Chapter Five PRELIMINARY QUESTIONS 1. What were the reasons for the people's distress? 2. What had they done to relieve their hardships? 3. What would have been the result if no further solution were found? 4. How much expense was Nehemiah willing to go to? 5. How do interest rates compare... [ Continue Reading ]
TEXT AND VERSE-BY-VERSE COMMENT E. Internal difficulties arise and are overcome. 1. Selfishness and greed create a problem. TEXT, NEHEMIAH 5:1-5 1 Now there was a great outcry of the people and of their wives against their Jewish brothers. 2 For there were those who said, We, our sons and our... [ Continue Reading ]
2. Nehemiah protests, and offers a solution. TEXT, NEHEMIAH 5:6-13 6 Then I was very angry when I had heard their outcry and these words. 7 And I consulted with myself, and contended with the nobles and the rulers and said to them, You are exacting usury, each from his brother! Therefore, I hel... [ Continue Reading ]
3. Nehemiah vindicates his own conduct. TEXT, NEHEMIAH 5:14-19 14 Moreover, from the day that I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year to the thirty-second year of King Artaxerxes, for twelve years, neither I nor my kinsmen have eaten the governor's food... [ Continue Reading ]