The Mortgage Crisis

In 2008, the mortgage crisis slammed the American economy and sent a financial tsunami around the globe. People suddenly lost their homes, their jobs, and their 401ks. As the rich got richer while the poor got poorer, protests popped up like Occupy Wall Street. That’s not the first time this happened. And I’m not talking about the Great Depression of the 1930s. Nehemiah and the people of Jerusalem faced their own mortgage crisis back in 445 BC (Neh 5:1-13). The rich get richer off the backs of their own people. People lose their homes, their property, and even their own children! The poor rise up to protest. Call it Occupy Jerusalem. That’s when Nehemiah steps in. 

Life in and around Jerusalem was miserable when Nehemiah arrived. The past 140 years have transformed God’s shining city on a hill into a local joke. Nebuchadnezzar’s army attacked and sacked Jerusalem in 586 BC, hauling most of the people back as slaves to Babylon. Over the years, thugs like Sanballat and other local rulers jumped on what was left and fed off of it like vultures. Think of them more like local mob bosses who continually extort money the Jewish people. They continually leveraged their power to keep God’s people under their thumb. These bullies continually threaten to attack if the Jews don’t pay up. If that’s not bad enough, the region is suffering from a severe famine. Remember, this is a desert region. Droughts are a regular part of life. But with the people already teetering on poverty, the famine seems like piling on. If that’s not bad enough, the Hebrew people need to pay their taxes to King Artaxerxes since they are part of the Persian Empire. 

The pressure from the outside is nasty, but it’s nothing compared to the cancer that’s eating the Jews from the inside out. The intensity of the work on the wall project has drained the people’s strength. They spend most of their time and energy on the job site and not growing food. The constant threat of attack takes its psychological and emotional toll. People borrow money from their Jewish neighbors in order to eat and survive (v1). But it’s not like they’ve popped in to the local credit union. The interest rates are through the roof. Think payday lenders and loan sharks. These folks aren’t running up credit card debt to pay for new toys like a four wheeler or a Jet Ski. They need food or they are going to die. 

As the mortgage crisis bottoms out, the protest begins (v1). As bad as the threats from Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem are, the big problem complaint is against their Jewish brothers. Some families are so broke they’re on the brink of starvation (v2). Other folks are using their homes and property as collateral for food (v3). And there’s still another percentage of Jewish people who have to go into hock in order to pay their Persian taxes (v4). The financial collapse reaches the point that people are actually selling their own kids as slaves in order to survive (v5). The worst part is that none of these people ever stand a chance of ever paying off their debts. Forget rebuilding the walls. Nehemiah needs to rebuild the local economy.

Nehemiah blows his stack when he finds out what’s going down (v6). After mulling it over, he quickly accuses the one percent of bleeding the ninety-nine (v7). There’s nothing wrong with money. There’s nothing wrong with making a profit. But the nobles and officials are padding their bank accounts on the backs of the Hebrew brothers and sisters. At this point, Nehemiah calls a family meeting of everyone in and around Jerusalem (v7). As governor, he lets the people know that this must stop, right here and right now. He and others have bought their fellow Jews out of slavery in Persia only to have them sold right back as slaves in the Promised Land (v8). Just in case they may have missed his point, Nehemiah spells it out clearly. “The thing you are doing is not good. Out you not to walk in the fear of our God to prevent the taunts of the nations our enemies?” (v9). Do they have so little respect and awe of God that they break the Mosaic Law? According to the law God gave Moses, it was illegal for one Jew to charge interest while loaning money, food, or anything else. If the person is broke, you should consider it a gift. If they have the ability to repay, do it without interest (Lev 25:36-37; Dt 23:19-20). The LORD kicked them out of the Promised Land once for failing to obey Him. Do you want to take the chance again?

As he has done before, Nehemiah leads by example. He and his lead team lend cash and food WITHOUT charging any interest (v10). He announces that these loan shark tactics and high interest rates stop now (v10). But that’s not all. “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” (v11). Give it back. Give it ALL back. Give it all back TODAY! And that includes the double digit interest you’ve squeezed from them. That’s a sure sign that God’s grace has really had an impact on our lives. Just ask Zacchaeus (Lk 19:1-10). He was a tax collector in Jericho who bilked cash out of his fellow Jews’ pockets and into his own bank account. Once Jesus got ahold of him, Zach paid it back. Not once. Not twice. But fourfold!

Scripture repeatedly makes it clear that generosity is a mark of godliness (Ps 15:5; Jer 15:10; Prov 28:8). And why shouldn’t it? The LORD is the ultimate Giver. Allow me to explain. God gives (Jn 3:16). Satan steals (Jn 10:10). Who do you want to be like? God graciously handpicked the Jewish people to bless the world. He gave them the Promised Land. He orchestrated their return from captivity by bending the hearts of a series of pagan kings. He gave them the resources to rebuild the city, the temple, and the walls. He gave them leaders like Zerubbabel, Ezra, and Nehemiah to get it done. But instead of being godly givers, they’ve become takers. Remember, God is remaking us in His image. And He’s the ultimate Giver.

Meanwhile back at the big meeting, we wait to hear how the lenders respond to Nehemiah’s accusation and demand for change. What will they do? In many ways, this is a real crisis point in Nehemiah’s leadership. If these nobles and officials blow him off, everything comes crashing down. But God clearly moves in the hearts of the one percent and they agree to everything (v12). They’ll give it all back. They wipe all debt plus service charges and late payment fees off the books. Just in case they might not keep their end of the deal, Nehemiah wants to make this official. “And I called the priests and made them swear to do as they had promised” (v12) This was basically like signing a contract to cement the agreement. And just in case they’re considering doing this again, “I also shook out the fold of my garment” (v13). This is what is known as a curse rite. Nehemiah symbolizes what will happen to anyone caught loan sharking in the future. He will make sure that they get the Taylor Swift treatment. He’ll not only shake them off for shaking their brothers and sisters down.

Our God continually gives. He continually gives us what we need, like our daily bread (Mt 6:11). But graciously showers us with what we don’t deserve. That’s the definition of grace. He reaches out to save us not because we’ve earned it but because He’s good and He’s a giver (Eph 2:8-9). As a result, He calls each one of us to be a giver and not a taker. Too often we become takers, sometime without even realizing it. That’s the point Nehemiah made at the big meeting in Jerusalem during the mortgage crisis. Our giving God calls us to be givers not takers.