NEHEMIAH MOMENT – (25MAY19) The people complained to Nehemiah
that they were being taken advantage of by their fellow Jews. There was a
famine in the land, and they were having to mortgage their houses, sell their fields,
vineyards, and olive trees as well as enslave their children to fellow Jews in
order to eat. This was totally against the Law of Moses and Nehemiah let the
nobles and officials know that they were wrong. He told the guilty parties to
correct their injustices as well as return the interest on loans that they charged
their fellow Jews. Nehemiah was the governor over them, but he did not go along
with the corruption of his fellow nobles and officials. Although he was entitled
to certain financial benefits, because of his position with the king, he did
not take it, so that he would not present a burden to the people.
Sometimes, those who profess to be your brothers and sisters
in the Lord are the very ones who exploit you for their own financial gain as
was the case in this story. We see pastors living wealthy off of the sacrifices
of the people in their midst, while these same people struggle to make ends
meet week after week. Such false leaders make the people feel as if they are
somehow deserving of their wealth because after all – God wants them to be
rich, or does he? Nowhere in the Bible does it say that those who preach and
teach are to become wealthy off of the people’s backs.
If we look at the lives of the prophets, priests, and
apostles, we would see that they lived quite contrary to today’s leaders. Jeremiah
spent time in a cistern. Micaiah spent time in prison. John the Baptist lived
in the wilderness. Jesus had no home. John lived in exile. Therefore, where do
today’s modern-day leaders get that they are to live a life of excess? The Bible rebukes this and so should we. We
are never to take advantage of the less fortunate to make ourselves comfortable.
God does love a cheerful giver, but the giver is never to be exploited.
Something to ponder…
QUESTION OF
THE DAY – (25MAY19) Nehemiah was faced with opposition from every side while he
was rebuilding the wall just as Ezra was when he was rebuilding the temple. The
enemies of the Jews did not want to see them come up as a people, and made it their
mission to do what they could to hinder the progress of the rebuilding. Despite
their attempts, God was in the midst and did not allow for His work to be left
incomplete. The wall was finished in an astounding fifty-two days because
Nehemiah kept prayer at the forefront of the mission.
What do you
do when you are faced with opposition? Do you panic and allow yourself to be
filled with anxiety and worry, or do you go to your knees and submit your
troubles to the Lord? There is a saying, “If you are going to worry, then don’t
pray, but if you are going to pray, then don’t worry.” Jesus said that we are
not to worry about tomorrow because each day will take care of itself. The same
God who brought you through yesterday, last week, last month, and last year, is
the same God who will carry you through today, tomorrow, next week, next month,
and next year. Turn your fears over to the One who can make them become your footstool.
Something to ponder…
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