Until Jesus Returns

Benjamin Sexton

The Work of Revitalization • Sermon • Submitted 6 months ago • Presented 6 months ago

Nehemiah 13:1–30

0 ratings

· 2 views

Notes

Transcript

Handout

The Work of Revitalization

Well good everyone and welcome to Burr Oak. I am Pastor Ben and it is my humbled joy to be able to bring you God’s word. Today’s message brings us to the close of our series The Work of Revitalization. I will be entirely honest, as we near the end of this series I am tempted to want to go back and highlight or recap all the major points. To do that though would take the entire time of the message. There has been much that we have looked at over the course of these past several months.

We have looked at the markers of a church on a revitalization path versus the markers of the path of complacency. We have looked at how we are to live in response to having seen, tasted, and experienced the beauty of God. We have looked at how revitalization requires each of us to lay down our personal preferences for the exaltation of our God alone. We have looked at how we are to live and operate towards one another and what it is that we are to be doing this side of eternity.

We have come to see that revitalization happens when we turn the focus of our worship back to Yahweh. When we stand on the truths of Yahweh’s word. When we pursue an intimate relationship with him. Now if you are like me, what you really want to see is that clearly defined finish line when we can say we have been revived. Unfortunately as we will discover from our text for today, it is not always that neat and tidy. But before we get to that, let us come back to the fundamental aspect of revitalization, the transformation of the human heart.

Psalm 51:10–12 NKJV

Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence, And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, And uphold me by Your generous Spirit.

PRAYER

Father you have again allowed us to come together today. Lord as we prepare to receive your word open our hearts and minds to understand it. Father may you present yourself to us today. For those that are sorrowful bring them comfort. For those that are fearful bring the courage. For those that harboring sin, bring them conviction that they might be able to walk in the freedom of the light of Christ. Father we ask your blessing on our message for today. In Christ’s name we pray, amen.

PASSAGE

Well the title of our message for today is “Until Jesus Returns: The Continuation of Revitalization” and we are looking to the thirteenth chapter of Nehemiah. If you have brought your own Bible or want to follow along on your device please turn there now. If you are using the blue pew Bible it is on page 450. Or you can follow along on the screen.

Let us hear the word of the Lord.

Nehemiah 13:1–30 ESV

1 On that day they read from the Book of Moses in the hearing of the people. And in it was found written that no Ammonite or Moabite should ever enter the assembly of God, 2 for they did not meet the people of Israel with bread and water, but hired Balaam against them to curse them—yet our God turned the curse into a blessing. 3 As soon as the people heard the law, they separated from Israel all those of foreign descent. 4 Now before this, Eliashib the priest, who was appointed over the chambers of the house of our God, and who was related to Tobiah, 5 prepared for Tobiah a large chamber where they had previously put the grain offering, the frankincense, the vessels, and the tithes of grain, wine, and oil, which were given by commandment to the Levites, singers, and gatekeepers, and the contributions for the priests. 6 While this was taking place, I was not in Jerusalem, for in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon I went to the king. And after some time I asked leave of the king 7 and came to Jerusalem, and I then discovered the evil that Eliashib had done for Tobiah, preparing for him a chamber in the courts of the house of God. 8 And I was very angry, and I threw all the household furniture of Tobiah out of the chamber. 9 Then I gave orders, and they cleansed the chambers, and I brought back there the vessels of the house of God, with the grain offering and the frankincense. 10 I also found out that the portions of the Levites had not been given to them, so that the Levites and the singers, who did the work, had fled each to his field. 11 So I confronted the officials and said, “Why is the house of God forsaken?” And I gathered them together and set them in their stations. 12 Then all Judah brought the tithe of the grain, wine, and oil into the storehouses. 13 And I appointed as treasurers over the storehouses Shelemiah the priest, Zadok the scribe, and Pedaiah of the Levites, and as their assistant Hanan the son of Zaccur, son of Mattaniah, for they were considered reliable, and their duty was to distribute to their brothers. 14 Remember me, O my God, concerning this, and do not wipe out my good deeds that I have done for the house of my God and for his service. 15 In those days I saw in Judah people treading winepresses on the Sabbath, and bringing in heaps of grain and loading them on donkeys, and also wine, grapes, figs, and all kinds of loads, which they brought into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. And I warned them on the day when they sold food. 16 Tyrians also, who lived in the city, brought in fish and all kinds of goods and sold them on the Sabbath to the people of Judah, in Jerusalem itself! 17 Then I confronted the nobles of Judah and said to them, “What is this evil thing that you are doing, profaning the Sabbath day? 18 Did not your fathers act in this way, and did not our God bring all this disaster on us and on this city? Now you are bringing more wrath on Israel by profaning the Sabbath.” 19 As soon as it began to grow dark at the gates of Jerusalem before the Sabbath, I commanded that the doors should be shut and gave orders that they should not be opened until after the Sabbath. And I stationed some of my servants at the gates, that no load might be brought in on the Sabbath day. 20 Then the merchants and sellers of all kinds of wares lodged outside Jerusalem once or twice. 21 But I warned them and said to them, “Why do you lodge outside the wall? If you do so again, I will lay hands on you.” From that time on they did not come on the Sabbath. 22 Then I commanded the Levites that they should purify themselves and come and guard the gates, to keep the Sabbath day holy. Remember this also in my favor, O my God, and spare me according to the greatness of your steadfast love. 23 In those days also I saw the Jews who had married women of Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab. 24 And half of their children spoke the language of Ashdod, and they could not speak the language of Judah, but only the language of each people. 25 And I confronted them and cursed them and beat some of them and pulled out their hair. And I made them take an oath in the name of God, saying, “You shall not give your daughters to their sons, or take their daughters for your sons or for yourselves. 26 Did not Solomon king of Israel sin on account of such women? Among the many nations there was no king like him, and he was beloved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel. Nevertheless, foreign women made even him to sin. 27 Shall we then listen to you and do all this great evil and act treacherously against our God by marrying foreign women?” 28 And one of the sons of Jehoiada, the son of Eliashib the high priest, was the son-in-law of Sanballat the Horonite. Therefore I chased him from me. 29 Remember them, O my God, because they have desecrated the priesthood and the covenant of the priesthood and the Levites. 30 Thus I cleansed them from everything foreign, and I established the duties of the priests and Levites, each in his work;

May the Lord bless the reading of his word.

As we consider the continuation of revitalization we are going to see today how even God’s chosen people are so bent on turning from him. We are going to look at how we forsake God, his temple, and his commands.

We Forsake God

As we get into this section we see another time stamp.

Nehemiah 13:6 ESV

6 While this was taking place, I was not in Jerusalem, for in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon I went to the king. And after some time I asked leave of the king

If you remember it was in the 20th year of Artaxerxes that Nehemiah first came to Jerusalem and started his project. Within that everything we have read up to this point, the reconstruction, the reforms, the celebrations out of the Book of Nehemiah, all of that took place within the year 445 B.C. Nehemiah is now picking up more than twelve years later.

We know this because he states here that in the 32nd year of Artaxerxes he was called back to the king and was there for a time before returning to Jerusalem. Nehemiah does not give us an exact time to how long he was gone. Travel time would have been 3 months one way and Artaxerxes ruled for only another 8 years after this point. Given the short duration of time that Nehemiah accounts for we might guess that he wasn’t gone much more than a year if that.

Upon Nehemiah’s return he finds things in not a great state. The reforms that he had brought to make sure the Holy City would be holy, had not last. At this point we are going to see a very different Nehemiah. Kidner states,

Ezra and Nehemiah: An Introduction and Commentary Nehemiah 13:4–31. Nehemiah Comes Back

If on his first visit he had been a whirlwind, on his second he was all fire and earthquake to a city that had settled down in his absence to a comfortable compromise with the Gentile world.

In the comparatively short time that Nehemiah was gone, Isreal had run right back to all it’s vices that had caused their exile to begin with. We see this first in that they had return to intermingling with those that were enemies to the ways of Yahweh.

Nehemiah 13:1–3 ESV

On that day they read from the Book of Moses in the hearing of the people. And in it was found written that no Ammonite or Moabite should ever enter the assembly of God, for they did not meet the people of Israel with bread and water, but hired Balaam against them to curse them—yet our God turned the curse into a blessing. As soon as the people heard the law, they separated from Israel all those of foreign descent.

Not only were they allowing them into the temple, but they had again return to intermarrying.

Nehemiah 13:23 ESV

In those days also I saw the Jews who had married women of Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab.

When we looked at this issue before, we discussed how the issue here was not a matter of a pure ethnicity but rather that of a pure heart. When we look at the over arching Bible story we cannot miss that it distinguishes between two family lines. The line of Yahweh and the line of Satan. When God has commanded his children to not take part in or mix with certain peoples it is because he knows that this will lead to sin. Nehemiah goes on to state this in this chapter.

Nehemiah 13:26 ESV

Did not Solomon king of Israel sin on account of such women? Among the many nations there was no king like him, and he was beloved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel. Nevertheless, foreign women made even him to sin.

The wises man ever to live was lead into sin by his foreign wives. The kingdom was torn in two and ultimately lost because Solomon did not keep covenant with Yahweh. And here the Israelites find themselves again. Despite seeing the mighty work that Yahweh had done in their midst, they had again forsaken their God.

This is true of us as well. We are prone to wandering from our God. The fact that sin has totally depraved our entire beings, means that we are naturally inclined to not live for Yahweh but to live for ourselves. Through the Gospels Jesus has several parables about masters leaving or being gone and the servant needing to be ready for his return. One of the principles that we can glean from these parables is the necessity for us to be constantly on guard against living for ourselves and our desires. The reason for this I think Spurgeon explained very well.

Christian, you are never out of danger of sinning.

Charles Spurgeon

And because we are never out of danger of sinning, when we give way to it, it becomes easier for it to increase. John Owen reminds us.

The custom of sinning takes away the sense of it, the course of the world takes away the shame of it.

John Owen

When we have settled with one sin, we become comfortable to settle with others. This is what we see take place in our passage for today.

We Forsake God’s Temple

As we have seen through both Ezra and Nehemiah the Israelites did not want to give up their relations with those of the nations around them. When they became comfortable with forsaking Yahweh in this way it became easier to do it in other ways. We see this in our next section..

Nehemiah 13:4–5 ESV

Now before this, Eliashib the priest, who was appointed over the chambers of the house of our God, and who was related to Tobiah, prepared for Tobiah a large chamber where they had previously put the grain offering, the frankincense, the vessels, and the tithes of grain, wine, and oil, which were given by commandment to the Levites, singers, and gatekeepers, and the contributions for the priests.

Nehemiah 13:7 ESV

and came to Jerusalem, and I then discovered the evil that Eliashib had done for Tobiah, preparing for him a chamber in the courts of the house of God.

Not only have they continue with the intermarrying, but now the one who has been a constant threat from both outside and inside, now is residing in the temple. Tobiah, the face of the enemy, has now been let into the heart of Jerusalem. He has the ear of the high priest. Kidner commenting on Tobiah states,

Ezra and Nehemiah: An Introduction and Commentary Tobiah’s Furniture (13:4–9)

It was doubtless a special satisfaction to see his personal belongings take precedence over the very frankincense for God and the tithes for his ministers; but best of all he was at the nerve-centre of Jerusalem, ideally placed for influence and intrigue.

Kidner’s comment here about Tobiah is crucial for us to understand why it is necessary for us to do the hard work of finding out what controls our hearts. Tobiah the enemy in the heart of the holy city is ideally placed for influence and intrigue. When we harbor sin in our hearts it gives Satan an ideal place for influence and and intrigue into our lives. Satan will influence how we interact with others and intrigue to others ways he may get us to sin.

When it comes to our sins, we need to operate as Nehemiah did towards Tobiah.

Nehemiah 13:8–9 ESV

And I was very angry, and I threw all the household furniture of Tobiah out of the chamber. Then I gave orders, and they cleansed the chambers, and I brought back there the vessels of the house of God, with the grain offering and the frankincense.

When we read this, it should remind us of when Jesus cleared the temple. We should eradicate sin from our hearts through the means of confession and repentance. As humans we are far to comfortable in welcoming sin and Satan into our hearts. And when we do this we are forsaking God’s temple for we understand that we now are the temple of God. And this is where it becomes so important in how we view Jesus. Spurgeon states in his sermon The Water and The Blood,

Christ never came to be the minister of sin. He came to save us, not in our sins, but from our sins.

The Water And The Blood, Volume 58, Sermon #3311 - John 19:34

Charles Spurgeon

What does Spurgeon mean by this? We need to remember that a minster is primarily a servant. When we look at Jesus being a minster of sin, that means a servant of sin. In other words it would be the view that Jesus’ work is reactive in only saving once we have sinned rather than being proactive in saving us from our sin. See Jesus has not only saved us from the sins we committed before knowing him, but from all future sins. And rather than viewing this as a license to continue sinning, this is now the freedom to walk away from sin. In remembering the work that Jesus has done you no longer need to sin, you are freed from it’s deathly grasp.

This needs to be our focus for as we will continue to see, once sin enters our heart, it begins to take on a snowball effect where we forsake God, his temple, and his commands.

We Forsake God’s Commands

Looking back to our passage for today we continue to see this progression of forsaking.

Nehemiah 13:15 ESV

In those days I saw in Judah people treading winepresses on the Sabbath, and bringing in heaps of grain and loading them on donkeys, and also wine, grapes, figs, and all kinds of loads, which they brought into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. And I warned them on the day when they sold food.

Notice how Nehemiah is warning the Israelites about repeat offenses. We just saw about the worship of foreign gods and Solomon. And here he is warning them about forsaking Yahweh’s command of the Sabbath.

Nehemiah 13:18 ESV

Did not your fathers act in this way, and did not our God bring all this disaster on us and on this city? Now you are bringing more wrath on Israel by profaning the Sabbath.”

The Israelites show us that no matter how powerful Yahweh might show up in our midst, his people are still prone to wandering away from him in the same fashions that they have before. The Sabbath was the reason that they were sent into exile in the first place. The Israelites did not operate as God had commanded them to. They did not give their land or the people the rest that was needed. Bu this might cause us to stop and ask? Why is the Sabbath so important and is it necessary for us today?

The Sabbath is grounded in the final day of the creation week.

Genesis 2:1–3 ESV

Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.

God’s resting was not because he was tired, it was the stopping to appreciate what had been accomplished and declared “very good.”

Genesis 1:31 ESV

And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

The command for the Sabbath rest was to model what God had done. A day to stop and appreciate that which is very good, that being Yahweh. It is a day where resting in God prepared for the week ahead. But by the the Sabbath became a command, which wasn’t until the exodus, it was meant to point forward to a future rest. A rest that came int he form of a man.

Matthew 11:28 ESV

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Hebrews 4:3 (ESV)

For we who have believed enter that rest,

See Jesus came and fulfilled the law. The old covenant was fulfilled through the life and death of Jesus Christ. It’s power over people is no longer in existence because of the perfect Man and the perfect sacrifice. This includes the ten commandments. The resurrection of Jesus ushered in the new covenant. The covenant of new life and a new heart with the Spirit of the Living God dwelling within all his people and his laws written on their hearts. And now we operate under a new law, the law of Christ. Where we love the Lord our God with all our heart soul, mind, and strength, we love our neighbor as ourselves, and we love one another as Jesus loves us. We find our current rest not in a day off each week, but in our Lord Jesus as we await the ultimate rest in the next life.

Yet, this does not mean that we reject the old covenant and the stories of those who were held accountable to it. There are principles embedded all through out that help us to understand how to love God, love our neighbor, and love each other. This is why we must take the time and study the whole counsel of God’s word.

Well this is where Nehemiah ends. And Chronologically, this is where the historical account of the Israelites ends in Scripture. And what do we notice as we bring to a close the books of Ezra and Nehemiah? What do we notice as we draw to the end of this time in history with God’s chosen people? Notice how Nehemiah responded to what he saw.

Nehemiah 13:25 ESV

And I confronted them and cursed them and beat some of them and pulled out their hair. And I made them take an oath in the name of God, saying, “You shall not give your daughters to their sons, or take their daughters for your sons or for yourselves.

And look to how Nehemiah closes out his memoir.

Nehemiah 13:30–31 ESV

Thus I cleansed them from everything foreign, and I established the duties of the priests and Levites, each in his work; and I provided for the wood offering at appointed times, and for the firstfruits. Remember me, O my God, for good.

A plea to be remembered for his works. As we finish this book out we ought to be left with a tension that does not feel right. See we like to have happy endings. We like the goods guys to win, the bad guys to lose. We want justice and victory. Yet, as with many OT books that is not what we find. We find that there is this uneasy tension that something is not right. And that is exactly what we should find. Because they point to the fact that things are not right. That victory has not been won. That something else is needed to help us in our situation.

That we need a savior.

We Need A Savior

We are a few weeks away from celebrating the time of year when God broke 400 years of silence with the shouts of angels and the cry of an infant. As we end this series and head into that season my prayer is that you see, taste, and experience the beauty of God. I pray that your hearts are transformed and you are no longer content with a lifeless religion. We have every reason to rejoice unlike Nehemiah, because we do not need to be remembered for the work we have done. For if you know Jesus as your Savior his work is credited to your account. His work has made you prefect in the eyes of the father. You can find rest from your struggle because the debt has already been paid. You can rejoice that your name is in the book of life. You can rejoice in knowing what lays ahead.

Revelation 21:1–8 ESV

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”

Revelation 21:22–27 ESV

And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

In the mean time we seek to let Yahweh keep revitalizing us by transforming our hearts.