About the Author of the Blogsite, Not the Author of the Bible::

About the Author of the Blogsite, Not the Author of the Bible: I was uncertain of how to accomplish this, mindful of Revelation 22:18-19, which says that nobody is to add to, or to take away from what was written in the Bible. After lots of prayerful contemplation, the Lord had it on my heart that I’m not to change the meaning of what is written in the Bible. He has also shown ways to add to people’s understating of that meaning, without altering the meaning, by putting that info within [brackets]. This is primarily accomplished with the KJV Bible and lots of prayers, but at times, BibleGateway.com, Biblehub.com, NIV Bible, Webster Dictionary, and other internet resources, as needed. Debra Seiling

About Understanding the Bible:

Understanding the Bible: After reading Isaiah 28:10 many times over the years and not totally understanding it, it recently became apparent to me that the Lord God has this passage as the means for understanding the Bible. For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little. Isaiah 28:10 KJV. Being prayerful about this passage, and looking up 'precept' in the Webster's Dictionary, it gave this passage a whole new meaning, once 'commandment' is substituted for 'precept'. Within brackets are additional words the Lord had on my heart to aid in understanding the meaning. For commandment must be [built up] upon commandment; commandment upon commandment; line upon line, line upon line; [developing understanding] here a little, and there a little.

The Table Format:

The Table Format: I was overwhelmed with how to explain the process for determining if someone had leprosy in Leviticus 13, which seemed very complicated. After praying, "Lord, if this is difficult for me to understand after reading it many times, how can this be explained to others?" The thought the Lord God had on my heart was for me to put it into a vertical chart to visually see the process. This made it much easier for me to follow the progression. After doing so, I prayed, "Lord, how can this be conveyed to readers, so that they can understand this process?" The thought the Lord God had on my heart was to put it within the lines of a table. Being a stiff-necked, stubborn person, as it's often called in the Bible, I prayed, asking the Lord God if He's sure that's really what He wanted me to do? I reluctantly put Leviticus 13 into a table format. When I read this difficult leprosy process within a table format, it suddenly became easier for me to understand. That's because it builds line upon line, as explained in the Understanding the Bible section. Shortly after that, the Lord God had it on my heart, to put all of The Books of the Bible in Smaller Chunks within a table format, to aid in understanding, line upon line.

1/07/2024

Nehemiah 5:1-19 Complaints About Inadequate Food & Taxation

 

Complaints About Inadequate Food & Taxation

Nehemiah 5:1-19          The Book of Nehemiah in [Smaller Chunks]

There was a great [outcry] of the people & their wives against their brethren, the Jews. [They] said, We, our sons & daughters, are many. Therefore, we take [grain] up for them, [so] that we may eat & live. 

Also, some there said, We have mortgaged our lands, vineyards & houses, [so] that we might buy [grain,] because of the [famine.] There were [others, who] also said, We have borrowed money [to pay] the king’s [tax on our lands] & vineyards.

[Still], our flesh is [just] [like] the flesh of our [fellow Jews] & our children [like] their children. And, [look,] we bring into bondage, [a.k.a. indentured servitude] our sons & our daughters to be servants. And some of our daughters were brought into bondage, [a.k.a. indentured servitude] already. 

[Leviticus 25:38-42 I am the Lord your God, [Who] brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, to give you the land of Canaan & to be your God. And if your brother, [who] dwells [near] you [grows] poor & [is] sold to you; you shall not compel him to serve as a bond servant.

But [like] an hired servant & [like a foreigner.] He shall be with you & shall serve you [until] until the year of Jubilee. And then, he shall depart from you, both he & his children with him & shall return to his own family & he shall return to the possession of his fathers. 

For they are My servants, [that] I brought forth out of the land of Egypt: they shall not be sold as bondmen.] Neither is it within our power to redeem them, for other men have our lands & vineyards.

[Leviticus 25:48-50 After he is sold, he may be redeemed again; one of his brethren may redeem him, or any [who] are [close relatives] of his family, may redeem him; or if he is able, he may redeem himself.

And he shall [calculate] with [the person who] bought him, from the year that he was sold to him, [until] the year of Jubilee. And the price of his sale shall be according to the number of years, it shall be [for] him, according to the time of a hired servant.] 

And I was very angry when I heard their [outcry] & these words. Then, I [talked] with myself & I [warned] the nobles & the rulers & said to them, Everyone of you [force the payment of interest from] his brother. And I [put] a great assembly against you.

[Exodus 22:25 If you lend money to any of My people [who] are poor [near] you, you shall not be to him a [creditor,] neither shall you [charge] him [interest.] And I said to them, [According to] our ability, we have redeemed our brethren, the Jews, [who] were sold to the heathen. 

And will you even sell your [relatives?] Or shall they be sold to us? Then, they held their peace & found nothing to answer. Also, I said, It isn’t good that you do [this.] [Shouldn’t] you [follow] in fear [respect] of our God, because of the [ridicule] of the heathen, our enemies? 

[In the same way,] my brethren, my servants & I might [force] them [to pay] money & [grain.] I pray [that] you [stop charging this interest.] I pray [that] you restore their lands, their vineyards, their olive [groves] & their houses, this day to them & also the 1/100th [portion] of the money & of the [grain,] wine & oil, that you [forced] them [to pay.]

Then they said, We will restore them & will require nothing [from] them. So we will do as you say. Then, I called the priests & took an oath [from] them, that they should do according to this promise. 

Also, I shook my lap & said, [Like this,] God [shall] shake every man from his house & from his [work, who doesn’t carry out] this promise. Even, [like this] he [shall be] shaken out & emptied. And all the congregation said, Amen & praised the Lord. And the people did according to this promise.

[Also,] from [the] time I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, from the 20th year, even to the 32nd year of king Artaxerxes. That [covers] 12 years, [that] my brethren & I haven’t eaten the bread of the governor. 

But the [previous] governors [who] had been before me, were [responsible] to the people & had taken [from] them bread & wine, [in addition to] 40 shekels of silver. [Yet,] even their servants [were in control] over the people: but I didn’t [do] so, because of the fear [respect] of God. 

[Yet,] my servants & I also continued in the work of this wall. Neither [did] we [buy] any land, [because] all my servants were gathered [there for] the work. [Also,] there were at my table 150 of the Jews & rulers, [in addition to] those [who] came to us from among the heathen [around] us.

Now, [what] was prepared for me daily was: 1 ox, 6 choice sheep & [game birds] were prepared for me, once [every] 10 days & all [types] of wine. [Still] I [didn’t require] the bread of the governor, because the [burden of] bondage on [these] people was heavy. My God, think on me for good, according to all that I have done for this people.