Exalting Jesus in Ezra-Nehemiah by James M. Hamilton

Author:James M. Hamilton [Hamilton, James]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Religion, Biblical Commentary, Old Testament
Publisher: B&H Publishing Group
Published: 2014-06-01T00:00:00+00:00

Nehemiah And The Governor’s Allowance

Nehemiah 5:14-19

From what Nehemiah tells us about himself in Nehemiah 5:14-15, we know that he trusted God:

Furthermore, from the day King Artaxerxes appointed me to be their governor in the land of Judah—from the twentieth year until his thirty-second year, 12 years—I and my associates never ate from the food allotted to the governor. The governors who preceded me had heavily burdened the people, taking food and wine from them, as well as a pound of silver. Their subordinates also oppressed the people, but I didn’t do this, because of the fear of God.

There is a remarkable balance between what we see here in verses 14-15 and what we will see about Nehemiah in verses 17-18. What we see here is that Nehemiah was free to forgo privileges that belonged to him. Nehemiah steps into a situation where, as we see in verse 15, there is an established practice of the governor of the land of Judah having economic and culinary privileges. Nehemiah breaks the pattern. He not only ceases to take advantage of his people (v. 15), he ceases enjoying the advantage of the “food allotted to the governor” (v. 14).

Do you know what enables people to let go of privileges of their own choice? No one has forced Nehemiah to do this. What freed him from the enjoyment of those privileges? I’ll tell you what: his experience of something better than those privileges. Nehemiah knows something better than money and food: love for people and faith in God. Nehemiah cares more about the people who would bear the burden of taxation to provide the governor’s allowance than he cares about his own ease. Nehemiah also believes that there is something higher and better and more enjoyable than indulging oneself in this world, and we will see that from what he prays in verse 19.

We see the devotion to the work and the people modeled by Nehemiah and his men in verse 16:

Instead, I devoted myself to the construction of the wall, and all my subordinates were gathered there for the work. We didn’t buy any land.

Bigger to him than his prestige as governor, better to him than the privileges the governor would enjoy, was the good that would come to the people as the kingdom of God was advanced through the building of the walls. Nehemiah wanted God’s name exalted and God’s weak and vulnerable people protected. He trusted God, and he loved God’s people.

A moment ago I said there was a balance between the way Nehemiah willingly surrendered privileges in verses 14-15 and what we see in verses 17-18. I said that because what we see in verses 17-18 shows us that Nehemiah was phenomenally wealthy:

There were 150 Jews and officials, as well as guests from the surrounding nations at my table. Each day, one ox, six choice sheep, and some fowl were prepared for me. An abundance of all kinds of wine was provided every 10 days. But I didn’t demand the food allotted to the governor, because the burden on the people was so heavy.

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