Occupy Jerusalem

Nehemiah 5

 1 Now the men and their wives raised a great outcry against their fellow Jews. 2 Some were saying, “We and our sons and daughters are numerous; in order for us to eat and stay alive, we must get grain.”  3 Others were saying, “We are mortgaging our fields, our vineyards and our homes to get grain during the famine.”  4 Still others were saying, “We have had to borrow money to pay the king’s tax on our fields and vineyards. 5 Although we are of the same flesh and blood as our fellow Jews and though our children are as good as theirs, yet we have to subject our sons and daughters to slavery. Some of our daughters have already been enslaved, but we are powerless, because our fields and our vineyards belong to others.”  6 When I heard their outcry and these charges, I was very angry. 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 8 and said: “As far as possible, we have bought back our fellow Jews who were sold to the Gentiles. Now you are selling your own people, only for them to be sold back to us!” They kept quiet, because they could find nothing to say.  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? 10 I and my brothers and my men are also lending the people money and grain. But let us stop charging interest! 11 Give back to them immediately their fields, vineyards, olive groves and houses, and also the interest you are charging them—one percent of the money, grain, new wine and olive oil.”  12 “We will give it back,” they said. “And we will not demand anything more from them. We will do as you say.”    Then I summoned the priests and made the nobles and officials take an oath to do what they had promised. 13 I also shook out the folds of my robe and said, “In this way may God shake out of their house and possessions anyone who does not keep this promise. So may such a person be shaken out and emptied!”    At this the whole assembly said, “Amen,” and praised the LORD. And the people did as they had promised.  14 Moreover, from the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, until his thirty-second year—twelve years—neither I nor my brothers ate the food allotted to the governor. 15 But the earlier governors—those preceding me—placed a heavy burden on the people and took forty shekels[a] of silver from them in addition to food and wine. Their assistants also lorded it over the people. But out of reverence for God I did not act like that. 16Instead, I devoted myself to the work on this wall. All my men were assembled there for the work; we[b] did not acquire any land.  17 Furthermore, a hundred and fifty Jews and officials ate at my table, as well as those who came to us from the surrounding nations. 18 Each day one ox, six choice sheep and some poultry were prepared for me, and every ten days an abundant supply of wine of all kinds. In spite of all this, I never demanded the food allotted to the governor, because the demands were heavy on these people. 19 Remember me with favor, my God, for all I have done for these people.

It would be fairly easy to slide today’s passage into a purely political discussion and I have to admit that the temptation is great. That said, while I won’t promise not to touch on the relevance of this passage to current events here and over the rest of the world, I hope we can find a deeper truth in the passage. I hope that, together, we can find a way forward into our own story that allows the ancient story to resonate and illuminate.

Israel had been in exile – in Persia - and, although Nehemiah and others were allowed to return to Jerusalem, they were there at a foreign king’s pleasure and were arguably still in exile – while residing in their own land. Nehemiah had been granted to opportunity to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem and it was for this purpose that a great number of Jews had returned home. The Jewish society and economy, however, were not fully restored and the result seems to be a situation where a few benefitted financially during the return but many did not. In fact, it seems that our passage indicates that many Jews found themselves oppressed in their own homeland – not by the Persian government – but by their own.

Verse 1 of Jeremiah 5 says that “the men and their wives raised a great outcry against their fellow Jews.” They complained of lack of food for their families. They complained that they had been forced to incur debt in order to simply eat. And they complained that the lenders, other Jews, were charging high rates of interest and forcing them to mortgage their property – with all the associated risks – in order to survive.

Jeremiah hears the complaints of the poor in his community and he is angered. He strongly accuses the powerful, the rulers, the officials within his community. Not, by the way, the “religious” officials or leaders. Rather, he accuses the local Jewish government of oppressing their own people. He accuses the rich and powerful of benefiting at the expense of the poor and powerless. Nehemiah is angered by the disparity between the greatest and the least of his community and he speaks out for those whose voices had been ignored. 

“You are charging your own people interest!” So I called together a large meeting to deal with them 8 and said: “As far as possible, we have bought back our fellow Jews who were sold to the Gentiles. Now you are selling your own people, only for them to be sold back to us!” They kept quiet, because they could find nothing to say. 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? 10 I and my brothers and my men are also lending the people money and grain. But let us stop charging interest! 11 Give back to them immediately their fields, vineyards, olive groves and houses, and also the interest you are charging them—one percent of the money, grain, new wine and olive oil.”

and then an amazing thing happens. The accused officials and rulers respond:

12 “We will give it back,” they said. “And we will not demand anything more from them. We will do as you say.”

And then Nehemiah, in order to seal the deal, calls in the priests and makes the officials and rulers take an oath before the priests that they will return the possessions and property they have taken, return the interest they have charged, and treat the least in their community with justice and compassion.

This is sort of and “Occupy Jerusalem” moment…

Ok… in fairness… I did indicate that I might mention it…

In this ancient story we find a fairly modern and familiar situation. We live, if we are honest, in a society that values the beautiful, the powerful, the wealthy, and the successful.  And I do not suggest that this is completely surprising or even completely wrong. We certainly admire those who are visionaries… innovators and risk takers… and we should never resent their successes, financial or otherwise. 

However… when wealth becomes its own goal rather than the byproduct of vision or hard work - and when financial wealth is gained with little regard to its adverse effects on others… what is our responsibility?

Maybe it is to remember that we are citizens of another kingdom. Maybe to remember that while we remain in exile – remembering our passage a couple of weeks ago and the admonition to settle down and to live life where we are – and yet to always remember that our 1st and deepest responsibility is to His kingdom and his Kingship.

Maybe it is to look at our own country and even the world and to ask ourselves this:

What does it mean to love mercy and to do justice?

If we forget our party affiliations and the marching orders we receive from their ideologies, what would Jesus have us do? What is our responsibility? Or more pointedly… Who is our neighbor?

What if Jesus were president?

I was asked once to participate in a debate as to whether Jesus’ teachings were more compatible with the Democratic Party or the Republican party. I showed up and made my case but found myself saying again and again that the entire question was really wrong. Jesus does not call us to follow a political ideology… he calls us to follow him.

And so when Nehemiah saw the oppression of the least in his community at the hands of the powerful and important in that same community… he stood up and he spoke out. And he demanded a change.  For us, when we see so many people hurting… struggling… unemployed… hopeless… and yet the most powerful and successful among us seem to only gain in power and success… why do we check our party allegiance before we decide how to respond? Has the American church… on the whole… failed to stand up for the poor… the hungry… the outsider… and has the church instead focused on valuing and protecting the powerful?

What if the churched stood up and spoke out against oppression and poverty in our own society? What if we stood up and spoke out for the poor and the oppressed  with the same level of passion and conviction to that we often reserve for our anti-abortion or anti-gay marriage rhetoric? What if Christians followed Nehemiah’s lead and demanded that our leaders govern and lead fairly and justly. What if our rulers ruled as Nehemiah ruled…

If the final section of today’s passage, Nehemiah becomes governor and holds the position for 12 years. Here is his description of his term:

…neither I nor my brothers ate the food allotted to the governor. 15 But the earlier governors—those preceding me—placed a heavy burden on the people and took forty shekels[a] of silver from them in addition to food and wine. Their assistants also lorded it over the people. But out of reverence for God I did not act like that. 16Instead, I devoted myself to the work on this wall. All my men were assembled there for the work; we[b] did not acquire any land.
 17 Furthermore, a hundred and fifty Jews and officials ate at my table, as well as those who came to us from the surrounding nations. 18 Each day one ox, six choice sheep and some poultry were prepared for me, and every ten days an abundant supply of wine of all kinds. In spite of all this, I never demanded the food allotted to the governor, because the demands were heavy on these people.

What if we expected to be governed with true justice… for all? What if our leaders refused to gain at our expense… refused to prosper as we suffer? What if we believed that our calling was to build Jesus’ kingdom and to do the work necessary to see it come on earth as it is in heaven?

His Kingdom Come…