Nehemiah 5:14 - Meaning and Application

Nehemiah had already mentioned his own conduct to urge the nobles not to burden the poor, even with lawful demands. Here he explains his practice more fully, not out of pride or self-praise, but to encourage later governors and lesser officials to be as gentle as possible with the people’s burdens.

He first points out what the earlier governors had done, though he does not name them. He leaves out their names because what he says about them is not to their credit, and it is often wise to spare names in such cases. The people knew how costly those rulers had been, and how heavily the nation paid for their government. Their pay was forty shekels of silver, about five pounds a day, probably. But on top of that, they expected the people to provide bread and wine as part of their office, and they allowed their servants to squeeze money out of the people as well.

This shows that it is nothing new for people in public office to think first of themselves and use the public for personal gain. It also shows that masters must answer for the fraud, injustice, violence, and oppression they allow in their servants.

Nehemiah then tells us about his own way of acting. In general, he did not do what the former governors had done. He would not do it, and he says he dared not do it because he feared God. He lived with reverence for God’s greatness and with fear of his judgment. That fear kept him from oppressing the people, because those who truly fear God will not dare to act cruelly or unfairly. And it was that alone that restrained him. He was generous, not to win human praise or gain advantage with the people, but out of conscience because he feared God. That is a strong and pleasing motive for both justice and kindness.

The former governors had made money from their office, but Nehemiah gained nothing except the joy of doing good. He says, “We did not buy any land” (Neh. 5:16). Do not think this means he was careless with money. It means he was a good governor who did not work to fill his own house. We should remember the Lord’s words, “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Act. 20:35).

More specifically, Nehemiah tells us how little he took for himself. He did the work of a governor, but he did not eat the governor’s bread (Neh. 5:14), and he did not demand it (Neh. 5:18). He was so far from pressing for more than his due that he did not even ask for what belonged to the office. Instead, he lived on what he had received in the king of Persia’s court and on his own property in Judea. His reason was simple, the burden on the people was heavy. He could have used the common excuse that it would be unfair to future governors if he did not claim his rights. But he looked at the suffering of the Jews and would not add to their load. He was ready to lessen his own estate rather than ruin them. In our demands, we must think not only about what is fair, but also about what the other person can bear. If there is nothing to be had, the one who claims the right is the loser.

Nehemiah also gave much that he might have kept back. His servants were put to work (Neh. 5:16). Servants of princes usually think they are excused from labor, but Nehemiah’s servants were all gathered into the work, no doubt by his order. Those who have many servants should think carefully about how those servants can be useful for good and kept busy in honest work.

He also gave of his own food (Neh. 5:17, 18). He kept a very generous table, not just on special days but all the time. He hosted many honored guests, at least 150 of his own countrymen, men of the first rank, as well as strangers who came to him with business. He provided them with plenty of food and drink. Those in public office should remember that they were raised up to do good, not to enrich themselves. And those in humbler places should learn to show hospitality to one another without grumbling (1Pe. 4:9).

Nehemiah ends with a prayer: “Think upon me, my God, for good” (Neh. 5:19). He mentions what he had done for the people, not proudly, as if boasting, and not angrily, as if rebuking them. He seems to have said it to shame the rulers out of their oppression. Let them learn from him not to be greedy in what they ask for, or stingy in what they spend, and then they would have the honor and joy of generosity, as he had.

He also brings the matter before God in prayer, not as if he deserved God’s favor as a payment, but to show that he did not look for reward from people. He depended on God alone to make up what he had lost and given away for God’s honor. He counted God’s favor reward enough. “If God only thinks of me for good, I have enough.” God’s thoughts toward us are our happiness (Psa. 40:5). He leaves it with God to repay him in whatever way pleases him. If people forget me, let my God remember me, and I need nothing more.