seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Nehemiah 5:1 Now the men and their wives raised a great outcry against their fellow Jews.2 Some were saying, “We and our sons and daughters are numerous; in order for us to eat and stay alive, we must get grain.”
3 Others were saying, “We are mortgaging our fields, our vineyards and our homes to get grain during the famine.”
4 Still others were saying, “We have had to borrow money to pay the king’s tax on our fields and vineyards. 5 Although we are of the same flesh and blood as our fellow Jews and though our children are as good as theirs, yet we have to subject our sons and daughters to slavery. Some of our daughters have already been enslaved, but we are powerless, because our fields and our vineyards belong to others.”
6 When I heard their outcry and these charges, I was very angry. 7 I pondered them in my mind and then accused the nobles and officials. I told them, “You are charging your own people interest!” So I called together a large meeting to deal with them 8 and said: “As far as possible, we have bought back our fellow Jews who were sold to the Gentiles. Now you are selling your own people, only for them to be sold back to us!” They kept quiet, because they could find nothing to say.
9 So I continued, “What you are doing is not right. Shouldn’t you walk in the fear of our God to avoid the reproach of our Gentile enemies? 10 I and my brothers and my men are also lending the people money and grain. But let us stop charging interest! 11 Give back to them immediately their fields, vineyards, olive groves and houses, and also the interest you are charging them—one percent of the money, grain, new wine and olive oil.”
12 “We will give it back,” they said. “And we will not demand anything more from them. We will do as you say.”
Then I summoned the priests and made the nobles and officials take an oath to do what they had promised. 13 I also shook out the folds of my robe and said, “In this way may God shake out of their house and possessions anyone who does not keep this promise. So may such a person be shaken out and emptied!”
At this the whole assembly said, “Amen,” and praised the Lord. And the people did as they had promised.
14 Moreover, from the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, until his thirty-second year—twelve years—neither I nor my brothers ate the food allotted to the governor. 15 But the earlier governors—those preceding me—placed a heavy burden on the people and took forty shekels(b) of silver from them in addition to food and wine. Their assistants also lorded it over the people. But out of reverence for God I did not act like that.16 Instead, I devoted myself to the work on this wall. All my men were assembled there for the work; we[b] did not acquire any land.
17 Furthermore, a hundred and fifty Jews and officials ate at my table, as well as those who came to us from the surrounding nations. 18 Each day one ox, six choice sheep and some poultry were prepared for me, and every ten days an abundant supply of wine of all kinds. In spite of all this, I never demanded the food allotted to the governor, because the demands were heavy on these people.
19 Remember me with favor, my God, for all I have done for these people.
a. Nehemiah 5:15 That is, about 1 pound or about 460 grams
b. Nehemiah 5:16 Most Hebrew manuscripts; some Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint, Vulgate and Syriac I
I got the commentary this morning form the bible-studys.org site.
Alongside intense opposition from the outside, Nehemiah faced internal pressures, with the people crying out against one another. The Israelites had become bogged down in financial quicksand. Facing the burden of high taxes with a famine underway, they mortgaged their houses and land at such high interest rates that their children were eventually forced into slavery, to their own people. Although Nehemiah sharply rebuked these practices, he also set a clear example of leadership by calling on the wealthy to follow his lead: “fear … God” and freely lend the needed “money and … corn”. He could challenge them to a high standard because he practiced what he preached.
Enemy opposition and difficult time in general had precipitated economic conditions which had a devastating effect on Judah’s fragile life. The effect of this extortion on the moral of the returnees was worse than the enemy opposition.
“The brethren the Jews”: Perhaps this refers again to the nobles who would not work and had alliance with the enemies. The people were fatigued with hard labor, drained by the relentless harassment of enemies, 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 and extortion by the rich Jews who would not help, but forced people to sell their home 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 7 years or in the 50th year of Jubilee (Lev. Chapter 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 that appear impossible.
The events of this chapter may have taken place during the 52 days of wall building (6:15). Three reasons for the troublesome conditions were given:
(1) The landless were without food (verse 2);
(2) The landowners were forced to mortgage their land because of a famine (verse 3);
(3) Borrowing was necessary to pay a property tax imposed by the Persians (verse 4).
For laws on loans, pledges and Hebrew debt, slaves who had to be released after six years. Or on the Year of Jubilee (see Exodus 21:2-11; Lev. 25:10:17; 39-55; Deut. 15:7-18; 24:10-13).
Thus the 72 month car loan!!! Ok... I studied Exodus, Leviticus and Deuteronomy..... with my online Bible and some online commentary I yawned my way through the law of Moses.... and at the time I was thinking.... maybe that's why my car loan is allowed to go six years.... and my mortgage can go for thirty years..... they are both less than that allowed by law. Apparently... back then.... people were taking time away from their other professions to work on the wall.... or covering for someone who was actively working on the wall.... but their crops were doing poorly.... and they couldn't get ahead.... then the "tax bill" came due and they didn't have the money.... so they took their kids.... who were all good workers.... and they sold them to a wealthy neighbor.... to work in their homes and on their land.... while the parents just kept getting deeper and deeper in the whole without help to work themselves out.
Nehemiah was appalled.... and to top it all off.... he lowered his own salary to give the people a break... then he had a huge meeting with the culprits and reminded them of the law of Moses. On top of all that.... those rich people were laying interest on top.... Nehemiah made them give back the interest and he made them return part of their taxes.... Nehemiah called for a tax break!!!!!
