A Rebuke Against Extortion
Audio:
https://www.youtube.com/embed/Lnghp7040gU?list=PL4ByrircmXL4AIWLkRrpeoEq_A6VmA54y
The wall of Jerusalem had not yet been completed when Nehemiah's attention was called to the unhappy condition of the poorer classes of the people.God had also instructed through Moses: If thou lend money to any of My people that is poor by thee, thou shalt not be to him as an usurer. Exodus 22:25
Nehemiah showed them that he himself, being invested with authority from the Persian king, might have demanded large contributions for his personal benefit. But instead of this he had not taken even that which justly belonged to him, but had given to relieve the poor in their need. He urged those among the Jewish rulers who had been guilty of extortion, to cease this iniquitous work.
The customs of the world are no criterion for the Christian.