Nehemiah 5:6 - Meaning and Application

It seems this complaint was brought to Nehemiah while he was already overwhelmed with public work on the wall. Still, because he saw that it was a just complaint, he did not reject it as badly timed. He did not scold the people for interrupting him, and he did not delay the matter until he had more free time. The need was urgent, and he knew that no matter how high, thick, or strong Jerusalem’s walls became, the city would not be safe if such wrongs were allowed to continue.

Notice the way he dealt with this serious problem. First, he became very angry, as Nehemiah 5:6 says. He showed that he strongly disapproved of the evil. It is fitting for leaders to show anger against sin, because that anger can push them to act and can warn others away from doing wrong.

Second, he thought carefully before he acted, as Nehemiah 5:7 says. This shows that his anger stayed under control, and that he did not speak or act rashly, even though he was deeply upset. Before he rebuked the nobles, he considered what to say, when to say it, and how to say it. Reproof needs careful handling, or even a good correction may fail to do any good.

Third, he rebuked the nobles and rulers, the wealthy men whose power may have made them bolder in oppressing others. Even nobles and rulers, if they do evil, must be told so by the right people. No one should think rank puts him beyond correction.

Fourth, he called a great assembly against them. He gathered the people as witnesses to what he said and to support the charge against the oppression and extortion their leaders had committed, as later noted in Nehemiah 5:12. Ezra and Nehemiah were both wise and godly men, yet they handled similar situations differently. Ezra, when told of the rulers’ sin in marrying foreign wives, tore his clothes, wept, and prayed, and he was hard to persuade to act because he had such a gentle spirit. Nehemiah, when told of a sin just as serious, burned with anger at once, reproached the guilty men, stirred up the people against the wrong, and kept at the matter until he forced reform, because he had a more fiery spirit.

Very godly people can differ a great deal in natural temperament, and in other things that flow from it. God’s work can be done well and successfully in different ways, so we should not condemn how others manage it, or make our own method the only right one. There are different kinds of working, but the same Spirit.

Fifth, he reasoned with them plainly and showed them the evil of what they were doing. The normal way to reform people’s lives is first to convince their consciences. He brought several strong reasons before them, and each one was fitting and true.

He reminded them that the people they were oppressing were their own brothers: “You are charging interest to each other.” It was bad enough to oppress strangers, but it was much worse to oppress poor brothers, especially since God’s law did not allow them to charge such interest to one another (Deuteronomy 23:19-20).

He also reminded them that they had only recently been freed from the hands of the heathen. The whole people had been rescued by God’s wonderful providence, and some had even been personally redeemed from heathen masters through the cost and effort of Nehemiah and other good people. In effect, he says, “Have we gone to all this trouble to win back their freedom from the heathen, only for their own rulers to enslave them again? Must we go through the same costly work to redeem them from you that we did to redeem them from Babylon?” (Nehemiah 5:8). Those whom God has set free by his grace should not be brought again under slavery (Galatians 5:1; 1 Corinthians 7:23).

He then said this was a great sin against the poor (Nehemiah 5:9). “What you are doing is not good. Even if you make money from it, you are adding guilt to yourselves. Should you not walk in the fear of God?” They claimed to belong to God, so they should have lived in reverence for him. If they truly feared God, they would not have chased worldly gain or treated their brothers cruelly. Those who walk in the fear of God will not dare to do wicked things (Job 31:13-14, 23).

He also told them they were bringing shame on their faith. “Think about the reproach this brings from the heathen, our enemies,” he said. Those enemies were against them, against their God, and against their holy religion. They would gladly use this as an excuse to speak badly of the Jews: “These Jews profess such devotion to God, yet look how cruel they are to one another.” All who profess religion should be careful not to bring reproach on it before outsiders. Nothing dishonors religion more than the worldliness and hardness of heart shown by its own professed followers.

Finally, he pointed to his own example (Nehemiah 5:10), which he later explains more fully in Nehemiah 5:14 and following. Those who strongly insist on their own rights have a poor face when they try to persuade others to give up theirs.

Sixth, he strongly urged them not only to stop making hard bargains with their poor neighbors, but also to give back what they had already taken, as Nehemiah 5:11 says. Notice how familiarly he speaks: “Let us stop this charging of interest.” He includes himself, as reprovers should, even though he was not guilty of the sin. Notice also how earnestly, yet humbly, he pleads: “I pray you, stop,” and “I pray you, give it back.” Though he had authority to command, he chose rather to ask out of love. He also pressed them in detail to show kindness to the poor, return their pledged property, restore them to their lands, cancel the interest, and give them more time to repay the principal. He was asking them to give up what was legally or financially theirs, but in doing their duty, they would in the end profit. What we forgive in kindness will be remembered and rewarded, just as what we give in kindness will be.

He got a promise from them, as Nehemiah 5:12 says, “We will restore them.” Then he brought in the priests to make them take an oath that they would carry out that promise. Since their minds were now settled and they seemed determined, he wanted to hold them firmly to it.

He also placed them under a serious curse, hoping it would make them fearfully careful. He said, “May God shake out every man who does not keep this promise,” as in Nehemiah 5:13. This was a clear warning that God would surely do it. The people answered, “Amen,” just as they did to the curses at Mount Ebal (Deuteronomy 27), so that if they broke their word, they would, in effect, call down judgment on themselves.

The people praised the Lord with that Amen. They were not promising with reluctance, but with joy and thankfulness. David did something similar when he took God’s vows on himself, and he sang praise afterward (Psalm 56:12). That cheerful promise was good, but what came next was even better: they actually did what they had promised.

They held to their word, unlike their ancestors in a similar situation, who made people free and then forced them back into slavery a little later (Jeremiah 34:10-11). Good promises are a good thing, but keeping them is what matters most.