Bible In One Year Day 274 (Nehemiah 4-5, Esther 1-2, Proverbs 20: 27-30)

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Nehemiah 4 - 5 

Part One of the Book of Nehemiah Continues:

• Opposition to the Reconstruction (4:1-6:14)
• Completion of the Reconstruction (6:15-19)

Chapter 4: Plots to Disrupt the Rebuilding

Nehemiah 4:1-7 or 4:7-13 ~ The Plots of Jerusalem's Enemies

At the end of last week's lesson, in 3:36-38 (in some translations 4:4-6), Nehemiah petitioned Yahweh to punish Judah's enemies. His prayer is an imprecation (curse) on enemies similar to Psalm 35 and 58:6-9.

The territories of Nehemiah's enemies:

1. Sanballat's Samaritans were north of Judah, occupying what had been the Northern Kingdom of Israel.
2. Tobiah's Ammonites held lands to the east of Judah across the Jordan River.
3. Geshem's Arabs controlled territory south of Judah in the Negev (north of Egypt) and southeast across the Jordan River.
4. The Ashdodites were from Ashdod, one of the Philistine cities southwest of Judah on the Mediterranean coast (see Josh 13:3).

Enemies surrounded the covenant people of Judah and God was their only protection. It is the continuing plight of the modern-day nation of Israel.

While the Samaritans were outraged that they were denied a part in rebuilding the Jerusalem Temple and a say in its organization, the main reasons Sanballat, Tobias, and Geshem opposed Nehemiah were political rather than religious. Nehemiah's success in rebuilding Jerusalem threatened Sanballat's authority as the governor of Samaria (cf., Neh 5:14), and Geshem was probably afraid revitalization under Nehemiah would challenge his lucrative trade enterprise. Before Jerusalem's destruction by the Babylonians, the city was a major trading center in the region.

Question: Nehemiah responded in what two ways to the threat of invasion and a planned massacre of the city?
Answer:

1. He had the people pray to God for protection.
2. He organized a twenty-four-hour guard on the walls.

Nehemiah 4:8-17 or 4:14-23 ~ Nehemiah's Plan

Nehemiah addresses the people's fears by encouraging them to trust in their "awe-inspiring" God, recalling to them the might works of God on their behalf in the past, and to have the courage to fight for their countrymen and women, their sons, daughters, wives, and homes (verse 8). Fortunately, when the enemy saw they could not take Jerusalem by surprise, they withdrew. Notice that Nehemiah continues to give credit for their protection and the withdrawal of the enemy to God who "had thwarted their plan" (verse 9) as he has in Nehemiah 1:8; 4:3.

Chapter 5: The Social Problems Plaguing Judah and Jerusalem

Nehemiah 5:1-11 ~ The Poor of Jerusalem Cry Out for Mercy and Justice

Nehemiah not only had to deal with the threats of enemies outside the city but also from within from caused by food shortages and the religious and civic leaders who opposed him. Food shortages led to massive debt. It is likely that Jerusalem's enemies were interfering with food supplies transported to Jerusalem from outlying areas since there is no mention of a famine. The people also had the burden of paying the Persian king's tax: the levy imposed on the province of Judah by the central Persian government.

Question: How did Nehemiah confront those taking advantage of the poor? How did they respond to his accusations?
Answer:

1. He told the wealthy who were causing the poor to pledge their children by giving them as slaves that they were no better than the foreigners who captured their people and took them into slavery who were
2. He told them what they were doing was morally wrong.
3. He accused them of having no fear of offending God and contributing to the disdain of their enemies.

They did not respond because they realized he spoke the truth.

Nehemiah even honestly admitted that he, members of his family, and his retainers lent money and grain to those in need. He told the assembly that the solution is to cancel all pledges and return the land, vineyards, olive groves, houses, and family members to the debtors while at the same time invalidating any claims on money, grain, wine, and olive oil that was lent to them (verses 10-11). In effect, he is proclaiming a Jubilee Year liberation in which all debts are forgiven, Hebrew slaves liberated, and ancestral lands returned to the original owner (see Lev Chapter 25; Dt 15:1-18).

Nehemiah 5:12-13 ~ Nehemiah Convinces the Priests and Rulers to Lighten Their Burden on the People

Question: What response do the wealthy pledge holders give in verse 12a?
Answer: They agree to Nehemiah's suggestion.

It was not easy for the landowners and nobles to accept Nehemiah's plan even though they had to realize that the situation could not continue indefinitely without the whole economy of the city collapsing. Also, the costs involved in maintaining the Temple were mostly met by the wealthy in the community, which meant they had the backing of the chief priests.

Nehemiah immediately followed up by summoning the priests and cleverly makes them swear an oath in Yahweh's name to do as they had promised, to which he adds a curse for failing to keep their oath. "Shaking out the fold of my garment" refers to turning out the pockets sewn in the folds of his garment, suggesting that as he empties his pockets, so will the possessions of anyone who fails to keep the oath be shaken out and left empty.

Nehemiah 5:14-19 ~ Nehemiah Vindicates His Administration

Nehemiah testifies that for the twelves years he served as the royal Persian governor of Judah that he never took advantage of the people. According to historians, the Persians collected about 20 million darics (c. 100 million dollars) annually in taxes from their provinces. As the governor, Nehemiah was entitled to levy a subsistence allowance from the people, but he and his brothers who served in governmental offices did not take advantage of this privilege, unlike other governors who served before him.

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A Daily Defense 

DAY 274 Justification in James 2

CHALLENGE: “Catholics misunderstand James 2. When James talks about faith, he’s referring to dead faith, and when he talks about justification, he’s referring to justification before men.”

DEFENSE: This isn’t supported by a careful reading of James 2.

James says “faith apart from works is dead” (James 2:26), but it does not follow from this that he is talking about “dead faith.” Read the passage and substitute the phrase “dead faith” where James says “faith.” This will result in absurdities. Thus James 2:18b would read, “I by my works will show you my dead faith,” and 2:22a would read, “You see that dead faith was active along with his works.” 

James doesn’t see anything wrong with the faith he is discussing. It’s just limited to intellectual assent (the kind of belief in God even demons have; see below). What makes that intellectual assent alive or dead, he says, is whether it is accompanied by works.

Further, James isn’t referring to “justification before men.” This phrase is understood to mean an outward demonstration of justification before God, the thought being that if you are right with God, it will manifest in actions men can see and know of your justification before God.

It’s true that those who are justified before God will naturally perform visible good works (Eph. 2:10), but we can’t limit the justification James is talking about to “justification before men.” This phrase doesn’t appear in the text, which indicates James has justification before God in mind.

Thus he begins by asking, “What does it profit, my brethren, if a man says he has faith but has not works? Can his faith save him?” (James 2:14).

The reference to salvation indicates he’s concerned with justification before God. That’s the context in which he says, “So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead” (James 2:17), meaning dead before God, not merely before men.

James similarly raises the issue of eternal salvation when he notes, “Even the demons believe and shudder” at the prospect of God’s wrath (James 2:19). By implication, if the audience has only the intellectual belief that demons do, then they, too, will not be saved. James thus once more indicates justification before God is under discussion. For more on the interpretation of this passage, see Day 222.

Jimmy Akin, A Daily Defense: 365 Days (Plus One) to Becoming a Better Apologist