Reading for July 13th

 Read Nehemiah 5.1-13. In 5.1-13: Economic crisis and Nehemiah's solution. Told in a first person fashion, this section recounts a grave economic crisis made worse by the profiteering of some members of the community. Faced with a possible revolt, Nehemiah forcefully takes  dramatic steps to alleviate the crisis. In verse 1: Now there was a great outcry: The implication of the placement of this account is that the work of rebuilding was continuing when the crisis reached it potential breaking point. Three different issues are raised by the crowd, all the result of a periodic famine (v. 3). The first issue is the difficulty in getting grain or food (v. 2); the second, the use of fields as collateral to obtain loans for purchasing grain (v. 4) and most seriously, the use of the labor of children as collateral on borrowing money to pay the king's tax (v. 5). Normally, taxes were paid in grains in the Persian empire, but when grain was not available, taxes could be paid in the monetary equivalent (usually the weight, such as "so many mina of silver") of the amount of grain owed. In a famine, as the cost of grain escalated, so would the relative value of the taxes owed the empire. Also, famine was usually triggered by drought, making it difficult for farmers to raise the necessary crop yield to repay a debt. Brokers could loan grains or silver in return for receiving pledges on the future yields of the land or on the available labor in the family group. If the loan was not repaid in the time frame agreed to, the broker could seize all the yield of a given crop, or take members of the family into indentured servitude, often exacting interest on the remaining balance due until the whole loan plus accrued interest was repaid. Nehemiah attempts to address this situation by first calling a great assembly (v. 7), announcing the release of new resources into the markets (v. 10). He also requires that productive lands be returned tot he debtors so that they will have some means of raising capital to make the debt good (v. 11) the call to stop this taking of interest (v.10) is most likely reference to the additional interest on the loan when the original repayment schedule cannot be met. This seems to be what the brokers agree to in pledging they will demand nothing more from them (v. 12). In verse 13: May God shake out everyone from house and from property: Having forced the brokers to take a solemn oath before the priests (v. 12), Nehemiah engages in a symbolic action, placing a curse on all who violate the pledge. The brokers, being people of means, would take seriously the possibility of losing their wealth. The people did as they had promised suggests Nehemiah's solutions worked. Comments or Questions..