Dealing with Problems
Nehemiah 5:1-12
February 20, 2022
In order to understand the challenges the Jews faced in chapter 5, we need a little historical
background. The Persians assessed taxes based on expected yield. For example, if you owned a
field, you would be taxed on what that field was expected to produce. But the reality was that when
crops were poor in some years, it was impossible to reach that projected level of production.
This level of taxation was causing all sorts of problems for the Jews in and around Jerusalem. When
the crop yield was lower than the government projections, people still had to pay the same amount of
taxes. Over time, these taxes were such a burden to the people that they were borrowing money to
pay their taxes. Records uncovered from this time teach us that interest rates were very high on
grain. You know how that works. You need money you don’t have, so you borrow money. Then you
owe even more money. That is not a recipe for success. The problem the Jews faced was now
compounding to the point to where starvation was a real threat. The Jews who were suffering the
most were the poor people, especially the ones with large families. While the poor were suffering,
some of their fellow Jews had positions with the Persian government and were assessing their levels
of taxation and were no doubt profiting from that arrangement. This tax situation was causing envy
and strife among God’s people. Envy and strife are destructive forces, especially when they are
among God’s people. James said, (3:16) “For where envying and strife [is], there [is] confusion
and every evil work.” When trouble reared its ugly head, Nehemiah knew how to react. He
helped the people to understand how to address this problem.
1 ¶ About this time some of the men and their wives raised a cry of protest against their
fellow Jews.
2 They were saying, “We have such large families. We need more food to survive.”
3 Others said, “We have mortgaged our fields, vineyards, and homes to get food during the
famine.”
4 And others said, “We have had to borrow money on our fields and vineyards to pay our
taxes.
5 We belong to the same family as those who are wealthy, and our children are just like theirs.
Yet we must sell our children into slavery just to get enough money to live. We have already
sold some of our daughters, and we are helpless to do anything about it, for our fields and
vineyards are already mortgaged to others.”
6 ¶ When I heard their complaints, I was very angry.
7 After thinking it over, I spoke out against these nobles and officials. I told them, “You are
hurting your own relatives by charging interest when they borrow money!” Then I called a
public meeting to deal with the problem.
8 At the meeting I said to them, “We are doing all we can to redeem our Jewish relatives who
have had to sell themselves to pagan foreigners, but you are selling them back into slavery
again. How often must we redeem them?” And they had nothing to say in their defense.
9 Then I pressed further, “What you are doing is not right! Should you not walk in the fear of
our God in order to avoid being mocked by enemy nations?
10 I myself, as well as my brothers and my workers, have been lending the people money and
grain, but now let us stop this business of charging interest.
11 You must restore their fields, vineyards, olive groves, and homes to them this very day.
And repay the interest you charged when you lent them money, grain, new wine, and olive
oil.”
12 They replied, “We will give back everything and demand nothing more from the people. We
will do as you say.” Then I called the priests and made the nobles and officials swear to do
what they had promised.
- What is the conflict between some of the Jews at the beginning of this story? (5:1-5)
1 ¶ About this time some of the men and their wives raised a cry of protest against their
fellow Jews. 2 They were saying, “We have such large families. We need more food to
survive.”
3 Others said, “We have mortgaged our fields, vineyards, and homes to get food during the
famine.” 4 And others said, “We have had to borrow money on our fields and vineyards to
pay our taxes. 5 We belong to the same family as those who are wealthy, and our children are
just like theirs. Yet we must sell our children into slavery just to get enough money to live. We
have already sold some of our daughters, and we are helpless to do anything about it, for our
fields and vineyards are already mortgaged to others.”
Problems are inevitable. When the load gets heavy, the weak points in the operation show up.
Apparently, there had been some problems among the people for a while. Economic conditions
were poor. They were in a drought. The government was weak, and the people were down trodden.
Conditions were ripe for internal troubles. They were having a tough time just putting food on the
table. Consider what it must have been like to have been one of the poorer of the workers. They
were working hard doing the Lord’s work on the wall. Some of them were doing double duty.
The enemy was trying to stop the work, and they were even threatening to kill the workers.
Apparently, some of the workers were saying that because of their family needs and obligations, they
didn’t have time to work on the wall. While other Jews were even profiting from the tax situation. - How did Nehemiah react to the Israelites’ complaints? How can anger be a good
thing? (5:6) 6 When I heard their complaints, I was very angry.
Social and economic problems impact all of our lives. It is hard to keep your mind on serving God
and loving your fellow man when you are worried over finances. This is another good reason to do all
we can to have our finances in order. When Nehemiah heard about the impact this was having on his
fellow Jews, he was very angry. You will remember from Anger Management classes that anger is a
good thing that must be managed well. Anger is like a red flag waving to alert us that there is a real
need that is not being properly met. Nehemiah’s anger did not cause him to harm himself or others.
His anger caused him to take wise action to address the problem of unreasonable taxation that was
under the control of their fellow Jews. - Why was it important that Nehemiah spent time “thinking it over” before he took any
action? (5:7)
7 After thinking it over, I spoke out against these nobles and officials. I told them, “You are
hurting your own relatives by charging interest when they borrow money!” Then I called a
public meeting to deal with the problem.
Thinking it over was the right thing to do. Knowing Nehemiah as we do, we can rest
assured that he prayed about it, and he thought it over carefully before he took action. - What accusations did Nehemiah make against the officials? (5:7)
7 After thinking it over, I spoke out against these nobles and officials. I told them, “You are
hurting your own relatives by charging interest when they borrow money!” Then I called a
public meeting to deal with the problem.
The problem is that the nobles and officials were setting taxes in an unreasonable
manner, then they were profiting by lending money at a high rate of return to people
they knew were not likely to be able to repay them. The poor Jews were becoming
increasingly unable to get out of debt and in danger of losing their own freedom, or
maybe even their lives. - What did Nehemiah say to the nobles and officials to put the problem into proper
perspective? (5:8-9)
8 At the meeting I said to them, “We are doing all we can to redeem our Jewish relatives who
have had to sell themselves to pagan foreigners, but you are selling them back into slavery
again. How often must we redeem them?” And they had nothing to say in their defense.
9 Then I pressed further, “What you are doing is not right! Should you not walk in the fear of
our God in order to avoid being mocked by enemy nations?
As governor, Nehemiah could have just come up with a solution, but he decided to deal
with this problem publicly. He reminds everyone that they were God’s people and should
live in the fear of God. The Jews failure to live properly would result in their enemies
mocking them. He made it clear that this situation was the result of action that was not
right, and it should be corrected. - What action had Nehemiah and others been taking on behalf of the Israelites? What
did he demand from the nobles and officials? (5:10-11)
10 I myself, as well as my brothers and my workers, have been lending the people money and
grain, but now let us stop this business of charging interest.
11 You must restore their fields, vineyards, olive groves, and homes to them this very day.
And repay the interest you charged when you lent them money, grain, new wine, and olive
oil.”
Redeeming an Israelite sold to a foreigner was something normally done by a blood
relative. Nehemiah and others were using their own money to purchase the freedom of
Jews sold into slavery. By doing this they were acting like family to them. The Judean
nobles and officials were guilty of acting like foreigners to their own family. They were
becoming wealthy by forcing their fellow Jews into poverty. Therefore, they were
bringing God’s judgment on themselves. - How did the officials respond to Nehemiah’s accusations? Why? (5:12)
12 They replied, “We will give back everything and demand nothing more from the people. We
will do as you say.” Then I called the priests and made the nobles and officials swear to do
what they had promised.
The officials said they would give back everything and stop this practice. Nehemiah then
called the priests and made the officials swear to do what they said. - What should we be doing to address pressing social issues today?
We should teach people how to live according to the teachings of Jesus. We should walk by the side
of other believers to help Jesus’ teachings to become habitual practices in the lives of His followers.
Things to remember from this lesson: - Problems are inevitable. When the load gets heavy, the weak points show up.
- Problems add to the pressure, but they don’t change the goal.
- Problems are solved by repenting of the sin that caused the problem.