The Challenge of Restorative Justice, Part 1

Scripture — Nehemiah 5:11-13 9 (NRSV)

“Restore to them, this very day, their fields, their vineyards, their olive orchards, and their houses, and the interest on money, grain, wine, and oil that you have been exacting from them.” Then they said, “We will restore everything and demand nothing more from them. We will do as you say.” And I called the priests, and made them take an oath to do as they had promised. I also shook out the fold of my garment and said, “So may God shake out everyone from house and from property who does not perform this promise. Thus may they be shaken out and emptied.” And all the assembly said, “Amen,” and praised the LORD. And the people did as they had promised.

Devotion

As you may recall from last Wednesday’s Life for Leaders devotion, Nehemiah faced a particularly tricky problem within the Jewish community of Judea. In a time of economic hardship, many of those who were not well-off faced financial ruin because of a regional famine. They said, “We are having to pledge our fields, our vineyards, and our houses in order to get grain during the famine” (5:3). Others added, “We are having to borrow money on our fields and vineyards to pay the king’s tax” (5:4). When they couldn’t pay what was due, they either lost their property or were forced to sell their children into slavery (5:5).

Nehemiah was angry with the economically entitled folks who took advantage of their Jewish brothers and sisters (5:6-7). So, he summoned all the people to a great assembly to deal with this distressing problem. Nehemiah began by saying to those who had taken advantage of their fellow Jews, “Restore to them, this very day, their fields, their vineyards, their olive orchards, and their houses, and the interest on money, grain, wine, and oil that you have been exacting from them” (5:11). Surprisingly, they responded quickly and favorably to Nehemiah’s demand: “We will restore everything and demand nothing more from them. We will do as you say” (5:12).

We don’t know why they were so cooperative. Perhaps they knew Nehemiah had authority over them. Or perhaps they were convicted of their unjust greed by the Holy Spirit. No matter the reason, those who had taken advantage of the situation repented in the presence of Nehemiah and their community. A bit later, Nehemiah tells us that they didn’t make empty promises. Rather, as he puts it, “And the people did as they had promised” (5:13).

As we read this story today, we can surely understand why Nehemiah was outraged by the behavior of the wealthier Jews. What they did was certainly not reflective of the kind of relationship Jews were to have with each other. In fact, the law of Moses was quite clear that Jews who loaned to other Jews were not to charge interest. It says in Exodus 22:25, “If you lend money to my people, to the poor among you, you shall not deal with them as a creditor; you shall not exact interest from them.” The entitled folk in Nehemiah’s day not only broke the law of God, but also treated their fellow Jews unjustly by taking their property or even claiming their children as slaves.

In a situation like this, justice is required. This explains Nehemiah’s insistence that the practice of Jews taking advantage of their fellow Jews had to stop. But there was also the problem of what had been taken from those who had been struggling financially, including their property and their children. In this case, a different kind of justice was needed. It’s what philosophers and theologians refer to as “restorative justice.” Restorative justice seeks to repair what was broken and make right what was wrong. The story from Nehemiah 5 provides a clear picture of restorative justice. In fact, Nehemiah says to those who had taken advantage of others, “Restore to them, this very day, their fields, their vineyards, their olive orchards, and their houses, and the interest on money, grain, wine, and oil that you have been exacting from them” (5:11). It wasn’t enough that the entitled stop doing what was wrong. They needed to go back and make right the wrongs they had done in the past.

You and I may not have taken from people their homes or their children, but we all have acted unjustly at times in ways that may require restoration. Perhaps we have gossiped about someone in a way that hurt their reputation. Restoration is needed. Or perhaps we have underpaid employees because we could get away with it. Restoration is needed. Or . . . you name it. If we become aware of how our unjust actions have been costly to others, it may be time not only to act justly in the future but also to restore what was wrong in the past.

In tomorrow’s Life for Leaders devotion, I’ll reflect a bit further on the relational challenge of restorative justice. For now, let me encourage you to consider the following questions.

Find all Life for Leaders devotions here.