). Nehemiah prays for just that-that God would remember his life and service when he arrives home at heaven one day.
The one true God is an eternal community of father, Son, and Spirit (Matt 28:19) and we were made in His image for friendship and community (Gen 1:27), which explains why it is not good for us to be alone (Gen 2:18). But, because of sin we are separated from God and each other and are strangers to God (Is 59:2, Eph. 2:12). Though Jesus’ life, death, resurrection, however, we are welcomed into friendship with God as Christians and into friendship with fellow Christians as the church. Likewise, when we welcome strangers to become friends, we are living out the doctrines of the gospel and showing God’s grace.
Building upon Nehemiah’s example, the NT says that church elders are to practice hospitality (1 Tim 3:2), and that their example is to be followed by all Christians (1 Peter 4:9). Futhermore, hospitaltiy is menat to be extended to family (1 Tim 5:8), friends (Prov. 27:10), Christians (Gal 6:10), and non-christians (Lev. 19:34) In Bowling Alone, Harvard prof chronicles the national demise of hospitality, community, and friendship over the past 20 yrs:
• The social activity of playing cards together is down 25%
• The frequenting of bars, nightclubs, and taverns is down 40%
• The # of full service restaurants is down 50%, but fast food is up 100%, as more people eat alone
• Having a social evening with someone from your neighborhood is down 33%
• Family dinners is down 33%
• Having friends over to your home down 45%
• Making new friends is down 33%
Missional communities are the primary way we connect with others and live our lives on mission. WHAT IS A MISSIONAL COMMUNITY? It consists of a core of believers (10-20 PEOPLE) who live out the mission of God together in a specific area by demonstrating the gospel in tangible forms.
Each missional community meets regularly to eat, learn, pray and be together on mission, living out the Gospel in real and tangible expressions. To clarify, a Missional Community is NOT primarily a small group, Bible study, support group, social activist group, or weekly meeting.
Our hope is that every person who is committed to the Monument Bible Church mission will be fully involved in a missional community and eventually the missional communities in a region will multiply and together form a new (Church plant).
EACH MISSIONAL COMMUNITY WILL:
1. Be led by a missionary committed to leading, shepherding, equipping a community on mission.
2. Grow together in understanding and application of the Gospel to who we are.
3. Live out the week as a family on mission together (Listen, Celebrate, Eat, Bless and Serve)
4. Identify, equip and release new leadership to begin new Missional Communities.
IN CONCLUSION: Nehemiah emulates the same principles as the greatest leader in history of the world, our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus humbly entered history to suffer and die and thus put the MISSION of our salvation above His own personal interests. Jesus left the wealth of heaven and made great sacrifices to minister free of charge while on earth. He lived a life of poverty. Jesus gave His life for the cause of our salvation because that is what success required. Jesus often enjoyed hospitality during His life on earth; He ate the last Supper with His disciples and instituted The Lord’s Table for us to partake of until, we are welcomed into His heavenly home to enjoy His hospitality at the wedding supper of the Lamb (Rev 19), which will have the best meats and wines (Isa 25:6). On that day, Nehemiah and those who serve God faithfully also will be rewarded according to their deeds. (Matt 25:31-36). In this we see that God honors the humble who give their lives to Him and to others.
