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In Christ, Mark
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
At that time men were appointed to be in charge of the storerooms for the contributions, firstfruits and tithes. From the fields around the towns they were to bring into the storerooms the portions required by the Law for the priests and the Levites, for Judah was pleased with the ministering priests and Levites. They performed the service of their God and the service of purification, as did also the musicians and gatekeepers, according to the commands of David and his son Solomon. For long ago, in the days of David and Asaph, there had been directors for the musicians and for the songs of praise and thanksgiving to God. So in the days of Zerubbabel and of Nehemiah, all Israel contributed the daily portions for the musicians and the gatekeepers. They also set aside the portion for the other Levites, and the Levites set aside the portion for the descendants of Aaron.
On that day the Book of Moses was read aloud in the hearing of the people and there it was found written that no Ammonite or Moabite should ever be admitted into the assembly of God, because they had not met the Israelites with food and water but had hired Balaam to call a curse down on them. (Our God, however, turned the curse into a blessing.) When the people heard this law, they excluded from Israel all who were of foreign descent.
Before this, Eliashib the priest had been put in charge of the storerooms of the house of our God. He was closely associated with Tobiah, and he had provided him with a large room formerly used to store the grain offerings and incense and temple articles, and also the tithes of grain, new wine and olive oil prescribed for the Levites, musicians and gatekeepers, as well as the contributions for the priests.
But while all this was going on, I was not in Jerusalem, for in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon I had returned to the king. Some time later I asked his permission and came back to Jerusalem. Here I learned about the evil thing Eliashib had done in providing Tobiah a room in the courts of the house of God. I was greatly displeased and threw all Tobiah’s household goods out of the room. I gave orders to purify the rooms, and then I put back into them the equipment of the house of God, with the grain offerings and the incense.
I also learned that the portions assigned to the Levites had not been given to them, and that all the Levites and musicians responsible for the service had gone back to their own fields. So I rebuked the officials and asked them, “Why is the house of God neglected?” Then I called them together and stationed them at their posts.
All Judah brought the tithes of grain, new wine and olive oil into the storerooms. I put Shelemiah the priest, Zadok the scribe, and a Levite named Pedaiah in charge of the storerooms and made Hanan son of Zakkur, the son of Mattaniah, their assistant, because they were considered trustworthy. They were made responsible for distributing the supplies to their fellow Levites.
Remember me for this, my God, and do not blot out what I have so faithfully done for the house of my God and its services.
In those days I saw people in Judah treading winepresses on the Sabbath and bringing in grain and loading it on donkeys, together with wine, grapes, figs and all other kinds of loads. And they were bringing all this into Jerusalem on the Sabbath. Therefore I warned them against selling food on that day. People from Tyre who lived in Jerusalem were bringing in fish and all kinds of merchandise and selling them in Jerusalem on the Sabbath to the people of Judah. I rebuked the nobles of Judah and said to them, “What is this wicked thing you are doing—desecrating the Sabbath day? Didn’t your ancestors do the same things, so that our God brought all this calamity on us and on this city? Now you are stirring up more wrath against Israel by desecrating the Sabbath.”
When evening shadows fell on the gates of Jerusalem before the Sabbath, I ordered the doors to be shut and not opened until the Sabbath was over. I stationed some of my own men at the gates so that no load could be brought in on the Sabbath day. Once or twice the merchants and sellers of all kinds of goods spent the night outside Jerusalem. But I warned them and said, “Why do you spend the night by the wall? If you do this again, I will arrest you.” From that time on they no longer came on the Sabbath. Then I commanded the Levites to purify themselves and go and guard the gates in order to keep the Sabbath day holy.
Remember me for this also, my God, and show mercy to me according to your great love.
Moreover, in those days I saw men of Judah who had married women from Ashdod, Ammon and Moab. Half of their children spoke the language of Ashdod or the language of one of the other peoples, and did not know how to speak the language of Judah. I rebuked them and called curses down on them. I beat some of the men and pulled out their hair. I made them take an oath in God’s name and said: “You are not to give your daughters in marriage to their sons, nor are you to take their daughters in marriage for your sons or for yourselves. Was it not because of marriages like these that Solomon king of Israel sinned? Among the many nations there was no king like him. He was loved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel, but even he was led into sin by foreign women. Must we hear now that you too are doing all this terrible wickedness and are being unfaithful to our God by marrying foreign women?”
One of the sons of Joiada son of Eliashib the high priest was son-in-law to Sanballat the Horonite. And I drove him away from me.
Remember them, my God, because they defiled the priestly office and the covenant of the priesthood and of the Levites.
So I purified the priests and the Levites of everything foreign, and assigned them duties, each to his own task. I also made provision for contributions of wood at designated times, and for the firstfruits.
Remember me with favor, my God.
Nehemiah 12:44-47, 13:1-31
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
Promises can be made, commitments can be made, assurances can be given…but without accountability any or all of these can end up failing and falling.
The truth of this can be found as we finish the Book of Nehemiah.
The people of Israel had made their promises to not turn away from the book of Moses and the decrees and regulations set forth by none other than God Himself. They recommitted themselves to a holy life and offered assurances that they would be better than their sinful ancestors who had violated God so badly that His wrath and punishment was placed upon them. They resettled in Jerusalem and reestablished the holy city and the temple worship therein. All appeared to be back on track in Israel, all under the reforming leadership of Nehemiah.
But what can happen sometimes when a leader has to depart for a period of time…a leader who has a primary responsibility to maintain accountability over the people he is in charge of?
Well, I can speak from experience and say that sometimes the people will take liberties that they may not have taken if the leader was present and watching. Or as the old saying goes, “When the cat is away, the mice will play.” Such was the case in our scriptures today.
Nehemiah had left Jerusalem after the rejoicing and worshiping that dedicated the Jerusalem walls. Scripture tells us he had traveled back to Babylon and returned to the king who had permitted Nehemiah to go to Jerusalem in the first place (Nehemiah 2). Nehemiah had governed for 12 years during his first term (Nehemiah 5:14), returning to the king of Babylon in the thirty-second year of his reign. We read where Nehemiah wished to return to Jerusalem and asked for permission again from the king who granted Nehemiah’s request.
Nehemiah had left things in good order when he returned to Babylon. However, as he came back to Jerusalem, he found that things had changed without him being there to keep the people in check. The following specific issues were noted:
At the start of Chapter 13, we read where the book of Moses was read and the people understood that “no Ammonite or Moabite should ever be admitted into the assembly of God” because they “excluded from Israel all who were of foreign descent.” The word was clear about what God expected and yet of all people, a priest named Eliashib became the first to violate this commandment.
We read where Eliashib “had been put in charge of the storerooms of the house of our God” and used his position to hook up an associate, an Ammonite named Tobiah. Eliashib basically set Tobiah up with an apartment within the temple, providing him a “large room formerly used to store the grain offerings and incense and temple articles, and also the tithes of grain, new wine and olive oil prescribed for the Levites, musicians and gatekeepers, as well as the contributions for the priests.”
This wasn’t the first time we have met Tobiah. You’ll remember that Tobiah was one of the men who stirred up resistance to Nehemiah and his efforts to restore Jerusalem. Tobiah was identified in the book as hurling insults and threats at Nehemiah and the Israelites as they rebuilt the wall and sending intimidating letters to Nehemiah. In fact, Nehemiah went as far to call Tobiah an enemy of Israel (4:11).
And so it was little wonder why Nehemiah went off when he returned to Jerusalem and found Tobiah occupying a room in the temple. Such an arrangement was nothing short of a defilement of the temple.
And so Nehemiah took action, evicting Tobiah and throwing all his “household goods out of the room.” Then Nehemiah had the rooms purified and put back into their intended use housing the “equipment of the house of God, with the grain offerings and the incense.”
This wasn’t the only thing not working in compliance with God’s word and will.
For Nehemiah also discovered that the “portions assigned to the Levites had not been given to them, and that all the Levites and musicians responsible for the service had gone back to their own fields.” The Levites depended on the temple portions for their income and so when those portions were withheld, the Levites went back to the fields to farm and earn their sustenance.
Again, Nehemiah took action after rebuking the officials, having Judah bring “tithes of grain, new wine and olive oil into the storerooms” and assigning Levite leadership to ensure the supplies were distributed to their fellow Levites.
Additionally, the people of Judah were desecrating the Sabbath by “treading winepresses…and bringing in grain and loading it on donkeys, together with wine, grapes, figs and all other kinds of loads” before delivering the goods to Jerusalem on the holy day of worship and rest. Nehemiah warned them and the people of Tyre who were also selling items about violating God’s decrees about the Sabbath. Nehemiah also rebuked the nobles of Judah questioning why they would do an act that had caused God to send down His wrath on their ancestors. In other words, Nehemish was asking them in no uncertain words whether they had really learned from the past mistakes of the Israelite people.
Nehemiah had the doors to Jerusalem shut and not reopened until the Sabbath was over. He also ordered the Levites to guard the gates to keep the Sabbath holy. This prevented any more goods from being brought into the city. And when merchants and sellers decided to camp out right outside the wall, Nehemiah chased them away, threatening to arrest them if they failed to depart. Someone had to be the voice of reason. That someone was Nehemiah.
I couldn’t help but think how we in America have more and more taken away Sunday as being the sacred day it once was. Sunday used to be a day when all stores would close and people would go to church before returning home for peace and rest and quality family time. Today, Sunday looks no different than any other day of the week. Even Family Christian Stores are open for business on Sunday (at least Chick-Fil-A has kept the day sacred). I often wonder how God feels about this and can’t help but seeing ourselves as a modern day version of the Jerusalem that Nehemiah returned to. It’s really sad to me and it’s no wonder we’re losing our sacredness as a nation.
Finally, Nehemiah discovered that the “men of Judah…had married women from Ashdod, Ammon and Moab” with “half of their children” speaking foreign languages better than speaking the language of Judah. Again, Nehemiah took action, rebuking the men and calling down curses on them. He took pretty stringent measures as well, beating some of the men and pulling out their hair. It seems harsh but the actions of the men could have resulted in God again passing judgment on Jerusalem, sending the people back into exile, and destroying the city that had just been rebuilt. The Lord did it once out of anger against the Israelites. He could do it again. Nehemiah made the men take an oath in God’s name that they would allow their sons and daughters to marry foreigners.
Nehemiah had returned and set things straight. He was the voice of reason amongst a people who had decided to do their own thing, regardless of what God expected.
Sounds a little like today, doesn’t it?
So who will come and step up as the voice of reason today against a people who have decided that there is no need to obey God’s word and will anymore? Who will stand up and speak out against the Sabbath not being kept holy anymore? Who will speak up in the church and call out the actions that have desecrated God’s holy house?
Who will become today’s Nehemiah?
Maybe God is calling you…or I?
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
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