Sin Chastised
Nehemiah 13
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 come into the assembly of God,
2 because they had not met the children of Israel with bread and water, but hired Balaam against them to curse them. However, our God turned the curse into a blessing.
3 So it was, when they had heard the Law, that they separated all the mixed multitude from Israel.
4 Now before this, Eliashib the priest, having authority over the storerooms of the house of our God, was allied with Tobiah.
5 And he had prepared for him a large room, where previously they had stored the grain offerings, the frankincense, the articles, the tithes of grain, the new wine and oil, which were commanded to be given to the Levites and singers and gatekeepers, and the offerings for the priests.
6 But during all this I was not in Jerusalem, for in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon I had returned to the king. Then after certain days I obtained leave from the king,
7 and I came to Jerusalem and discovered the evil that Eliashib had done for Tobiah, in preparing a room for him in the courts of the house of God.
8 And it grieved me bitterly; therefore I threw all the household goods of Tobiah out of the room.
9 Then I commanded them to cleanse the rooms; and I brought back into them the articles of the house of God, with the grain offering and the frankincense.
10 I also realized that the portions for the Levites had not been given them; for each of the Levites and the singers who did the work had gone back to his field.
11 So I contended with the rulers, and said, "Why is the house of God forsaken?" And I gathered them together and set them in their place.
12 Then all Judah brought the tithe of the grain and the new wine and the oil to the storehouse.
13 And I appointed as treasurers over the storehouse Shelemiah the priest and Zadok the scribe, and of the Levites, Pedaiah; and next to them was Hanan the son of Zaccur, the son of Mattaniah; for they were considered faithful, and their task was to distribute to their brethren.
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 its services!
15 In those days I saw people in Judah treading wine presses on the Sabbath, and bringing in sheaves, and loading donkeys with wine, grapes, figs, and all kinds of burdens, which they brought into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. And I warned them about the day on which they were selling provisions.
16 Men of Tyre dwelt there also, who brought in fish and all kinds of goods, and sold them on the Sabbath to the children of Judah, and in Jerusalem.
17 Then I contended with the nobles of Judah, and said to them, "What evil thing is this that you do, by which you profane the Sabbath day?
18 Did not your fathers do thus, and did not our God bring all this disaster on us and on this city? Yet you bring added wrath on Israel by profaning the Sabbath."
19 So it was, at the gates of Jerusalem, as it began to be dark before the Sabbath, that I commanded the gates to be shut, and charged that they must not be opened till after the Sabbath. Then I posted some of my servants at the gates, so that no burdens would be brought in on the Sabbath day.
20 Now the merchants and sellers of all kinds of wares lodged outside Jerusalem once or twice.
21 Then I warned them, and said to them, "Why do you spend the night around the wall? If you do so again, I will lay hands on you!" From that time on they came no more on the Sabbath.
22 And I commanded the Levites that they should cleanse themselves, and that they should go and guard the gates, to sanctify the Sabbath day. Remember me, O my God, concerning this also, and spare me according to the greatness of Your mercy!
23 In those days I also saw Jews who had married women of Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab.
24 And half of their children spoke the language of Ashdod, and could not speak the language of Judah, but spoke according to the language of one or the other people.
25 So I contended with them and cursed them, struck some of them and pulled out their hair, and made them swear by God, saying, "You shall not give your daughters as wives to their sons, nor take their daughters for your sons or yourselves.
26 Did not Solomon king of Israel sin by these things? Yet among many nations there was no king like him, who was beloved of his God; and God made him king over all Israel. Nevertheless pagan women caused even him to sin.
27 Should we then hear of your doing all this great evil, transgressing against our God by marrying pagan women?"
28 And one of the sons of Joiada, the son of Eliashib the high priest, was a son-in-law of Sanballat the Horonite; therefore I drove him from me.
29 Remember them, O my God, because they have defiled the priesthood and the covenant of the priesthood and the Levites.
30 Thus I cleansed them of everything pagan. I also assigned duties to the priests and the Levites, each to his service,
31 and to bringing the wood offering and the firstfruits at appointed times. Remember me, O my God, for good!
The first thing we see in this chapter is the examining of the Word of God.
When one puts their life under the spotlight of the Word of God, wrong doing is highlighted.
The law that related to the wrong doing is found in the book of the law, Deuteronomy.
Deut 23:3,"An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter the assembly of the LORD; even to the tenth generation none of his [descendants] shall enter the assembly of the LORD forever,
4. "because they did not meet you with bread and water on the road when you came out of Egypt, and because they hired against you Balaam the son of Beor from Pethor of Mesopotamia,* to curse you.
Yet what do we see.
Nehemiah 13:1 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 come into the assembly of God,
Ammonites and Moabites were not part of Israel by birth, they were outside the chosen of God. And so were not allowed into the temple.
Not only that but they had called on Baalam to curse Israel.
Num 22:5 He sent messengers therefore unto Balaam the son of Beor to Pethor, which is by the river of the land of the children of his people, to call him, saying, Behold, there is a people come out from Egypt: behold, they cover the face of the earth, and they abide over against me:
Num 22:6 Come now therefore, I pray thee, curse me this people; for they are too mighty for me: peradventure I shall prevail, that we may smite them, and that I may drive them out of the land: for I wot that he whom thou blessest is blessed, and he whom thou cursest is cursed.
Unless these pagans turn from their false gods, they were not welcome in the house of Israel.
Can we learn something from this example?
Only Christians are the elect of God, chosen, called and justified.
Unless one has been born again of the Spirit of God, they do not belong to the household of God.
The Gospel of Jesus Christ should never be watered down to make it more palatable to the unbeliever.
There are many in the world who teach that there are many ways to God. However the uniqueness of the Gospel is that there is only one way to the Father and that is through Jesus Christ.
John 14:6 “I am the way the truth and the life and no man comes to the Father but by Me”.
1 Tim 2:5 For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus,
Only those who are born again, born of God are part of the family of God.
John 1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
Nehemiah 13:3 So it was, when they had heard the Law, that they separated all the mixed multitude from Israel.
This may sound harsh to us today, even though the Israelites had been cursed by Baalam many years previously, it had been a breaking of Gods law and to curse Israel would be met with Gods disapproval.
In Genesis 12, God had spoken to Abraham and had given him the unconditional promises of a nation from his own loins, a promise of the land and a promise of blessing.
Genesis 12:3 I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."
When we have done wrong, that wrong must be put right. There is no time scale with God.
A wrong done is not made right with the passing of time.
Sin must be repented of and forgiveness sought.
From the text, we understand that all this was happening whilst Nehemiah was away from Jerusalem.
6 But during all this I was not in Jerusalem, for in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon I had returned to the king. Then after certain days I obtained leave from the king,
7 and I came to Jerusalem and discovered the evil that Eliashib had done for Tobiah, in preparing a room for him in the courts of the house of God.
When Nehemiah returned, he found that the priest Eliashib had been dealing with the very enemy who had opposed the building of the walls, Tobiah.
Tobiah had been banned from the city ten years earlier and now, not only was Eliashib making alliances with him, had allowed him to move into the temple courts.
This was forbidden in the law and so Nehemiah ousted Tobiah out and removed all his belongings.
8 And it grieved me bitterly; therefore I threw all the household goods of Tobiah out of the room.
Tobiah was still the enemy and he had not repented and was not part of the covenant that the people had made with God.
The temple was the house of the God of Israel and therefore should be kept as such. It is not a place for pagans, especially those that oppose the work of God.
In the same way, the church is the house of God for believers in Christ. Christians should recognise this and should be aware that unbelievers are not part of the household of faith.
This may not sit well with some Christians, especially those that think the church should be accommodating to unbelievers. However the truth is clear, he who is not for God, is against Him.
Eliashib had not sussed Tobiah out, he had not done what he should have done, refuse to let a pagan into the temple courts.
We must be vigilant in these days that we live in, for Jesus warned of those that would infiltrate the church.
Jude 1:4 For certain men have secretly slipped in among you – men who long ago were marked out for the condemnation I am about to describe – ungodly men who have turned the grace of our God into a license for evil and who deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.
The difference with Nehemiah is, he was a good leader who not only recognised the problem but was also strong enough to put things right.
Nehemiah 13: 11.
11 So I contended with the rulers, and said, "Why is the house of God forsaken?" And I gathered them together and set them in their place.
Nehemiah backed his actions up with prayer, asking for Gods help.
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 its services!
Nehemiah 13: 15 – 18.
The people were breaking the law of the Sabbath, it seems that things had become very slack whilst Nehemiah was away.
Nehemiah prayed again and set about preaching against their sin.
V15 And I warned them
17 Then I contended with the nobles of Judah, and said to them, "What evil thing is this that you do, by which you profane the Sabbath day?
18 Did not your fathers do thus, and did not our God bring all this disaster on us and on this city? Yet you bring added wrath on Israel by profaning the Sabbath."
Sometimes it is necessary for leaders to highlight the wrong doings in a fellowship.
This takes wisdom and courage and guidance from God.
This again is why our leaders and Elders need our prayer and support.
They themselves may have their own problems but it does justify ours.
Serious measures were taken.
19 So it was, at the gates of Jerusalem, as it began to be dark before the Sabbath, that I commanded the gates to be shut, and charged that they must not be opened till after the Sabbath. Then I posted some of my servants at the gates, so that no burdens would be brought in on the Sabbath day.
Even then it did not stop some.
20 Now the merchants and sellers of all kinds of wares lodged outside Jerusalem once or twice.
21 Then I warned them, and said to them, "Why do you spend the night around the wall? If you do so again, I will lay hands on you!"
Nehemiah had to threaten them physically.
How different from today, when members of the congregation won’t even stand a ticking off.
From the patterns in the Bible both Old and New Testament, there is something amiss in our churches today.
I think I would have to go back almost fifty years to remember a church member being reprimanded by a group of Elders.
23 In those days I also saw Jews who had married women of Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab.
24 And half of their children spoke the language of Ashdod, and could not speak the language of Judah, but spoke according to the language of one or the other people.
Relationships and marriages outside of the Jewish faith had cause a multitude of problems.
It is no different today, multiple problems are caused by Christians forming inappropriate relationships and marriages.
It is so easy for us to pick and choose which teachings from scripture we wish to obey and wink at those we don’t.
We see in many churches, relationships and marriages being tolerated amongst the fellowships, not only tolerated but promoted.
Do the teachings of scripture not matter any more?
25 So I contended with them and cursed them, struck some of them and pulled out their hair, and made them swear by God, saying, "You shall not give your daughters as wives to their sons, nor take their daughters for your sons or yourselves.
26 Did not Solomon king of Israel sin by these things? Yet among many nations there was no king like him, who was beloved of his God; and God made him king over all Israel. Nevertheless pagan women caused even him to sin.
Nehemiah was very serious about the sins of the people.
Obviously this kind of chastisement would not be allowed today by law. However it shows the seriousness of the problems.
From this strong reaction of Nehemiah, we gather he considered this to be the most dangerous of their sins – pursing ungodly romance, and getting involved in romantic relationships God had said “no” to.
God has not changed, His laws have not changed, the teachings of scripture are still relevant to us today.
There are relationships that are practised today that do not please God and are clearly forbidden in His word.
Nehemiah uses the example of the wisest of men in Solomon, who was caused to sin by pagan women.
The lust of the flesh is a very strong emotion. Even the strongest of us can be drawn away.
How easy we forget, how easy it is for us to confess our sin and promise we will never do it again.
It was only ten years or so earlier that the Jews had made solemn promises to God in a covenant.
They had promised:
Not to have ungodly romantic relationships (Nehemiah 10:30).
Not to buy and sell on the Sabbath (Nehemiah 10:31).
Not to fail to support the work of God with money as He commanded (Nehemiah 10:32-39).
Yet here they are having to be chastised for those very things.
The Apostle Paul warned us of this very thing.
Rom 7:14 For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.
Rom 7:15 For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I.
Rom 7:16 If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good.
Rom 7:17 Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
Rom 7:18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
Rom 7:19 For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
Rom 7:20 Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
Rom 7:21 I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.
Rom 7:22 For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
Rom 7:23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
Rom 7:24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
Rom 7:25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.
Col 3:1 Tells us, if we are in Christ then we should put on Christ.
James 4:7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
This is the only way that we can overcome the works of the flesh.
