Compliment For Compliance

“Restore, I pray you, to them, even this day, their lands, their vineyards, their oliveyards, and their houses, also the hundredth part of the money, and of the corn, the wine, and the oil, that ye exact of them. Then said they, We will restore them, and will require nothing of them; so will we do as thou sayest. Then I called the priests, and took an oath of them, that they should do according to this promise. …And the people did according to this promise.” (Ne 5:11-13 AV)

For a better understanding of this passage, we can bring to memory the condition of the people of God at the time.  A remnant had returned several decades earlier to rebuild the temple after Babylon had destroyed it.  Sixty-six years after the rebuilding of the temple, Nehemiah returns to rebuild the walls around Jerusalem.  In those sixty-six years, the returning remnant got into some bad habits.  One of them was to give out loans with interest to their fellow Jews.  This was strictly forbidden in the Mosaic law.  The poor of the land found themselves hopelessly in debt and unable to live because of the burdensome terms of the loans which they took out.  The wealthy took their lands and vineyards as collateral, removing the ability for the poor to earn income in order to pay back the loan.  When Nehemiah found out, he required the wealthy return the collateral so the poor could pay back the loans interest-free.  On the face of it, we would think this to be the right thing to do and no recognition should be made for the obedience of the wealthy.  However, one must remember they made terms of a loan with the understanding of making a profit.  By returning to biblical standards, adding to this inflation, the wealthy would actually lose money.  We might say, “So what!  They shouldn’t have made the loan, to begin with.”  True enough.  But they still reverted to a biblical standard even though it cost them.

What parent hasn’t had to settle a dispute over two siblings when a shared toy is at stake?  This squabble is as common as encroachment of personal space.  Imagine two siblings playing nicely.  There are more toys to choose from than Sundays in the year.  They are playing nicely until one of the siblings notices the other having a great time with a certain toy.  It is fascinating to watch the wheels of envy turning in that little head.  He watches.  He becomes envious.  Then he plots.  The younger they are, the far less subtle they are in gaining what they want.  They plot and plan.  Waiting for the time when attention is slightly drawn away, that little envious monster grabs the toy and proclaims his sibling was done with it and not he gets to play with it.  A brawl ensues.  The older they get, they learn to use negotiating tactics like pretending the lame toy he is stuck with far more fun than the toy his sibling has.  A few glances and a trade is made.  However, the victim discovers how lame of a toy he traded for and a brawl ensues.  Then there is the argument of who had it first.  This starts out with a timeline going back a few minutes.  Then days.  Then weeks, months, and years.  When the argument gets to the point of who was born first, then a brawl ensues.  At this point, the grown-up, in the wisdom of Solomon, requires the aggressor to return the toy.  This grown-up can do one of two things.  He can either require the exchange and that would be the end of it, or he could thank the aggressor for complying with the ethical choice.  The later is what we want to notice here.

Nehemiah was frustrated from time to time with the people whom he led.  They were not behaving as the Bible instructed them to.  Nehemiah was frustrated because the people had quickly forgotten how the LORD dealt with their past disobedience and was concerned the LORD may undo all the grace that was presently enjoyed.  In other words, they should have not better.  This is not the first time Nehemiah would come down on his people.  There are coming three other situations wherein the people of God flagrantly disobeyed the word of God and put in jeopardy the work of God.  Each time, Nehemiah required they comply with the word of God.  But herein is the lesson.  Even if the people knew better, it is right to recognize obedience.  Even if they were stubbornly disobedient, it is a good thing to appreciate compliance.  Even if someone deliberately ignored the law and did wrong, if they made it right, a thank you might be in order.  There is no harm in recognizing obedience whether it was immediate, or after the fact.  Regardless, if a person complies with the law, there are times when he should be recognized for it.