The Servant Restores the People
Rebuilding: The Book of Nehemiah • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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· 1 viewExemplary service transforms the community.
Notes
Transcript
Prompt the people to pray. Then to Stan for the reading of the Bible.
Read Nehemiah 5:6-13
Nehemiah 5:6–13 (ESV)
I was very angry when I heard their outcry and these words. I took counsel with myself, and I brought charges against the nobles and the officials. I said to them, “You are exacting interest, each from his brother.”
And I held a great assembly against them and said to them, “We, as far as we are able, have bought back our Jewish brothers who have been sold to the nations, but you even sell your brothers that they may be sold to us!”
They were silent and could not find a word to say. So I said, “The thing that you are doing is not good. Ought you not to walk in the fear of our God to prevent the taunts of the nations our enemies? Moreover, I and my brothers and my servants are lending them money and grain. Let us abandon this exacting of interest. Return to them this very day their fields, their vineyards, their olive orchards, and their houses, and the percentage of money, grain, wine, and oil that you have been exacting from them.”
Then they said, “We will restore these and require nothing from them. We will do as you say.” And I called the priests and made them swear to do as they had promised.
I also shook out the fold of my garment and said, “So may God shake out every man from his house and from his labor who does not keep this promise. So may he be shaken out and emptied.” And all the assembly said “Amen” and praised the Lord. And the people did as they had promised.
What is my attitude towards suffering and oppression in the world?
5773 Beware of being in bondage to yourself or to other people. Oppression and depression never come from the Spirit of God. He never oppresses, he convicts and comforts.
Oswald Chambers
While the circumstance in the text deals with usury (the financial abuse of people by charging interest) the core issue is far more existential.
Suffering is a Result of Sinfulness.
Suffering is a Result of Sinfulness.
Nehemiah presents the issue in his report/memoir to highlight God’s response.
The people are exposed to the cultures around them and it clouds their best judgment.
The selfishness of their hearts leads to the suffering of those around them; even their own people.
To take usury for money lent is unjust in itself, because this is to sell what does not exist, and this evidently leads to inequality which is contrary to justice.
Thomas Aquinas
What is our attitude towards injustice as exemplified in the Bible?
God’s Servants Seek to Establish Righteousness.
God’s Servants Seek to Establish Righteousness.
Human beings would like to think that they can attain God’s standard of righteousness merely by adding to their own, but since the two kinds of righteousness are different in nature, this is impossible.
James Montgomery Boice
Rightly do we read the words of the Savior as he teaches the crowds in Matthew 5:6
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
Nehemiah faces a communal sin and sees that the community cannot be restored unless every wrong is set right.
The reality of Nehemiah’s day is present today—We must advocate for what is holy and pure.
Disciples of Jesus Christ must see to set all things under the sovereignty of the Living God.
Righteousness Flows From God-Centered Love.
Righteousness Flows From God-Centered Love.
Worship and service are interchangeable terms. Indeed, we ourselves say both that we going into the house of God to worship God and that we are going to a service in the house of God.
Christian Conduct, 57
David Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Nehemiah is led by the concern for God’s character and the wellbeing of the people.
The Work to mend a community is also a work to mend what is broken in the community.
Nehemiah is showing the power of the God to transform people individually and collectively.
Hear the Gospel fulfilled in the words of the New Testament:
And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read.
And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him.
And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
The ultimate restoration of the human race to the perfect maturity that is Jesus Christ. The call of the Church is to love God and serve one another to the benefit of humanity and for God’s glory.
The Righteous Heart is Filled with Humility.
The Righteous Heart is Filled with Humility.
The Old Testament states the obvious, which the world thinks contrary to the norm:
The fear of the Lord is instruction in wisdom, and humility comes before honor.
One of the Early Church Fathers states it best:
For those who would learn God’s ways, humility is the first thing, humility is the second, humility is the third.
Augustine of Hippo
Nehemiah sought after God in prayer.
Nehemiah continually sought God as he led the people to God.
Nehemiah shows the condition of his heart as he expresses his concern for others and speaks with his actions.
What is my attitude towards suffering and oppression in the world?
Nehemiah Restores a Nation; Jesus Christ Restores Humanity.
Nehemiah Restores a Nation; Jesus Christ Restores Humanity.
The Christian Faith stands as the standard of true freedom.
Disciples of Jesus are called to intercede for one another.
The ultimate message of hope is the Gospel message.
If we walk in the light of God’s grace, we must remind ourselves of this daily. If we have not repented and believed in that Jesus Christ is the LORD and the only way to eternal life, then today I encourage you to consider God’s grace and mercy offered through the cross and the empty tomb.