1 Now there arose a great outcry of the people and of their wives against their Jewish brothers. 2 For there were those who said, “With our sons and our daughters, we are many. So let us get grain, that we may eat and keep alive.” 3 There were also those who said, “We are mortgaging our fields, our vineyards, and our houses to get grain because of the famine.” 4 And there were those who said, “We have borrowed money for the king's tax on our fields and our vineyards. 5 Now our flesh is as the flesh of our brothers, our children are as their children. Yet we are forcing our sons and our daughters to be slaves, and some of our daughters have already been enslaved, but it is not in our power to help it, for other men have our fields and our vineyards.”

6 I was very angry when I heard their outcry and these words. 7 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 8 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. 9 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? 10 Moreover, I and my brothers and my servants are lending them money and grain. Let us abandon this exacting of interest. 11 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.” 12 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. 13 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.

14 Moreover, from the time that I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year to the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes the king, twelve years, neither I nor my brothers ate the food allowance of the governor. 15 The former governors who were before me laid heavy burdens on the people and took from them for their daily ration forty shekels of silver. Even their servants lorded it over the people. But I did not do so, because of the fear of God. 16 I also persevered in the work on this wall, and we acquired no land, and all my servants were gathered there for the work. 17 Moreover, there were at my table 150 men, Jews and officials, besides those who came to us from the nations that were around us. 18 Now what was prepared at my expense for each day was one ox and six choice sheep and birds, and every ten days all kinds of wine in abundance. Yet for all this I did not demand the food allowance of the governor, because the service was too heavy on this people. 19 Remember for my good, O my God, all that I have done for this people.” – Nehemiah 5:1-19 ESV

As the walls went up, the people’s morale plummeted. This unexpected outcome must have left Nememiah perplexed. Was it his plan for a division of the labor that had ended up dividing the laborers? Were the people frustrated with their job assignments or workload? Had they become disgruntled about their benefits package or lack of time off?

It seems that their discontentment had nothing to do with the work on the walls. There was a festering problem among the people of Judah of which Nehemiah was completely unaware. In his haste to rebuild the walls, he had overlooked a more pressing need that posed an even greater threat than Sanballat, Tobiah, and their companions. 

The people of Judah were divided. While they had managed to work side by side on the walls, they harbored long-standing resentment toward one another that stretched back long before Nehemiah’s arrival. The wall project had managed to unify them temporarily but it had also exacerbated a long-standing issue that threatened to undermine Nehemiah’s plans and all their hard work.

Since his arrival in Jerusalem, Nehemiah had made the rebuilding of the walls the highest priority. He had successfully organized the former exiles into work crews and provided them with the tools and motivation to get the job done. However, the intense work schedule forced many of them to neglect their own affairs. Fields went unplanted and harvests were neglected. The round-the-clock construction schedule made it difficult for parents to care for the well-being of their families. Household chores went undone. Sheep went unsheared. Flocks went unfed. And old resentments bubbled to the surface.

The complaints came in three forms. The first had to do with the division of food. Because everyone shared in the work, Nehemiah had arranged for everyone to get a fair share of the communal provisions. But it seems there were holes in his plan that allowed inequities to exist. Some of the larger families expressed frustration over their insufficient food allotments.

“We have such large families. We need more food to survive.” – Nehemiah 5:2 NLT

To make matters worse, a local famine had driven up food costs, forcing some to take drastic measures just to feed their families.

“We have mortgaged our fields, vineyards, and homes to get food during the famine.” – Nehemiah 5:3 NLT

A third group complained about the high taxes levied against them by King Artaxerxes. While they had labored long and hard on the walls, the king had not called off his tax collectors. This forced many of the Jews to take out high-interest loans using their property as collateral. Worse yet, some had become so desperate that they sold some of their children into slavery just so the rest could eat.

“We have had to borrow money on our fields and vineyards to pay our taxes. We belong to the same family as those who are wealthy, and our children are just like theirs. Yet we must sell our children into slavery just to get enough money to live. We have already sold some of our daughters, and we are helpless to do anything about it, for our fields and vineyards are already mortgaged to others.” – Nehemiah 5:4-5 NLT

What made this state of affairs even more shocking to Nehemiah was that Jews were taking advantage of their own. In other words, this was an in-house problem. The haves were abusing the have-nots. The wealthy were loaning money to their fellow Jews at high interest rates, in direct violation of God’s law.

“If one of your fellow Israelites falls into poverty and cannot support himself, support him as you would a foreigner or a temporary resident and allow him to live with you. Do not charge interest or make a profit at his expense. Instead, show your fear of God by letting him live with you as your relative. Remember, do not charge interest on money you lend him or make a profit on food you sell him. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to give you the land of Canaan and to be your God.” – Leviticus 25:35-38 NLT

Abuse of this law had been going on for some time. Long before Nehemiah showed up, the more affluent Jews had been using their God-given resources to profit from the hardships of the less fortunate among them. This kind of behavior had been forbidden by God.

“If you lend money to any of my people who are in need, do not charge interest as a money lender would.” – Exodus 22:25 NLT

Nehemiah became incensed when he discovered what was going on and gathered the Jewish nobles together so he could read them the riot act.

“You are hurting your own relatives by charging interest when they borrow money!” – Nehemiah 5:7 NLT

Their behavior was unlawful and unacceptable, and it had to stop. It seems that Nehemiah and others had used their personal resources to purchase the freedom of Jews who had become enslaved to Persian masters. These recently redeemed individuals had returned to Judah with Nehemiah and helped in the construction of the walls. Nehemiah never expected to hear that his fellow Jews were selling one another out just to line their own pockets. In his mind, this was far worse than anything Sanballat or Tobiah could have come up with. The Jews were actually destroying themselves from within.

Like a good leader, Nehemiah took action and demanded that reparations be made. He knew the walls couldn’t protect against this kind of self-destruction. It was Jesus who said, “If a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand” (Mark 3:25 ESV). The Proverbs put it this way: “Greed brings grief to the whole family, but those who hate bribes will live” (Proverbs 15:27 NLT).

The prophet Micah also wrote about his pressing problem.

What sorrow awaits you who lie awake at night,
    thinking up evil plans.
You rise at dawn and hurry to carry them out,
    simply because you have the power to do so.
When you want a piece of land,
    you find a way to seize it.
When you want someone’s house,
    you take it by fraud and violence.
You cheat a man of his property,
    stealing his family’s inheritance. – Micah 2:1-2 NLT

And Micah went on to share God’s prescribed judgment for those who do such things.

“I will reward your evil with evil;
    you won’t be able to pull your neck out of the noose.
You will no longer walk around proudly,
    for it will be a terrible time.” – Micah 2:3 NLT

And Nehemiah pulled no punches either, unapologetically calling out all the guilty parties and demanding immediate restitution.

“What you are doing is not right! Should you not walk in the fear of our God in order to avoid being mocked by enemy nations? I myself, as well as my brothers and my workers, have been lending the people money and grain, but now let us stop this business of charging interest. You must restore their fields, vineyards, olive groves, and homes to them this very day. And repay the interest you charged when you lent them money, grain, new wine, and olive oil.” – Nehemiah 5:9-11 NLT

Surprisingly, the people were convicted and willing to comply with Nehemiah’s demands. They wholeheartedly agreed to make things right, at great personal cost. Confiscated land would need to be restored. All interest would need to be repaid. On top of all this, the people agreed to cease and desist from further abuse of God’s law. It all ended here.

The walls of Jerusalem were little more than a symbol of the spiritual state of Judah. The fallen stones represented the fallen condition of God’s chosen people. Their spiritual lives lay in ruins because they had chosen to disobey His commands. Nehemiah’s efforts to rebuild the physical walls of the city would accomplish little if the people continued to operate in a state of spiritual fallenness and mutual self-destruction. Judah’s enemies could simply stand back and watch as the nation destroyed itself from within.

Their actions exhibited a disregard for God's law and a flippancy toward God's justice. They had no fear of God's retribution. And yet Nehemiah was a living example of what God expected. He feared God and demonstrated it by his actions. Rather than live off the salary available to him as governor, he paid his own way. Not only that, he fed and provided for 150 people – out of his own pocket. As the king-appointed governor, he didn't sit in his palace overseeing the work of rebuilding the wall. He got his hands dirty. He worked alongside the people and put up with the daily threats of his enemies. He had to deny their vicious rumors and continue to encourage the people to remain strong and faithful to their God-given task. Despite this serious setback, Nehemiah’s efforts proved successful and the wall was completed in only 52 days.

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.