Nehemiah 5:1-13 Beware of internal struggle in the use of finances, God's fame is at stake

Nehemiah 5:1-13 Beware of internal struggle in the use of finances, God's fame is at stake

There are three groups mentioned:

The first group (1) were families who owned no land, and so were first to feel the effects of a lack of income from laboring while engaged on the wall-building.

The second group (2) were already mortgaging their land and would lose their security altogether if they could not repay their debts from the annual harvest.

The third group (3) were apparently having to borrow in order to pay their taxes.

For all of them, the sense of social injustice was aggravated by the facts that their creditors were fellow-Jews (1, 5) and that they were reaching the point of having to sell themselves into debt-slavery.²

Regarding how the people were to treat each other when borrowing and lending and in need, the Scriptures are clear on this point.

Leviticus 25:35-43; Exodus 22:25-27; Deuteronomy 15:7-11

Observations

1. Nehemiah was himself guilty v. 6, 10

2. There was an effort to buy back their brothers who had sold themselves into debt-slavery so that they could be free, and then have committed the same evil that they had taken effort to rescue their brothers from. v. 8

3. There was a public call for repentance v. 8-12

1. Fear God
2. Be aware of God's reputation among the nations
3. Abandon the practice immediately
4. Return what has been taken in interest or pledge
5. Require nothing in return for assistance granted
6. Made a public oath to comply with the Scriptures
7. Request that God bring retribution on the person who does not comply

8. Public worship and action on the issues at hand

The main point of emphasis is verse 9b “Ought you not to walk in the fear of our God to prevent the taunts of the nations our enemies?”

In other words, their behavior internally directly affected their worship and their mission.

How must we, in light of this text, groom our internal behavior so that our worship is right and our mission goes forward?

1. Fear God in our financial dealings with each other, particularly with those in need

                  A. Default to Scripture not cultural norms (if I have it, spend it on me and my                   wants)

                                    1. Make room to help those in need in our church

                                                      a. For those who need a job, give them one Leviticus 19:9, 10

                                    2. Help the one working hard (church and professional life) and life                                                                         circumstances slam them

                                    3. Obey the Holy Spirit inclination of your new heart regarding profit

                                                      a. Honest business for profit is good with legitimate patrons

                                                      b. Intentionally trying to get all one can from a patron in greed is                                                                         wrong

                                    4. Do not get at the expense of others in greed, this make's resources one's                                                       idol

2. Fear God in our financial dealings with those outside the church

                  A. Conduct business with Integrity outside of the church⁷

Matthew 5:13-16 “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”

                                    1. Don't be “that guy”

                                                      a. The dirty business owner that has the fish on his advertisements

                                                      b. The loud, rude and cheap patron

                                    2. The reputation of Jesus Christ is at stake!!!

                                                      a. Approach every interaction as if you are going to preach the                                                                         Gospel

3. Fear God by being a faithful financial manager of God's resources

                  A. The people in Nehemiah were gaining/using funds as if the funds actually                   belonged to them 1. They should have been giving rather than hoarding

                  B. 10 % of the membership of TRCC contributes to the mission financially

                                    1. Repent of the view that your time and money are yours

                                    2. Repent of the view that you deserve to have more

                                    3. Repent of “gleaning” up to the edge of the field (don't max out usage of

                                    God's resources)

                                    4. Begin worshiping with you finances, they are God's anyway

                                    5. Give liberally with a cheerful heart

1 Carson, D. A. (1994). New Bible commentary : 21st century edition (4th ed.) (Ne 5:1–13). Leicester, England; Downers Grove, Ill., USA: Inter-Varsity Press.

2 Carson, D. A. (1994). New Bible commentary : 21st century edition (4th ed.) (Ne 5:1–13). Leicester, England; Downers Grove, Ill., USA: Inter-Varsity Press.

3 The Holy Bible : English standard version. 2001 (Dt 15:7–11D). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.

4 Freeman, J. M., & Chadwick, H. J. (1998). Manners & customs of the Bible (Rev. ed.].) (288–289). North Brunswick, NJ: Bridge-Logos Publishers.

5 The Holy Bible : English standard version. 2001 (Le 19:9–10L). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.

6 Rooker, M. F. (2001). Vol. 3A: Leviticus (electronic ed.). Logos Library System; The New American Commentary (311). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.

7Emmett Long in conversation regarding how Chick-fil-A conducts business and still makes a profit in light of similar restaurant chains losing money in the current economic climate.

Nehemiah 4:15-23 Sword and Trowel

Nehemiah 4:15-23 The sword and the Trowel (Work and War)

I did some digging and found that one of my favorite preachers, Charles Haddon Spurgeon, named his magazine “The Sword and the Trowel” after the passage of Scripture we will be looking at today.

“Paul tells us that the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God, to the pulling down of strongholds. He probably had in his mind's eye the corvus, which the Romans employed in destroying fortifications, and certainly it aptly sets forth the work of Christians when attacking the citadels of error. We must sharply grapple the false doctrine, driving the sharp hook of truth between its joints; we must clearly understand the error, and study the Word of God, so as to be able to controvert it. The great corvus of Scripture is a mighty puller down. Then unitedly with earnest tug of prayer and faithful testimony, we must throw down piece by piece the mischievous system of falsehood, be it never so great or high. Stone by stone the wall comes down, it is long and arduous work to destroy error; many hands and hearts must unite, and then with perseverance all must labor and wait. Tracts, sermons, lectures, speeches, prayers, all must be ropes with which to drag the bulwarks down. God's blessing rests on the faithful endeavors of those who overturn the castles of error, and though their work may not speedily succeed, the great result is sure. A Reformation is as much needed now as in Luther's day, and by God's grace we shall have it, if we trust in him and publish his truth. The cry is, "Overturn, overturn, overturn, till He shall come whose right it is.” Reader, are you doing service in the Lord's war, which he is now waging? You know the errors of Rome, are you doing anything to withstand them? You see the Popery and iniquity of the National Establishment. Are you in your measure exposing it? Infidelity is still mighty, do you contend for God and for his Word? Sin still reigns over millions, do you seek their salvation? If not, why not? Are you yourself on the Lord's side? Oh may the grace of God lead you to trust in the great bloodshedding of Jesus, by which he has put away sin; and then may his love constrain you to aid in dragging down the ramparts of evil.” CH Spurgeon

I give you this quote not so much for the exact nature of what Spurgeon was addressing but for the heart that is pushing the content and tone. It is the heart that is unseen but sternly felt.

It is the heart of Nehemiah in 4:15-23: alert, engaged, working hard, ready for war, radical trust in God, a love for the church (people of God), a heart with sword and trowel.

The work of God’s kingdom, the war against the evil one, sin and unbelief are not separable and do not have clean boundaries. When we work, there is always the threat of war. When we are fully engaged in war there is work to be done.

Verse 16, 17, 18 Diversity in function and gifts is vital

In building the city there was someone for every task and every task was important.

In building the church there is someone for every task and every task is important.

The work was well defended. Hands were pulled off of laying brick to wield the sword, but this meant the work was well covered with defenders to prevent work stoppage and loss of life.

A. There was a construction crew verse 16a

B. There was a defense crew verse 16b

C. There was load carriers verse 17a

D. There was a trumpeter to call all to war verse 18

1. In our work there are hands on ministry people

2. In our work there are prayers who intercede

Ephesians 6:10 talks about spiritual warfare and the armor and weaponry

we have. It tells us that prayer takes up this armor and weaponry.

- We must defend the work we do with prayer that puts on armor.

3. In our work there are leaders who discover the work and

call the people together for the task

4. In our work there are prophets who speak a word of

encouragement or warning

Verse 22 Community is vital defense

“Let every man and his servant pass the night within Jerusalem”

Being together and not spread thin was vital for the work and for defense.

1 Corinthians 5

Verse 5 and 9-12 help us understand the nature of church discipline that is effective. It is the person in unrepentant sin that is excluded from fellowship that is “delivered over to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.”

In other words, the defense of the community is a strong defense against the Evil one.

Father, Son and Spirit are in community. We are to be imitators of God, who is in community. When we do not imitate that we are virtually defenseless.

Hebrews 10:24, 25 “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”

1. People out of community are susceptible to attack

a. Pride at one’s theological superiority (can’t find a church to be part

of)

b. Continually giving in to sinful impulses

c. Temptation to give up the biblical ideal for an inferior solution (how

do we support the right? How do we keep marriages together?)

2. Get involved in community inside the local church

a. Not just bible studies comprised of people from various churches

1. This leads to spiritual fatness and a lack of work

b. Community that is pointed in a very clear direction

1. This leads to spiritual health that is designed for

strong work

Verse 19, 20, 21 Faith and works go hand in hand.

The trust that God would fight for them was not divorced from the work building the wall.

1. We have to trust

a. We must build our confidence through bible study

b. We must build our confidence through the study of saints lives

2. We have to go after hard works

a. We must test our trust with great ventures for God’s glory

Verse 23 Always be ready for work and war

“So neither I nor my brothers nor my servants nor the men of the guard who followed me, none of us took off our cloths; each kept his weapon at his right hand (each his weapon the water).”

Every man was always ready to fight, even while getting a drink of water. They did not take plays off, the work and the war was too important.

A. Always be on task physically (in work or intentional rest; be intentional)

1. It’s when one becomes idle that they get into trouble.

B. Always be on task mentally and spiritually (don’t let your mind wander)

1. It’s always at night before I go to sleep or when I wake early that

I’m most vulnerable.

1 Peter 5:8 “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”

Trusting God in Work and Trials Nehemiah 4:1-14

I. The Opposition Grows - 4:1-5

• Sanballat and Tobiah initially questioned the legitimacy of Nehemiah's plan to rebuild the wall. As the work progresses, they move from defiant questioning (2:19) to taunting [4:1-2) to violence (4:7-8,11).
• In opposing the work, they are not setting themselves against Nehemiah, but against God who had sent Nehemiah to rebuild the wall. (2:8, 20)
• Verses 4-5: instead of retaliating, Nehemiah calls on God to bring justice. A defining mark of Nehemiah's life - he continually acknowledges his dependence on God through prayer (1:4-11, 2:4, 4:9, 6:9, 6:14, etc.)

II. The People Work - 4:6

• As we saw in chapter 3, the people faithfully labor to restore the wall.
• The task was not easy - it was exhausting (v. 10), but the builders did not give up
• This was more than just dutiful labor, "the people had a mind to work"
  literally: "it was in the peoples' hearts to do the work"

III. The Situation Turns Desperate - 4:7-12

• Those opposed to the building concocted a plan to attack the builders and destroy the work (v. 7-8,11)
• The strength of the builders was failing; discouragement was growing (v. 10)
• The Jews living nearby pleaded with the builders to come and defend them, which would have left the work vulnerable to attack (v. 12)

IV. Nehemiah Demonstrates Godly Leadership - 4:13-14

• Nehemiah demonstrates the relationship of faith and works, (v. 9, 13-14)
• He encourages the people to not be afraid and to fight, not because of their ability but because of the character and promises of God.

Principles and Application

1. We are called to work- but it should not be a joyless duty. - Psalm 100:2; 2 Cor. 9:7
2. Opposition and trials will come as we seek to build God's kingdom.

• Nehemiah's response (4-5) was to commit the problem to God in prayer, which is commendable, for he thereby recognized that the insults were directed as much against God as against himself and that vindication should come from his Lord rather than his own efforts. Nevertheless, the sentiments he expressed have been superseded for the Christian (cf. e.g. Mt 5:43-48; 18:21-22; Rom. 12:14-21), for whom the work of Christ has provided an assurance of the final victory of love which Nehemiah could not possibly have known.
  - DA Carson, et al - New Bible Commentary

3. Both in work and in trials: "Remember the Lord"-Matt. 5:11-12;
Matt 28:20;John 15:18, 20; John 6:33; 2 Timothy 3:12;
Hebrews 13:5-6; 1 Corinthians 15:10