如何面對困難
尼希米記五章1至13節
1百姓和他們的妻大大呼號，埋怨他們的弟兄猶大人。
2有的說：我們和兒女人口眾多，要去得糧食度命；
3有的說：我們典了田地、葡萄園、房屋，要得糧食充飢；
4有的說：我們已經指著田地、葡萄園，借了錢給王納稅。
5我們的身體與我們弟兄的身體一樣；我們的兒女與他們的兒女一般。現在我們將要使兒女作人的僕婢，我們的女兒已有為婢的；我們並無力拯救，因為我們的田地、葡萄園已經歸了別人。
6我聽見他們呼號說這些話，便甚發怒。
7我心裡籌劃，就斥責貴冑和官長說：你們各人向弟兄取利！於是我招聚大會攻擊他們。
8我對他們說：我們盡力贖回我們弟兄，就是賣與外邦的猶大人；你們還要賣弟兄，使我們贖回來麼？他們就靜默不語，無話可答。
9我又說：你們所行的不善！你們行事不當敬畏我們的神麼？不然，難免我們的仇敵外邦人毀謗我們。
10我和我的弟兄與僕人也將銀錢糧食借給百姓；我們大家都當免去利息。
11如今我勸你們將他們的田地、葡萄園、橄欖園、房屋，並向他們所取的銀錢、糧食、新酒，和油，百分之一的利息都歸還他們。
12眾人說：我們必歸還，不再向他們索要，必照你的話行。我就召了祭司來，叫眾人起誓，必照著所應許的而行。
13我也抖著胸前的衣襟，說：凡不成就這應許的，願神照樣抖他離開家產和他勞碌得來的，直到抖空了。會眾都說：阿們！又讚美耶和華。百姓就照著所應許的去行。
信息分享
第一班人說他們的家人沒有足夠的糧食；第二班人說他們已典當了田地來換取糧食；第三班人則說他們是靠借錢來購買糧食，更要為此而付出極高的利息。這些彼此抱怨的人，都是猶太人；因此，當尼希米聽見同胞這樣互相爭吵，令他感到極其悲憤和心痛。同樣地，教會中的信徒出現紛爭，不單對整體教會的傷害最大，對教外的人也是最壞的見證。
互相抱怨還會帶來甚麼影響呢？就是停止了修建城牆的工作。當人出現不和的時候，就難有合作的可能，做任何工作也難有進展。
對於他們當中的有錢人這樣欺壓同胞，尼希米感到非常氣忿。他如何處理呢？他首先坐下來，深入去剖析整個問題。有些問題他知道自己無法解決，但有些事情他卻可以去干涉。例如，那些欺壓同胞的方式，是違背神的律法的，他可以去斥責做這事的人。我們在第10至11節，便看見尼希米如何義正詞嚴地指出他們的錯誤。
被指責的人自知理虧，所以便無言以對，但他們卻願意悔改，將本息歸還。他們雖然為此而付出代價，卻因著尼希米的訓斥而遵從了神的教導。
尼希米為何敢於直言呢？其中一個原因，是因為他本身的正直清廉，絕不會剝削百姓。
我們可以從這件事例中學到一個功課，就是當問題出現的時候，我們一定要撫心自問，看清楚自己在神面前有沒有過犯。我們必須先正身，然後才能正人和解決問題。
尼希米因為凡事向神說「是」，所以才能向罪說「不」。這豈不是我們的最佳榜樣嗎？
HOW DO YOU FACE PROBLEMS?
Nehemiah 5:1-13
1 And there was a great outcry of the people and their wives against their Jewish brethren.
2 For there were those who said, “We, our sons, and our daughters are many; therefore let us get grain, that we may eat and live.”
3 There were also some who said, “We have mortgaged our lands and vineyards and houses, that we might buy grain because of the famine.”
4 There were also those who said, “We have borrowed money for the king’s tax on our lands and vineyards.
5 Yet now our flesh is as the flesh of our brethren, our children as their children; and indeed we are forcing our sons and our daughters to be slaves, and some of our daughters have been brought into slavery. It is not in our power to redeem them, for other men have our lands and vineyards.”
6 And I became very angry when I heard their outcry and these words.
7 After serious thought, I rebuked the nobles and rulers, and said to them, “Each of you is exacting usury from his brother.” So I called a great assembly against them.
8 And I said to them, “According to our ability we have redeemed our Jewish brethren who were sold to the nations. Now indeed, will you even sell your brethren? Or should they be sold to us?”
Then they were silenced and found nothing to say.
9 Then I said, “What you are doing is not good. Should you not walk in the fear of our God because of the reproach of the nations, our enemies?
10 I also, with my brethren and my servants, am lending them money and grain. Please, let us stop this usury!
11 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.”
12 So they said, “We will restore it, and will require nothing from them; we will do as you say.”
Then I called the priests, and required an oath from them that they would do according to this promise.
13 Then I shook out the fold of my garment and said, “So may God shake out each man from his house, and from his property, who does not perform this promise. Even thus may he be shaken out and emptied.”
And all the assembly said, “Amen!” and praised the Lord. Then the people did according to this promise.
Message
The first group said they didn't have enough food. The second group said they had to give away their land in order to get food. The third group said they had to borrow money to buy food and were paying too high a rate of interest for it. It was all between members of the Jewish Community, the people of God and that is what hurt Nehemiah the most. Trouble inside a church always hurts the whole church and gives a poor witness to those outside.
What other result was there? The work on the walls stopped. There could be no progress, no co-operation while this trouble was going on.
Nehemiah was angry inside, over what some of the rich people were doing to the poorer people. What did he do? He sat down and thought about the problem. There were some things he couldn't do much about, but there were some things that he could. There were men who were breaking God's laws for his people and that was what Nehemiah could speak against. Nehemiah said bluntly, 'It's got to stop' (v.10-11).
The men concerned knew they were wrong. They had no answer for Nehemiah. But they did make a great response. It cost them something, but they were obedient to God's word through Nehemiah.
How could Nehemiah speak like this? One reason was his own integrity. He was not involved in any way with what the others were doing.
One of the most important things we can do when problems arise is to make sure that we ourselves are right before God that we are living as he would have us live. That kind of example is hard to speak against.
Nehemiah said 'No' to sin because he said 'Yes' to God. Can we do anything less?