Nehemiah 5 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: THE SIN PROBLEM

Can you live without sin for one day? No. How about one hour, can you do it? No. Nor can I. And if we can’t live without sin we have a problem. Proverbs 10:16 says we’re evil and “evil people are paid with punishment.” What can we do?

Observe what Jesus does with our filth—he carries it to the cross. God speaks to Isaiah in chapter 50, verse 6: “I did not hide my face from mocking and spitting.” You see, mingled with his blood and sweat was the essence of our sin. Angels were a prayer away. Couldn’t they have taken the spittle away? They could have, but Jesus never commanded them to. The One whose chose the nails also chose the saliva. Why? The sinless One took on the face of a sinner so that we sinners could take on the face of a saint.

Nehemiah 5

The “Great Protest”

A great protest was mounted by the people, including the wives, against their fellow Jews. Some said, “We have big families, and we need food just to survive.”

3 Others said, “We’re having to mortgage our fields and vineyards and homes to get enough grain to keep from starving.”

4-5 And others said, “We’re having to borrow money to pay the royal tax on our fields and vineyards. Look: We’re the same flesh and blood as our brothers here; our children are just as good as theirs. Yet here we are having to sell our children off as slaves—some of our daughters have already been sold—and we can’t do anything about it because our fields and vineyards are owned by somebody else.”

6-7 I got really angry when I heard their protest and complaints. After thinking it over, I called the nobles and officials on the carpet. I said, “Each one of you is gouging his brother.”

7-8 Then I called a big meeting to deal with them. I told them, “We did everything we could to buy back our Jewish brothers who had to sell themselves as slaves to foreigners. And now you’re selling these same brothers back into debt slavery! Does that mean that we have to buy them back again?”

They said nothing. What could they say?

9 “What you’re doing is wrong. Is there no fear of God left in you? Don’t you care what the nations around here, our enemies, think of you?

10-11 “I and my brothers and the people working for me have also loaned them money. But this gouging them with interest has to stop. Give them back their foreclosed fields, vineyards, olive groves, and homes right now. And forgive your claims on their money, grain, new wine, and olive oil.”

12-13 They said, “We’ll give it all back. We won’t make any more demands on them. We’ll do everything you say.”

Then I called the priests together and made them promise to keep their word. Then I emptied my pockets, turning them inside out, and said, “So may God empty the pockets and house of everyone who doesn’t keep this promise—turned inside out and emptied.”

Everyone gave a wholehearted “Yes, we’ll do it!” and praised God. And the people did what they promised.

“Remember in My Favor, O My God”
14-16 From the time King Artaxerxes appointed me as their governor in the land of Judah—from the twentieth to the thirty-second year of his reign, twelve years—neither I nor my brothers used the governor’s food allowance. Governors who had preceded me had oppressed the people by taxing them forty shekels of silver (about a pound) a day for food and wine while their underlings bullied the people unmercifully. But out of fear of God I did none of that. I had work to do; I worked on this wall. All my men were on the job to do the work. We didn’t have time to line our own pockets.

17-18 I fed 150 Jews and officials at my table in addition to those who showed up from the surrounding nations. One ox, six choice sheep, and some chickens were prepared for me daily, and every ten days a large supply of wine was delivered. Even so, I didn’t use the food allowance provided for the governor—the people had it hard enough as it was.

19 Remember in my favor, O my God,
Everything I’ve done for these people.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion    
Monday, April 05, 2021
Read: Isaiah 22:15–20, 22–25

I will place on his shoulder the key to the house of David; what he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open. 23 I will drive him like a peg into a firm place; he will become a seat[a] of honor for the house of his father. 24 All the glory of his family will hang on him: its offspring and offshoots—all its lesser vessels, from the bowls to all the jars.

25 “In that day,” declares the Lord Almighty, “the peg driven into the firm place will give way; it will be sheared off and will fall, and the load hanging on it will be cut down.” The Lord has spoken.

INSIGHT
The prophet Isaiah describes how the honorable Eliakim (an official in King Hezekiah’s court) would be like a peg driven into a firm place (Isaiah 22:23). However, that peg “will be sheared off and will fall, and the load hanging on it will be cut down” (v. 25). He would be brought down by his family who took advantage of his high position, bringing about his ruin as the peg gave way under the strain (v. 24). The quick reversal of fortune isn’t unusual in the book of Isaiah, where any word of present deliverance was only temporary, while real future hope lay after the impending judgment that was coming because of Israel’s persistent faithlessness.


Anchored in Truth - By Our Daily Bread
I will drive him like a peg into a firm place. Isaiah 22:23

My family lives in a nearly century-old house with a lot of character, including wonderfully textured plaster walls. A builder cautioned me that with these walls, to hang a picture I’d have to either drill the nail into a wood support or use a plaster anchor for support. Otherwise, I’d risk the picture crashing to the ground, leaving an ugly hole behind.

The prophet Isaiah used the imagery of a nail driven firmly into a wall to describe a minor biblical character named Eliakim. Unlike the corrupt official Shebna (Isaiah 22:15–19), as well as the people of Israel—who looked to themselves for strength (vv. 8–11)—Eliakim trusted in God. Prophesying Eliakim’s promotion to palace administrator for King Hezekiah, Isaiah wrote that Eliakim would be driven like a “peg into a firm place” (v. 23). Being securely anchored in God’s truth and grace would also allow Eliakim to be a support for his family and his people (vv. 22–24).

Yet Isaiah concluded this prophecy with a sobering reminder that no person can be the ultimate security for friends or family—we all fail (v. 25). The only completely trustworthy anchor for our lives is Jesus (Psalm 62:5–6; Matthew 7:24). As we care for others and share their burdens, may we also point them to Him, the anchor who will never fail.


How can you stay firmly anchored in God’s truth and grace? In what ways can you support those feeling weighed down by life’s burdens?

Dear Jesus, thank You for being my anchor. As Your child, I know that I’m firmly planted in You.

Read Navigating the Storms of Life at DiscoverySeries.org/HP061.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, April 05, 2021
His Agony and Our Access

Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples…."Stay here and watch with Me." —Matthew 26:36, 38

We can never fully comprehend Christ’s agony in the Garden of Gethsemane, but at least we don’t have to misunderstand it. It is the agony of God and man in one Person, coming face to face with sin. We cannot learn about Gethsemane through personal experience. Gethsemane and Calvary represent something totally unique— they are the gateway into life for us.

It was not death on the cross that Jesus agonized over in Gethsemane. In fact, He stated very emphatically that He came with the purpose of dying. His concern here was that He might not get through this struggle as the Son of Man. He was confident of getting through it as the Son of God— Satan could not touch Him there. But Satan’s assault was that our Lord would come through for us on His own solely as the Son of Man. If Jesus had done that, He could not have been our Savior (see Hebrews 9:11-15). Read the record of His agony in Gethsemane in light of His earlier wilderness temptation— “…the devil…departed from Him until an opportune time” (Luke 4:13). In Gethsemane, Satan came back and was overthrown again. Satan’s final assault against our Lord as the Son of Man was in Gethsemane.

The agony in Gethsemane was the agony of the Son of God in fulfilling His destiny as the Savior of the world. The veil is pulled back here to reveal all that it cost Him to make it possible for us to become sons of God. His agony was the basis for the simplicity of our salvation. The Cross of Christ was a triumph for the Son of Man. It was not only a sign that our Lord had triumphed, but that He had triumphed to save the human race. Because of what the Son of Man went through, every human being has been provided with a way of access into the very presence of God.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

The Bible is a relation of facts, the truth of which must be tested. Life may go on all right for a while, when suddenly a bereavement comes, or some crisis; unrequited love or a new love, a disaster, a business collapse, or a shocking sin, and we turn up our Bibles again and God’s word comes straight home, and we say, “Why, I never saw that there before.” Shade of His Hand, 1223 L

Bible in a Year: 1 Samuel 1-3; Luke 8:26-56

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, April 05, 2021

Relief From Fit-In Pressure - #8931

One day I caught a snatch of a TV talk show which I otherwise would never have seen. But the host was interviewing a former FBI agent. He's a man who successfully infiltrated the mafia for several years, and he'd been responsible for bringing evidence in some major indictments against mob leadership. Now, one factor in his underground life was a major source of criminal income. OK, here he was, a pretty straight person, surrounded by cocaine. Well, the host asked the FBI man an interesting question. He said, "Did you ever have to use cocaine?" That's a pretty good question, I thought. After all, his life depended on his fitting in, right? Well, he said, "No, I never did." And the host said, "Well, how did you avoid it?" I liked his answer. It might even help you when you're feeling the pressure to fit in.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Relief From Fit-In Pressure."

Now, how does a mafia infiltrator deal with the pressure to use cocaine? Here's what he said, "Well, the first time I ever got offered any, I hit the guy." Now, wait a minute. I'm not suggesting when somebody pressures you to do something wrong you hit him. That's a wrong thing too. Don't blame me for that if you do. That's your temper, not me. I like the next thing he said, "If you let them know from the start where you stand" - This is a good part - "they'll leave you alone."

Our word for today from the Word of God is from the book of Daniel. He was not in the mafia, but he did very much the same thing to relieve the pressure around him. He had the opportunity, it says in chapter 1, verse 5, to become a leader in the king's court. I'm quoting now, "The king assigned them a daily amount of food and wine from the king's table. And they (including Daniel) were trained for three years, and after that they were to enter the king's service." OK, look. He's got a great career path ahead of him. The only thing is he had to eat food that he considered to be by his biblical standards defiled.

Here's what it says, "Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine." Now, this is a test. A few days of testing to eat just what would be legal and righteous for him. "At the end of ten days," it says, "they looked healthier and better than all the rest." And they ended up being leaders in the kingdom.

Now, Daniel could easily have waited to take his stand. He could draw the line maybe later when there was a major compromise. But he let them know from the start where he stood and they left him alone. I think that could work for you too.

My daughter began as a freshman to say, "I'm going to take my stand against what a Christian ought to stand against." And I watched as she got very pressured. But she was consistent. And then it kind of turned to respect. Eventually her friends started defending her, and they'd say, "Hey, don't even bother her. She's not that kind of person."

See, as long as people are trying to live like Jesus in a dirty world, they're going to be pressured to fit in. You've been. You probably feel it where you are...little compromises of the truth, of your purity, or you know, maybe you don't want to be clearly identified with Jesus. Every time you compromise just a little bit to fit in, you increase the pressure. Once you take a firm stand and pass a couple of tests, people will let you be what you said you'd be.

My son summed it up one day. He said, "Dad, life is so much simpler when you've decided to be totally for Christ." He's right. Starting now, why don't you verbally, clearly let it be known where you stand? And pretty soon they'll back off, and they'll expect you to be what you said you'd be.

That's actually the very best relief you can buy from the pressure to fit in.