Thought from today’s Bible reading from Nehemiah 1-5.
While Nehemiah was in Jerusalem leading the people in rebuilding the wall, he was appointed as governor over Judah. Many civil rulers in that time (and even today) lived richly as they felt free to take what they wished from the people. Nehemiah, however, was different.
“Moreover, from the day that I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year to the thirty-second year of King Artaxerxes, for twelve years, neither I nor my kinsmen have eaten the governor’s food allowance. But the former governors who were before me laid burdens on the people and took from them bread and wine besides forty shekels of silver; even their servants domineered the people. But I did not do so because of the fear of God” (Nehemiah 5:14-15).
There was a certain allowance of food that was provided to the governor during that time. Though Nehemiah could have taken it, as it would have been expected, he refused to do so. Why? Because he feared God!
Civil rulers, even those over us today, ought to recognize certain truths:
- God is the Creator (Genesis 1:1) and is greater than any human ruler (Ephesians 1:20-21).
- Those in positions of power are still just fallible human beings (Romans 3:23) who will be held accountable to God for their actions – including those actions done while in office (2 Corinthians 5:10).
- All men are made in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-27) and, therefore, are equal before Him (Acts 10:34-35; Galatians 3:28).
- All men – even those in positions of power – must put the interests of others ahead of their own (Philippians 2:3-5).
Those who do not fear God have no moral basis for trying to limit the tax burden on the people. To them, government is the highest authority; therefore, whatever government leaders demand is right. But those in power – just like the rest of us – must fear God, because “there is no authority except from God” (Romans 13:1).
Tomorrow’s reading: Nehemiah 6-7
[I’m using the Chronological reading plan on the Bible Gateway website if you’d like to follow along, too.]
Daily Notes & Observations contains all 365 articles from this series and is available in paperback from Gospel Armory.
