Nehemiah 5:1-5: a reflection

1Then there arose a great cry of the people and of their wives against their brothers the Jews. 2For there were some who said, “We, our sons and our daughters, are many. Let us get grain, that we may eat and live.” 3There were also some who said, “We are mortgaging our fields, our vineyards, and our houses. Let us get grain, because of the famine.” 4There were also some who said, “We have borrowed money for the king’s tribute using our fields and our vineyards as collateral. 5Yet now our flesh is as the flesh of our brothers, our children as their children. Behold, we bring our sons and our daughters into bondage to be servants, and some of our daughters have been brought into bondage. It is also not in our power to help it, because other men have our fields and our vineyards.”

A great cry goes up from the poor among God's people, who in their distress are being forced to mortgage their fields and even give their children into bondage, not to outsiders, but to their own better-off brothers, a cry against the wrong of profiting from a neighbor's distress. There arose a great cry of the people against their brothers, the account says. We are mortgaging our fields and houses to get grain, some said; we have brought our sons and daughters into bondage, and it is not in our power to help it, because others have our fields. In a time of hardship, the struggling poor were being driven deeper into distress and even into bondage, and those profiting from it were their own brothers among God's people. Their cry was against this wrong. This shows the wrong of profiting from a neighbor's distress, and God's ear to the cry of the oppressed. Do not profit from the distress of your struggling neighbors. God hears the cry of the oppressed poor. It is a wrong to drive the struggling deeper into distress for gain. Deal with a neighbor's hardship with mercy, not exploitation.

Notice what was happening and why it drew such a cry. In a time of hardship and famine, the poor among God's people were struggling to survive; and to get grain and pay their debts, they were forced to mortgage their fields and vineyards, and even to give their sons and daughters into bondage. And who was profiting from their distress? Not foreign oppressors, but their own better-off brothers among God's people, who used their neighbors' hardship to gain their fields and even their children. This was the wrong that drew the great cry: the exploitation of the struggling by their own brothers. This holds a searching lesson. It is a wrong, and one that draws God's attention, to profit from the distress of our struggling neighbors, to use their hardship to our own advantage, to drive those already in difficulty deeper into distress for our gain. When others are in hardship, we are called not to exploit their distress but to deal with them mercifully, to help rather than to profit from their difficulty. And God hears the cry of the oppressed poor against those who exploit them. We do well not to profit from the distress of our struggling neighbors, but to deal with their hardship mercifully, mindful that God hears the cry of the oppressed. Do not profit from the distress of your struggling neighbors; deal with them mercifully. God hears the cry of the oppressed poor. It is a wrong to use another's hardship for your own gain. When others are in difficulty, help rather than exploit.

That is worth taking to heart, for it is a wrong that draws God's attention to profit from the distress of our struggling neighbors, and we are called to deal with their hardship mercifully, as the cry of the poor went up against their brothers. In a time of hardship, we can be tempted to use others' distress to our own advantage; but the poor cried out against their brothers who profited from their distress, and God hears such a cry. Deal mercifully. Do not use the hardship of your struggling neighbors for your own gain, driving them deeper into distress; deal with them mercifully, mindful that God hears the cry of the oppressed. Deal mercifully with the hardship of your struggling neighbors rather than profiting from their distress, mindful that God hears the cry of the oppressed, as a great cry went up from the poor among God's people who in their distress were being forced to mortgage their fields and even give their children into bondage, not to outsiders but to their own better-off brothers, a cry against the wrong of profiting from a neighbor's distress; for in a time of hardship and famine the struggling poor were being driven deeper into distress and even into bondage, and those profiting from it were their own brothers among God's people who used their neighbors' hardship to gain their fields and even their children, which was the wrong that drew the great cry, and holds a searching lesson, that it is a wrong drawing God's attention to profit from the distress of our struggling neighbors, to use their hardship to our own advantage and drive those already in difficulty deeper into distress for our gain, since when others are in hardship we are called not to exploit their distress but to deal with them mercifully and help rather than profit from their difficulty, and God hears the cry of the oppressed poor against those who exploit them, so that we do well not to profit from the distress of our struggling neighbors but to deal with their hardship mercifully.

Lord, a great cry goes up from the poor among your people, who in their distress are being forced to mortgage their fields and even give their children into bondage, not to outsiders, but to their own better-off brothers, a cry against the wrong of profiting from a neighbor's distress. There arose a great cry of the people against their brothers, the account says. We are mortgaging our fields and houses to get grain, some said; we have brought our sons and daughters into bondage, and it is not in our power to help it, because others have our fields. In a time of hardship, the struggling poor were being driven deeper into distress and even into bondage, and those profiting from it were their own brothers among your people. Their cry was against this wrong. Show me what was happening and why it drew such a cry. In a time of hardship and famine, the poor among your people were struggling to survive; and to get grain and pay their debts, they were forced to mortgage their fields and even to give their sons and daughters into bondage. And who was profiting from their distress? Not foreign oppressors, but their own better-off brothers, who used their neighbors' hardship to gain their fields and even their children. This was the wrong that drew the great cry. This holds a searching lesson. It is a wrong, and one that draws your attention, to profit from the distress of my struggling neighbors, to use their hardship to my own advantage, to drive those already in difficulty deeper into distress for my gain. When others are in hardship, I am called not to exploit their distress but to deal with them mercifully, to help rather than to profit from their difficulty. And you hear the cry of the oppressed poor against those who exploit them. Take that to my heart. Keep me from profiting from the distress of my struggling neighbors or using their hardship for my own gain; help me deal with their hardship mercifully, Lord, helping rather than exploiting, mindful that you hear the cry of the oppressed.