Neville Goddard on Nehemiah 5:8-13 - Mystical Bible Interpretation

Read Nehemiah 5 in context

Scripture Focus

8And I said unto them, We after our ability have redeemed our brethren the Jews, which were sold unto the heathen; and will ye even sell your brethren? or shall they be sold unto us? Then held they their peace, and found nothing to answer.

9Also I said, It is not good that ye do: ought ye not to walk in the fear of our God because of the reproach of the heathen our enemies?

10I likewise, and my brethren, and my servants, might exact of them money and corn: I pray you, let us leave off this usury.

11Restore, I pray you, to them, even this day, their lands, their vineyards, their oliveyards, and their houses, also the hundredth part of the money, and of the corn, the wine, and the oil, that ye exact of them.

12Then said they, We will restore them, and will require nothing of them; so will we do as thou sayest. Then I called the priests, and took an oath of them, that they should do according to this promise.

13Also I shook my lap, and said, So God shake out every man from his house, and from his labour, that performeth not this promise, even thus be he shaken out, and emptied. And all the congregation said, Amen, and praised the LORD. And the people did according to this promise.

Nehemiah 5:8-13

Biblical Context

Nehemiah confronts economic injustice, urging the people to stop taking advantage. He calls for restoring property and binding the promise with an oath.

Neville's Inner Vision

From the Neville vantage, the scene is a drama of inner states. Nehemiah speaks not to far-off rulers but to your own consciousness, reminding you that no man profits while another is impoverished when you understand that you and God are one I AM. The 'land, vineyards, and houses' symbolize your inner possessions—the beliefs, habits, and time you own. To prohibit usury is to revise a habit of scarcity into an ethic of circulation: give, forgive, restore, and your inner economy will align with divine law. The oath the priests take is a decision of the mind, an irrevocable ruling that you will act from integrity regardless of circumstance. When the lap is shaken and the people cry Amen, that is your inner confirmation that you have kept faith with the revelation you hold. Practice this now: see yourself returning what was taken, feel the relief as if the deed is done, and let the outer world echo your inner covenant.

Practice This Now

Assume you have already restored what is owed and feel the relief of covenant loyalty. Then revise any impulse to profit unjustly by declaring, 'I keep faith with my inner state, and thus the outer world follows.'