Yet, at moments, we are tempted to become passive while waiting for God to act. If you are unemployed, yes, God wants you to have a job. To get the job God wants you to have, you have to write a resume, conduct a search, apply for positions, interview, and get rejected dozens of times before finding that job, just as everyone else has to do. If you are a parent, yes, God wants you to have enjoyment in raising your children.
Certain wealthy Jewish nobles and officials were taking advantage of economically difficult times to line their own pockets Nehemiah 5. They were loaning money to fellow Jews, expecting interest to be paid on the loans, even though this was prohibited in the Jewish Law for example, Exodus Nehemiah responded by demanding that the wealthy stop charging interest on loans and give back whatever they had taken from their debtors.
In contrast to the selfishness of those who had been taking advantage of their fellow Jews, Nehemiah did not use his leadership position to enhance his personal fortune. Instead, he generously invited many to eat at his table, paying from this expense from his personal savings without taxing the people Neh.
In a sense, the nobles and officials were guilty of the same kind of dualism we have just discussed. In their case, they were not waiting passively for God to solve their problems.
Instead, they were actively pursuing their own gain as if economic life had nothing to do with God. Nehemiah connects an economic issue usury with the fear of God. The issues of Nehemiah 5, though emerging from a legal and cultural setting distant from our own, challenge us to consider how much we should profit personally from our position and privilege, even from our work. Should we put our money in banks that make loans with interest? Should we take advantage of perks made available to us in our workplace, even if these come at considerable cost to others?
In practice, that means we each owe God the duty of caring for the cloud of persons who depend on our work: employers, co-workers, customers, family, the public and many others. Put people first. The question of whether the Bible prohibits lending money at interest has a long and contentious history in Christian theology. The external and internal problems facing Nehemiah did not halt work on the wall, which was completed in only fifty-two days Neh. Is genuine ministry restricted to those in the clergy, or to those who work for a Christian organization?
Trade Paperback Arrow Icon Arrow icon ebook. Want travel inspiration sent straight to your inbox? Sign up. The DIY clay seal was made from an 8-centimeter diameter reused pottery sherd. According to biblical history, the Babylonian conquest of Judah in the late 7th century led to three waves of exilic deportations from the Holy Land.
But what happened in Jerusalem after the Babylonian destruction and into the Persian era is fodder for ongoing archaeological debate. The new finds cannot strictly attest to which peoples were living in the rubble of Jerusalem — Jews who returned to Zion, or others, including Persian officials. Likewise, the dating of the artifacts is accurate only to within over a century; they were found in a layer that is sandwiched between the Babylonian destruction of BCE below and evidence of the 4th century found above.
In Streetwise Hebrew for the Times of Israel Community, each month we learn several colloquial Hebrew phrases around a common theme. These are bite-size audio Hebrew classes that we think you'll really enjoy. This month, we're learning phrases on the topic of strength and power. The Jews built the Second Temple. After his death, his empire was divided into four, including the Seleucid Empire that contained the land of Israel and their ancient enemies the Philistines Palestine.
The Jewish holiday of Hanukkah celebrates the purification of the Second Temple after the Maccabees reconquered the city.
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