Lessons from Nehemiah: Renewal amidst spiritual drift. Neh. 13
Notes
Transcript
Text - Nehemiah 13
Subject - Drift
Theme - Spiritual Drift
Thesis -
Principle - As Christians today, we must be aware to guard ourselves from spiritual drift.
As we turn to our text this morning, we see an all to familiar yet still sad pattern of events.
The cyclical pattern of returning to faithfulness to God, then drifting or falling away, forgetting what God had done.
The Message of Nehemiah: God’s Servant in a Time of Change (16. ‘There It Was Found Written’ (Nehemiah 13:1–3))
The biblical narratives often present us with frustrated ambitions, disappointing failure, neglected opportunities and broken vows.
Sin often spoils the story.
Abraham attempts to deceive, Jacob cheats, Moses loses his temper, David commits adultery and Peter lies.
The stark honesty of the Bible makes it such compelling and relevant reading.
Our lives are truly represented and reflected in the pages of scripture!
We need some context to get the timeline correct in our minds.
Back in chapter 2 of the book Nehemiah went before King Artaxerxes, it was in the 20th year of his reign.
Nehemiah was allowed to go to rebuild the city.
In the year that followed, the wall was rebuilt, the people celebrated God and his word, they made a covenant in writing, a promise to follow the Lord by keeping His commands.
Now in this 13th chapter, we find ourselves in the 32nd year of Artaxerxes reign.
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
The chapter begins with begins with couple of word in Hebrew that the ESV translates on that day.
CSB - at that time
NASB/NIV/NKJV - on that day
The hard part is, what day exactly is being referred to?
The difficulty comes in how the Hebrew word for day is used.
The Hebrew word yom translated into the English “day” can mean more than one thing.
It can refer to the 24-hour period of time that it takes for the earth to rotate on its axis (e.g., “there are 24 hours in a day”).
It can refer to the period of daylight between dawn and dusk (e.g., “it gets pretty hot during the day but it cools down a bit at night”).
And it can refer to an unspecified period of time (e.g., “back in my grandfather’s day . . .”).
How we translate it then is based upon the context of the passage.
As we look at this and try to understand the what and the when, our minds struggle.
In our culture we are very linearly and historically minded.
Hebrew storytelling is not always that way.
What is important here is not so much the what or the when, but the who.
This is how Nehemiah explains a large part of why the events of this chapter took place.
Eliashib who had been appointed priest over the chambers of the house of God was related to Tobiah.
It is quite ironic, this man who had mocked the people and their work in the city, now had come to live in that very place.
Now that it is profitable for him and to his benefit, he is more than willing to be involved in the city.
Tobiah had taken up residence in the part of the temple that was meant to store the grain offerings, the frankincense, the vessels, and the tithes of, wine, and oil, which were given by commandment to the Levites, singers, and gatekeepers, and the contributions for the priests.
The reason this was able to take place, is because the spiritual gatekeeper of the temple/city was not present, and the man who was supposed to do the job, was corrupt and not doing his job.
Eliashib had failed to keep the covenant that people had promised to keep, and opened the door to more sinful acts by others.
The obvious thing that we ought to learn from this situation is to be careful who you appoint to leadership.
In the church that is the Elders.
They are to be the spiritual gatekeepers for the church.
Elders includes the pastor and other faithful men who have the Lord’s call to help shepherd the people of God.
These need to be God appointed men.
As you look through the history of scripture, the only man of course that did not fail was Jesus, but the leaders that the people wanted, frequently drew them away from God rather than towards God.
The leaders in the Bible that God appointed, drew people to himself.
I think for example of the first two kings of Israel, look at King Saul and King David and the vast differences in their lives.
While yes, David had his failures, his heart was directed to God.
Saul though, appeared to start off well, but his heart was continually directed towards himself.
As a church, we need to be looking within church family for the men that God is raising up and appointing to be leaders.
As men in the church, if you are feeling a burden from the Lord in this manner, don’t deny it or push it down, let’s explore that together.
A biblical elder is not simply a successful businessman.
In fact, some of the very principles or character traits that get some businessmen to the top of the business ladder may actually put them on the bottom rung of the church leadership ladder.
We’re not looking for people who “know what they want and know how to get it.” Nor are we looking for people who know how to manage people, raise money, climb the ladder, or close the deal. Leadership in the church is fundamentally different than leadership in the business world.
The church is not simply a non-profit business. It is the body of Christ, and as such is the most unique corporate institution in the world. It operates on principles of distinctively Christian doctrine, servant-hood, holiness, faith, hope, and love.
This is not, of course, to say that it is impossible to be a biblically qualified elder and a successful business man at the same time.
It is simply to say that success and leadership in the business world do not always or necessarily bode well for eldership in the local church.
9 Marks Looking For A Few Good Men
The office of elder is an office designed for the leadership of the church in part through the teaching of the Word.
The character of the man who qualifies to fulfill that office is described in 1Tim 3:1-7 and Titus 1:6-9. (Which in reality are lists of qualities that each of us should strive to fill in our own roles).
An elder is simply a man of exemplary, Christ-like character who is able to lead God’s people by teaching them God’s Word in a way that profits them spiritually.
Not all teaching is from the pulpit, teaching happens in daily life and how we live.
We are looking, then, for men who display this character and demonstrate both a knowledge of and fruitfulness in teaching God’s Word to others in an instructional and uplifting way.
One of the most important human parts of a church’s spiritual growth and health is the leaders they are following.
When biblically qualified men are leading a church with character and skill, it is a deep and wide blessing for the unity, holiness, and spiritual growth of the church.
Put somewhat negatively, so many potential mistakes and heartaches can be avoided simply by ensuring that only those men who are biblically qualified become elders.
Choosing elders, then, is a pivotal time in the life of a developing church.
That is a position that we are in as a church today.
We need men to step up and grow in godliness in general.
We also need some more godly men to step up as leaders in our church.
As our passage provides us for an example, we must be careful in selecting those men.
The next thing that we see in this passage is that a strong leader can still only do so much.
Without a conviction to personal holiness, we will all fall into sin.
It seems that Nehemiah worked hard at appointing godly people to lead.
Not knowing the time frame exactly, we don’t know if some of the men Nehemiah selected strayed or became complacent to God’s rules, or if they/the people were not a careful in choosing their successors.
I am reminiscent of the end of the book of Joshua when we went through that book a couple of years ago.
That book also ended with a covenant renewal.
Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua and had known all the work that the Lord did for Israel.
And then we get to the book of Judges and read
And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers. And there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord or the work that he had done for Israel.
How quickly they forgot!
How quickly we forget -
The promises we we, the things the Lord has done!
Jews needed a strong Godly leader to keep them focused on the Lord.
If you have taken a physics class you learned about the second law of thermodynamics, even if you did take the class, you have likely forgotten it.
In a very basic sense, the law states that heat does not naturally flow from a cool body to a warmer; work must be expended to make it do so.
Things in our world naturally move toward the maximum state of entropy, or disorder.
Entropy is the thing that describes why physical processes go one way and not the other.
Why ice melts, why air leaks out of a punctured tire, why whipped cream spreads out on top of hot chocolate.
That physical law has a parallel in the spiritual realm: Even among God’s people, unless we are constantly fighting against it, things tend toward the maximum state of spiritual entropy.
We live in a spiritually and morally permissive society.
Unless we constantly wage war against the flesh, we tend to become more and more like the spiritual degeneracy that surrounds us.
That is why it is so important for us to be in church, to be going to bible studies.
Our natural tendency, because of our sinful flesh, is to move away from God and godliness.
This is spiritual entropy.
And that is exactly the repeated problem we see throughout the OT with the people of Israel.
It is what we see here in chapter 13.
We see it in the NT.
We see it in our lives today.
It takes work and intentionality for us to maintain healthy relationships.
With our friends, with our children, with our spouses, and yes, with God!
In the case of our text, after 12 years as governor, Nehemiah had returned to Persia.
We don’t know how long he was there, but during his absence, spiritual permissiveness and decline set in.
As I mentioned earlier, the time references in chapter 13 are not clear,
so it is not clear whether the reforms of 13:1-3 took place on the day of the dedication of the wall, or at another time.
What we do know is that the reforms were short-lived.
The people turned away from God still within Nehemiah’s lifetime!
Spiritual compromise snuck in through the spiritual leadership.
When Nehemiah returned, he found that the people had strayed from the very areas they had covenanted to stand against just a few years before!
Nehemiah had every right at that point to throw up his hands and say I give up!
I can’t deal with you disobedient people!
But he did not.
Instead, with God’s help, he confronted the problems.
The first problem Nehemiah discovers is that the house of God has been forsaken. The closing line of their covenant had said:
Nehemiah 10:39 (ESV)
We will not neglect the house of our God.”
We already talked about the fact that Tobiah, one of Nehemiah’s main opponents was not only living in Jerusalem, but in the temple itself.
The room that had been taken for him to live in was meant to store offerings for the priests.
That room was either empty because the people had been allowed to quit giving, or the people quit giving because the room was changed into a residence.
Either way, as a result, the temple servants weren't being paid because people weren't giving (10).
So the temple staff had to go home to their fields and work the land—otherwise, they would starve!
Remember from a few weeks ago, as Christians we are not called to a tithe per-se, but rather we are called to radical generosity, to give until it hurts.
The second problem Nehemiah discovered was that God's Sabbath was being dishonored.
They were making wine on the Sabbath, buying and selling on the Sabbath, and trading with foreigners on the Sabbath (15-16).
As we talked about the sabbath in the covenant renewal, without the Sabbath, Israel lost its distinctiveness and eventually blended into the nations.
Looking no different than those around them.
And previous generations were forced into captivity after ignoring the Sabbath for long periods,
so these people endangered their future and the future of their children with their disobedience.
Disaster loomed!
Today, we keep the Lord’s day, not as a day of rest as the OT sabbath commanded, but as a day to refocus our hearts upon the Lord.
We give to God of the first part of our week to honor and glorify Him.
The third problem Nehemiah discovered was that God's people had been marrying unbelievers from Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab (23).
In those days also I saw the Jews who had married women of Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab.
One of the sons of the priests, in the line of the high priest, even married the daughter of Nehemiah's main rival—Sanballat the Horonite! (28).
Nehemiah 13:28 (ESV)
And one of the sons of Jehoiada, the son of Eliashib the high priest, was the son-in-law of Sanballat the Horonite.
The fallout from these marriages was that half of their children could not speak the language of Judah (24).
This concerned Nehemiah, not because he hated other cultures, but because these children couldn't learn about God and his covenant if they didn't speak the language of God's people.
The covenant community was destined to die if they didn't hand it down to the next generation,
but they couldn't as long as the next generation couldn't understand the covenant—especially if the priesthood went along with them!
Nehemiah responded to all three problems aggressively and straightforwardly.
I don't think anyone would've called Nehemiah "a nice man" or "a gentle soul" based on these interactions.
This can be a struggle for us as Christians.
In our modern time, being nice is thought of as the essence of godliness,
I have mentioned this before, Voddie Baucham
Christians today hold firmly to the 11th Commandment, and the 11th Commandment is, “Thou Shalt Be Nice,” and we don’t hold to the other ten.
Niceness is the epitome of our culture and contending is seen as not being nice.
So if you are contending for the faith you are not being loving, you are not being Christian.
But as Jude says in verse 2
May mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you.
Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.
To contend is to struggle or to fight.
There were plenty of times Moses, David, Paul, or Jesus were not nice—and could not be nice—as they accomplished God's purposes.
When Nehemiah discovered God's house was forsaken—that Tobiah lived in a temple storeroom and the temple workers weren't being paid—he was very angry (7-8).
This righteous anger led him to throw all Tobiah's belongings out of the chamber, cleanse the chamber, and bring the storage vessels back into the chamber (8-9).
He then confronted the officials, appointed a new treasury department, and restarted the tithing system (10-13).
When Nehemiah saw God's Sabbath was profaned, he warned everyone about their disobedience before he confronted the nobles in charge while he was gone (15-17).
He reminded them of their history—they went into captivity for the same behavior!
He then commanded the doors should be shut and even stationed his own staff and then Levites at the city gates to make sure tradesmen did not enter on the Sabbath (19-22).
He warned them, "If you (try to break the Sabbath again), I will lay hands on you" (21).
And when Nehemiah saw how God's people were compromised through intermarriage with unbelieving foreigners, he confronted them and cursed them and beat some of them and pulled out their (beard?) hair (25).
He forced them to take an oath not to practice this sin anymore, reminding them that even the greatness of Solomon was destroyed by foreign women (26).
Then he chased the young priest, a descendant of Eliashib who had married Sanballat's daughter, away from his presence (28).
At each stage of Nehemiah's work, he privately prayed to God. He said:
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.
Nehemiah 13:22 (ESV)
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.
and I provided for the wood offering at appointed times, and for the firstfruits. Remember me, O my God, for good.
When we read this final chapter, we might think, if only the story had ended one chapter earlier.
The temple was running well, the city repopulated, the people worshipping the Lord together!
They praised God on top of the walls they'd built.
People moved back to Jerusalem.
They had committed to a future with God.
All was good.
Until it wasn't.
It didn’t happen immediately though.
It likely began with small compromises here or there.
Perhaps you have heard the song Slow Fade by Casting Crowns
Be careful little eyes what you see
It's the second glance that ties your hands
As darkness pulls the strings
Be careful little feet where you go
For it's the little feet behind you
That are sure to follow
It's a slow fade
When you give yourself away
It's a slow fade
When black and white have turned to grey
And thoughts invade, choices made
A price will be paid
When you give yourself away
People never crumble in a day
It's a slow fade
Be careful little ears what you hear
When flattery leads to compromise
The end is always near
Be careful little lips what you say
For empty words and promises
Lead broken hearts astray
The journey from your mind to your hands
Is shorter than you're thinking
Be careful if you think you stand
You just might be sinking
It’s a slow fade
But even though they broke their covenant with God, he didn't break his covenant with them.
They were his people—a nation meant to bless all the nations—
and he would work to fulfill that promise in their lives.
So he sent Nehemiah at the tail end of his career and ministry to revive and renew the people one more time.
This story though, along with others in the Old Testament shows us just how much we need a savior.
The people could not keep God’s law by their own strength and willpower.
And neither can we!
And that is why God sent his son Jesus into the world.
To come, live a perfect life, and go to the cross to make the payment that was owed for those who trust in Him and His saving work.
And because of that we have a strong leader not living with us, but living in us.
We have the Holy Spirit within us when we trust in Jesus.
So that we can keep God’s commands.
It shows us God's longsuffering nature—he is slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness.
One day our ultimate resurrection and renewal will come, but today were are plagued with the peaks and valleys of life.
In both the highs and lows, we are to pursue the newness of life that is ours in Christ, but God knows we are in a constant battle between flesh and Spirit.
For this battle, we must determine to feed the Spirit, to walk in the Spirit so that we might not gratify the lust of the flesh
But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
This means that when we feed our inner person with Spirit things—things like the Word, prayer, or fellowship—
we are giving the Spirit the nutrients required to bear fruit from our lives.
By walking in the Spirit, the fruit of the Spirit comes out—"love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control" (Galatians 5:22-23).
But when we feed the flesh, the works of the flesh dominate—
Galatians 5:19–21 (ESV)
Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these.
God is aware of this battle and is continually at work to renew us.
The Father gives us his Word and calls us into his family.
The Son gave us his righteousness and lives to intercede for us today.
And the Spirit is our helper who explains God to us and works to bring us into further Christlikeness.
At the end of the day, just as it is at the end of this book—we must look to someone outside ourselves.
Over and over again, we must look to Christ for lasting renewal.
We must abide in him.
When we do, he abides in us, and his life renews us and produces fruit through us—
the fruit of character, the fruit of transformation, the fruit of impact in the lives of others.
But it's all Jesus.
And Nehemiah points us in his direction.
As we conclude this book today, I want for us to take the time to once again reflect upon our lives and our relationships with the Lord through partaking in the Lord’s Supper together.
As we reflect upon Jesus sacrifice on the cross, take a few moments to reflect upon your own life as well.
In what areas of your life have you allowed that slow fade to set in?
Where do you need to refresh and refocus?
Perhaps this morning you have realized that you don’t yet have a relationship with Jesus.
You can do that here and now.
You can ask for his forgiveness for your sins and know that he has washed them away.
Pray and seek the Lord for His mercy and grace and He will freely give it to you!
Let us take a moment and reflect.
And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”
As we hold this bread in our hands, we remember how broken the world is around us.
The pain and suffering that we see around us today is fully represented through Jesus crucifixion.
His body was whipped, beaten, scorned and nailed to the cross.
This bread we hold in our hands is a reminder of his body, broken for us.
And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.
This cup we now hold in our hands represents something quite mysterious for us as believers.
We struggle along through life, trying to obey God.
Many of us have a relationship with God that bears a striking resemblance to the stories in the OT.
In breaking God’s laws, we feel the constant condemnation.
But as Paul wrote
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
This cup we hold in our hands represents the new covenant.
A covenant that we must consistently introduce to others, and reintroduce to ourselves.
It reminds us that through the shedding of His blood.
Christ has come to live within those who believe.
Changing us from the inside out.
Reminding us that we are under a covenant promise of grace.
In which there is always hope for personal growth, sanctification, and increased Christ-likeness.
As we drink this cup, let us remember that we who have trusted in Jesus, are in Christ, we are His everlasting possession, and that he will never let go.