Chapters 5 & 6 of Nehemiah
June 19, 2012
Nehemiah helps deal with physical/social hardships, so in a way he is like a prophet as well as a ruler. He admits to being part of the problem, and willingly volunteers to be part of the solution as an example to the others. The main difficulty is that the nobles and wealthier Jews are oppressing their countrymen for their own benefit; the former exiles are losing their sustenance, property, and even their freedom in the effort to keep up with taxes from the Persians and rent from their Jewish landowners. Nehemiah puts a stop to this, the nobles promising with an oath before GOD that they will return the land to the people and cease using economics for greedy purposes.
As a final note from chapter 5, Nehemiah’s meat provision may sound like a lot, but consider that this was to cover an entire day of meals for a large group of men; given that, it’s not gluttonous consumption, but simple provision for all.
Chapter 6: Three different ways the Samaritans try to throw Nehemiah and the Jews into fear: attempting to draw Nehemiah into an assassination at Ono, make Nehemiah look guilty by tempting him through an informer to hide in the Temple (as if he had committed a crime), and casting dispersions on his reconstruction effort, accusing him of plotting to revolt against Persia.
Another point of interest to me was that the nobles shared loyalty to Tobiah the Ammonite, one of Nehemiah’s Samaritan adversaries. The method by which he procured such allegiance from Judah’s nobility is through intermarriage with leading Jewish families. This power circle would be broken by Ezra’s reforms, and certainly Nehemiah’s social reorganization would also be a threat to Tobiah’s cabal, so it’s little wonder that he and his cohorts sought to harm Nehemiah.
Nehemiah’s task was far greater than merely rebuilding Jerusalem’s walls; he also had to help reconstruct the nation. The people were divided against each other, outsiders were taking advantage of the situation, and there seemed to be no defense against this. That explains why Nehemiah spent approximately eleven years in Judah; through GOD’s grace, the wall was rebuilt in only 52 days, but there was so much more to be done.