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“The Enemy Within” • 1.6.19 • Calvary
Christian Fellowship, Sunday Morning Service
Intro.
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The people of Israel have undertaken the restoration of Jerusalem's wall. They
are united and their efforts have been effective.
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Whenever there is this kind of progress in the life of a believer, the enemy is
there to counter it! We examined three of his devices in chapter 4.
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We should expect the enemy to mock us, to introduce confusion and chaos with
possible threats, and finally, to discourage us into dropping our hands from
the work entirely.
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Today, we will learn of a unique device that is related to our enemy, but that
emanates from a different source. Note with me the source of the conflict. Let's have a look
at verse 1.
Text
• Nehemiah
5:1-5 : "And there was a great
outcry of the people and their wives against their Jewish brethren. For
there were those who said, 'We, our sons, and our daughters are many; therefore
let us get grain, that we may eat and live.' There were also some who said, 'We
have mortgaged our lands and vineyards and houses, that we might buy grain
because of the famine.' There were also those who said, 'We have borrowed money for the
king’s tax on our lands and vineyards. Yet now our flesh is as the flesh of our brethren, our children
as their children; and indeed we are forcing our sons and our daughters to be
slaves, and some of our daughters have been brought into slavery. It is not in
our power to redeem them, for other men have our lands and vineyards.'" : We open this section with a shrill shriek. Had we stopped on
that first verse, you might have assumed it's cause.
- Israel has been dealing with harassment and
physical threats from her enemies. As you can see however, this outcry is not
related to Israel's enemies.
- There was a cry of outrage directed by the
people at members of their own community, their own Jewish brethren!
- We learned in chapter 4 that Nehemiah had grouped families together on the wall, in order
to complete the work in a more expeditious manner, but some families were
necessarily separated.
- Those that were farmers, for example, allowed
wives and children to remain home for the maintenance of their crop cycles.
- What has happened at home is now coming to
effect the work on the wall, as the families have come to report a dire
situation. The husbands and wives brought an awful complaint.
- The people of God didn't have anything to
eat! They came asking for grain, not being able to afford it. They wanted a
handout of grain in order to stave off starvation!
- "Why didn't they just use their assets
to procure money to purchase grain?" you ask. They already had! What they
owned had already been borrowed against because of famine conditions.
- The land of Israel and weather, especially
during the Old Testament, was directly linked toward Israel's covenant
response. If they obeyed God, God blessed. If not, God withheld.
• Deuteronomy
28:23,24 : "And
your heavens which are
over your head shall be bronze, and the earth which is under you shall be iron.
The Lord will change the rain of your land to powder
and dust; from the heaven it shall come down on you until you are destroyed." : Keep that in mind as we move forward.
- One side of the crowd was without food. The
other side simply didn't have the money to pay the King's tax!
- Artaxerxes had allowed Israel to return to
their home, but that area was still controlled by Persian power. Consequently,
the people would have to pay in to the King's coffers.
- This led some families to sell their children
into slavery. Biblically, if you were a thief that had been caught or a debtor,
you could go into slavery to another home until that debt was paid.
- Without an income from the fields, either
through famine or by lack of able bodies, this would issue in the inability to
change the situation.
- The families were unable to redeem, buy their
children out of, their condition because what they could otherwise borrow
against was in the hands of other people!
- The galling reality is that this was not
Persia's fault. These are not Persian or Ammonite loan sharks taking advantage
of a financial crisis. This was Israeli on Israeli crime!
- These were their own relatives who had loaned
the money and had created this depression! When Nehemiah hears of this, he's
predictably perturbed! Note the
confrontation. Verse 6.
• Nehemiah
5:6-8 : "And I became very angry when I heard their outcry and these
words. After
serious thought, I rebuked the nobles and rulers, and said to them, 'Each of
you is exacting usury from his brother.' So I called a great assembly against
them. And I
said to them, 'According to our ability we have redeemed our Jewish brethren
who were sold to the nations. Now indeed, will you even sell your brethren? Or
should they be sold to us?' Then they were silenced and found nothing to say." : Nehemiah is a man of great passion for Jerusalem.
- This is the man that wept as if he had lost a
relative when he heard about the state of Jerusalem's walls!
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Listening to his communities complaint created an intense burning anger. The
word literally refers to warming. Can you see him stewing over the details that
he has just heard?
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Nehemiah was angry and he did not simply react from his anger. Notice the next
phrase and let us all learn. "I became very angry. After serious thought,
I acted," in this case, rebuked.
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The KJV translates "serious thought" as, "I consulted with
myself." Several other translations follow suit in considering this akin
to convening a counsel.
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In other contexts, this word has the sense of reigning, as a King would reign
over a territory. Nehemiah was not caught by the whim of his emotions. He took
control of them.
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He didn't act from his anger, though his anger was the catalyst that sparked
the counsel, which then brought about the action that followed.
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Paul will later write to the Ephesian Christians that they were to be angry and
not sin. (Ephesians 4:26) Nehemiah
provides us with an excellent illustration of that here.
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His processed thoughts were now directed toward the ones that had brought this
problem upon the people of Israel.
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He rebuked them before a public meeting with the charge of charging interest
from their brothers. You are probably thinking that this is what is expected
when you take a loan.
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You would be correct in one respect. It is the WORLD'S way and rule to loan and
expect there to be interest added. That was not God's way, especially in God's
land!
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The law did not prohibit loaning to a fellow Israeli. The law did however,
prohibit charging interest in at least three places. Exodus 22:25, Leviticus
25:36 and Deuteronomy 23:19,20.
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That last passage is especially poignant here because it speaks of the
exception.
•
Deuteronomy 23:19,20 : "You shall
not charge interest to your brother—interest on money or food or anything that
is lent out at interest. To a foreigner you may charge interest, but to your brother you
shall not charge interest, that the Lord your God may bless you in all to
which you set your hand in the land which you are entering to possess." : Essentially, God's people were treating their own brothers as
if they were not brothers! They were blatantly ignoring or at least twisting
God command!
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Their sin was to treat others in such a way as to suit their own greed! From
the context, it seems that they did this quietly and behind the scenes. That is
generally the case with most sin!
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It's rare that a person in sin advertises and this was no different. These
rulers knew better. Even in the event that a person is ignorant, the Spirit of
God will not allow them peace in their sin.
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Nehemiah won't allow them to continue this practice and brings this accusation
out in the open! He calls this public meeting and brings his rebuke to them.
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Their nation existed because they had helped to bring their own brothers out of
slavery from the world, from Persia.
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Their actions were effectually causing God's people to go back into the slavery
that they were just delivered from, but now THEY were the slave masters!
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"Are you now wanting your own brothers to be your slaves by this sin of
greed?"
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Can you imagine what it must have been like to be these men? They were caught
red handed, their scheme was exposed to the world!
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The NLT translates verse 8 by saying
that they had "nothing to say in their defense." They couldn't answer
these charges against them.
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What they had done in darkness was now exposed in the light! There was no
cheeky reply or smart aleck comeback. There was just silent resignation. Nehemiah
continues his case in verse 9.
•
Nehemiah 5:9-12a : "Then I said, 'What 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? I also, with my brethren and my servants, am lending them money
and grain. Please, let us stop this usury! Restore now to them, even this day,
their lands, their vineyards, their olive groves, and their houses, also a
hundredth of the money and the grain, the new wine and the oil, that you have
charged them.' So
they said, 'We will restore it, and will require nothing from them; we will do
as you say.' Then I called the priests, and required an oath from them that
they would do according to this promise." : There
isn't anything good about the business practices of the nobles and rulers of
Israel!
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Their greed and lack of compassion was crippling their own nation! Sin against
anyone is bad, but how much more galling is it when it's a sin against a
brother or sister?
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Their activity was bringing shame upon the reputation of God's community!
Listen to what Nehemiah is saying. They were walking without the fear of God.
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They figured that they could treat anyone in any way that they wanted. Who was
going to stop them? These are supposedly God fearing people?
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When, not if, the surrounding nations took a closer look, they would discover
and use this information to taunt and ridicule God's people.
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"Wouldn't it be better if you walked with a consciousness that God was
watching?"
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What a great question to ask ourselves in this new year!? How much in our lives
would change if we truly believed this?
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How many of us would change our habits if that would become real in our hearts?
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Whether you consider it "real" or not, understand that it is! God
will require an accounting from our lives and it would be wise for us to live
with that truth before our eyes!
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When we live our lives with a healthy fear of God, the enemies of God will be
forced to acknowledge God's greatness instead of mock our hypocrisy.
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Nehemiah and his people were doing their part to loan money to those that
needed it, but it wasn't enough. This practice had to stop and what had been
taken in pledge had to be restored.
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They were to do this immediately if there was to be an effective resolution. To
their credit, the response was positive. The nobles and rulers accepted
Nehemiah's terms.
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They were cancelling all debts immediately. Nehemiah brought them before the
priests to ensure that they would keep their word.
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He was not willing to simply take their word for it! He wanted accountability
and consequence for failing to follow through. Verse 13.
•
Nehemiah 5:13 : "Then I shook out the fold of my
garment and said, 'So may God shake out each man from his house, and from his
property, who does not perform this promise. Even thus may he be shaken out and
emptied.' And all
the assembly said, 'Amen!' and praised the Lord. Then the people did according to this promise." : After the oaths were taken, Nehemiah illustrated the
consequences that would occur if the people failed to follow through. His
physical action communicated grave consequences.
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Nehemiah was calling upon God to shake the people loose from his covenant
grace, to allow them to experience what they were putting upon the people of
God.
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"Let them lose their homes, their property. Let them be emptied!"
Everyone agreed and thanked the Lord that this was the resolve of the
leadership.
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All of this is wonderful, but the best part of this verse is the end: "The
people did according to this promise!" There is nothing better in the
economy of God than obedience!
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Obedience, following through with action, is the premium value in the Kingdom
of God! Good intentions, strong desires and grand speeches are not worth much
in the Kingdom!
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"Be doers of the word, not merely hearers," Pastor James tells his
scattered congregation. Hearers only deceive themselves! This community put
their promise into action.
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We have discovered the conflict
which came from a greedy group in sin. We've look at the confrontation, the discipline that Nehemiah exacted.
Now, let us observe the contrast.
Verse 14.
•
Nehemiah 5:14-16 : "Moreover, from the time that I was
appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year
until the thirty-second year of King Artaxerxes, twelve years, neither I nor my
brothers ate the governor’s provisions. But the former governors who were before me laid burdens on the
people, and took from them bread and wine, besides forty shekels of silver.
Yes, even their servants bore rule over the people, but I did not do so,
because of the fear of God. Indeed, I also continued the work on this wall, and we did not
buy any land. All my servants were gathered there for the work." : Nehemiah was given the job of being the governor when he asked
Artaxerxes if he could return.
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He might have taken on the responsibilities, but he did not partake of the
benefits that a person would have expected to come with the position.
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In his twelve year tenure, Nehemiah made sure that he was not a burden to the
people. They did not have to meet an unrealistic requirement to have him as
their governor.
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In contrast, those that came before him, who sat in the same seat, laid burdens
or were "chargeable" to the people. They received their food and they
added a salary on top of that.
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It wasn't enough for them to be taken care of. The governors also brought an
entourage with them that who used their position to further dominate the
people. Nehemiah could have followed suit.
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The people would likely have supported that decision. The world would have
understood, but Nehemiah knew who his audience was.
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He didn't treat God's people this way because his fear, his respect, his awe of
the Lord!
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Consider the practical implication of fearing God. It isn't just about your
private decisions, but your public relations!
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Nehemiah is illustrating from his own life: You know that you fear the Lord
when you treat the people that are created in His image fairly and with His
love!
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The people weren't there to serve Nehemiah. He was there to serve them. That's
why you found him at the wall working. That's why he wasn't wheeling and
dealing for land acquisition.
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Notice that his servants also followed suit. Instead of dominating over the
people, Nehemiah's servants gathered for the work. They served the community.
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There is something to be said about Nehemiah's leadership here. He doesn't
simply decree what must be done. He exemplifies what must be done by doing it!
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The people that want to follow him, the ones that he trusts with leadership,
embody the same attitude. They were found working just like Nehemiah! Verse 17.
•
Nehemiah 5:17-19 : "And at my table were one hundred
and fifty Jews and rulers, besides those who came to us from the nations around
us. Now that
which was prepared daily was one ox and six choice sheep. Also fowl were
prepared for me, and once every ten days an abundance of all kinds of wine. Yet
in spite of this I did not demand the governor’s provisions, because the
bondage was heavy on this people. Remember me, my God, for good, according to all that I have
done for this people." : Nehemiah's table was quite
a sight to behold. He fed 150 of the nation's rulers.
- Right alongside of
them was a large contingent of neighbors that lived around Israel.
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You might be tempted to believe that everyone hated Israel because of the
people that we have encountered thus far.
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The Sanballats and Tobiahs of the world often make us feel like there isn't
another kind of response from the nations, but there were some that were
friendly that sat at Nehemiah's table!
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He often made room at his table for those that came to them from the nations.
These could have been friendly visitors or even people who were seeking to
emigrate to Israel!
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Nehemiah made sure to include them at his table, which was always well stocked,
even though the food was fairly plain and economical for a governor's table.
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These were not provisions of the rich. The only indulgence was the wine that
was brought to the table once every ten days and it seems, purchased by
Nehemiah.
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Unlike the rulers who had taken advantage of their position to bless
themselves, Nehemiah used his position to bless as many people as possible!
That was what it meant to fear the Lord!
Conclusion
- The conflict
in chapter 5 began when a group of
people ignored or twisted God's Word to suit their own lust. That is what
nearly crippled the nation! Sin in a group is deadly!
- The
confrontation of public rebuke, discipline, brought that sin to an end. If such
a thing is necessary, it will be done, but how much better is it to confess and
repent today before the Lord?
- The contrast
is seen in Nehemiah, who could have demanded a certain lifestyle, but accepted
humility for the sake of His people. Does that sound familiar?
- The greater
Nehemiah provides the greatest contrast to our sin. The Lord Jesus left
heaven's throne, taking on the form of a servant, living in the fear of God and
that without sin.
- He took upon
Himself the cost of living that way and paid for His brothers and the nations
to sit at His table for eternity! Today, we are left with the choice of His
redemption or our sin.
- Will we be
like the rulers of this world or will we embrace the contrast? Let us choose
now!
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