Oppressed—A Look at Nehemiah 5, Part One

When reading this chapter, I was constantly reminded of the United States of America. The rich were oppressing the poor and it is still the same today; greed is still a major issue. There is nothing wrong with people having more money because they are working harder, saving more, etc., but what is wrong is when people deliberately take advantage of someone else because they don’t have money, exploiting a situation out of proportion just because they can, or because they are not being obedient to God’s laws.

I continue to be amazed at all the “rent to own” places that keep popping up along with check cashing places. The amount of interest these places charge is outrageous and they play on making people think they “need” something when they can’t really afford it or tell them they would be stupid to wait until they save the money for it first. In my opinion, this is a prime example of the rich oppressing the poor.

Another situation is when someone can charge a shocking amount for a product or service just because they are the only one in the area. I’m not saying it is wrong to follow the flow of supply and demand, but there comes a point where you are just being greedy by the amount being charged. Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should. We can follow Nehemiah’s example in this instance. He lived without taking the provisions due him as governor for the twelve years he served as governor. He also gave the use of his servants for work for Judah and withheld from buying land to sell as a profit. He had the right to do all those things, but he chose not to do them to keep from burdening the people more.

The third situation is the most important because it is going against what God commands of His people. We are called to care for the poor, the widowed and the orphaned. I firmly believe the reason the government felt it needed to step in with social programs is because the churches weren’t doing their job. If we see someone hungry, we are to share. If we see someone without clothing, we are to share. If we see someone in need of a helping hand, we are to be that helping hand. There should be a need for people to be on food assistance because the people of the church should be providing food. There shouldn’t be a need for people to apply for cash assistance from the state because we should be helping with free labor for a roof to be redone, or cleaning the home of a disabled person, or whatever the need might be.

Check back tomorrow to read part two.