Nehemiah 13:1-31

Joel Gilbert

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‘Remember me … O my God’

Please read Nehemiah chapter 13

The year was 433 B.C. Nehemiah, the governor of Judah, packed his bags ready for the long, onerous journey back to the court of King Artaxerxes in Babylon.

The events of twelve years flashed through his mind—the worship of God reestablished and the capital city rebuilt and populated once again.

Yes, all the hardship and labor had been worthwhile.

If only Nehemiah had ended his book with chapter 12, or even at chapter 13:3,

we should have a story with a happy ending!

But happy endings belong to fairy stories; in the real world we constantly grapple with

unfinished tasks,

unsolved problems and

unresolved conflicts.

The Christian’s life will have a happy ending—but not just yet!

Nehemiah was in for an awful shock when he returned some time later to Judah:

idol-worshipping foreigners had married yet again into Jewish families;

Tobiah, his archenemy, was resident in the temple;

the Levites were pursuing secular employment through lack of financial support from God’s people, and

there was a Sabbath market in Jerusalem.

The promises made in the sacred covenant (ch. 10) had been wilfully broken.

Faithfulness to God declined while Nehemiah was away from the country.

Faithfulness to God declined while Nehemiah was away from the country. A lesser man than Nehemiah would have sunk into a black hole of depression, but he rolled up his sleeves and got stuck into his final reforms as governor of Judah. God had given him a work to do and he fulfilled that task regardless of setbacks and obstacles. The Lord who gave him strength in his previous spell as governor would empower him once more as he took up the reins again.

A lesser man than Nehemiah would have sunk into a black hole of depression,

but he rolled up his sleeves and got stuck into his final reforms as governor of Judah.

God had given him a work to do and he fulfilled that task regardless of setbacks and obstacles.

The Lord who gave him strength in his previous run, as governor, would empower him once more as he took up the reins again.

Where were Ezra the scribe and Hanani, Nehemiah’s brother and the leader in Jerusalem, while the governor was away in Babylon?

The fact that neither of these men is mentioned in may suggest that they were now dead.

We can be sure that neither Hanani nor Ezra would have condoned the profane conduct of Eliashib or Tobiah;

If Hanani was still alive it may be that Eliashib, the priest, had manoeuvred him out of a position of leadership to effect his own wicked schemes. We can be sure that neither Hanani nor Ezra would have condoned the profane conduct of Eliashib or Tobiah; neither would they have tolerated this infringement of the Sabbath or the mixed marriages.

neither would they have tolerated this infringement of the Sabbath or the mixed marriages.

God’s Word (13:1–3)

The time indicator, ‘on that day’ (13:1), is imprecise in the Hebrew.

We cannot be sure how long he was away in Persia.

The important point to note about ‘that day’ is that ‘The Book of Moses was read aloud in the hearing of the people’ (13:1).

The reference to the Ammonite, Moabite and the mercenary prophet Balaam helps us to identify the passage read as .

In God forbade acceptance of the Ammonites and Moabites,

the descendants of Lot through incest with his daughters () and

the long-standing enemies of God’s people.

These two nations refused to provide food for the nomad Jews in the wilderness.

However, this prohibition was not the expression of revenge or racial prejudice but a spiritual safeguard for God’s covenant race.

The Moabites at the time of Moses enticed the Jews into

sexual immorality and the

worship of their idols

with the result that ‘the Lord’s anger burned against’ His own people (see ).

There was a very real danger that the Moabites would have the same evil sway on the Jews in the time of Nehemiah.

In the long term the separation of the Jewish race was a preparation for

the coming of Jesus Christ and

the establishment of His kingdom.

We too are not to lower our standards of conduct so that we lose our distinct identity as Christian people.

The God who ‘turned the curse’ of Balaam ‘into a blessing’ () for the Jews

will one day reward us in heaven ().

11 "“You are blessed when they insult you and persecute you and falsely say every kind of evil against you because of me. 12 "Be glad and rejoice, because your reward is great in heaven. For that is how they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” ()

The reading of ‘the Book of Moses’ was not only public, it was also powerful.

It produced a change in the behavior of the hearers: ‘When the people heard this law, they excluded from Israel all who were of foreign descent’ (13:3).

We observe again that it was the communal reading of the law which compelled the Jews to face up to God’s demands for them as His people (recall chs 8–9).

The rest of relates how God’s people ‘excluded from Israel all who were of foreign descent’.

God’s house (13:4–14)

If Nehemiah on his first arrival 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’.

The chief instigator of these concessions was ‘Eliashib the priest’ (13:4), the spiritual leader

Some commentators take the view that Eliashib the priest mentioned here was not the same person as Eliashib the high priest referred to in verse 28, whose grandson was the son-in-law of Sanballat. It is argued that we would hardly expect the high priest to organize the contents of the storerooms. However, we may assume that the high priest delegated much of this work to some of the other priests and Levites. Perhaps Tobiah was shown favouritism by Eliashib because he was related to the family of the high priest; we know for certain that he was connected by marriage to leading Jewish families and his Jewish name indicates that he was a nominal worshipper of Jehovah (6:17–18).

Eliashib and his fellow priests had done sterling work in rebuilding Jerusalem’s Sheep Gate and the section of the wall (3:1).

and the section of the wall (3:1).

But once Nehemiah left the city, Eliashib’s true character asserted itself when he provided

the wicked Tobiah ‘with a large room’ (13:5) in the temple for his personal use.

This partiality towards Tobiah was reprehensible because he was an official of the banned race of the Ammonites (2:10, 19), and

because the room was required to store items used in

the temple worship and the contributions given for the upkeep of the Levites and priests (13:4–5).

Eliashib’s policy was peace at any price, even if that entailed befriending those who

hated God and were therefore

the bitter enemies of Nehemiah.

We may be sure that this sacrilege of the temple and conciliation with Tobiah upset the sincere worshippers of God who supported Nehemiah, but they felt powerless to oppose the high priest.

You can imagine the pleasure which this turn of events must have given to Tobiah:

Kidner vividly captures something of the pleasure which this turn of events must have given to Tobiah: ‘Tobiah never lacked audacity. Where even a toe-hold in the temple would have been a conquest, he obtains a room the size of a small warehouse, and has it cleared for him by the religious authorities themselves (7). 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 the best of all he was at the nerve-centre of Jerusalem, ideally placed for influence and intrigue.’

Tobiah never lacked audacity.

Where even a toe-hold in the temple would have been a conquest, he obtains a room

the size of a small warehouse, and

has it cleared for him by the religious authorities themselves (7).

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

the best of all he was at

the nerve-center of Jerusalem.

The provision of accommodation for Tobiah within the temple had far-reaching ramifications.

Now there was no storage space for the produce given to the Levites and priests by the Jews;

consequently their tithes gradually diminished.

Additionally, this meant that the Levites and other temple staff went back to their farms to scrape together a living (13:10).

The words translated ‘had gone back’ (13:10) in the Hebrew mean that

the Levites had been forced to leave the city;

the goodwill of chapter 12:44–47 had apparently vanished.

The domino effect was a lowering of the spiritual temperature of God’s people,

Which is seen in slacking off in obedience to God in the pursuit of Him.

And the Holy Day, which is designated for worship, becomes just another day to get things done and make money.

It was at this period of Israel’s history that the prophet Malachi appeared on the scene.

It is evident from the book of Malachi that the nation was in a state of spiritual decline.

He preached against the hypocrisy of the people and the wickedness of the priests (; ).

He accused the Jews of robbing God because they withheld their ‘tithes and offerings’ ().

The prophet called for repentance and warned of judgement if his appeal was ignored (; ).

When Nehemiah returned to Judah he immediately did four things to put right or reform these abuses.

1. He turned Tobiah out of the temple (13:6–9)

Nehemiah personally threw Tobiah’s junk out and issued orders for the fumigation of the room.

Then he changed it back into a storeroom for ‘the equipment of the house of God, with the grain offerings and the incense’ (13:9).

He acted decisively because he believed that God’s law must be obeyed whatever the cost.

Church officers have no warrant to discipline members whose views differ from their own,

but they must not evade their responsibility

when there is a glaring disregard of God’s Word in the life of the church.

Problems which are not dealt with have a habit of growing into bigger problems later!

Eliashib does nothing to oppose Nehemiah because he realizes that he cannot argue with God’s Word.

So in the church, criticism is squashed, when the leaders are seen to base their decisions on Scripture alone.

2. He reproved the officials for their neglected duties (13:10–11)

Nehemiah was wise enough not to point the finger at the absentee ‘Levites and singers’ (13:10),

but rather to blame the officials for their negligence in fulfilling their duties (13:11).

His question, ‘Why is the house of God neglected?’, recalled the broken promise of the officers

when they signed the covenant: ‘We will not neglect the house of our God’ (10:39).

However, the fine words were feeding nobody.

Nehemiah would not allow these leaders to nod in agreement and do nothing;

he tells us that ‘I called them together and stationed them at their posts’ (13:11).

3. He appointed trustworthy men for the distribution of supplies (13:12–13)

Eliashib was relieved of his obligations relating to the storerooms and

this task was handed over to four reliable men appointed by Nehemiah:

Shel-e-miah the priest, Zadok the scribe, Pe-daiah a Levite and their assistant Ha-nan.

4. He asked God for favor (13:14)

Once again we are allowed to eavesdrop on the outpouring of Nehemiah’s soul to God.

He addressed the Lord as ‘my God’ because he has a living, personal relationship with God.

Three times in this final chapter of his memoirs he pleads with God to remember him (13:14, 22, 31).

This repeated plea was a cry for God’s help, apart from which:

Nehemiah’s reforms would have no lasting effect on the nation.

In these prayers the Judean governor sought the approval of God and also

anticipated the reward which awaits all those who faithfully serve the Lord.

The Master’s ‘Well done!’ will be ample compensation for the

spiteful criticism and

hurtful ridicule of Sanballat and Tobiah.

Nehemiah’s delight in God expressed itself in his concern for ‘the house of my God and its services’.

The temple was the place where God was present; therefore care for the temple was an expression of his love for God.

The church is now God’s temple ().

16 "And what agreement does the temple of God have with idols? For we are the temple of the living God, as God said: I will dwell and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.” ()

We cannot love God if we do not love His temple, the people of God ().

20 "If anyone says, “I love God,” and yet hates his brother or sister, he is a liar. For the person who does not love his brother or sister whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. 21 "And we have this command from him: The one who loves God must also love his brother and sister.” ()

God’s day (13:15–22)

Nehemiah’s solicitude for the house of God was tied in with his grief because of the desecration of the Sabbath,

the day designed for rest from labor so that time might be devoted to the worship of God.

When Nehemiah returned to Jerusalem he saw some Jews treading winepresses on God’s day, while others were bringing merchandise into the city for the Sabbath-day market. The men of Tyre, residents of the capital city, specialized in selling fish at this market (13:15–18).

It would seem that Nehemiah’s use of the term ‘loads’ (15) was a conscious allusion to the words of Jeremiah.

The prophet stood at the gates of the city and declared God’s message: ‘This is what the Lord says: Be careful not to carry a load on the Sabbath day or bring it through the gates of Jerusalem. Do not bring a load out of your houses or do any work on the Sabbath, but keep the Sabbath day holy, as I commanded your forefathers. Yet they did not listen or pay attention; they were stiff-necked and would not listen or respond to discipline’ ().

God promised prosperity if His people obeyed His commands (), and punishment if they broke His laws ().

God’s threat was fulfilled when the armies of Nebuchadnezzar marched into Jerusalem in 586 B.C. and carried the Jews into seventy years of captivity.

Nehemiah’s reference to the Sabbath-breaking of their ‘forefathers’ and

the discipline which followed seems to confirm the idea that he had the passage from Jeremiah in his mind (13:17–18).

Nehemiah’s contemporaries were in danger of stirring up God’s wrath again if they did not cease their Sabbath trading.

Nehemiah issued orders for the closure of the gates on the Sabbath and

placed a guard to ensure that his instructions were carried out (13:19).

Some of the merchants persisted in camping overnight outside the city so as to set up their wares early at the Sabbath market.

Nehemiah’s threats eventually convinced them that the mart was permanently closed! (13:20–21).

Nehemiah gave the Levites a solemn charge to renew their devotion to God and ‘to guard the gates in order to keep the Sabbath holy’ (13:22).

The noise of buying and selling on God’s day was a

distraction to the temple worshippers and

robbed the Sabbath of its true purpose of the adoration of God.

Christians are not bound by the elaborate and laborious regulations which governed the Jewish Sabbath.

So what is the significance of this section to us today?

The principle of one special day in seven for the

ceasing of labor and the

corporate worship of God

predates the Sabbath given to the Jews at Sinai.

The special day of worship has its roots in God’s rest from work after the six days of creation and

is laid down as a model for people of all ages and all cultures ().

This day that we meet is sacred, yes, but it should also be a delight.

13 "“If you keep from desecrating the Sabbath, from doing whatever you want on my holy day; if you call the Sabbath a delight, and the holy day of the Lord honorable; if you honor it, not going your own ways, seeking your own pleasure, or talking business; 14 "then you will delight in the Lord, and I will make you ride over the heights of the land, and let you enjoy the heritage of your father Jacob.” For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” ()

If the Sabbath was meant to be a delight to the Jews because they found their joy in the worship of God,

how much more delightful should it be to us who rejoice in salvation through Christ? ().

Nehemiah’s courageous reform of God’s day was followed by earnest prayer to the God who was at the center of that day (13:22).

The appeal to God’s pity and compassion, ‘Show mercy to me’, perhaps Nehemiah’s physical vigour was declining,

so that he calls on the Almighty for strength.

The words, ‘faithful love’, are from the same Hebrew word [hesed] that is translated as ‘faithfully’ in verse 14.

This word is used about 250 times in the Old Testament and stresses loyal and faithful love of the Lord.

Nehemiah’s steadfast and warm love for the Lord’s people was patterned on, and a response to, God’s tender love for him.

Neither should we overlook the idea of divine generosity implied in the adjective ‘abundance’.

God’s people (13:23–29)

1. The people (13:23–27)

It is difficult for us in our tolerant age to appreciate Nehemiah’s distress because of the marriage of Jewish men to foreign women.

His reaction may seem to present-day readers bizarre and violent (13:25).

However, various factors should be taken into consideration as we evaluate his drastic measures.

The inability to speak Hebrew by some of these children of cross-cultural marriages meant that they could not understand God’s Word.

Furthermore the foreign women came from infidel nations which worshipped idols.

The distinct identity of the Jews as God’s witnesses in the world was under threat ().

They were repeating the sin of Solomon, Israel’s third king,

whose multiple marriages to ungodly women, in violation of God’s law,

brought suffering on the Jewish race for centuries (13:26–27; ).

The downfall of the wisest man warns us against the folly of spiritual decay.

So in Nehemiah’s time there was the danger that compromise could

reverse all the reforms that Ezra and Nehemiah had achieved in the past and

have serious repercussions for the future.

Will the church of tomorrow praise God for our faithfulness, or lament our failure?

Another difficulty in this concluding chapter of Nehemiah presents itself to us. Though Nehemiah reproved, pronounced God’s curse, ‘beat some of the men and pulled out their hair’, and compelled them in God’s name to take an oath not to repeat their past transgressions, he did not command them to leave their heathen wives (13:25). When Ezra dealt with the same evil his effective treatment was more radical and less explosive than that of Nehemiah, but it also unleashed many long-term heart-rending problems for the families involved in the divorces of Jewish men from their foreign wives and their children (). I think that Derek Kidner’s comments help us to realize the dilemma confronting Nehemiah at this time: ‘Ezra’s major surgery was indeed highly efficient; but what of the flood of divorcees and uprooted children which it let loose on society? Any subsequent reformer would have had to choose between a repetition of this and the alternative of attempting less in the hope of achieving more. Which of these courses would constitute the lesser evil would have been far from evident.’

2. The priests (13:28–29)

Nehemiah did not have one rule for the populace and another for those in positions of civil or religious authority.

Personal compliance with, and the restraint of, those who offended God’s law was always paramount for Nehemiah.

The fairness of Nehemiah was in sharp contrast to the priests whom God ‘humiliated before all the people’ because of their ‘partiality in matters of the law’ ().

The marriage of Sanballat’s daughter into the high priest’s family did not deter Nehemiah from expelling from the Jewish community

‘one of the sons of Joiada’, the Horonite’s son-in-law and Eliashib’s grandson.

This forceful initiative was necessary for two reasons:

firstly God’s law laid down strict rules relating to the marriage of priests (); and

secondly, the marriage of the priest to a daughter of Sanballat, the antagonist of Nehemiah, was a direct threat to the authority of the Judean governor.

Nehemiah’s forthright treatment of this apostate priest destroyed the pernicious influence of his enemies.

Three times Nehemiah prays for God to remember him, now he beseeches God to remember to

give Sanballat and his depraved allies the punishment which they deserved.

This prayer is reminiscent of that in chapter 4:4–5 and recalls Nehemiah’s sentiments in chapter 5:12–13.

Nehemiah’s commemoration (13:30–31)

‘I came, I saw, I conquered’ was the boast of Julius Caesar—how different this is to the commemoration of Nehemiah: ‘I purified … [I] assigned … I … arranged for the donation…’

This commemoration reveals his humility and his devotion to the cause of God.

These qualities, along with his

godliness,

courage and

leadership abilities,

come across repeatedly in this closing chapter, and indeed throughout the whole of his journal.

Right to the end he is concerned that each priest and each Levite should

fulfil the task allotted to him and

that wood should be provided for the temple

so that God might be worshipped!

Then he signs off with his last recorded prayer to God: ‘Remember me, my God, with favor’ (13:31).

Here’s the unique thing about the book of Nehemiah. Chronologically it’s the last recorded history before John the Baptist appears.

This book thus lowers a dark final curtain at the onset of that intertestamental waiting period,

before the promised “light of life” comes to shine in the darkness ().

In Scripture’s full light, it is clear that only the one who is himself the temple can make these wrongs right ().

Bringing in a new covenant with better promises.

Promises of heart change and grace and forgiveness, not based on our obedience & righteousness,

but solely based upon the obedience and righteousness of another, Jesus Christ the righteous.

This ending sets up the need for a true Israelite whose word is never broken.

Israelites in Nehemiah’s day were all too capable of making covenants only to break them.

Jesus, by contrast, was obedient right up to the point of death ().

The One who sits on the throne is called “Faithful and True” ().

We are prone to wander and stray; He is the Rock.

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