Sabbath: Violating the Spirit of the Law
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Read for This Week’s Study: Neh. 5:1-5; Exod. 21:2-7; Micah 6:8; Neh. 5:7-12; Deut. 23:21-23; Neh. 5:14-19.
Memory Text: “Restore now to them, even this day, their lands, their vineyards, their olive groves, and their houses, also a hundredth of the money and the grain, the new wine and the oil, that you have charged them” (Nehemiah 5:11, NKJV).
To this day, we humans struggle with the question of wealth, poverty, and the gap between the rich and the poor and what can be done about it. Yes, Jesus said that “you have the poor with you always” (Matt. 26:11, NKJV), but that’s hardly an excuse to do nothing about helping them. On the contrary, Scripture admonishes us to do our part to help. We can barely call ourselves Christians otherwise.
How fascinating, too, that even amid the trials and tribulations of the returned exiles in rebuilding Jerusalem, this theme appears, not just that of poverty and the poor, but that of the even more problematic question of the rich oppressing the poor. This was a problem before the exile, and now, even back in their own land, it reappears.
This week we will see another manifestation of this age-old theme, and how Nehemiah worked to deal with it. As we will see, what made this oppression even worse was that it was being done within “the letter of the law”, so to speak, a powerful example of how we need to be careful not to let rules and regulations become an end in and of themselves rather than a means to an end, which is to reflect the character of Jesus.
Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, November 2.
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It is interesting that once again we come back to the issue of how we treat one another. We spent three months discussing this issue and it was somewhat interesting and challenging to hear so many people make the comment to me that the study did not have anything in it for them. However, I venture to say, the issue of how we treat the poor and the oppressed and how we interact with those we regard the least of these, is a recurring if not dominant theme in the Bible.
Last quarter I quoted this verse so many times:
Some folk probably thought I had a one track mind.
And, yet again, this coming week we are reminded that our treatment of the "least of these" is where the rubber hits the road on the Christian highway.
The really big sin of apostate Christianity was the way they used power to control the common people. And the big idea of the Protestant movement and the reformation was to empower ordinary people to take control of their own spirituality and not be beholden to a power bent on their own edification.
As Seventh-day Adventists, studying this lesson this coming week. perhaps we need to reexamine our spirituality, Do we keep the letter of the law, or are we living the spirit of the law? Sheep, or goats?
Thanks for your comment... I always enjoy reading what you have to say. Over and over again the lessons have been relevant for me or our congregation and again I see the pitchfork being used instead of the rake! Our church went through a crisis which resulted in many members leaving and forming a loving caring fellowship to which we now belong. During the past three years the message of reconciliation and forgiveness has come through repeatedly... and fallen on deaf ears. How can God bless a congregation whose leaders are constantly looking for ways to 'get back' at those who dared question their leadership? And yet the Lord keeps speaking through His Word... are we all listening?
Amen
Based on the topic of discussion today, could I know the following aspects of law:
1.the letter of the law
2.the rule of the law
3.spirit of the law
1) Letter of the law
The letter of the law allowed a Hebrew to be sold as a slave for the debt they owed. 2 Kings 4:1
2) Rule of the law
The rule of the law stated you must not treat your fellow brother as a slave Leviticus 25:39
3) Spirit of the law
It is not in our power to redeem our children. Nehemiah rebuked the leaders and the leaders stood in silence because they knew they had done wrong.
Letter of the law - Written code
Rule of the law - Binding regulation of the law
Spirit of the law - Discernment made in the mind to the intent of the law.
This is in the context of Nehemiah chapter 5
The Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act (or the Credit CARD Act of 2009) was passed by the United States Congress in 2009, expanding on the Truth in Lending Act (TILA), and took effect in 2010. Its purpose was to curtail deceptive and abusive practices by credit card issuers.
Before the Credit CARD Act of 2009 credit card terms and rules were pretty cryptic. It was much easier to get pinged for a mistake you didn't even realize you could make, or end up with a fee you weren't aware you'd have to pay.
The Credit CARD Act was passed by lawmakers in response to the following practices:
Interest rate hikes: Many credit card companies hiked the interest rate on their cards without adequate notification or reason. Most customers didn't realize this was happening and often were powerless to do anything about it. Before the Act, it wasn't nearly as easy to compare low interest credit cards as it is today.
Marketing targeted toward underage consumers: Many credit card companies targeted college campuses with giveaways to underage consumers who were not aware of what they were signing up for until it was too late. ("Hey, all you need to do is fill out an application – you never have to use the card once you get it.")
Fees: Numerous credit card accounts were hit with all manner of fees, often undisclosed. These ranged from late fees to "over-limit" fees, which were assessed when the credit card company allowed an account to go over its limit and then charged the customer a fee for doing so. (These became known as "fee harvester" cards.)
Obfuscation: Most of the time, it was nearly impossible to decipher the myriad charges, fees and interest expenses added to a credit card account.
Read more at: https://www.cardratings.com/how-credit-cards-work/basics/what-did-the-credit-card-act-of-2009-do.html
Copyright © CardRatings.com
We have evolved to do much more evil legally; therefore, the laws that governs us had to evolve.
What has been will be again,
what has been done will be done again;
there is nothing new under the sun.
How do we break the chain?
What can break the rut we find ourselves?
It is only the power of God. It's free for our asking.
Holy Spirit guide your people in their daily matters of life.
The physical life of the church is a reflection of the spiritual life of the people. It is said if a church is not working it is fighting.
1. Look at Ezra-Nehemiah days, their were people who choose not to work nor did their part but were criticizing all that were done. Isn’t that the same thing going on in our church today. As I said before, it is approximately 33% of the people who does anything in the church.
2. One of the problem they Israelites were taken from their land 70yrs ago was greed. The rich oppression of the poor. Here again sin had raised its ugly head again. But what about our churches today? Are we supposed to meet a certain equivalent to sent to the higher ups? The brother in the mission report spoke about a member selling her property and return a good sum, what about those who have no house to sell? Those who live pay check to pay check? Those dwindling churches? I must say, members who make great sacrifices like to see how, where and on what their money is spent- this is responsibility.
3. Many times the poor have no voice for themselves so they are taken advantage of as in Ezra-Nehemiah times. Are we looking out for the poor? Do we speak up for them? What about at church board?
Certainty one problem in the church...in Nehemiah’s time as well as our own...is the rich oppressing the poor. But even for the majority of us who are not rich, I wonder if we worry more about WHY someone is poor, or about “enabling” behaviors we blame for a person’s poverty, than we do about simply helping the poor?
It is heartbreaking to see cities that criminalize and punish homelessness. But even among Christians I hear discussions about what is or is not “appropriate” to give to a homeless person. “If you give them money, they will just buy alcohol or drugs.” Maybe. But we can’t know that. And more importantly...maybe that alcoholic really does need that drink. 🤷♀️ poverty, than we do about simply helping the poor?
Maybe we can trust people to know what they need in that moment? 🤷♀️
That even when they have returned to their lands, their home city again they are oppressed.What an ackward state to the poor? It is a timely message to the church today that if only we recognize Christ's beatitude of mercy, and lending to the oppressed, the church's role in the community will not have any impact.