Restoring Relationships
Nehemiah 5
5 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 boughtback 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 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 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.
This Sunday’s service can be view on our Facebook page @ Sunday, January 22, 2023
We will speak the truth in love,
growing in every way more and more like Christ,
who is the head of his body, the church.
He makes the whole body fit together perfectly.
As each part does its own special work,
it helps the other parts grow,
so that the whole body is healthy and growing
and full of love.
Ephesians 4:15-16 (NLT)
A friend asked me recently why almost every employer asks this question when you are interviewing for a job, “Tell me about a time you had a conflict at work. How did you handle it?” I think it is a great question to ask because when people work together there WILL be conflicts that will take place. One of my mentors expressed to me that, “most of the defining moments of your life will be born out of some area of conflict.” He further articulated the majority of people he knew spent their lives trying to avoid conflict rather than learning how to effectively deal with it. When he asked me which of these camps I found myself in, I quickly changed the subject!
Honestly, I would rather NOT have to deal with conflict, but I learned long ago that expecting and preparing for conflict was a much better solution. In our study of Nehemiah we find that he was constantly having to deal with crisis and conflict in his life. He did not shy away from it, instead, he moved in and through it in order to achieve the best possible outcome. Maturity happens when we are able to be both defined and connected in most situations we find ourselves in.
First, we define ourselves when we say, clearly and courageously, with our words and our actions, who we are, what we think, what we believe, what we want, and what we will (or won’t) do. Second, we value giving others the opportunity to define themselves. We invite others to say who they are and what they think and believe, even if it is different from us.
Jesus gives us some of the best examples of this. He had the ability to stay connected with those who didn’t understand him or his mission and even those who opposed him at every turn. He valued Peter, who at times undermined Jesus’s mission and even betrayed him. Jesus frequently entered into prophetic debate with the religious leaders who were trying to trap him and then accepted invitations to eat in their homes. Even on the cross, he connected to his enemies by asking his Father to forgive them.
It is tricky to do both of these things at the same time, to be both defined and connected. We often give up our connections to people with whom we disagree in order to hold on to our convictions. Or we give up our convictions in order to stay connected. This Sunday we are going to look at Nehemiah’s and Jesus’ example to learn some of their secrets of success in this area! It is one of keys ways of restoring and keeping a right relationship with others.
Grateful to journey with you,
Pastor John