We continue this session with RightNowMedia study by Eric Mason on the book of Nehemiah.

Every session has a point—what each participant should walk away from the discussion knowing, feeling, and doing.

• Main Idea: God calls his people to lay down their rights in order to seek justice for others.
• Head Change: To know we can use the power and resources God has given us to help those who are oppressed.
• Heart Change: To feel compassion for those who are oppressed.
• Life Change: To set aside our rights to help bring justice to others.

If you had a superpower that was solely intended to help others, what would it be and who would you help?

In stories, heroes use their superpowers to help others and influence the world around them. In fact, any kind of power can either help or hurt people. Even though we don’t have super strength or invisibility, we have all been given power to exercise influence at work, at home, or with our family and friends.

In Nehemiah 5, we encounter a situation in the Israelite community where those in power were hurting their fellow Israelites. Nehemiah responded to the injustice by bravely confronting the leaders and being an example of selfless leadership.

Read Nehemiah 5:1–19.

Watch Session 5: Nehemiah 5 (13 minutes).

DISCUSS

Nehemiah 5 shows us how power and influence can either make or break a community of people. On one hand, we see some in power exploiting the weaknesses of the people under them for their own personal gain. Yet, Nehemiah was a leader who set aside his power to bring justice to those around him.

Many of the Israelites at the time of Nehemiah worked in agriculture. But since their attention was on building the wall, they could not generate income for themselves. Some of their fellow Jews who were more financially stable exploited those with financial weaknesses for personal gain. Eric said the people in power were utilizing their privilege to oppress people. Why do you think some people view their power or privilege as an opportunity for personal gain rather than for someone else’s gain?

The Jews were being taken advantage of by their own people. God’s people are supposed to care for each other, and God hates when anyone is mistreated. Injustice shouldn’t characterize the people of God, but, unfortunately, it often does. In what ways do people take advantage of or behave unjustly toward others today? How has the church been involved in injustice?

Eric connected justice with God’s character and our role as his image bearers. To be God’s people is to be those who both desire and bring about justice. What does it mean to you that God is just? How can we imitate his justice as his people?

In verse 5, the people said they were powerless because what they owned had been taken away from them. Who do you think may feel powerless in our community? Why do you think they feel powerless?

Verse 6 tells us that Nehemiah became inflamed with anger because his own people were being oppressed. His righteous anger moved him to provide relief for the people. Have you ever felt righteous anger over an injustice? If so, what did your anger drive you to do?

Fueled by his righteous anger, Nehemiah boldly confronted the officials and nobles for exploiting the Israelites. Eric shared that, as Nehemiah was for Israel, the church needs to be a prophetic voice for justice issues in our world, not a “pathetic” one. In what ways have you seen the church stand up for those who are oppressed? How can the church continue to speak up against oppression in our culture?

Nehemiah told those in power to give back the land and all the money and resources they took from their fellow Jews. The people in power agreed, swore a public oath, and verse 13 tells us that they did as they promised. While their repentance was costly, they followed through on their word and the oppression was brought to an end. Their response shows us that for justice to be accomplished, words and actions must be in alignment. Why do you think our actions sometimes don’t match our words in seeking out justice? In what ways can we seek out justice with our words and actions?

In verse 14, we see that Nehemiah was given power by the king of Persia to govern the Israelites. Ultimately, we know that God is the one who gives us authority and responsibility, and while we may not be a government official, we all have a sphere of influence we are responsible for. Our sphere of influence may be at home, at work, in a faith community, or with the family and friends God has entrusted to us. What’s your sphere of influence? How might viewing your sphere of influence as entrusted to you by God affect the way you operate in it?

In verse 15, we see Nehemiah’s reasoning for not taking what was entitled to him: he feared God. Nehemiah’s respect for God led him to honor others. How might our perception of God affect the way we treat others?

Eric shared that the fundamental reason for the injustices in our world is that we do not view everyone as created in God’s image. Each person, no matter their skin color, gender, age, economic background, or any other distinction, is made by God, reflects him, and is valued by him. Therefore, every person deserves to be treated with dignity. In what ways do you treat others differently because you view them as created in God’s image? What might change in our community if everyone treated each other with dignity as God’s image-bearers?

Former governors, who had similar motives to the nobles and officials, also oppressed the people. When leaders misuse their power, whether they are aware of it or not, the people they lead suffer. Have you experienced a heavy burden that a leader has placed on you? If so, what kinds of emotions did you experience? How does knowing how your actions impact others challenge you to steward the influence God has given you?

Because Nehemiah feared God and saw his fellow Jews as equals, he did not take the resources he had a rightful claim to as the governors did before him. Instead, he brought relief to the people by denying his own rights as governor. Eric told us that in order to gain the trust of people who have been oppressed, we must be willing to make sacrifices for them. How might making sacrifices for others who have suffered help build their trust? What kinds of sacrifices might need to be made to help those who are oppressed in our world?

Each culture has an underlying system of values that are expressed in rights for people. Sometimes the rights our culture prizes are in line with God’s Word, but sometimes they are not. What are some rights your culture holds tightly to? In what ways might an overemphasis on our rights prevent us from acting justly toward others?

Nehemiah’s actions encourage us to lay down our rights and make sacrifices so we can help bring justice to others. We can make sacrifices like using our free time to serve the underprivileged, giving financially to a cause fighting injustice, or getting out of our comfort zone to get to know someone different than ourselves. When we put ourselves in a posture of learning and giving, we can help others thrive. What sacrifice can you make that could help someone around you thrive?

Eric shared that, as God’s people, we are to represent him by being a beacon of light to the world. We can show God’s heart for people by caring for those who are hopeless and advocating for justice. What could it look like for you to be a light to those around you this week?

LAST WORD

Every person has been created in the image of God, and we honor him when we treat others with dignity, especially when they are oppressed. Regardless of the culture we live in, there will always be oppressed people around us—perhaps we have experienced oppression ourselves.

God has equipped us to be a blessing to others and boldly address the injustices around us by exchanging entitlement for service. Our sacrifices will help bring freedom to those under oppression. As we seek justice inside and outside the body of Christ, we bring light to darkness and reveal God’s heart to the world.