Nehemiah 5:16
Yea, also I continued in the work of this wall, neither bought we any land: and all my servants were gathered thither unto the work. Yea, also I continued in the work of this wall, neither bought we any land: and all my servants were gathered thither unto the work.
The wall of Jerusalem was still unfinished when attention turned to the distress of the poorer classes. Tillage was neglected in the unsettled country, grain was scarce, and the blessing was not resting on the land because of the selfish course of some who had returned. The poor were forced to buy food on credit at exorbitant prices and to borrow at interest to pay the heavy taxes imposed by the kings of Persia, while the wealthier Jews took advantage of their necessities to enrich themselves.
The verse belongs to the rebuke of extortion of the poor in Israel and shows unselfish faithfulness. That faithfulness kept fresh before the people the truth of God's ownership of all and their opportunity to be channels of blessing. It eradicated selfishness and developed breadth and nobility of character.
That faithfulness was obedience to the commands given through Moses for the care of the poor. It required raising every third year a tithe for the benefit of the poor, and suspending agricultural labor every seventh year with the land lying fallow and its spontaneous products left to those in need. It required lending to the poor without acting as an usurer and without taking interest on money, food, or anything lent upon interest. It required not hardening the heart nor shutting the hand from a poor brother but opening the hand wide to lend him what is sufficient for his need, because the poor will never cease out of the land.