Rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem is faced with so much struggle. Work came before the curse. However, as the fall of man came in, God cursed the ground to bear thorns and thistles. These thorns are both literal and figurative. If there’s anything I can say came out of the curse, it’s people who disrupt one’s work (such as uncooperative group members) rather than the work itself. Failure despite hard work is also part of the curse. Nehemiah would encounter the thorns and thistles in the form of Sanballat and his minions. Now, another type of thorns and thistles that showed up are the fellow Jews who exploited their fellow Jews (Nehemiah 5). Business in itself isn’t evil. However, business here was used for illicit purposes.
A look at the exploitation done by fellow Jews
I was looking at commentaries to try and get some insights. I would like to share these comments by the late J. Vernon McGee:
Now w see the opposition from within. This is where the Devil strikes his greatest blow. In the history of the church we have seen that when the Devil could not destroy the church by persecution, the next thing he did was to join it! The Devil had already caused discouragement among the Jews, and now he goes a step father tand causes conflict within.
The situation of the poor Jews is during a famine. What happens is that poor Jews have set their real estate on mortgage. In short, if they fail to pay the debt, their real estate namely fields, vineyards, and houses can be seized. I may agree with the banks and their mortgage arrangements for failures to pay debt. However, what we read here is something more than a mortgage. There was a real problem with unjust loans. I always wondered about interest rates in ancient times. After looking at the NIV MacArthur Study Bible, I’d like to share Dr. John F. MacArthur’s comments from verses 1-7.
5:1-5 fellow Jews. Perhaps this again refers to the nobles who would not work and had alliances with enemies (see note on 3:5). The people were fatigued with hard labor, drained by the relentless harassment of enemes, poor and lacking the necessities of life, lacking tax money and borrowing for it, and working on the wall in the city rather than getting food from the country. On top of this came complaints against the terrible exploitation by rich Jews who would not help, but forced peole to sell their homes and children, while having no ability to redeem them back. Under normal conditions, the law offered the hope of releasing these young people through the remission of debts which occurred every seven years or on the 50th year of Jubilee (Lev 25). The custom of redemption made it possible to “buy back” the enslaved individual at almost any time, but the desperate financial situation of those times made it appear impossible.
5:7 I… accused the nobles and officials. The commitment of the nobles and rulers of the reconstruction project was negligible (cf. 3:5), while their loyalty to Tobiah and others in opposition added to their opportunitistic attitudes, placing them close to the status of opposition. They had become the enemy from within. charging your own people interest. According to the Mosaic law, the Jews were forbidden to take interest from their brothers on the loan of money, food, or anything else. If the person was destitute, they should consider it a gift. If they could pay it back later, it was to be without interest (see Lev. 25:36-37, Dt. 23:19-20). Such generosity marked the godly (see Ps. 15:5, Jer. 15:10, cf. Pr. 28:8). Interest could be taken from foreigners (Dt. 23:20). Interest loans were known to exceed 50 percent at times in ancient nations. Such usury took advantage of people’s desperation and was virtually impossible to repay, consuming their entire family assets and reducing the debtors to permanent slavery. See otes on Dt. 23:19-20, 24:10-13.
To understand about loans to foreigners, there’s a difference. A note from the NIV MacArthur Study Bible also gives this note from Deuteronomy 23:19-20:
This prohibition of lending money at interest to a fellow Israelite is qualified by Ex. 22:25 and Lev. 25:35-36, which indicates that it restricts its application to the poor and prevents further impoverishment, but it was allowed for foreigners who were engaged in trade and commerce to enlarge their wealth. According to Dt. 15:1-2, it was also clea that money could be legitimately lent in the normal course of business, subject to forgiveness of all unpaid debt in the sabbatical year (cf. 24:10).
The problem wasn’t being rich but that the rich Jews exploited the poor Jews. It’s easy to say that one’s only satisfied when one already makes a million. I suspect these rich Jews already had a vast fortune but they were never satisfied. Solomon warned in Ecclesiastes 5:10 that he who loves money will not be satisfied with money. 1 Timothy 6:10 doesn’t condemn money per se. It’s about the love for money which is greed. We need to learn to value money but to put it first has ruined many families. How many families have money but the family is anything but ideal? It’s nice to have plenty of money. The miser hoards the money and the money is never used. The spendthrift spends the money like it never runs out then will want more money to spend. Both views are built on greed. That’s why we’ve got some people who run illegal businesses behind the scenes while keeping up a legal front. I believe the rich Jews who refused to work did that. The rich Jews had an alliance with Tobiah for personal gain. No wonder Paul would later write in 1 Timothy 6:17-19 to charge those who are rich to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous, and not to be haughty but to set their eyes on God. Riches is never wrong but it must always be viewed as temporary. So many people make so many mistakes because they put money first instead of money next. Why do you want to acquire money? Is it so you can meet your needs or is it all because of an ego trip?
I don’t like how political correctness is often mingled with human rights. I don’t like how Pride Month is allowing sinful people to celebrate sin, in the name of human rights, as much as I don’t approve of massacring people in the LGBT community. However, what Nehemiah did here was absolutely needed. Nehemiah 5:9 has Nehemiah reprimanding the rich Jews, not for being rich, but because they exploited the poor. I’d say that somehow the rich do have their own fair share of the blame as to why SJWs (such as communists and socialists) sprang out. Communists and socialists do raise valid concerns such as unfair labor practices. However, communism has become no better when it takes over the state. Communism has allowed those in power to be even worse than the greedy business owners that they so hate. Karl Marx’s so-called concern for the working class has been a terrible scam.
What happens next is that Nehemiah raises valid concerns. Nehemiah 5:9 also mentions, “Ought you not to walk in the fear of our God to prevent the taunts of the nations our enemies?” I was reminded of Mahatma Gandhi’s statement. Gandhi, a Hindu, said that he had no problem with Christ but with the people who called themselves Christians. Unfortunately, misbehavior within the Church (especially caused by false converts can give the enemy many reasons to blaspheme. I’m not surprised that misdeeds done by demonic pastors (accompanied by cult leaders pretending to be Christians) give Catholics every chance to blaspheme Baptists and Protestants, where they trumpet it aloud while ignoring their own scandals. Meanwhile, Catholicism’s claim that it’s the one true Church founded in 33 A.D. while being riddled with one scandal after the other (and then, covering it up) has also caused people who don’t identify as Christian to lump Christians with fake ones. Some Jews even continue to malign Christianity as a whole because of Catholicism’s well-recorded misdeeds such as the Crusades and the Inquisition, to name a few.
Nehemiah gives orders to the rich Jews guilty of profiteering, to return the real estate, the percentage of money, grain, wine, and oil that was wrongfully exacted. The Jewish law demanded a fourfold payment. Zacchaeus, a publican made that promise in Luke 19:1-10. It wasn’t just enough to make them pledge. They also had to make people sign an agreement. An anathema was then given because the promise was made to the LORD. Vows were to be taken seriously. Not keeping the promise was already using the name of the LORD in vain and bearing false witness. The severity of sin is something that can’t be ignored. The people did as they had promised but for how long.
Nehemiah’s generosity
After the restoration, it would be important to note in verse 14, the length of time. It was from the 20th to the 33rd year of Artaxerxes I Longimanus. Interestingly, Nehemiah states that for 12 straight years, neither he nor his brothers (which may not be literal brothers) ate the governor’s food allowance.
Verse 15 moves forward to reveal the reason why Nehemiah refused to eat the food allowance. The former governors took heavy burdens on the people and took from their daily ration 40 shekels of silver. That would mean 440 grams of silver since each shekel is 11 grams. That would be incredibly huge extortion. Instead of using wealth properly, the governors decided to exploit their positions. This reminds me of how Communism promises a better life, only to oppress the people once it gets into power. Mao Zedong’s belly grew while the Chinese people suffered. We often hear the simple yet profound statement, “History repeats itself.” It’s a simple statement yet hard to apply. People make mistakes in even simple investing of money. How much more do they even screw up with stuff more important than money?
Nehemiah maintained a consistent personal policy to never exploit another person’s distress. As a businessman, Nehemiah focused on the job rather than his personal gain. Again, nothing is wrong with personal gain. It’s good to save money for a rainy day. Verse 18 talks about the expenses for each day. However, Nehemiah didn’t demand the governor’s food allowance, because the service was too heavy on the people. It should be noted that it was customary in the Near East to calculate the expense of the king’s establishment not by the quantity of money but by the provisions. The chapter concludes with Nehemiah begging God to remember all the good he has done for the people.
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