Nehemiah 5

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... 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? vv. 7,9


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When all the people left from the captivity were back in the land, they were still like slaves for how their own brothers were treating them - the nobles and rulers. Nehemiah is angry when he finds out about this and calls them out. How easy it can be sometimes to pick on the "weak," the one that doesn't "fit in." But we see this so often today among brothers and sisters in Christ. In the words of Nehemiah, "what you're doing is not good." Our action or other peoples actions can put someone in a bondage that we may not realize. Nehemiah didn't just stop there, he cared for those poor people by giving them food, wine, and shared meals at his table. How has another believer affected you to a bondage in your life or how may you have done that to someone else? How have you cared for them more than just sympathy?