Old Testament Commentary - Nehemiah 5

When Zedekiah was first raised up to be king, Nebuchadnezzar, in conjunction with his top advisor Daniel the prophet, placed Zedekiah and the Jews of Jerusalem under oath and covenant unto serving their God Jehovah according to their own oaths and covnenants of the Jewish worship and by those same oaths a sworn allegence to Babylon was also make. The Jews in their sacrifices of that time symbolically passed through the parts of the calf, which also renewed their obligation to live the law of release of their held Hebrew 'slave-servants'. And this oath and actin of release was sworn upon the people by and through King Zedekiah. And at the time while the Babylonians were present, they did release their Hebrew servants to freedom and redemption according to the Law of God, for it had been over seven years since King Josiah had sworn them to the same in his day of restoring such ordinances of performance by them in his day.

Yet as immediately as feasible, upon the withdrawal of the Babylonian influence which was under the advise of Daniel's prophetic guide, the 'Sarim', that is the Council of the Seventy leading Princes of the Jews did conveine and review what had happened under Nebuchadnezzar and his annoint voice and King of the Jews of Zedekiah. And they at that time did immediately turn from the oath of release and redemption of the Hebrew servants and then retake and again require by their Jewish enforced law that these 'servants' were still under obligation according to Jewish Law. Some spoke that even if they had been put under the oath of the Temple, that oath would not go into effect until after 'another' seven year period would pass since the taking of the oath. And thus it was by their own mouth that the Lord would require it of them to the end of their own destruction.

And thus it was not laid upon them until the passage of another six years and thus in the seventh year of non-comliance passed by, that the Lord according to Jeremiah 34 did call forth the Prophet Jeremiah to so condem the Jews to their ultimate destruction and for a guilt against themselves which they could not deny. For by their own oath and conditions of that oath had the time come. They had passed through the parts of the calf in that first and beginning of the reign of Zedekiah and swore to the oath. They had even first let the Hebrew servants go free, before they immediately turned and reclaimed them upon their own contrived techicality. And now after six additional years and a seveth as well to assure their guilt of non-compliance, did the Lord have Jeremiah come forth and pronouce the destruction upon them (Jeremiah 34:2-3 & 8-17). This was a sin against God what was open to the public. None could deny it as being a 'private sin' which no man knew of. It was known by everybody that it had occured and they times of release had been well passed. And thus the Lord, by the hand of Babylon, did raise up and destroy Jerusalem for that sin which they were guilty of which they could not deny.

And now, in the time of Nehemiah, when those Jews who were still practicing the taking and keeping of Hebrew servant-slave even ever since they had been in Jerusalem, the Lord through Nehemiah would confront them and would not allow them to return to their own lands until they again swore to release and redeem those who were still their Hebrew slave-servants to their ancient land inheritances and freedom. And this time the Lord did not merely promise temporal destrction but he by the action and mouth of the prophet Nehemiah did require of them that there would be a sifting out of them from the eternal blessings of heaven if they did not as the Lord in the Law had commanded and to which they had just once again taken an oath to abide by. This is the eternal law of God. We are our brothers' keepers. We are to look after one another and not take advantage of our brothers and put them under such obligation and duress and unfair practice to take advantage of them in such matters as these. God is not a respecter of persons and any person who does so take unfair advantage and gain by a brother's misfortune of even works against the good of his brother rather than to his brother's benefit, come under the Lord's judgment for such actions.

This on the one hand is the bigger picture of what is going on with this thing about the Hebrew 'slaves' in bondage to their brethern which Jeremiah and Nehemiah were dealing with. And in the very broadest scope, it is the very basis of the laws of heaven, not only to love the Lord our God with all our heart, mind and strength, but to also love our brother, our neighbor, as ourselves. And in the most positive sense of doing good to all men, we are to do unto our brethern as we would have them do unto us. We are to love one another and take care of one another. And we are not to take advantage and take that which is our brother's needs from him to our own lust and greed and pride to put ourselves above them. King Benjamin and the Lord put it straight. He that would be greatest among you is to be the servant of his brother. For when you are in service to you fellow man, you are but in service to God. The two great commandments stand together as one. If you have sought out the downfall of your brother, taken advantage of him, done him harm and ill, them you are not of the Kingdom of God. For the Kingdom of God is how Jesus and the prophets have taught it to be.