unrighteous act
…”Should you not walk in the fear of our God to avoid the condemnation of our Gentile enemies?” – Nehemiah 5:9
Nehemiah was butler to King Artaxerxes in Babylon. The walls of Jerusalem had been destroyed and Nehemiah received news that his people remaining in Jerusalem were distressed by the plight of the wall.
Nehemiah was saddened by this situation. He asked his king for permission to rebuild the wall. When he reached the city, he saw many problems among his own people due to the economic crisis in the area. The classes affected by the economic crisis were (1) the landless, who lacked food; (2) landowners, who were forced to mortgage their property; (3) Who were forced to borrow money at exorbitant rates and sell their children into slavery. It was illegal for Hebrews to charge interest from other Hebrews.
“Although we are of the same flesh and blood as our countrymen, and our sons are as good as them, yet we must subject our sons and our daughters to slavery. Some of our daughters have already become slaves, but we are powerless, because our fields and our vineyards belong to others” (Nehemiah 5:5).
Nehemiah stepped forward to warn his people against this wrong action on the grounds that not only was it wrong, but God would respond to such action by making them vulnerable to His judgment through Gentile enemies.
Nehemiah was presenting a spiritual principle regarding sin for each of us. Whenever we sin, we allow God to insert the enemy into our spirit to deal with that sin. Nehemiah understood this principle and warned the people about what this action would encourage from God. People repented and returned the money earned through usury.
As Christian workplace believers we must ensure that our practices are righteous in God’s sight. If not, we can expect the enemy to be released to judge that sin. Ask the Lord today if there is any iniquity in your business dealings that makes you vulnerable to judgment.
