Nehemiah 13

Anthony Gammage

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Nehemiah 13:1–9 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. 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. 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 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. 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.

Nehemiah 13:1–3 ESV

Ill: Michael H. Drifting while snorkeling.

FCF: We constantly drift, need renewal

Prop: Jesus is the true Israelite who lived the perfect life so we can be vigilent.

Understand what has taken place. The walls were rebuilt in 52 days, as tells us. God is a faithful restorer! But not only of the wall, of His people! From that came the finding of God’s Word, conviction, repentance, a new devotion. God’s sovereignty is heralded. There is devotion to God. Now that we are in chapter 13, the last chapter, what do we, as Americans, expect to read? “And they all lived happily ever after.” Right?

Even as we read the beginning of our chapter we see that God’s people are abiding by God’s Word. is quoted almost verbatim where God commands His people not to allow a certain nation in their midst…and this wasn’t a racist thing, it was a religious thing. And they abided by it - they separated. Awesome!

But there is something amiss in our passage. It does not end with “happily ever after.” There is a fault line forming.

Go back and read vv. 4-5

A priest, who was related to Tobiah. Remember him? Likely a Jew who now served God’s enemies and was against the building of the wall in the first place! One of the priests who happened to be his relative, cleared out out the vault which held all the tithes and offerings, and essentially the payment for the priests, and made him a place to live.

Whoa! You may say. How did this happen so quickly? There is a time key that we must pay attention to here. v. 6

Nehemiah 13:6 ESV

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 were to go back to chapter 1:1, you’ll find that this whole book began in the 20th year of the reign of King Artexerxes. And now we find ourselves in year 32. Essentially, between vv. 3-4, 12 years had past. Nehemiah had to go back to fulfil his duty to the King. And over the course of this time, the rest of this book happened.

One thing to note for those who are reading closely…you may say, “What about v. 4 that says, ‘Now before this?’” I don’t like to say, “In the Greek or Hebrew,” And then deliver something starkly different from what your English text says because It think it needlessly erodes your trust in what you have in front of you. But there are times where understanding a little more of what the ancient text says helps clear up questions like these.

Literally this can be translated as, “In the face, or presence, of this...” This phrase could have a time sense to it, or it could have a positional sense to it, referring to a few verses later where it talks about Nehemiah being away. Given the fact that it seems like the reason Eliashib the priest did these things was because Nehemiah wasn’t there.

I think what we see in this passage is the ways we are all prone to drift away from the Lord, and some practical steps to combat these things.

Compromise (4-9)

Accepting a standard that is lower than desired.

In this case, Eliashib was compromising something God used for a particular purpose.

Cure: Eviction - 8

Matthew 5:30 ESV

And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.

Neglect (10-14)

We begin to neglect the things that God holds important. In this case, his priests! The ones who are the intermediaries between them and God.

Cure: Faithful Men - 13

Hebrews 2:1 ESV

Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.

Commercialize (15-22)

This is something that was specifically addressed back in chapter 10

Cure: Closing and guarding the gates - 19

Cheat (23-29)

Intermarriage - here it is again. Also something that was talked about in chapter 10

They were willingly going after things

Cure: Confrontation - 25

So should we espouse beard pulling?

Speaking of Zealots…(; )

in the book of Ezra, Ezra cries. Neh is a zealot. 8, 21, 25 - he was angry! Which is better? God uses them both. Nehemiah has feet of clay, but the perfect balance is found in only one...

John 2:14–16 ESV

In the temple he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers sitting there. And making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. And he told those who sold the pigeons, “Take these things away; do not make my Father’s house a house of trade.”

Luke 4:1–2 ESV

And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing during those days. And when they were ended, he was hungry.

Luke 4:1 ESV

And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness

Philippians 2:8 ESV

And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Revelation 19:11 ESV

Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war.