Confront Evil and Rectify What Is Wrong
Now the men and their wives raised a great outcry against their fellow Jews. Some were saying, "We and our sons and daughters are numerous; in order for us to eat and stay alive, we must get grain."
Others were saying, "We are mortgaging our fields, our vineyards and our homes to get grain during the famine."
Still others were saying, "We have had to borrow money to pay the king's tax on our fields and vineyards. 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."
When I heard their outcry and these charges, I was very angry. I pondered them in my mind and then accused the nobles and officials.
. . . So I called together a large meeting to deal with them . . . They kept quiet, because they could find nothing to say.
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? . . . 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."
"We will give it back," they said, "And we will not demand anything more from them. We will do as you say." Nehemiah 5:1-12
Others were saying, "We are mortgaging our fields, our vineyards and our homes to get grain during the famine."
Still others were saying, "We have had to borrow money to pay the king's tax on our fields and vineyards. 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."
When I heard their outcry and these charges, I was very angry. I pondered them in my mind and then accused the nobles and officials.
. . . So I called together a large meeting to deal with them . . . They kept quiet, because they could find nothing to say.
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? . . . 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."
"We will give it back," they said, "And we will not demand anything more from them. We will do as you say." Nehemiah 5:1-12
The Bible declares that the heart of man is desperately wicked and beyond cure (Jeremiah 17:9). It is rather perplexing to think that in a time of national crisis when everyone was sacrificing to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem to protect the nation, there were some whose sole concern was to enrich themselves by taking advantage of the poor. This was in spite of the fact that there was also a famine in the land. The rich were getting richer by charging exorbitant interest and taking the fields, vineyards, homes, and the sons and daughters of their fellow Jews as collateral for the money and grains they lent to them.
Being the good, forthright, and godly leader he was, Nehemiah publicly confronted the perpetrators with their evil deeds. It is noteworthy that Nehemiah called this meeting right in the middle of the task of rebuilding the wall. The plight of the underprivileged was of paramount importance to him. What was the point in building a beautiful wall that would only encircle social discontent, pain, injustice, and poverty? He stopped everything and placed a premium on securing the well-being of the poor.
Nehemiah did not close his eyes and turn a deaf ear to evil. He confronted the evildoers and rectified what was wrong! You and I have an obligation to do whatever we can to confront evil in our communities and help rectify injustice in every way possible. It is a godly thing to do.
Prayer: Lord, please help me to do whatever I can to confront evil and rectify injustice. Amen.