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COMPASSION AS WISDOM - by Rev Gilbert Wong
Nehemiah 5:9-12
29 June 2008

Introduction

When we say that some is wise, we meant to say that that person has the ability to make sensible decisions and give good advice because of the experience and knowledge that that person has. That ability to make sensible decisions will obviously increase with the passage of time as we encounter challenges of life and turned them into personal experience and knowledge as they are overcome.

But the Bible seems to want us to have experience and knowledge of one definite body of ability – the ability of being compassionate. This I believe is the message Nehemiah has for us this morning as we look at the broader heading of leadership and wisdom and the lesson Nehemiah seems to exemplify is the ability to use compassion as the basis for his wisdom.

We can cultivate this compassionate wisdom by noting four areas:

First, we cultivate compassionate wisdom by fearing the Lord (vv.9-11)

9 So I continued, "What you are doing is not right. Shouldn't you walk in the fear of our God to avoid the reproach of our Gentile enemies? 10 I and my brothers and my men are also lending the people money and grain. But let the exacting of usury stop! 11 Give back to them immediately their fields, vineyards, olive groves and houses, and also the usury you are charging them—the hundredth part of the money, grain, new wine and oil."

The situation was dire; because of the reconstruction of Jerusalem, many people were not able to produce enough grain to stay alive. They had to buy grain but did not have enough funds, causing them to mortgage their property (fields, vineyards, and houses). Furthermore, the Persian kings imposed a real estate tax on them. And often in Israel, parents sold their children into slavery to enable them to meet their material needs, hoping to redeem them at a later date (see Exodus 21:2-6).

Usury in its purest sense was the charging of interest for a loan. An individual was forbidden to charge a fellow Israelite interest on a loan (see Exodus 22:25; Leviticus 25:38; and Deuteronomy 15:1-11). It was however permissible to charge a foreigner interest and usually these were commercial loans. But this was not to be for Israel. An Israelite loan was considered a charity and was done to help a needy fellow countryman, not to help a merchant build up his business.

But even Nehemiah seemed to have missed that point. 5:10 seems to suggest to us that Nehemiah not only loaned money to fellow Israelite but also exacted an interest. What woken him up was not the wisdom of profit margin but the wisdom of the fear of the Lord. 5:9 So I continued, "What you are doing is not right. Shouldn't you walk in the fear of our God to avoid the reproach of our Gentile enemies?

Nehemiah realized that God was not pleased with the exacting of interest on his own people when it should be done in the name of charity not usury! This charitable or compassionate wisdom is also well taught in the NT. 1 Corinthians 13 considers human superlative acts as nothing worth if they are not done in love.

Second, we cultivate compassionate wisdom by resolution (vv. 12-13)

12 "We will give it back," they said. "And we will not demand anything more from them. We will do as you say."
Then I summoned the priests and made the nobles and officials take an oath to do what they had promised. 13 I also shook out the folds of my robe and said, "In this way may God shake out of his house and possessions every man who does not keep this promise. So may such a man be shaken out and emptied!" At this the whole assembly said, "Amen," and praised the LORD. And the people did as they had promised.

I don’t think it is easy to be compassionate when the opportunities are plenty to make money. It takes moral courage and resolution to be compassionate. There are always reasons not to do anything about the poor around us. The Good Samaritan is a case in point. The Samaritan has every right to bypass the injured man – most likely a Jew. But he did not. He was moved by compassionate to help the battered man in desperate need. He resolved within himself to take the heart of compassionate to rule his heart.

Similarly, Nehemiah exemplified the same virtue. He required the nobles and officials to take an oath or pledge to act out in compassion. It takes will power to act out in love when they are many reasons why we should not or cannot.

I remembered a Christian who had pledged to wake up early in the morning to pray but he failed miserably until one day he decided to pledge to give away some money whenever he could not wake up in time for his daily devotion. He finally succeeded after several attempts. He took a vow and he meant it!

Third, we cultivate compassionate wisdom by solidarity (vv. 14-16).

14 Moreover, from the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, until his thirty-second year—twelve years—neither I nor my brothers ate the food allotted to the governor. 15 But the earlier governors—those preceding me—placed a heavy burden on the people and took forty shekels of silver from them in addition to food and wine. Their assistants also lorded it over the people. But out of reverence for God I did not act like that. 16 Instead, I devoted myself to the work on this wall. All my men were assembled there for the work; we did not acquire any land.

Despite being able to get his leaders to pledge, Nehemiah undertook the same pledge himself and more. He remembered the suffering of his fellow Israelite and denied himself his rightful share as the governor. He stood as one with his people. 5:18 also mentioned about Nehemiah was required to entertain regularly for both domestic officials and foreign dignitaries. Because of the great cost of this, Nehemiah did not collect taxes for his personal treasury.

This is the sort of solidarity Nehemiah had with his people. He lived a life which acknowledged the poverty of his people. Not to sell all his wealth and lived like them but to live responsibly in the view of his suffering fellow citizens.

Finally, we cultivate compassionate wisdom by surrendering it to God (5:19)

19 Remember me with favor, O my God, for all I have done for these people.

Ultimately, how compassionate we are as we make those sacrifices may mean pain for us. All that I mentioned about cultivating compassionate wisdom by having the fear of the Lord, by standing in solidarity with our people, by resolution would not guarantee anything except perhaps a strong of togetherness. But the suffering may go on for a long time to come. And I suppose this could be the heart cry of Nehemiah.

After all that he has done, all that he could really do is to cry out to God to pour favour on his suffering people. Nehemiah would probably be ridicule for his stance on this matter. He could well have invited criticism from his enemies both within and without his courts. It would have been difficult. And it is not always easy to do the right thing and we should have the constant cry that God would pour his blessing upon us and his people. It is not to say Nehemiah was careless in the way he responded to his needs around him. 5:6 When I heard their outcry and these charges, I was very angry. 7 I pondered them in my mind and then accused the nobles and officials.

He was angry certainly and appropriately so but it was no sufficient to meet all the needs. He was angry and so will we in face of such suffering but before anything is to be done we should be like Nehemiah pondered the issues in our mind before proceeding with any action.

As a church we continue to be guided by compassionate wisdom as we try to cultivate it in the fear of the Lord, in solidarity with his people, and in resolute in our undertaking. May God help us.

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