Text: Nehemiah 5:1-19
We live in a culture that says, “Life is all about you. You can live however you want.” We don’t want anyone to tell us what we should do with our lives, but what we do with our time, talents, and treasures matters to God! They reveal who and what is first place in our lives, and what in our lives will truly last when this temporary life is over. In this text, there were many faithfully giving of their time, talents, and treasures to serve the Lord, do His work, and build up God’s people. However, there were also some Jewish nobles who were wasting their time, sitting on their talents, and withholding their treasures. God would not allow their sin to go unnoticed, so He took deliberate steps to confront the problem so that He purified and unified His people to go forward in His work. We invite you to listen today to consider how God wants to purify you so that you, too, join Him in the work that He is doing.