Opposition Without, Oppression Within

“Opposition Without, Oppression Within”

(Nehemiah 5:1-13)

Series: REBUILD (Nehemiah)

Rev. Todd A. Linn, PhD

Henderson’s First Baptist Church, Henderson

Take your Bibles and join me in Nehemiah 5.

We’re preaching through Nehemiah, a history that takes place 444 BC. God’s people in the Old Testament had sinned and been unfaithful to God. He had warned them that if they were not faithful He would discipline them as a Good Father, sending them into captivity. And that’s exactly what happened. First the Assyrians in 722 BC. Then the Babylonians in 587 BC. The temple in Jerusalem was destroyed. The palaces burned, the walls broken down. After the Babylonian Empire, the Persians came along. And that’s where we are now. Persian Empire, 444 BC, King Artaxerxes. Nehemiah served as a cupbearer for the king in Susa, the winter palace of the king’s. 1000 miles away. Nehemiah learns from fellow Jews that things were really bad in Jerusalem, walls still broken down. Gets permission from King Artaxerxes to go back and rebuild the wall. And they’ve been going at it like gangbusters. Got half of the wall completed by the end of chapter 4.

And we’ve noted that God’s people faced opposition as they rebuilt the wall. God’s will often includes opposition. In fact, you can trace it out this way: Derision, as the critics Sanballat and Tobiah and others mocked them. Derision, then Discouragement—we talked about that the last couple weeks—Derision, Discouragement, then Danger—God’s people have to take up weapons to defend themselves; last week there was “trouble in the rubble;” they had a sword in one hand, and a trowel in the other. So Derision, Discouragement, Danger, and now Division. Division among the people of God.

I’m going to read the first 13 verses of Chapter 5 and invite you to be on the lookout for this theme of division among God’s people. Listen for how the people were divided between the “haves” and the “have nots.” Listen for division on account of oppression, the rich oppressing the poor.

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

1 And there was a great outcry of the people and their wives against their Jewish brethren.

2 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.”

3 There were also some who said, “We have mortgaged our lands and vineyards and houses, that we might buy grain because of the famine.”

4 There were also those who said, “We have borrowed money for the king’s tax on our lands and vineyards.

5 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.”

6 And I became very angry when I heard their outcry and these words.

7 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.

8 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.

9 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?

10 I also, with my brethren and my servants, am lending them money and grain. Please, let us stop this usury!

11 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.”

12 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.

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.

Amen and amen, please be seated.

Most of us are familiar with the phrase, “Inside Job.” It’s a term used especially in criminal investigation. It means, of course, that the perpetrators of a particular crime are those who had easy access to the goods because they either worked for the company or institution where the goods were stolen or they were close to someone who had all the inside information. And thus the criminals were able to breach security and use their passwords and embezzle from the organization. Inside job. It wasn’t a stranger from the outside breaking in; it was someone on the inside.

When Jesus was betrayed into the hands of the chief priests, scribes, and elders, that betrayal was an inside job. A man on the inside, namely Judas Iscariot, had easy access to the Lord and arranged for the outsiders to “break in” under the cover of darkness and arrest Jesus. It was an inside job.

When we compare Nehemiah Chapter 4 with Nehemiah Chapter 5, we have in chapter 4 opposition without—opposition from the outsiders Sanballat, Tobiah, and others; an “outside job” if you like—and in Chapter 5, oppression within, oppression from the inside, among the very people of God themselves; oppression that is an “inside job.”

What is this oppression? It is a financial oppression. The rich among God’s people are oppressing the poor of God’s people. They are charging them interest on loans, taking their lands and vineyards as collateral, making themselves wealthy at the cost of making others poor. It’s an inside job. It is a sin within the family of God.

These verses we read a moment ago describe matters of money, mortgages, exploitation, greed, buying & selling, high interest rates, taxes, financial bondage, and insufferable debt. You would think we were reading this morning’s edition of the Wall Street Journal. The Bible is that way, always relevant to our situation.

The Bible has a lot to say about money. There are some 800 verses throughout the Old and New Testaments about money. It is estimated that as much as 25% of Jesus’ teaching had to do with money and He said that the way we use our money says something about where our heart really is.

Matthew 6:19-21:

19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:

20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:

21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

The way we use our money—giving, not giving, tithing, not tithing, lending, hoarding—all of these things are indicators of where our heart is.

We often say, “Money is not the problem.” Money is never the problem. It’s how we use the money. Possessions are not the problem. It’s whether those material things possess us.

So let’s make a distinction here between what we could call the “Righteous Rich” and the “Unrighteous Rich” and also the “Righteous Poor” and the “Unrighteous Poor.” I came across these slides in my study, a pastor on the west coast put these together. I found them helpful and thought I’d pass them along to you. We’ll put them up on the wall here. If you have trouble seeing these, you can access them this week on the website. Remember Sunday morning sermons are available by the evening of the next day at https://fbchenderson.org. Both audio and written form. So you can listen or read and even print out the sermon for study and teaching.

[Source: Mark Driscoll: http://download.marshill.se/files/collection/documents/PDF/]

2 Thessalonians 3:10; 1 Timothy 5:8

So what we’re reading about here in Nehemiah 5 are the unrighteous rich and the righteous poor. The rich Jewish brothers who were oppressing the poor Jewish brethren. Let’s look at the text again.

1 And there was a great outcry of the people and their wives against their Jewish brethren.

This like the outcry of God’s people in the Book of Exodus, the cry of the children of Israel rising up to God who had seen the oppression of His people at the hands of the Egyptians (Exodus 3:9).

And the outcry is described in the verses to follow. “The people and their wives” indicates division within the families. Financial problems are one of the key areas the devil uses to try to split families. Husbands and wives often fight over finances, you know, “Till debt do us part.”

Especially as newlywed couples begin to grow and really get to know one another, they discover that they may have different ideas about how money is to be used. Maybe you’ve heard the verse:

Theirs was a perfect marriage,

but for one particular flaw:

While he was quick to make deposits,

She was quicker to withdraw

But the problem in Nehemiah 5 is not so much different ideas about money within a marriage as it is about the rich oppressing the poor. Most of the husbands were away from their fields doing the work of rebuilding the wall. Because they were away, they were unable to work their fields which would have provided grain for them to eat.

2 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.”

The people are many, many families, many husbands and wives and sons and daughters. And there’s not enough grain because the fields are unworked. “Let us get grain, that we may eat and live” because while stones are good for rebuilding a wall, you can’t turn stones to bread—unless you’re Jesus. The people had been working nonstop on the wall, no time to work their fields to grow their own grain for food.

3 There were also some who said, “We have mortgaged our lands and vineyards and houses, that we might buy grain because of the famine.”

While building the wall, their fields were not being worked, but apparently loaned out to others who were growing grain on them. The land was apparently loaned out in exchange for grain. This seems to be the “mortgage” referenced here in verse 3.

And we also learn in verse 3 that there is a famine. The famine adds insult to injury. It’s a bad time, people are hungry. But that’s not all. Verse 4:

4 There were also those who said, “We have borrowed money for the king’s tax on our lands and vineyards.

So not only are the fields unharvested by the rightful owners because of the men’s dedication to the rebuilding of the wall, not only had those same rightful owners have to borrow against their fields by mortgaging them to others, and not only was there a famine in the land, but now we read of their having to pay taxes to the king on all of their lands and vineyards.

Apparently King Artaxerxes was fond of taxing. History tells us that when Alexander the Great conquered Susa (about a hundred years after Nehemiah) he discovered 270 tons of gold bullion and 1200 tons of silver bullion, and all of that located in Susa. The Persians raised a lot of money for themselves through taxes.

We know something of this, don’t we? Some of us can relate to the guy who said he wanted to visit Washington DC so he could be near his money!

The poor folks in Jerusalem could not pay their taxes, so they borrowed money in order to pay the king’s tax. They borrowed against their mortgaged land to pay taxes, “robbing from Peter to pay Paul,” as we say.

Maybe we don’t say that anymore? Heard that expression, robbing Peter to pay Paul? There’s a tradition that says the expression goes back to the Protestant Reformation. Taxes were paid to the Roman Catholic Church to pay for St. Paul’s church in London and also to pay for St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. You had to pay both. So there were times you neglected paying the tax to St. Peter’s church in order to pay the St. Paul tax—robbing Peter to pay Paul. In any case, this is what’s happening to the righteous poor living in Jerusalem. They can’t afford anything. They’re borrowing from one thing to pay for another thing—going deeper and deeper into debt just to stay alive.

There are many people who go deeper and deeper into debt not to just stay alive, but to live beyond their means. They want to have things so they borrow. They want to “keep up with the Jones’” and what not. It’s a true saying: “Money is a wonderful servant, but it’s a poor master.”

Well the righteous poor in Nehemiah have no recourse. They are being taking advantage of by their own Jewish brothers! Again, it’s an inside job. Verse 5:

5 Yet now our flesh is as the flesh of our brethren (in other words, “we’re no different than they! They’re not anymore loved by God than we!”), our children as their children (our children are no different than they’re kids! They run around together! They play with each other just the same!); 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.”

This is really tragic. It appears that the righteous poor have been forced into literal bondage. They have have been forced by the unrighteous poor to give up a son or daughter into a sort of “debtor’s prison.”

So a rich Jewish fella, one of the “haves” comes by to visit the family of the “have nots.” And he comes by and says, “Hello, Hananiah. I see you’re not doing so well. The fields are barren because you’ve been busy on the wall. I get that. Good for you. Tell you what, brother. Why don’t you let me take care of these fields for awhile. I’ll float you some money for grain and I’ll take care of your fields. You’ve got a number of sons and daughters, lots of mouths to feed. In fact I was met by one of your boys at the door. I could use him you know. How about giving him over to me in exchange for food? I mean, until things get better of course and you’re able to pay off everything. What do you say?”

Now it may be even worse than that. The last phrase of verse 5 says, “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.” And some believe that this is a reference to daughters being sent to to the local Persian government officials as sex slaves to prevent foreclosure on their lands. That may be, I don’t know. But you get the idea. It’s a bad thing. And Nehemiah is outraged.

6 And I became very angry when I heard their outcry and these words.

He’s angry. It’s a righteous anger. And he doesn’t let his anger get away from him. Remember Ephesians 4:26, “Be angry and sin not.” It’s okay to be angry. It’s not how you feel that’s a problem, it’s how you deal with how you feel. Verse 7, first part says, “After serious thought…” The ESV has, “I took counsel with myself.” In other words, Nehemiah didn’t let his anger get away from him. He paused and thought it over first. Some of us need that reminder. Remember:

If you your lips would keep from slips

Five things observe with care:

Of whom you speak

To whom you speak

And how, and when, and where.

7 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.

The Old Testament Law is clear on the matter of usury or interest on a loan. Nehemiah is going to say, “What you are doing is wrong.” Just one passage from Deuteronomy:

Deuteronomy 23:19-20:

19 “You shall not charge interest to your brother—interest on money or food or anything that is lent out at interest.

20 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.

So Nehemiah gathers the people together in “a great assembly.” You’ll see the guilty offenders are these unrighteous rich—the “nobles and rulers” there in verse 7. The higher ups are the haves. Verse 8 now:

That’s a sign of conviction! They were silenced and found nothing to say. They knew they were wrong.

Nehemiah notes the irony of the situation. Here God’s people had been brought out of bondage to the Babylonians—the outsiders—and yet the very people on the inside, Jew agains Jew, the unrighteous rich were placing the righteous poor into bondage. Redeemed from exile only to be sold into slavery by their own people.

9 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?

Verse 9 is a great verse. In my notes I underlined it. Nehemiah says, “What you are doing is not good.” And he doesn’t need to cite Scripture here. The people already know it. They knew the truth of Deuteronomy 23. They had suppressed the truth. So Nehemiah takes them to the effect that their actions have upon outsiders.

He asks, “Should you not walk in the fear of our God because of the reproach of the nations, our enemies?” He appeals to the greater effect here. The unrighteous rich have besmirched the name of God among the nations. They have brought shame upon His name. They have lost something of their spiritual influence.

In other words, Sanballat and Tobiah and all the other outsiders were watching them. I suppose they were looking through the cracks in the wall, watching these people bicker among themselves over money and debt. And they are looking inside and thinking, “Well they’re really no different than us! Just the same! So much for their God!”

Now, let that sink in for a moment. Then note that Nehemiah places himself among the people as one who also lent money and grain—but not usury or interest. Verse 10:

10 I also, with my brethren and my servants, am lending them money and grain. Please, let us stop this usury!

So Nehemiah issues this correction, this truth, that is based upon the word of God, verse 11:

In other words, “Repent!” Give it back! Now look at the response of the people:

12 So they said, “We will restore it, and will require nothing from them; we will do as you say.” (but Nehemiah’s not so sure!) Then I called the priests, and required an oath from them that they would do according to this promise.

So Nehemiah says, “I want to be sure you mean it. Swear to it!” I like Nehemiah! Verse 13, this is cool:

Like an Old Testament prophet Nehemiah gives them a word picture. He gathers together his garment. And there were lots of folds in the garment, especially around the belt where it was tied in the center. And he shakes out the folds. It was a symbolic action that matched the words of the curse that would come upon anyone who did not repent and give the stuff back. He’s like, “If you don’t make it right, may God shake you out! Shaking out every man from his house and possessions like dirt being shaken out of a garment!”

The people said, “Amen!” and praised the Lord. Then the people did according to this promise. They took action and did the right thing.

I want to invite you to take action by taking down this takeaways.

**Todd’s Take-home Takeaways:

God’s People Have Generous Hearts

Take care of one another; provide a place to stay;

Jesus said lend expecting nothing in return, do not charge interest

Do you tithe? Do you give? How much should I give? I think minimally the tithe—which means 10%, but even that is just a place to start, not a place to end!

Danny Akin years ago in a theology class: “Get on your knees, look to the cross and give based on that.”

Generous with the gospel; we have what Paul called “the unsearchable riches of Christ (Ephesians 3:8).”

Commit to one moment this week where you will share the riches of Christ with a neighbor, a co-worker, a family member, a friend

God’s People Care How Their Actions Affect Others

Remember verse 9? Nehemiah asks, “Should you not walk in the fear of our God because of the reproach of the nations, our enemies?”

Our very Christian witness is at stake. People are always watching us. We bear the name of Christ.

Every action you take think, “How will this look to lost people I am trying to win to Christ?”

Keith Green: “Our actions have either one of two results: they either draw people closer to Jesus or push them further away.”

Especially regarding money, are you shady in your business dealings? What does that say about your Christian faith?

The way we use money indicates whether we “walk in the fear of God” (9)

Are you always scheming and pushing the boundaries of financial ethics? People are watching

God’s People Respond Correctly to Truth

When Nehemiah called out the people on their behavior, he issued a correction that was based on the truth of God’s Word—and the people responded correctly. They said “Amen” and did what they were told to do.

How about you? How do you respond to the correction of God’s Word?

As you study the Word for your own edification and the edification or building up of others. Edifying and Multiplying…We reach in and out. We look around at one another and ask, “Who isn’t here?” Who else can we invite to be in our Sunday school class? Who else can we empower to start a new Sunday school class to multiply, reaching not only in, but also out.

How do you respond to the correction of God’s Word?

Brother John Kloke shared yesterday in men’s breakfast about our changing culture and how our Methodist friends grappled at their annual meeting over the sins of homosexuality and related matters.

When you read in the Bible about sin, do you respond like God’s people in Nehemiah 5 and say, “Amen” and do according to what the Bible teaches—and loving other people enough to tell them the truth, even if it’s hard truth?

Do you respond correctly yourself when the Bible confronts you with your sin—lust, pornography, adultery in thought or deed, gossip, bitterness, unforgiving spirit, greed, failure to make amends?

“Then all the people did according to this promise.” That is nothing short of a powerful move of the Spirit of God among the people of God. “ALL the assembly said, ‘Amen!’ and praised the Lord” and “did according to this promise.” God moved and they responded in full surrender.

I want to give you a chance to apply these truths in a personal way right now. I want you to ask yourself, “What has the Holy Spirit pointed out that is wrong in my life?” Something I’m doing or not doing—sin. Okay.

Then, next question: “Am I willing to confess that sin to Jesus in prayer?” Jesus took our sin upon Himself. He went to the cross for us. Died that we may live. We can be forgiven of our sin but we have to confess it. Jesus will give us the power to live the life He’s called us to live if we will turn to Him for forgiveness.

So confession, then repentance. Ask yourself, “Am I willing now to break from that sin and obey God? I’m going to stop that sin and start obeying the truth of God in the Bible, responding correctly to truth.” And it may be that there are some things you’re going to need to do this week to make it right, stop that sin, people you need to call, apologize to someone, give something back, have a heart-heart with someone at work tomorrow about something you’ve been doing. A neighbor who needs the gospel and you will go this week and invite them to church, a co-worker, a friend. Admitting, confessing, repenting.

If you’re not a Christian, I’m calling on you to confess your sin to God, turn to Jesus and believe in Him as Lord and Savior. God used Nehemiah’s righteous actions to call the people back to obedience, ensuring their survival as the people from whom the Promised One would come, the Lord Jesus Christ. We’ll sing in a moment and you can surrender to the Lord as you respond through song.

• Stand and I’ll lead in prayer.

Our Father we confess that we are sinners. We thank You for the Holy Spirit, the One who does this work on our hearts, pointing out sin so we can confess it and repent it and give it to Jesus who died for that sin. We ask that You give us grace to not ignore any teaching we heard, not suppress the truth or explain it away, but respond correctly to the truth. Help us to repent and respond correctly so that we live new lives in Christ, new habits in Christ, new attitudes in Christ through the power of the gospel.

Help us respond in full surrender this morning. If we have oppressed others, help us to stop that and change. If we owe someone, help us pay off our debts. Help us give generously through tithing and even giving above the tithe this week. Where we’ve hurt others, give us grace to make it right, to seek forgiveness and to help others live joy. Help us walk in holiness in all things, what we look at, what we think about, how we speak. We ask all of this in the name of Your Son and our Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ, amen.

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.