Surely you can see how wonderfully this service anticipates the greater Nehemiah. After all, the Lord Jesus Christ laid aside his heavenly privileges, put on humanity, and served those who were hungry and hurting due to the effects of sin. Nehemiah might have been able to say, “I ordered a daily feast and wrote the check with my own hand.” But Jesus could say, “I ordered an eternal feast, and I wrote the check with my own blood!”

The scene may be hard to imagine: people in the covenant community pawning their fields, homes, and vineyards in order to put food on the table. Worse still, the people who were fronting the money were other members of the covenant community. However, this was the reality for post-exilic Jews in Nehemiah’s day.

Nehemiah would have none of this. In chapter 5 he gets after his people like a spiritual Orkin man. He diagnoses the infestation of selfishness and calls them to repentance. Thankfully, the people respond. In repentance, they restore what was taken.

This is a great story of concern and service by a man of God for the people of God. But it doesn’t end there.

At the end of the chapter, we learn that Nehemiah does not make use of his privileges as governor. That is, he doesn’t take the people’s money. He willfully lays aside his privileges and instead serves people. What does he do? Well, in addition to not taking their money, he worked on the wall, acquired no land, and out of his own pocket he fed 150 people a day at his table (Neh. 5.16-17).

Why did he do this? He tells us as much in verse 19, “Remember for my good, O my God, all that I have done for this people.” That is, he had a religious motivation. He was motivated by God. Moreover, he did not take advantage of the people because he was conscious of the people’s weakness (Neh. 5.18).

If we could summarize: Nehemiah, moved by a genuine love for God and a loving concern for his people, laid aside his privileges and selflessly served those who were hungry and hurting.

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