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NEHEMIAH DEALS WITH COMPLAINTS!

If any cartoon character has a rough life it is Ziggy. His psychiatrist tells him he’s well adjusted but has no right to be well-adjusted. His pastor tells him that the “meek shall inherit the earth” and he fears that he will be hit with a surcharge. His parrot looks over his shoulder as he writes in his dairy and tells him that he is exaggerating. He logs on to the internet only to find himself on the misinformational highway. His pharmacist tells him that if the seal is broken he is not to use the medication. He ponders how he is going to use it if he can’t open it.
His doctor tells him to just remember a simple rule, “If it taste good, it’s bad.” His mechanic tells him that they don’t make cars like his anymore - there is an international law against it. His anesthesiologist asked him whether he wants the cheap anesthetic or the expensive one. His cat is beat up by a hit-man who was hired by the mice. He tries scuba diving only to discover that he doesn’t work well under-pressure. And, when he finds his way to the Complaint Department he is told that the problem must be with him, not the toaster.
In reality Ziggy has it easy compared to those who lived in and around Jerusalem during the time of Nehemiah. Since the destruction of Jerusalem by Babylon the area had been ruled by governors who lived a life of luxury. These puppets of Babylon enjoyed the good life. They lived in mansions, received a huge food allowance, had servants, and enjoyed large salaries. Their extravagant lifestyle was possible, in part, because they collected heavy taxes from the local residents.
So even in normal times the inhabitants struggled with hardship and poverty every single day. But these times weren’t normal for the land was suffering from a famine. Obviously, this aggravated the economic conditions and made it even more difficult to put a simple meal on the table. Life was extremely difficult and the nobles didn’t make it any easier. We know all this for in Nehemiah 5:15 we read:
But the earlier governors – those preceding me – placed a heavy burden on the people and took forty shekels of silver from them in addition to food and wine. Their assistants also lorded it over the people.
As if to rub salt in the wound, the assistants also used their domineering position to take advantage of the people. When collecting taxes, food, and wine they undoubtedly exploited the taxpayer by collecting a little bit more for themselves. They knew how things worked in and around Jerusalem and they made it work for them.
This is the context in which Nehemiah found himself. Like Sanballat, he too had been appointed as one of the governors. Sanballat was governor of Samaria, while Nehemiah was appointed to be governor of Judah. With Judah’s history, in regards to past governors, we can be sure that Nehemiah was received with a good bit of skepticism and cynicism.
Nehemiah, however, was different from past governors and, in short order, he managed to recruit a good number of people to repair the wall. These people worked hard and they kept at it. But about halfway through the project it was as if someone had severed a gas line. One day everything appeared to be going along fine, the next day toxic fumes drifted throughout the workplace. What had been fermenting below the surface erupted and nearly brought the work to a halt. In Nehemiah 5: 1 - 5 we read:
Now the men and their wives raised a great outcry against their Jewish brothers. Some were saying, “We and our sons and daughters are numerous; in order for us to eat and stay alive, we must get grain.”
Others were saying, “We are mortgaging our fields, our vineyards and our homes to get grain during the famine.”
Still others were saying, “We have to borrow money to pay the king’s tax on our fields and vineyards. Although we are of the same flesh and blood as our countrymen and though our sons 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 vineyards belong to others.”
It is important to note that this battle is quite different from the previous one. Here, the complaints are coming from within the camp as opposed to outside of it. The concerns voiced in this chapter are coming from fellow workers. And, as is evident from the text, there were at least three distinct groups doing the complaining.
There was the “this is too hard” group. To understand this group we need to remember that these people took a step of faith when they signed on to do the work. They set aside their normal job, the one that put food on the table, to do this good work. They set aside normal activity and trusted God to take care of them. But now the sacrifice was beginning to be felt at home, especially in the homes of those who had large families.
Then there was the “price is too high” group. Normally, they had sufficient means to survive but the famine, as well as work on the wall, had exhausted their resources. To provide for their families they had mortgaged their fields, their vineyards, and their homes. The banks now had a lien on their property and they were worried about it. They figured the wall was costing them too much.
Then there was the “this is not fair” group. Federal, regional, and local taxes were so high that they had to borrow money just to keep up with them. Within this same group some spoke up and said, “You’re lucky that you were able to borrow the money. We had to sell our kids off as laborers just to make ends meet.”
To which those who had borrowed money replied, “Lucky? You call 12% interest lucky? I call it highway robbery. And when I’m unable to pay, my creditors will take all I have, including my children. It may look like I’m better off, but I’m just one step away from being utterly ruined.”
As a leader, how you respond to those who are complaining is important. Your response can either bring the work to a complete halt or it can keep humming along. In responding to those who complain, you have a number of options at your disposal.
First, you can simply dismiss them as troublemakers. After all, there are some people who just like to complain about everything. They were born as crybabies and while they may have grown older they haven’t grown any better. If you hung them with a new rope they would complain about the rope. Somehow, they’ve gotten the idea that complaining is a virtue.
Believe it or not this is, on occasion, a legitimate response. It is legitimate when the complaints are illegitimate. Indeed, Titus 3:10 - 11 actually gives us permission to dismiss such people. It reads:
“ Warn a divisive person once, and then warn him a second time. After that, have nothing to do with him. You may be sure that such a man is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned.”
Second, complainers can be discounted as people who don’t understand the importance of the work. Granted, there will always be some who don’t full grasp the significance of what is being done within the kingdom, but to discount them isn’t the answer. If we started discounting all those who didn’t fully understand the significance of the work nobody would be working at all. After all, when we write people off because they aren’t perfect we end up writing everybody off.
The third response is found in what Nehemiah did as he heard their outcry. In vv. 6 -13 we read:
When I heard their outcry and these charges, I was very angry. I pondered them in my mind and then accused the nobles and officials. I told them, “You are exacting usury from your own countrymen!” So I called together a large meeting to deal with them and said: “As far as possible, we have bought back our Jewish brothers who were sold to the Gentiles. Now you are selling your brothers, only for them to be sold back to us.!” They kept quiet, because the could find nothing to say.”
So I continued, “What you are doing is not right. Shouldn’t you walk in fear of our God to avoid the reproach of our Gentile enemies? I and my brothers and my men are also lending the people money and grain. But let the exacting of usury stop! Give back to them immediately their fields, vineyards, olive groves and houses, and also the usury you are charging them – the hundredth part of the money, grain, new wine and oil.”
“ We will give it back,” they said. “And we will not demand anything 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. I also shook out the folds of my robe and said, “In this way may God shake out of his house and possessions every man who does not keep this promise. So may such a man be shaken out and emptied!”
At this the whole assembly said, “Amen,” and praised the Lord. And the people did as they had promised.
Before we look at his response we need to note that it was just that “a response” and not “a reaction.” Nehemiah was wise enough to stop and consider whether the complaints were legitimate or not. And, if so how to address them. When we’re angry about something we need to stop and ponder so as to give a reasoned response. For a reasoned response has the best potential of being well-received.
After pondering the complaints Nehemiah concluded that they needed to be addressed - he needed to stop and care for those who we’re really hurting or else the work would grind to a halt. Was he still angry? You bet! But after pondering the complaints he was able to express his anger in a right way. And in his pondered response he was able to zero in on the real problem.
What was the real problem? Usury! The rich were getting richer by loaning money to their Jewish brothers and charging them interest on the loan. This was contrary to God’s instructions as given to the Israelites through Moses. For in Exodus 22:25 we read:
“ If you lend money to one of my people among you who is needy, do not be like a moneylender; charge him no interest.”
And in Deuteronomy 23:19 - 20 we read:
“ Do not charge your brother interest, whether on money or food or anything else that may earn interest. You may charge a foreigner interest, but not a brother Israelite, so that the Lord your God may bless you in everything you put your hand to in the land you are entering to possess.”
For Nehemiah, the Book was clear and his Jewish brothers were clearly violating it. So Nehemiah rebuked them in every way imaginable and, in the end, they promised to change their ways.
Now why was Nehemiah so powerful? First, he knew the Bible. Second, he lived it! He wasn’t a burden to others, on the contrary he blessed them with his resources. Third, on top of being a model citizen, he got his hands dirty right along side everyone else.

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