Seventh Sunday of Israel (OTA)

Nehemiah 5:6-13

⁶ I was very angry when I heard their outcry and these words. ⁷ I took counsel with myself, and I brought charges against the nobles and the officials. I said to them, “You are exacting interest, each from his brother.” And I held a great assembly against them ⁸ and said to them, “We, as far as we are able, have bought back our Jewish brothers who have been sold to the nations, but you even sell your brothers that they may be sold to us!” They were silent and could not find a word to say. ⁹ So I said, “The thing that you are doing is not good. Ought you not to walk in the fear of our God to prevent the taunts of the nations our enemies? ¹⁰ Moreover, I and my brothers and my servants are lending them money and grain. Let us abandon this exacting of interest. ¹¹ Return to them this very day their fields, their vineyards, their olive orchards, and their houses, and the percentage of money, grain, wine, and oil that you have been exacting from them.” ¹² Then they said, “We will restore these and require nothing from them. We will do as you say.” And I called the priests and made them swear to do as they had promised. ¹³ I also shook out the fold of my garment and said, “So may God shake out every man from his house and from his labor who does not keep this promise. So may he be shaken out and emptied.” And all the assembly said “Amen” and praised the Lord. And the people did as they had promised.

Here again you can just enjoy the picture of a Giant (God) with his long robe of righteousness shaking it, and people falling out of the folds. God shakes out all the unrighteous. He removes those people who would rob others of their freedom. Similarly, dust being shaken out of someone’s sandals.

Here the real problem is that people are trying to return their brothers from slavery. These brothers have suffered many years as slaves. These may even be their descendants at this point in time. But there are other people who are charging high interest loans to their own brothers, which will put them back into slavery.

There are many different customs and traditions with regards to lending money, the buying and selling of slaves, and even the forgiveness of debt. There was a time in history when people would be expected to buy their family out of debt/slavery. Sometimes these people might borrow this money from someone else who they could pay back.

This tradition should remind us that someone else could pay our debt. The debt we own for our unrighteous actions. The debt we own for our ancestor’s unrighteous actions. The price of our release is life itself. The cost is beyond our ability to pay. When you turn to your brothers and sisters, all of us are enslaved. All of us except for one who was born under the law just like us. He paid the price not for his own debt but for your debt. He paid the price for your sins.

He does not shake us out of his robe. He picks us up and brushes us off, and puts us back in that clean, holy, perfect, and righteous robe. Jesus claims you as one of his fellow brothers & sisters.