Preaching Christ in Nehemiah 5

This past Sunday I preached my first sermon in well over a year and a half - found it really difficult for all kinds of reasons, including but not limited to being out of practice and also the fact that my presentation laptop blue-screened during my intro and also failed to display the video at the end.

The sermon was called "Something's Coming: Nehemiah, a Blip on on the Radar".

I thought I'd blog a quick sketch of the salient points. The sermon wasn't really in point form, but the chapter falls into 3 obvious paragraphs like this:

1. Neh 5:1-5, The complaint from the landholders who have mortgaged their land to fellow Jews, are losing the land, and selling children into slavery.
2. Neh 5:6-13, Nehemiah defends the victims of oppression and brings about change.
3. Neh 5:14-19, Nehemiah the benevolent governor who hosts the meal.

Nehemiah 5:1-1, The Landholders' Complaint

• Uncanny comparison with descriptions of life in 1st century - the Temple/Jerusalem became the centre of power, landholders overpowered by taxes lost their land and sold children into slavery. This presents problems for attempts to read Nehemiah as an exemplary builder: what he's building will, by Jesus' day, be the centre of oppression and injustice.
• "You can't eat a wall". Note that Nehemiah's wall was not for the sake of the common people or any majority. It would enclose a select few; built in hope of Israel's restoration expecting the Davidic King to reign over the world from Jerusalem.
• Consider the problem of slavery today - 27 million slaves, see http://www.notforsalecampaign.org/

Nehemiah 5:6-13, Nehemiah defends the victims of oppression and brings about change

• Nehemiah is "very angry" when he hears about the injustice. This mirrors God's response to injustice - e.g. Ex 22:21-22. God says that if you oppress a widow and he sees you, he will kill you and make a widow of your wife. Same passage then prohibits charging interest to those in need, which is the fault in this case.
• What do we get angry about? Conservative Christians are known for certain issues ("family values", etc.) but not enough for standing up against injustice.
• Difference between justice and mercy: justice is about denial of basic rights, mercy is about giving to someone even though they don't deserve it. Tendency for conservatives to focus on mercy, liberals to focus on justice.
• Nehemiah has a "justice" focus here - not concerned about creating a "welfare state" etc., he responds to the injustice.
• Judgment can be "good news" - to those who have been severely oppressed, they are waiting for God to vindicate them and judge their oppressors. God promises in Torah to do this within Israel, but it doesn't seem to happen. Here Nehemiah is being a "small m" messiah, but Jesus will bring all things to light and deal with every act of oppression.

Nehemiah 5:14-19, Nehemiah the benevolent governor who hosts the meal.

• Nehemiah's provision of a regular meal for hundreds of people (at his own expense) sounds a lot like Isaiah 25 - the Messianic banquet where Israel is restored, death is dealt with, the sympathetic nations come in, Moab is judged, etc.
• Nehemiah likely saw himself as enacting this Messianic meal, yet he cannot bring the fullness of the promised restoration:
  - There is no king to reign
  - The Lord's presence hasn't returned to the temple
  - The nations are still in control (Persia, and the neighbouring agitators)
  - Death is still a reality
  - There is no abundance; there is poverty
  - Acts of oppression are only intermittently dealt with
• Jesus also enacted meals, but there's a radical shift as he becomes inclusive of Jewish "sinners"
• Revelation 19 - the meal has become the marriage supper of the Lamb, his New Covenant people have become purified and clothed in righteous deeds, Jesus is the reigning King, there's a new Temple-shaped city/garden that comes from Heaven and is no longer oppressive etc., death is dealt with as Jesus is resurrected and those in him also, no more poverty, but also judgment as the oppressors are brought to severe judgment.
• In short, Nehemiah enacts some aspects of restoration but in Jesus all things will be made right!