Page 49 - Principles of Leadership - Nehemiah

we live in a global society as never experienced in any other church age, it is no longer possible to ignore the
financial plight of our brothers and sisters in developing nations.

I am emphasizing this at the beginning of this chapter because we will be exploring a major problem that was
about to destroy the building process. Nehemiah was experiencing trouble from without in chapter four, but in
chapter five, we will see that trouble from within was tearing apart this Jewish community. That problem is
what we call social justice in our modern world. This is a major problem with which churches in the entire world
are confronted. How does the contemporary church take this ancient text and apply its teaching? This is a
major question that the church can no longer ignore because the poor are exploited, especially in developing
nations! We must also explore the biblical doctrine of ownership versus stewardship. Does the Bible teach us
that wealth is ours to do with as we choose, or are we merely stewards entrusted with wealth? Let’s find out…

The Lesson ...

Nehemiah 5:1-19
The Servant’s Compassion

Before we begin this next section, I am reminded of a commentary series called The NIV Application
Commentary. The writers of this series of commentaries believe that explaining the original meaning of a book
or passage of Scripture only completes half of a Bible teacher’s job. These commentary writers believe that it is
vital that contemporary application is also applied to the ancient text. Therefore, we must learn how to explain
the original meaning while giving a correct life application to our modern contextual and cultural setting. These
contextual and cultural settings will vary from community to community and from country to country. Because
we live in a global society as never experienced in any other church age, it is no longer possible to ignore the
financial plight of our brothers and sisters in developing nations. I am emphasizing this at the beginning of this
chapter because we will be exploring a major problem that was about to destroy the building process.
Nehemiah was experiencing trouble from without in chapter four, but in chapter five, we will see that trouble
from within was tearing apart this Jewish community. That problem is what we call social justice in our modern
world. This is a major problem that churches in the entire world are confronted with. How does the
contemporary church take this ancient text and apply its teaching? This is a major question that the church can
no longer ignore because the poor are exploited, especially in developing nations! We must also explore the
biblical doctrine of ownership versus stewardship. Does the Bible teach us that wealth is ours to do with as we
choose, or are we merely stewards entrusted with wealth?

Much has been written on social and economic justice, and it is beyond the scope of this book to adequately
explore all of the scriptures that deal with these issues. However, it is very plain that the Jews had violated the
Torah as found in Exodus 22:12-27, Leviticus 25:35-54, and Deuteronomy 23:19-20. To apply these passages of
scripture to ourselves, we must ask if the fear of God is demonstrated in the ways we deal with our money. Do
you deal with your money to reflect your concern for God’s reputation among the nations? Ultimately,
everything belongs to the Lord, and He gives wealth and brings poverty. (I Samuel 2:7 The Lord brings poverty
and gives wealth… Psalm 24:1)

1. Nehemiah’s problem (5:1-5)
1There was a widespread outcry from the people and their wives against their Jewish countrymen. 2 Some
were saying, “We, our sons, and our daughters are numerous. Let us get grain so that we can eat and live.” 3
Others were saying, “We are mortgaging our fields, vineyards, and homes to get grain during the famine.” 4
Still others were saying, “We have borrowed money to pay the king’s tax on our fields and vineyards. 5 We
and our children, and we are ⌊just⌋ like our countrymen and their children, yet we are subjecting our sons and

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