A God-First Life

“A God-First Life”

(Nehemiah 5:14-19)

Series: REBUILD (Nehemiah)

Rev. Todd A. Linn, PhD

Henderson’s First Baptist Church, Henderson

Please open your Bibles to Nehemiah chapter 5.

As we’ve moved through the opening chapters we’ve seen the people face derision, discouragement, danger, and division. Last week we read about that division. The haves and the have nots. The unrighteous rich oppressing the righteous poor. Unrighteous rich nobles and rulers among the people exploiting and oppressing the poor. Chapter 5 reads like a modern day account of corporate greed—dirty money, burdensome mortgages, exploitation, high interest rates, taxes, financial bondage, and insufferable debt.

We left off at verse 13 and we note a contrast. Verse 14 to the end contrasts the generosity of Nehemiah with the oppression of verses 1-13. Nehemiah is an example of the righteous rich who use their wealth wisely. And this is a reflection of Nehemiah’s he has written in his journal or memoirs—remember that’s what we’re reading when we read Nehemiah, his private journal or memoirs. These verses recall the 12 years Nehemiah served as governor of the people. We’re not sure exactly how Nehemiah became governor, but he was likely appointed governor by King Artaxerxes in Susa and, unlike previous governors who oppressed the poor, Nehemiah is a good governor who is generous to the poor. Listen for that as I read.

Please stand in honor of the reading of God’s Word.

14 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.

15 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.

16 Indeed, I also continued the work on this wall, and [e]we did not buy any land. All my servants were gathered there for the work.

17 And at my table were one hundred and fifty Jews and rulers, besides those who came to us from the nations around us.

18 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.

19 Remember me, my God, for good, according to all that I have done for this people.

Let’s pray.

Some years ago I had a lightweight jacket with a zipper that always came undone. I would zip that thing up only to discover later that the zipper was slowly coming undone from the bottom up. That happened a lot because it was easy to throw it on quickly, zip it up and run out of the house without the thing actually being zipped up correctly. In fact, I wouldn’t have ever known there was even a problem until later when I’d look down and see it. Because the zipper’s first and second teeth were not correctly in place the whole thing would eventually come apart. Only when I took that jacket and carefully ensured that the first and second teeth were carefully in place could I be sure that all the remaining teeth of the jacket would stay together.

A Pharisee once approached Jesus and asked Him, “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the law?” Jesus answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets (Matthew 22:35-40).”

Jesus taught that if a person loves vertically and horizontally he or she would, in essence, live according to God’s will and way. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and love your neighbor as yourself. Like the first two teeth of a zipper. Get those to right and everything else will follow, everything else will be secure and hold together.

Nehemiah lived that way, he lived a God-first life, he loved the Lord with all his heart, soul, and mind—God first—and his neighbor as himself. Nehemiah lived what I call a “God-First Life.” And I want us to see the distinguishing marks of a God-First life. I’ve grouped the verses under three headings. The first mark of a God-First life is integrity.

Integrity (14-16)

It’s often said that integrity is who you are when no one is looking. It’s easy to have integrity when we’re aware of the presence of others. We’re model Christians when others are watching. But who are you when you are all alone? Integrity is who you are when no one’s looking. Holiness. Purity. Honesty. Integrity.

14 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 (that’s 445-433 BC) of King Artaxerxes, twelve years, neither I nor my brothers ate the governor’s provisions.

Nehemiah was governor and led God’s people there in Judah for 12 years and he says “Neither I nor my brothers—his close officials—ate the governor’s provisions.” The governor’s provisions refers to a generous food allowance was raised by taxing the people of the land. We have members in Congress who seem to think that we can just give away things as though there’s an endless supply. Free this, free that. We’ll there’s a cost, an expense, behind those things. Nehemiah knows that if he took “the governor’s provisions” it would hurt the local people financially. There was a cost involved and they would be hurt. As a matter of integrity, he denies himself of this right—unlike previous governors as the next verse indicates.

15 But the former governors who were before me laid burdens on (taxed!) the people, and took from them (took!) bread and wine, besides forty shekels of silver (as a daily ration). Yes, even their servants bore rule over (tyrannized!) the people, but I did not do so, because of the fear of God.

Unlike “the former governors who were before” him, Nehemiah chose not to tax, take from, or tyrannize the people. He regarded them as equal brothers and sisters and worked right alongside them.

President Harry Truman once joked that leaders are people who can get others to do what they don’t want to do—and make them like doing it! Well, Nehemiah was a God-first leader. He loved the Lord with all his heart, soul, and mind, and his neighbor as himself. He was right there with them:

16 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 did not think of himself more highly than he ought (Romans 12:3) but served right alongside others. Though he could have profited by buying up land during the rebuilding of the wall and city he chose not to use his position for gain. This leads to the next mark of a God-First life. Integrity. Second:

Generosity (17-18)

Nehemiah was a very generous person. Not only did he refuse to selfishly amass wealth for himself at the cost of others, but he used the wealth he already had to bless others. The next couple verses indicate that God had prospered Nehemiah through his position as cupbearer to the king.

17 And at my table were one hundred and fifty Jews and rulers, besides those who came to us from the nations around us.

Nehemiah is telling us that each day he served as governor it fell to him to meet and greet and entertain a number of leaders and visitors. “at my table” refers to his breaking bread with these folks, eating with them, sharing with them. “one hundred and fifty Jews and rulers,” an entourage of civil servants apparently serving under Nehemiah. And also a host of traveling foreign dignitaries “those who came from the nations around us.” As governor it falls to Nehemiah to show hospitality to these travelers on their way perhaps to the capital of the Assyrian Empire.

Now get a sense of the situation: Nehemiah has already told us that he did not eat “the governor’s provisions” the food allowance that was rightly his by Persian law. He repeats that here in verse 18, last sentence there: “Yet in spite of his I did not demand the governor’s provisions, because the bondage was heavy on this people.”

So he doesn’t appropriate the food allowance in order to feed all these people who are around him every day. Yet they have to eat! And if you do the math here it really is astronomical. He says in verse 18, “Now that which was prepared daily was one ox and six sheep, and fowl or poultry. This is daily over a period of 12 years. So the math works out to over 4,000 oxen and over 26,000 sheep. Now that’s a lot of food! Either Nehemiah had a herd that large that came with him from Susa or he had the financial means to acquire that many animals, but the point is he had it and he used his own money and material things to bless others.

He could have lived very comfortably and then just used “the governor’s provisions,” that tax upon the people, but he doesn’t. He gives out of his own pocket.

Thomas Carlyle, the Scottish historian and writer said, “Adversity is hard on a man; but for one man who can stand prosperity, there are a hundred that will stand adversity.”

That’s one of those quotes you have to hear a couple times: “Adversity is hard on a man; but for one man who can stand prosperity, there are a hundred that will stand adversity.” Carlyle was being ironic. He was saying that in many ways it’s easier to face adversity than prosperity. Many people maintain their faith through times of adversity, but few people successfully maintain their faith in times of prosperity. They collapse under so much wealth and gain. They give in to temptation and bring financial ruin upon themselves. Or they hoard and become self-focused and reclusive.

But again, Nehemiah lives a God-First Life. He is a man who loves God with all his heart, soul, mind, and his neighbor as himself. He believed that God has given him favor in order to bless others and advance God’s kingdom.

Marks of a God-First Life: Integrity, Generosity, number three:

Piety (19)

A reverence for God. Piety. Verse 19:

19 Remember me, my God, for good, according to all that I have done for this people.

Nehemiah is a man of prayer. He has a love for God that motivates his godly character. Put another way: his integrity and generosity are fueled by his piety. What makes Nehemiah a man of integrity and generosity is his love for the One True and Living God. Recall in verse 15 Nehemiah said that he did not want to place a burden on the people because—last part of verse 15—“because of the fear of God.” Nehemiah has a relationship with God. He is a God-Fearer. God was always before Nehemiah’s eyes. He lived in the awareness of God’s presence.

He prays in verse 19, “Remember me, my God—note that: my God.” He is not giving in order to gain favor with God, to earn his salvation. Giving all of this stuff as though he could earn a spot in heaven. No. He is already God’s child by grace through faith. He addresses God in a personal, covenantal way; my God. And he’s simply praying, “Lord, remember what I have done, take note of my actions; all that I have done for this people.”

It’s a bit like David’s prayer at the end of Psalm 139: Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my thoughts; And see if there is any wicked way in me…(Psalm 139:23-24).” That’s the idea: “See what I have done, Lord, and remember me. Take note of it. I’ve got my eye on the kingdom. I’m living with a view to the future. Take note, Lord, because I love You and I want to do right, and I know You reward those whose heart is set on You.”

I wonder if you would be comfortable praying a prayer like that? “Remember me, my God…take note of how I am living…reward me according to the way I treat others…”

Nehemiah is a man of great piety. He is faithful to God. He walks with God. He lives with an eye toward eternity, knowing it is far better to live by faith in what he cannot see as more rewarding than what he can see in this world.

Again, this is precisely what motivated Nehemiah’s integrity and generosity. What causes a guy to forego the privileges due him according to his position? Why give up so much food when you can have it justly?

Like our Lord Jesus in John 4. Remember when the disciples went into town to get food while Jesus talked with the woman at Samaria, the woman at the well? Jesus led her to faith in Himself. She comes to know Him as Messiah. The disciples had gone into town to get food and Jesus is there with that woman, leading her to faith. The disciples return and they see Jesus talking to this woman. And they’re standing there with their bags of sandwiches from Subway. And they’re like, “Master, eat!” And Jesus says, “I have food to eat of which you do not know.” They’re like, “What?! Did someone bring him something to eat?” And Jesus says, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me.” And that kind of food will fill you up, like a bread that satisfies your eternal hunger and water that flows from an ever-flowing well.

That’s what Nehemiah had. That’s what he enjoyed. Nehemiah lived in the awareness of the greatness and glory of God. He was like the writer of Hebrews. Remember from Hebrews 13: “Here we have no lasting city, but we seek one which is to come (Hebrews 13:14).”

**Two Timeless Truths:

Fear of God trumps Fear of Man

Nehemiah has a robust fear of God. He loves the Lord. He lives in the awareness of the greatness and glory of God. Because Nehemiah fears God, he does not fear man.

This is especially significant when Nehemiah faces opposition. This phrase sets us up for the narrative that follows in chapter 6 where we’ll be reading about a conspiracy to instill fear in the heart of Nehemiah. Fear of God trumps fear of man.

I’ve got a couple questions I want to invite you to write down and ask yourself:

“Do I live in the awareness of the greatness and glory of God?”

Like Nehemiah. Are your actions motivated by a healthy fear of God. You actually believe that God is always before your eyes. That truth governs your thinking, your words, what you look at.

You endeavor to live a God-First life. Because of a fear of God you seek God first thing every day. You have a devotion time where you get alone and talk to God in prayer and read His Word. Here’s another question:

“What privileges am I willing to deny to build the kingdom?”

Nehemiah denied himself of “the governor’s provisions” so that his witness and testimony would remain strong before the people. Remember last week we said that all of our actions have the result of either drawing people closer to Jesus or pushing them further away. Nehemiah lives in such a way as to draw people closer to the Lord. He denies himself of something that was rightly his, he could have taken the provisions, he could have exercised his rights, but he denied himself of these privileges in order to advance the kingdom.

So what about you and me? What privileges are we willing to deny in order to advance the kingdom? Putting mission before personal interest. As we endeavor to edify and multiply in the church how can we together deny ourselves of privileges in order to reach more people for Jesus? How can our Sunday school class put others first by focusing not just on those who are in our class, but focusing on those who aren’t here?

Living in the fear of God, aware of the greatness and glory of God. Fear of God trumps fear of Man. Second timeless truth:

Joy in the Lord trumps Joy in the World

Nehemiah lived with an eye toward eternity. Because of that his whole life was shaped by eternal purposes. He found his joy in the Lord and for that reason he did not feel the pull of the world—giving-in to greed and self. His joy in the Lord motivated his integrity and generosity. Some questions to ask yourself:

“What would my friends, family, and co-workers say about where I find joy?”

Someone asks them about you. What would they say? Would they say, “Boy, you can tell she has a joy in the Lord! She is living for eternity! Her love for the Lord and others is evident!” Would they say that—or would they say something else? What may need to change in your life? Second question:

“How does my money or stuff reflect where I find joy?”

Nehemiah was a generous man, giving out of what the Lord had given him. Financial giving is simply our response to the One who gives to us. Tithing—the word means ’the tenth,’ returning the tenth, or 10% to the Lord—tithing is not so much a sacrifice as it is simply returning to the Lord that which is His. Deuteronomy 8:18 says it is God who gives us the ability to acquire wealth. Giving back to Him is not only a matter of obedience, but it reflects that we don’t find joy in our money or stuff. We are cheerful givers (2 Corinthians 9).

Joy in the Lord trumps joy in the world.

James Hamilton asks, “Do your children or those around you sense that you are pursuing God or pursuing gold?” and, “What might make them think that money is too important in your life?”

Joy in the Lord trumps joy in the world. Final question:

“What sin in my life reveals what I am substituting for joy in the Lord?”

We’ve talked about finding joy in stuff, but what about finding joy in sin? Is there some behavior you are in, some habit, some activity, that reveals that you are trading a greater joy in the Lord for a temporary pleasure that ends in guilt, shame, bondage, and death. What do you need to repent of this morning?

Nehemiah’s actions point to the more perfect actions of the Lord Jesus Christ. As God, the Lord Jesus embodies perfect integrity and perfect generosity. Jesus denied Himself of the privileges of the glory of remaining at the right hand of the Father and chose to humble Himself and enter into this fallen world for our sakes. He delighted in doing the Father’s will. Though He was rich, He became poor for our sakes that we through His poverty may become rich—may receive eternal life by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.

Let’s look over these questions for a moment. You’ve written them down. Look them over silently, think on them a moment, and then I’ll pray.

“Father, give us grace to live in the awareness of your greatness and glory. Help us fear You more than we fear man. Grant that we would make time to be with you in daily quiet that we would be ever conscious of your presence until the evening. Like Nehemiah, help us think beyond ourselves, beyond our personal rights or privileges, that we may reach more people for Jesus. Grant that we would always remember that true joy is found in You and not in the world. Help us take hold of Jesus and find life in Him. We turn from sin in repentance and take hold of Christ. May the truth that you accept us not on the basis of our performance, but on the basis of our relationship with you through Christ—may that acceptance motivate our giving through tithing, through gifts above the tithe as Your Holy Spirit prompts us to greater generosity. And when we struggle in the dark, struggling with sinful habits, sinful behaviors, awaken us to eternal truths, reminding us that true life, true joy, is found in You—and not in the world. For Jesus’ sake and in His name we pray, amen.”

Let’s stand and respond through song. Sing and respond however you need to respond.

RESPONSE: “Lord, I Need You”

COPYRIGHT DISCLAIMER: The text contained in this sermon is solely owned by its author. The reproduction, or distribution of this message, or any portion of it, should include the author’s name. The author intends to provide free resources in order to inspire believers and to assist preachers and teachers in Kingdom work.