Walk in the Fear of God
October 15, 2017

Scripture: Nehemiah 5:1-13

Proverbs 9:10: “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.

I. You walk in the fear of God by being angry with injustice.

A. There were three groups of poor Jews being affected by the work on the wall of Jerusalem. The first group included families who owned no land and were hungry (vs. 2). A second group of poor Jews owned land but now had to mortgage their property to buy seed and food (vs. 3). then a third group of poor Jews is found in vs. 4. They had borrowed money for the king’s tax. If you could not pay off your loan, you were forcing your sons and daughters to be slaves (vs. 5).

B. What made their outcry (vs. 1) great was who the Jews were borrowing from. They were borrowing from their fellow Jews. They were borrowing from richer Jews, and when they couldn’t repay the loan with interest the result was slavery for their families (vs. 5). How did this exploitation of the poor make Nehemiah feel according to vs. 6? “I was very angry.” He was angry with this injustice just like Jesus was angry against the injustice he saw at the temple.

II. You walk in the fear of God by being generous with the needy.

A. Part of the reason for Nehemiah’s anger with the wealthier Jews was they were breaking God’s law. In vs. 7 Nehemiah said to the wealthy, “You are exacting interest, each from his brother.” This was a violation of Deuteronomy 23:19: “You shall not charge interest on loans to your brother, interest on money, interest on food, interest on anything that is lent for interest.”

B. People who fear God, who want to please their heavenly father, do not just obey the thou shalt nots of God’s commands. They also do something positive. In this case, God is saying not only “Thou shalt not charge interest to your brother,” He is also saying, “Thou shalt be generous to your poor brother.” We see the generosity Nehemiah encouraged in vs. 10-11. He not only wanted the rich to stop making loans with interest. He wanted them to stop making loans period. He wanted them to give back to the poor all that they had taken. He wanted them to give generously.

III. You walk in the fear of God by showing compassion to your family.

A. Did you notice here in Nehemiah 5 how often he uses the word brothers? In vs. 1 we read, “Now there arose a great outcry of the people and of their wives against their Jewish brothers.” In vs. 5 we read, “Now our flesh is as the flesh of our brothers.” And in vs. 7 we read, “You are exacting interest, each from his brother.” Nehemiah wanted the rich to see the poor as not just neighbors. They are family. We treat our family with compassion. If I do not show the poor compassion, I am not only harming my Jewish brothers. I am also harming God’s reputation. See vs. 9. People who fear God and live to please God live according to Proverbs 14:31: “Whoever oppresses a poor man insults his Maker, but he who is generous to the needy honors him.”

Application:
Fear God in your behavior by treating the poor with justice, generosity, and compassion.

Sources:
Commentaries on Nehemiah by Derek Thomas, Paige Brown, and James Hamilton Jr.