Nehemiah 13
Good morning! Today we finish our series on Ezra and Nehemiah. To remind you of the big picture: The book of Ezra begins with the Israelites in Babylon, a humbled and captured people, living under their captors far from the home God had promised them. But those promises God made were conditional on their continuing to serve and live for God, and the Israelites, over a period of centuries, had continually rebelled against God, not following His commandments, worshiping other Gods, and ultimately becoming just as wicked as the heathen nations around them.
Although our God is a patient God, there is a limit to His patience, and at long last, the nation of Israel fell, its people killed or taken captive, and its capital city, Jerusalem, sacked and destroyed. The wall surrounding the city was destroyed, the residences and government and public buildings in Jerusalem were destroyed, and even the Temple itself was destroyed; God’s Spirit left the Temple, symbolic of how God had at last left the people to reap the consequences of their sin, and symbolic also of how the people had for generations left God.
The Book of Ezra starts with the story of how, 70 years after the first parts of Israel were overtaken, God orchestrated a change in the large powerful nations around them, and so, by God’s grace, and in fulfillment of His promises revealed to and spoken by the prophets, the time had come for the Israelites to have another chance; at last, they could go back to Israel, rebuilding their lives, rebuilding the Temple, and rebuilding the walls and buildings of Jerusalem.
And the Books of Ezra and Nehemiah tell of this story; over a period of about 100 years, these things did come to pass; the Temple was rebuilt, and sacrifices were reinstituted. Led by Nehemiah, former cupbearer to King Artaxerxes, the walls were rebuilt. And last week, in Nehemiah 12, we saw that the walls were formally dedicated to God. There was a great celebration, and as it says in Nehemiah 12:43, the sound of rejoicing could be heard far away.
Now, it was not only buildings and walls and the Temple that were rebuilt; there was also a rebuilding work going on in people’s hearts. There were several events of rededication, of mass repentance for past sins, of humbly seeking to serve God. And so, as of Nehemiah 12:43, it would appear that there was nothing more to say; Israel seemed to be restored, both the nation of Israel and its people.
One almost expects Nehemiah 12:44 to read, “And they all lived happily ever after.” And part of me wishes that this is what Nehemiah 12:44 says, although it would make for a very short message today. But, sadly, that is not what Nehemiah 12:44 says, and it is not found anywhere in the rest of Chapter 12 or Chapter 13 either.
In fact, the people do not live happily ever after. They don’t suddenly, after all the generations and centuries of rebellion against God – even while God rescued them, protected them, cared for them, loved them – after all these generations and centuries of a history that is so often painful to read, they don’t suddenly begin to live for God with their whole hearts. This is not a terrible surprise to you, is it? Well, before I get ahead of myself, let’s go through today’s passage.
We will begin with Nehemiah 12:44. These verses come immediately after the one that says, “The sound of rejoicing in Jerusalem could be heard far away.”
At that time men were appointed to be in charge of the storerooms for the contributions, firstfruits and tithes. From the fields around the towns they were to bring into the storerooms the portions required by the Law for the priests and the Levites, for Judah was pleased with the ministering priests and Levites. They performed the service of their God and the service of purification, as did also the musicians and gatekeepers, according to the commands of David and his son Solomon. – Neh. 12:44-45
For long ago, in the days of David and Asaph, there had been directors for the musicians and for the songs of praise and thanksgiving to God. So in the days of Zerubbabel and of Nehemiah, all Israel contributed the daily portions for the musicians and the gatekeepers. They also set aside the portion for the other Levites, and the Levites set aside the portion for the descendants of Aaron. – Neh. 12:46-47
And so, some time after the dedication of the wall, people were appointed to collect and administer the tithes and offerings as required by the Law. As a reminder, these offerings were essential for the priests and Levites; unlike the other tribes, they had no land for raising crops and livestock.
In verse 44 it says that “Judah was pleased with the ministering priests and Levites.” By Judah this passage really means all the cities and lands of what is the current Israel. As we saw in recent weeks, Israel at the time of Nehemiah is a smaller land that it once was; in particular, the northernmost parts of Israel were not really resettled; the Israelite cities only went a little way north of Jerusalem. The northern parts of Israel came to be what in the New Testament is called Samaria. And because Israel at the time of Nehemiah mostly lay south of Jerusalem, it was sometimes simply called Judah, because Judah was the historical name given to the southern parts back in the days that there was a split between the northern and southern parts.
Anyway, what this passage says is good – they are doing things the way the Law prescribed; the Levites are doing what Levites are supposed to do, the priests are doing what priests are supposed to do, and the other tribes are supporting this work so that it can be done.
On that day the Book of Moses was read aloud in the hearing of the people and there it was found written that no Ammonite or Moabite should ever be admitted into the assembly of God, because they had not met the Israelites with food and water but had hired Balaam to call a curse down on them. (Our God, however, turned the curse into a blessing.) When the people heard this law, they excluded from Israel all who were of foreign descent. – Neh. 13:1-3
Now, this too is good, because they are again trying to follow the Law. It’s not clear what is meant exactly by the phrase “excluded from Israel.” Almost certainly it does not mean that they were banished from the land; this would have been logistically impossible, and the Hebrew words used also do not support this interpretation. Most likely it means that the people were excluded from any religious activities that were for Israel, things like shared feasts. Now, Deut. 23 is the passage where it is written that the Ammonites and Moabites should be excluded. Interestingly, the Deut. passage does not say this applies to all foreigners; just the Ammonites and Moabites. The fact that the Israelites now excluded all foreigners may have several reasons. One, these groups had intermingled and intermarried so much that almost any of the non-Israelite peoples could have some Moabite or Ammonite blood. Second, the reason they were excluded is similar to how the foreigners had harassed the people as they were rebuilding; in a similar way, it seemed appropriate to prohibit them just as the Moabites and Ammonites had been prohibited back in the days of Moses.
Before this, Eliashib the priest had been put in charge of the storerooms of the house of our God. He was closely associated with Tobiah, and he had provided him with a large room formerly used to store the grain offerings and incense and temple articles, and also the tithes of grain, new wine and olive oil prescribed for the Levites, musicians and gatekeepers, as well as the contributions for the priests. – Neh. 13:4-5
Now the time line of this can get confusing. From the commentaries I have looked at, it makes the most sense to understand that the “Before this” only refers to the sentence in which it appears. In other words, this situation involving Tobiah occurred after the events of the previous verses, the excluding of the foreigners.
Who was Tobiah? Well, in fact, Tobiah was an actual Ammonite, and he was an influential leader who had been one of the main ringleaders who was behind all the attempts to stop Nehemiah’s work of rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem. Now, what is going on here? The high priest has a cozy relationship with the Ammonite Tobiah, so much so that he gets a “royal room” not just in Jerusalem, but in the Temple itself! This is so wrong on so many levels that one doesn’t know where to begin. Tobiah shouldn’t be in Jerusalem at all; he shouldn’t be having financial dealings with the Israelites; and yet none of this comes close to the reality: he is living at the Temple itself, in fine quarters, at the personal invitation of the high priest!
Well, you may wonder, how could Nehemiah put up with this? Or if he didn’t, how could he not know it was going on? The answer is in the next verses.
But while all this was going on, I was not in Jerusalem, for in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon I had returned to the king. Some time later I asked his permission and came back to Jerusalem. Here I learned about the evil thing Eliashib had done in providing Tobiah a room in the courts of the house of God. I was greatly displeased and threw all Tobiah’s household goods out of the room. I gave orders to purify the rooms, and then I put back into them the equipment of the house of God, with the grain offerings and the incense. – Neh. 13:6-9
And so we see – Nehemiah was not there. His time to take leave of the king – recall that he had been his cupbearer – was never meant to be permanent. His arrangements with the king must have been that after a certain number of years he was to return; and it appears that this was now the agreed-upon time. Based on the wording in the Hebrew, it is unlikely he remained away for more than a year. But in that short time, look at what had happened!
I hate to say what this reminds me of – but if you are a parent of teenagers, you are probably thinking along the same lines as I am. You raise your children, work hard in moral instruction, and then, do you dare leave them alone? What will they do? Do you trust them? Actually, it reminds me of these stories you sometimes read of parents who go out of town, leaving their teenagers home, and the teenagers host broadcast news of an awesome party to be had at their house. The party gets out of hand, with total strangers coming, so out of hand that at the end the entire house is trashed, causing tens of thousands of dollars of damage.
To a degree it also reminds me of when Moses went up the mountain to meet with God, and even Aaron sinned and went along with the Israelites’ plans for making a golden idol to worship. The parallels are strong here – Eliashib the priest is at the center of the trouble! He of all people should know better.
I love Nehemiah’s response: throw the bum out! The English translation of these verses may be too gentle. Nehemiah wasn’t greatly displeased; he was furious! He really threw out Tobiah’s stuff; it doesn’t say whether Tobiah was present; but my guess is that he made himself scarce while all this was going on. And then Nehemiah made the room again have the purpose it had prior to the priest’s sin; it served as the repository for the tithes and offerings.
It may be inexplicable why Eliashib would sin so greatly, and so quickly, after the recent dedication of the wall and the rededication of the people to serve God. With Nehemiah’s return and his actions it looks like the problem has been solved easily enough. But the problem is actually much more serious than it first appears, as we see in the next verses.
I also learned that the portions assigned to the Levites had not been given to them, and that all the Levites and musicians responsible for the service had gone back to their own fields. So I rebuked the officials and asked them, “Why is the house of God neglected?” Then I called them together and stationed them at their posts. – Neh. 13:10-11
Wow. How did this happen so quickly? It appears that one reason Tobiah got to stay in the room for collecting and storing the offerings is that, as soon as Nehemiah left, the people stopped giving. This problem isn’t just with the priest; it is with the people as a whole. And so the Levites and others who served at the Temple had left. This means that sacrifices had stopped. Everything had stopped! And so quickly! And without a fight! Tobiah had effectively won, and he didn’t have to do anything.
Stop and think about the situation. This is total, epic failure. The people don’t seem to follow the Laws of God because they love God; they seem to only follow the Laws of God because, when Nehemiah is around, he makes them do it. Despite the people’s past apparently sincere moments of sorrow, their hearts – when they are not caught up in the moment of a deeply emotional experience – are unchanged. They are still hard-hearted; still stiff-necked people. They are no different that the Israelites who grumbled and complained in the desert against God and against Moses.
Nehemiah did in fact succeed in rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem, and he appears to have succeeded in repopulating and rebuilding the interior of Jerusalem as well. But when it came to the hearts of the people, Nehemiah’s successes were fleeting and temporary at best. And not just to lay this on Nehemiah – Ezra, Israel’s teacher, also did not succeed at turning the hearts of the people towards their Creator. The people were fickle and shallow, and in the end, unchanged by sincerely (for a time) trying to follow the Law. “Just try harder” did not work for them, any more than it works for us!
All Judah brought the tithes of grain, new wine and olive oil into the storerooms. I put Shelemiah the priest, Zadok the scribe, and a Levite named Pedaiah in charge of the storerooms and made Hanan son of Zakkur, the son of Mattaniah, their assistant, because they were considered trustworthy. They were made responsible for distributing the supplies to their fellow Levites. Remember me for this, my God, and do not blot out what I have so faithfully done for the house of my God and its services. – Neh. 13:12-14
So Nehemiah “fixed” the situation by ruling with a strong hand. He appointed people himself, those that were considered trustworthy, and you can be sure that he kept an eye on them and on the entire process. Trust was incredibly important in these positions, because they could be so easily abused. The collectors could keep some for themselves, or give it to their friends, rather than seeing that it was distributed fairly and appropriately to those for whom it was meant to serve.
And so the problem was solved, but was it really? I would say that the symptoms were treated, but the root problem, the lukewarm hearts of the people, remained. And like a parent who knows that their children cannot be trusted on their own, Nehemiah, if he dared to look at the truth of the situation, probably knew that the people only served because Nehemiah was there to make them do it. The parallels between Nehemiah and Moses here are strong – it had to be depressing for both of them when they had time to really think about it.
In those days I saw people in Judah treading winepresses on the Sabbath and bringing in grain and loading it on donkeys, together with wine, grapes, figs and all other kinds of loads. And they were bringing all this into Jerusalem on the Sabbath. Therefore I warned them against selling food on that day. People from Tyre who lived in Jerusalem were bringing in fish and all kinds of merchandise and selling them in Jerusalem on the Sabbath to the people of Judah. – Neh. 13:15-16
And so Nehemiah saw another problem; that is, he saw another symptom of the root problem. The people were violating the Sabbath, and doing so flagrantly. Observing the Sabbath day, keeping it holy, was as much a part of the Law as any other part; indeed, it was part of the Ten Commandments, right up there with do not murder.
But while all this was going on, I was not in Jerusalem, for in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon I had returned to the king. Some time later I asked his permission and came back to Jerusalem. Here I learned about the evil thing Eliashib had done in providing Tobiah a room in the courts of the house of God. I was greatly displeased and threw all Tobiah’s household goods out of the room. I gave orders to purify the rooms, and then I put back into them the equipment of the house of God, with the grain offerings and the incense. – Neh. 13:6-9
And so we see – Nehemiah was not there. His time to take leave of the king – recall that he had been his cupbearer – was never meant to be permanent. His arrangements with the king must have been that after a certain number of years he was to return; and it appears that this was now the agreed-upon time. Based on the wording in the Hebrew, it is unlikely he remained away for more than a year. But in that short time, look at what had happened!
I hate to say what this reminds me of – but if you are a parent of teenagers, you are probably thinking along the same lines as I am. You raise your children, work hard in moral instruction, and then, do you dare leave them alone? What will they do? Do you trust them? Actually, it reminds me of these stories you sometimes read of parents who go out of town, leaving their teenagers home, and the teenagers host broadcast news of an awesome party to be had at their house. The party gets out of hand, with total strangers coming, so out of hand that at the end the entire house is trashed, causing tens of thousands of dollars of damage.
To a degree it also reminds me of when Moses went up the mountain to meet with God, and even Aaron sinned and went along with the Israelites’ plans for making a golden idol to worship. The parallels are strong here – Eliashib the priest is at the center of the trouble! He of all people should know better.
I love Nehemiah’s response: throw the bum out! The English translation of these verses may be too gentle. Nehemiah wasn’t greatly displeased; he was furious! He really threw out Tobiah’s stuff; it doesn’t say whether Tobiah was present; but my guess is that he made himself scarce while all this was going on. And then Nehemiah made the room again have the purpose it had prior to the priest’s sin; it served as the repository for the tithes and offerings.
It may be inexplicable why Eliashib would sin so greatly, and so quickly, after the recent dedication of the wall and the rededication of the people to serve God. With Nehemiah’s return and his actions it looks like the problem has been solved easily enough. But the problem is actually much more serious than it first appears, as we see in the next verses.
I also learned that the portions assigned to the Levites had not been given to them, and that all the Levites and musicians responsible for the service had gone back to their own fields. So I rebuked the officials and asked them, “Why is the house of God neglected?” Then I called them together and stationed them at their posts. – Neh. 13:10-11
Wow. How did this happen so quickly? It appears that one reason Tobiah got to stay in the room for collecting and storing the offerings is that, as soon as Nehemiah left, the people stopped giving. This problem isn’t just with the priest; it is with the people as a whole. And so the Levites and others who served at the Temple had left. This means that sacrifices had stopped. Everything had stopped! And so quickly! And without a fight! Tobiah had effectively won, and he didn’t have to do anything.
Stop and think about the situation. This is total, epic failure. The people don’t seem to follow the Laws of God because they love God; they seem to only follow the Laws of God because, when Nehemiah is around, he makes them do it. Despite the people’s past apparently sincere moments of sorrow, their hearts – when they are not caught up in the moment of a deeply emotional experience – are unchanged. They are still hard-hearted; still stiff-necked people. They are no different that the Israelites who grumbled and complained in the desert against God and against Moses.
Nehemiah did in fact succeed in rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem, and he appears to have succeeded in repopulating and rebuilding the interior of Jerusalem as well. But when it came to the hearts of the people, Nehemiah’s successes were fleeting and temporary at best. And not just to lay this on Nehemiah – Ezra, Israel’s teacher, also did not succeed at turning the hearts of the people towards their Creator. The people were fickle and shallow, and in the end, unchanged by sincerely (for a time) trying to follow the Law. “Just try harder” did not work for them, any more than it works for us!
All Judah brought the tithes of grain, new wine and olive oil into the storerooms. I put Shelemiah the priest, Zadok the scribe, and a Levite named Pedaiah in charge of the storerooms and made Hanan son of Zakkur, the son of Mattaniah, their assistant, because they were considered trustworthy. They were made responsible for distributing the supplies to their fellow Levites. Remember me for this, my God, and do not blot out what I have so faithfully done for the house of my God and its services. – Neh. 13:12-14
So Nehemiah “fixed” the situation by ruling with a strong hand. He appointed people himself, those that were considered trustworthy, and you can be sure that he kept an eye on them and on the entire process. Trust was incredibly important in these positions, because they could be so easily abused. The collectors could keep some for themselves, or give it to their friends, rather than seeing that it was distributed fairly and appropriately to those for whom it was meant to serve.
And so the problem was solved, but was it really? I would say that the symptoms were treated, but the root problem, the lukewarm hearts of the people, remained. And like a parent who knows that their children cannot be trusted on their own, Nehemiah, if he dared to look at the truth of the situation, probably knew that the people only served because Nehemiah was there to make them do it. The parallels between Nehemiah and Moses here are strong – it had to be depressing for both of them when they had time to really think about it.
In those days I saw people in Judah treading winepresses on the Sabbath and bringing in grain and loading it on donkeys, together with wine, grapes, figs and all other kinds of loads. And they were bringing all this into Jerusalem on the Sabbath. Therefore I warned them against selling food on that day. People from Tyre who lived in Jerusalem were bringing in fish and all kinds of merchandise and selling them in Jerusalem on the Sabbath to the people of Judah. – Neh. 13:15-16
And so Nehemiah saw another problem; that is, he saw another symptom of the root problem. The people were violating the Sabbath, and doing so flagrantly. Observing the Sabbath day, keeping it holy, was as much a part of the Law as any other part; indeed, it was part of the Ten Commandments, right up there with do not murder.
Now, we have talked about this before, but just to remind you, we are not under the Law of Moses. This issue confuses many believers and even more nonbelievers. In fact, I had this topic come up with someone just this week; this person used it to try to show that believers who say they are “people of the Book” are all hypocrites. Well, they are all hypocrites – in that all of humanity is hypocrites – we all sin; we all do things we know are wrong. Jesus is the only one who was never a hypocrite.
But the reason we are hypocrites is not because we don’t observe the Law of Moses. I don’t have time to go into the full answer to this today, so I will just let Scripture speak for itself. Here are a few verses that deal with this question:
But the reason we are hypocrites is not because we don’t observe the Law of Moses. I don’t have time to go into the full answer to this today, so I will just let Scripture speak for itself. Here are a few verses that deal with this question:
After much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them: “Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe. God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. He did not discriminate between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith. Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of Gentiles a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors have been able to bear? – Acts 15:7-10
But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. – Gal. 5:18
But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. – Gal. 5:18
Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ. – Col. 2:16-17
For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace. – Rom 6:14
For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. – John 1:17
Christians are not under the Law of Moses. And that includes the Sabbath. We don’t have to try to figure out which parts of the Law of Moses are ceremonial and which parts are still in force today. Everything we need to know how to live can be found in the New Testament. The New Testament does not replace the Old; but it is through the lens of the New Testament that we learn how to understand the Old Testament, and it is through the New Testament that we learn how to live in Christ, under grace, and by the Spirit.
But back to our passage: these guys are under the Law, and the Sabbath, which at first glance you would think would be the easiest law of all to obey – don’t work, but relax – how hard can that be? – is in fact one of the hardest.
One of the ways a person can become estranged from God is to become so absorbed in their own work, in making money, in the day-to-day “secular” life, that their heart no longer has room for the things of God. Perhaps you have heard it said that some of the dietary laws in the Law of Moses were there for the people’s protection against disease. This may well be true. But as you look at these Israelites doing business on the Sabbath, treating it like any other day, working with people of other nations who do not worship God, I think it becomes clear that the Sabbath was, even more, given for people’s protection – in this case, against the disease of a heart that grows cold to God.
This is a warning to us as well. We are not under the Law, but there is great wisdom in observing, if not the day, the principle of Sabbath rest. We too can allow work to make our hearts cold to God if we do not periodically force ourselves to rest, to relax, to de-stress, to spend unrushed time in prayer and the Word.
So what did Nehemiah do about the situation?
I rebuked the nobles of Judah and said to them, “What is this wicked thing you are doing—desecrating the Sabbath day? Didn’t your ancestors do the same things, so that our God brought all this calamity on us and on this city? Now you are stirring up more wrath against Israel by desecrating the Sabbath.” – Neh. 13:17-18
When evening shadows fell on the gates of Jerusalem before the Sabbath, I ordered the doors to be shut and not opened until the Sabbath was over. I stationed some of my own men at the gates so that no load could be brought in on the Sabbath day. Once or twice the merchants and sellers of all kinds of goods spent the night outside Jerusalem. But I warned them and said, “Why do you spend the night by the wall? If you do this again, I will arrest you.” From that time on they no longer came on the Sabbath. – Neh. 13:19-21
Why do you think Nehemiah was so upset they camped outside the gates of Jerusalem? Who lived outside Jerusalem? More Israelites! The problem wasn’t solved until Nehemiah could get them to leave the entire area on Sabbaths.
Then I commanded the Levites to purify themselves and go and guard the gates in order to keep the Sabbath day holy. Remember me for this also, my God, and show mercy to me according to your great love. – Neh. 13:22
Again, it strikes me how Nehemiah is acting more like the parent of foolish, untrustworthy children than like the leader of God’s chosen people. I say this not at all to be critical of Nehemiah, but to point out the deep root problems in the Israelite’s hearts. Nehemiah was doing what he could, but repairing a soul is far more difficult than repairing a wall.
Moreover, in those days I saw men of Judah who had married women from Ashdod, Ammon and Moab. Half of their children spoke the language of Ashdod or the language of one of the other peoples, and did not know how to speak the language of Judah. I rebuked them and called curses down on them. I beat some of the men and pulled out their hair. I made them take an oath in God’s name and said: “You are not to give your daughters in marriage to their sons, nor are you to take their daughters in marriage for your sons or for yourselves. – Neh. 13:23-25
Here we see another symptom of the root problem in the Israelites’ hearts: marrying foreign wives. But I thought this problem was addressed and solved in the book of Ezra! Well, the people now clearly knew this was wrong, and yet they continued to do it. Now, we may call the punishment unconventional, but it does not seem to be a punishment unique to Nehemiah. (See Isaiah 50.)
Was it not because of marriages like these that Solomon king of Israel sinned? Among the many nations there was no king like him. He was loved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel, but even he was led into sin by foreign women. Must we hear now that you too are doing all this terrible wickedness and are being unfaithful to our God by marrying foreign women?” – Neh. 13:26-27
One of the sons of Joiada son of Eliashib the high priest was son-in-law to Sanballat the Horonite. And I drove him away from me. Remember them, my God, because they defiled the priestly office and the covenant of the priesthood and of the Levites. – Neh. 13:28-29
So I purified the priests and the Levites of everything foreign, and assigned them duties, each to his own task. I also made provision for contributions of wood at designated times, and for the firstfruits. Remember me with favor, my God. – Neh. 13:30-31
It’s a lot easier to build a wall than to reform a people. As I said earlier, this is no “and they lived happily ever after” ending. It is kind of sad, is it not? I feel bad for Nehemiah; he is doing all he can do, but it is all band-aid solutions. His people don’t really love the Lord.
And apart from the transformative work of Christ in a believer’s heart, this is how it always will be. You cannot really change your children’s hearts apart from Christ getting into their hearts and changing them from the inside out. You cannot change your spouse; only Christ can do that. And, most important, you cannot change yourself, apart from Christ. As the comic strip character Pogo would say, “We have met the enemy and he is us.” Apart from Christ, we would be no different than these Israelites. We might be able to help build a temple, or fix a wall, but our hearts would be prone to wander, and we, and our leaders, would be helpless to fix it.
“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in Me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing." – John 15:5
Apart from Christ, we can do nothing. In Christ, we are more than conquerors. As we come to the end of our series on Ezra and Nehemiah, I would encourage you not to “try harder,” but to seek Christ, to do the daily things that keep your heart tender to Him, so that He can have His way with you and help you to bear much fruit. All glory to Him!
For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace. – Rom 6:14
For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. – John 1:17
Christians are not under the Law of Moses. And that includes the Sabbath. We don’t have to try to figure out which parts of the Law of Moses are ceremonial and which parts are still in force today. Everything we need to know how to live can be found in the New Testament. The New Testament does not replace the Old; but it is through the lens of the New Testament that we learn how to understand the Old Testament, and it is through the New Testament that we learn how to live in Christ, under grace, and by the Spirit.
But back to our passage: these guys are under the Law, and the Sabbath, which at first glance you would think would be the easiest law of all to obey – don’t work, but relax – how hard can that be? – is in fact one of the hardest.
One of the ways a person can become estranged from God is to become so absorbed in their own work, in making money, in the day-to-day “secular” life, that their heart no longer has room for the things of God. Perhaps you have heard it said that some of the dietary laws in the Law of Moses were there for the people’s protection against disease. This may well be true. But as you look at these Israelites doing business on the Sabbath, treating it like any other day, working with people of other nations who do not worship God, I think it becomes clear that the Sabbath was, even more, given for people’s protection – in this case, against the disease of a heart that grows cold to God.
This is a warning to us as well. We are not under the Law, but there is great wisdom in observing, if not the day, the principle of Sabbath rest. We too can allow work to make our hearts cold to God if we do not periodically force ourselves to rest, to relax, to de-stress, to spend unrushed time in prayer and the Word.
So what did Nehemiah do about the situation?
I rebuked the nobles of Judah and said to them, “What is this wicked thing you are doing—desecrating the Sabbath day? Didn’t your ancestors do the same things, so that our God brought all this calamity on us and on this city? Now you are stirring up more wrath against Israel by desecrating the Sabbath.” – Neh. 13:17-18
When evening shadows fell on the gates of Jerusalem before the Sabbath, I ordered the doors to be shut and not opened until the Sabbath was over. I stationed some of my own men at the gates so that no load could be brought in on the Sabbath day. Once or twice the merchants and sellers of all kinds of goods spent the night outside Jerusalem. But I warned them and said, “Why do you spend the night by the wall? If you do this again, I will arrest you.” From that time on they no longer came on the Sabbath. – Neh. 13:19-21
Why do you think Nehemiah was so upset they camped outside the gates of Jerusalem? Who lived outside Jerusalem? More Israelites! The problem wasn’t solved until Nehemiah could get them to leave the entire area on Sabbaths.
Then I commanded the Levites to purify themselves and go and guard the gates in order to keep the Sabbath day holy. Remember me for this also, my God, and show mercy to me according to your great love. – Neh. 13:22
Again, it strikes me how Nehemiah is acting more like the parent of foolish, untrustworthy children than like the leader of God’s chosen people. I say this not at all to be critical of Nehemiah, but to point out the deep root problems in the Israelite’s hearts. Nehemiah was doing what he could, but repairing a soul is far more difficult than repairing a wall.
Moreover, in those days I saw men of Judah who had married women from Ashdod, Ammon and Moab. Half of their children spoke the language of Ashdod or the language of one of the other peoples, and did not know how to speak the language of Judah. I rebuked them and called curses down on them. I beat some of the men and pulled out their hair. I made them take an oath in God’s name and said: “You are not to give your daughters in marriage to their sons, nor are you to take their daughters in marriage for your sons or for yourselves. – Neh. 13:23-25
Here we see another symptom of the root problem in the Israelites’ hearts: marrying foreign wives. But I thought this problem was addressed and solved in the book of Ezra! Well, the people now clearly knew this was wrong, and yet they continued to do it. Now, we may call the punishment unconventional, but it does not seem to be a punishment unique to Nehemiah. (See Isaiah 50.)
Was it not because of marriages like these that Solomon king of Israel sinned? Among the many nations there was no king like him. He was loved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel, but even he was led into sin by foreign women. Must we hear now that you too are doing all this terrible wickedness and are being unfaithful to our God by marrying foreign women?” – Neh. 13:26-27
One of the sons of Joiada son of Eliashib the high priest was son-in-law to Sanballat the Horonite. And I drove him away from me. Remember them, my God, because they defiled the priestly office and the covenant of the priesthood and of the Levites. – Neh. 13:28-29
So I purified the priests and the Levites of everything foreign, and assigned them duties, each to his own task. I also made provision for contributions of wood at designated times, and for the firstfruits. Remember me with favor, my God. – Neh. 13:30-31
It’s a lot easier to build a wall than to reform a people. As I said earlier, this is no “and they lived happily ever after” ending. It is kind of sad, is it not? I feel bad for Nehemiah; he is doing all he can do, but it is all band-aid solutions. His people don’t really love the Lord.
And apart from the transformative work of Christ in a believer’s heart, this is how it always will be. You cannot really change your children’s hearts apart from Christ getting into their hearts and changing them from the inside out. You cannot change your spouse; only Christ can do that. And, most important, you cannot change yourself, apart from Christ. As the comic strip character Pogo would say, “We have met the enemy and he is us.” Apart from Christ, we would be no different than these Israelites. We might be able to help build a temple, or fix a wall, but our hearts would be prone to wander, and we, and our leaders, would be helpless to fix it.
“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in Me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing." – John 15:5
Apart from Christ, we can do nothing. In Christ, we are more than conquerors. As we come to the end of our series on Ezra and Nehemiah, I would encourage you not to “try harder,” but to seek Christ, to do the daily things that keep your heart tender to Him, so that He can have His way with you and help you to bear much fruit. All glory to Him!
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