Building with Generosity (Nehemiah 5:14-19)

Bible Passage: Nehemiah 5:14-19

In the previous section of Nehemiah 5, we were confronted with the needs of the people who were oppressed and disadvantaged and saw how Nehemiah was able to be part of the solution for these people. When talking about a vision for seeing the poor lifted out of poverty, it would be easy to imagine something akin to Robin Hood, looking to rob from the rich to give to the poor. This would leave the rich with nothing more than having their money taken away. The Biblical alternative is to see the hearts of rich people changed, causing them to embrace generosity and freely give for the good of others.

Nehemiah himself serves as the model of the rich person who embraces generosity. For twelve years he was the governor of the province. It was a title that carried with it a lot of seniority, prestige and responsibility, and also a sizeable budget. It was typical for people in this role to use their wealth and power to become even richer at the expense of the people of their province.

Nehemiah did not follow this path. In this passage, we see some of the choices he made regarding his power and financial resources:

1. He didn’t eat the food allowance. As governor, Nehemiah was given a big budget for food. He could have claimed for large feasts for himself and his household, but he knew this money had to come from somewhere. He didn’t want to live in such luxury whilst his people suffered.

2. He didn’t lay heavy burdens on the people. The governors before Nehemiah supplemented their large allowance by taxing the people to give them an additional ration of 40 shekels of silver per day. Once again, Nehemiah took a different route to his predecessors and chose not to issue such a tax.

3. He didn’t lord it over the people. We are told that previous governors, and even their servants, lorded it over the people. They were in positions of power, and they chose to let it show in their attitudes. They treated the people as inferiors, and loved to boss them around and flaunt their power. Nehemiah was different. He adopted a humble style of leadership that showed respect to people and was willing to get alongside them as an equal.

4. He worked hard. As a powerful man, Nehemiah had the option of sitting back whilst others did all the work. He chose to show generosity not just with his money but also with his labour, continuing to play his part in the construction of the wall along with everybody else.

5. He acquired no land. In the eyes of many, it would have been prudent for Nehemiah to buy land and build up an estate to live off when he stopped his work as governor. Most people would have leveraged their position to do this and channelled the resources of their office into their own gain. Nehemiah’s purpose wasn’t his own profit, but building the wall for the glory of God and the good of the people.

6. Instead of servants, he had builders. Nehemiah states that all of his servants were gathered for the work on the wall. Servants were part of a governor’s role. There were supposed to be staff who would run around after him, attend every details of his personal affairs and his household, but Nehemiah chose to forego having the servants focus on him, and instead had them work on the wall along with everybody else.

7. He fed people at his own expense. Each day Nehemiah fed 150 people out of his own pocket. He served up a whole cow, six sheep and birds, and regularly topped up the wine. He threw great meals that fed lots of people, and he did so entirely at his own expense. Rather than claiming for his own indulgence from everybody else, he was willing to foot the bill so that many people could share in his blessings.

Nehemiah is a great example of the generous rich man. He had plenty of resources and power at his disposal but chose not to use them for his own gain. He took less than he was entitled to and gave more than he was obliged to, and genuinely served those less well off than himself.

Potential Applications:

• This passage speaks to any who have position, power and wealth, and it presents an inspiring model of what it looks like to use the privileges in a godly way.
• For some, the application is personal, but for others it may be corporate. There may be people in the congregation who have influence over their workplace and can choose whether to use the benefits they are entitled to for their own comfort and gain, or to see others benefit from them instead.