“But Wait, There’s More”:
God’s Restoration Requires More Than Rescue

Brett Cushing

Nehemiah 5–6

1. Introduction and Main Point
   1. The lesson is drawn from Nehemiah chapters 5 and 6, continuing the study of God’s restorative work through the rebuilding of Jerusalem’s wall.
   2. Brett uses the infomercial catchphrase “But wait, there’s more” to frame the theme: God’s restoration goes far beyond a single act of rescue.
   3. Main thesis: God’s restoration requires more than rescue. It is —
      1. Beyond deliverance — Deliverance is good and necessary, but alone it is insufficient.
      2. Based on dependence — We depend on Jesus, not ourselves, to reshape every aspect of our lives.
      3. Endures resistance — God’s restorative work has always been reviled and resisted in this world.
      4. Attained by reliance — It is not about our resolve to do better; it is about God replacing our resolve with His heart and Jesus’ effort.
2. Beyond Deliverance: Discord and Defiance Within God’s People (Nehemiah 5:1–5)
   1. The context: God’s people had been delivered from Babylon and returned to Jerusalem, just as God had prophesied through King Cyrus of Persia.
   2. Despite deliverance, there was a great outcry among the people and their wives against their fellow Jews (Nehemiah 5:1).
      1. This outcry echoes God hearing His people cry out under Egyptian slavery (Exodus 3:7).
      2. It is striking that they are crying out again so soon after being delivered from Babylon.
   3. The people faced desperate conditions:
      1. A shortage of grain threatened life itself (Nehemiah 5:2), echoing the famine context of Joseph’s provision in Genesis 41.
      2. People mortgaged their fields and vineyards just to obtain grain (Nehemiah 5:3).
      3. They borrowed money simply to pay the king’s tax (Nehemiah 5:4).
   4. The root cause: God’s people did it to themselves (Nehemiah 5:5).
      1. Wealthy Israelites exploited their fellow brothers and sisters.
      2. Fellow Israelites lost their fields and vineyards, and their children were enslaved — to other Israelites.
      3. This was an intense violation of the Mosaic Law.
   5. Key Truth: Deliverance alone is insufficient. We need deliverance from besetting sins and hardships, but we also need ongoing dependence upon God as He forges a new heart within us.
3. Nehemiah’s Response: Righteous Anger and Godly Leadership (Nehemiah 5:6–18)
   1. Righteous anger (Nehemiah 5:6–7a)
      1. Nehemiah’s anger is understandable — God’s people are exploiting one another.
      2. This anger is akin to Jesus cleansing the temple, where God’s people were exploiting others for profit.
      3. Nehemiah first consults himself before acting.
   2. Right accusation (Nehemiah 5:7b)
      1. Nehemiah confronts them directly: “You are charging your own people interest.”
      2. This practice violated the Mosaic Law, which prohibited charging interest to fellow Israelites (Exodus 22:25; Leviticus 25:35–37; Deuteronomy 23:19).
   3. A call to repentance (Nehemiah 5:9–12)
      1. Nehemiah urges the nobles and officials to stop the exploitation and return what they have taken.
      2. The people agree and take an oath to follow through.
   4. Nehemiah as a righteous example (Nehemiah 5:14–18)
      1. Nehemiah denied his own privileges as governor for twelve years — he did not collect the food allotment that was rightfully his.
      2. He provided generously from his own table, feeding 150 Jews and officials daily, plus visitors from surrounding nations.
      3. He identified with God’s people, refusing to lord his authority over them.
   5. Nehemiah’s prayer: “Remember me with favor, my God, for all I have done for these people” (Nehemiah 5:19).
4. God’s Restoration Endures Resistance (Nehemiah 6)
   1. Three heavy hitters — Tobiah, Sanballat, and Geshem — opposed and resisted God’s restorative work, functioning much as Satan and the Pharisees did in the New Testament.
   2. Repeated attempts to lure Nehemiah away (Nehemiah 6:2):
      1. They repeatedly invited Nehemiah to come down to the plain of Ono — a kill box where he would have been ambushed and killed.
      2. If he went, the work would stop and the wall would not be completed.
   3. Nehemiah’s steadfast reply: “I am carrying on a great project and cannot go down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and go down to you?” (Nehemiah 6:3–4).
   4. This foreshadows Jesus on the cross: In Matthew 27, the people taunted Jesus to come down from the cross. For Nehemiah, coming down meant ending his life; for Jesus, coming down would have prevented Him from saving ours.
5. Nehemiah as a Foreshadow of Jesus Christ
   1. Righteous anger — Jesus, like Nehemiah, has a righteous anger toward sin; not a reactive or destructive anger, but a holy, understandable wrath (John 2:13–17).
   2. Righteous accusation — Jesus makes a right accusation against every person. John 3:16–18 reveals that whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.
   3. A repented life — Jesus lived a perfect, repented life on our behalf.
      1. We cannot truly and fully repent on our own — this is why we need a new heart.
      2. Many scholars believe Jesus’ baptism by John the Baptist was an act of repenting for our inability to repent authentically (Matthew 3:13–15).
      3. This is part of Jesus’ “active obedience” — the perfect life for which we receive credit.
   4. Denied His privileges — Nehemiah denied his governor’s privileges for approximately 12 years; Jesus denied His privileges and rights as God for approximately 33 years (Philippians 2:5–9).
      1. Jesus, though God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped.
      2. He made Himself nothing, took on the nature of a servant, and was humiliated on our behalf.
   5. Identified with God’s people — Jesus, the Word made flesh, dwelt among us (John 1:14).
      1. He touched lepers, ate with sinners, and experienced everything humans experience.
      2. He perfectly identified with us and perfectly lived out a righteous life.
   6. Refused to come down — Nehemiah refused to come down from the wall; Jesus refused to come down from the cross.
      1. Nehemiah’s refusal preserved the work of rebuilding.
      2. Jesus’ refusal to save Himself is what saves us.
   7. Intercession — Nehemiah’s prayer, “Remember me with favor for all I have done for these people” (Nehemiah 5:19), points to Jesus’ role as our intercessor.
      1. Jesus intercedes before the Father: “When you look at those who place their faith in me, look at my life, not their lives.”
      2. The life is in the blood (Leviticus 17:11); Jesus’ shed blood — His perfect life — covers us so that when God looks down, He sees the blood of Jesus, not our sin.
   8. Generous provision — Nehemiah laid out a generous spread for God’s people; Jesus provides a feast in heaven and a robe of His righteousness.
      1. Nehemiah shook out his robe in judgment; Jesus gives us His robe of righteousness to cover us.
      2. Jesus provides eternal resources and pleasures at His right hand.
6. Key Truths
   1. God’s restoration requires more than rescue. Deliverance is good and necessary, but insufficient on its own.
   2. Sin is self-inflicted. Even after deliverance, God’s people harmed themselves — and so do we. This is why we need more than rescue; we need a new heart.
   3. God’s restorative work goes deeper than freeing us from hardship or sin — it forges a new heart within us.
   4. God’s restoration is based on dependence on Jesus, not our own resolve to do better and try harder. Jesus replaces our resolve with His heart.
   5. God’s restorative work endures resistance — both external opposition and our own internal resistance.
   6. Nehemiah foreshadows Christ in remarkable ways: righteous anger, righteous accusation, a repented life, denial of privileges, identification with God’s people, refusal to come down, intercession, and generous provision.
   7. Jesus’ shed blood — His perfect life — is the covering that allows God to look upon us with favor.
7. Application and Reflection
   1. Where in your life are you settling for deliverance alone rather than pursuing the deeper, ongoing work of heart transformation that God intends?
   2. Are there areas where, like the Israelites in Nehemiah 5, you are doing harm to yourself or others even after God has brought you through a season of rescue?
   3. Nehemiah denied his own privileges for the good of God’s people. In what ways is God calling you to set aside your rights or comfort for the sake of others?
   4. How does understanding Jesus’ “active obedience” — His perfect life lived on your behalf — change the way you think about your own failures to repent fully?
   5. God’s restorative work endures resistance. Where are you experiencing resistance — external or internal — and how can chronic dependence and reliance on Jesus sustain you through it?
   6. The lesson emphasizes that God’s restoration is attained by reliance, not resolve. Consider: are you relying on your own effort to change, or are you resting in Jesus’ finished work while depending on Him daily?