Nehemiah 5:17–19 ‘I never demanded the food allotted to the governor, because the demands were heavy on these people.’ (v18b)
Nehemiah was entitled to money and food from the people. As mentioned earlier, to demand this was the practise of previous governors.
It was considered normal to request more, even though the King already provided them an ox, six sheep and some poultry each day and a wine delivery every ten days (v18a).
Power and wealth are often insatiable. However much we have, we still desire more. This has been the story of mankind throughout centuries.
Greed is normal; generosity breaks the hold that greed can have. Nehemiah could have accumulated wealth and asked for more from those worse off than himself, but he refused.
God had blessed him, and he wanted to share that blessing by being generous to others. Jesus warned us in Luke 12: ‘Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions’ (v15).
He used the parable of the Rich Fool, a farmer who had so much grain he decided to build bigger barns to store it all in and keep it for himself so that he could take life easy.
However – spoiler alert – the man’s life was taken from him and he never enjoyed what he had greedily stored away.
Later in the same chapter Jesus adds, ‘For everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded…’ (v48).
Nehemiah had plenty and he chose to give it away. If we have more than enough, we need to give it away. We are blessed to be a blessing.
A Prayer To Make:
‘Lord, thank You that You have given us so much. We are grateful for the life that we have and all that You have blessed us with. Help me to be a blessing to others. Amen.’
An Action To Take:
How are you blessed? What have you got plenty of? Time, energy, compassion, wealth, possessions – what have you got that you can use to bless others?
Scripture To Consider:
Eccl. 5:8–15; Matt. 6:19–24; Luke 12:13–21; 1 Tim. 6:6–10
