Friday, September 30, 2016

Friday, September 30th: Nehemiah 5-7 ~ Conrad

Today's passage from the Bible In a Year Reading Plan is: Nehemiah 5-7

"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"  Nehemiah 5:7

One of the points I got from reading this verse is that despite the fact that Nehemiah was angry with the way the nobles were handling the people and their affairs, he first took time to ponder the situation before talking to the nobles.  How often out of frustration do we want to jump right in with the accusations and not take the required time to ponder like Nehemiah did? 

The other thought that came to mind was the concept of debt.  My Bible had a side note that related this to the fact that God loves the poor and He does not want people to take advantage of them, which is why there were strict regulations on debts.  Like the cancelation of debts at the end of every seven years, and the Year of Jubilee (cancellation of debt, the liberation of slaves, and the return of land to the original owner on the fiftieth year).  

Debt is also used as a symbol for sin.  Christ dying on the cross for our sins is how our debt has been paid.  Christ's death was the only way to pay the price, and this was something we could have never done on our own.

This verse also pointed out to me that we too are required to forgive.  God loved first so that we would love others.  He also forgave first, so that we too would forgive others.  

Nehemiah's deep concern and passion for what God's people were going through and his intense desire to help them is a model for us all to follow.



Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage: Nehemiah 8-10

2 comments:

Nathan said...

Nehemiah 5:9
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?

The Israelites were going down that same path of sin as before, this bothered Nehemiah and he wanted to have things made right before the Israelites wasted away this second chance. Do I make changes after sinning, after being forgiven and given a second chance?

Tammy said...

Great post Conrad!

I noticed this verse....
6:15 The former governors, in contrast, had laid heavy burdens on the people, demanding a daily ration of food and wine, besides forty pieces of silver. Even their assistants took advantage of the people. But because I feared God, I did not act that way.

If we claim to fear God, we must act differently than those around us. If we don't act any differently, it's time for some self examination.