Nehemiah 13:1 – 31 Foreigners Excluded
“At that time the Book of Moses was read aloud in the hearing of the people, and in it they found the passage stating that no Ammonite or Moabite should ever enter the assembly of God, because they had not met the Israelites with food and water, but had hired Balaam to call down a curse against them (although our God had turned the curse into a blessing). As soon as the people heard this law, they excluded from Israel all of foreign descent.
The Temple Cleansed
Now before this, Eliashib the priest, a relative of Tobiah,(a Moabite) had been put in charge of the storerooms of the house of our God and had prepared for Tobiah a large room where they had previously stored the grain offerings, the frankincense, the temple articles, and the tithes of grain, new wine, and oil prescribed for the Levites, singers, and gatekeepers, along with the contributions for the priests.
While all this was happening, I was not in Jerusalem, because I had returned to Artaxerxes king of Babylon in the thirty-second year of his reign. Some time later I obtained leave from the king to return to Jerusalem. Then I discovered the evil that Eliashib had done on behalf of Tobiah by providing him a room in the courts of the house of God.
And I was greatly displeased and threw all of Tobiah’s household goods out of the room. Then I ordered that the rooms be purified, and I had the articles of the house of God restored to them, along with the grain offerings and frankincense.
Tithes Restored (Leviticus 27:30-34; Deuteronomy 14:22-29; Deuteronomy 26:1-15)
I also learned that because the portions for the Levites had not been given to them, all the Levites and singers responsible for performing the service had gone back to their own fields. So I rebuked the officials and asked, “Why has the house of God been neglected?”
Then I gathered the Levites and singers together and stationed them at their posts, and all Judah brought a tenth of the grain, new wine, and oil into the storerooms. I appointed as treasurers over the storerooms Shelemiah the priest, Zadok the scribe, and Pedaiah of the Levites, with Hanan son of Zaccur, the son of Mattaniah, to assist them, because they were considered trustworthy. They were responsible for distributing the supplies to their fellow Levites.
Remember me for this, O my God, and do not blot out my deeds of loving devotion for the house of my God and for its services.
The Sabbath Restored (Jeremiah 17:19-27)
In those days I saw people in Judah treading winepresses on the Sabbath and bringing in grain and loading it on donkeys, along with wine, grapes, and figs. All kinds of goods were being brought into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. So I warned them against selling food on that day. Additionally, men of Tyre who lived there were importing fish and all kinds of merchandise and selling them on the Sabbath to the people of Judah in Jerusalem.
Then I rebuked the nobles of Judah and asked, “What is this evil you are doing—profaning the Sabbath day? Did not your forefathers do the same things, so that our God brought all this disaster on us and on this city? And now you are rekindling His wrath against Israel by profaning the Sabbath!”
When the evening shadows began to fall on the gates of Jerusalem, just before the Sabbath, I ordered that the gates be shut and not opened until after the Sabbath. I posted some of my servants at the gates, so that no load could enter on the Sabbath day.
Once or twice, the merchants and those who sell all kinds of goods camped outside Jerusalem, but I warned them, “Why are you camping in front of the wall? If you do it again, I will lay hands on you.” From that time on, they did not return on the Sabbath. Then I instructed the Levites to purify themselves and guard the gates in order to keep the Sabbath day holy. Remember me for this as well, O my God, and show me mercy according to Your abundant loving devotion.
Intermarriage Forbidden (Ezra 9:1-4) In those days I also saw Jews who had married women from Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab. Half of their children spoke the language of Ashdod or of the other peoples, but could not speak the language of Judah. I rebuked them and called down curses on them. I beat some of these men and pulled out their hair.
Then I made them take an oath before God and said, “You must not give your daughters in marriage to their sons or take their daughters as wives for your sons or for yourselves! Did not King Solomon of Israel sin in matters like this? There was not a king like him among many nations. He was loved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel, yet foreign women drew him into sin. Must we now hear that you too are doing all this terrible evil and acting unfaithfully against our God by marrying foreign women?” Even one of the sons of Jehoiada son of Eliashib the high priest had become a son-in-law to Sanballat the Horonite. Therefore I drove him away from me.
Remember them, O my God, because they have defiled the priesthood and the covenant of the priesthood and of the Levites. Thus I purified the priests and Levites from everything foreign, and I assigned specific duties to each of the priests and Levites. I also arranged for contributions of wood at the appointed times, and for the firstfruits. Remember me, O my God, with favor.”
Nehemiah gets all the priests, Levites, and leaders to sign a covenant and then travels to Babylon to report to King Artaxerxes. But as soon as the dust from Nehemiah’s caravan clears, all those who signed the covenant are back doing business as usual seven days a week. ”Sabbath observations? Who needs them? Restrictions against foreign wives and children? Poo! Nehemiah is nothing but a spoilsport! And why not continue to curry favor with Tobiah the Moabite and Sanballat the Ammonite? Tobiah and Sanballat are still around; meanwhile, Nehemiah has returned to Babylon. Who knows? Maybe Nehemiah will stay in Babylon. We say good riddance!” If we had been able to listen in on the thoughts of the Jewish leaders, this might have been what we would have heard.
But Nehemiah keeps his promise and returns from Babylon, only to find that most of his carefully – crafted reforms have fallen apart. According to the Law of Moses, no Moabite or Ammonite is ever to enter the temple for any reason; however, Nehemiah finds that Eliashib, the priest in charge of the temple storerooms, has “re – purposed” a large storeroom, moving out the temple goods and creating a special room for Tobiah, the Moabite official. Not even common Jews are supposed to have rooms in the temple; those spaces are to be reserved for the work of the temple. It is left to Nehemiah to throw out Tobiah’s goods, cleanse the room, and bring back all the articles of the house of God, the grain offerings, and the frankincense.
Next, Nehemiah realizes that the people have conveniently forgotten the offerings for the priests, the Levites, and the singers, so these people have returned to their farms to feed themselves, neglecting the work of the temple. Again, Nehemiah is the one who is forced to put things right while the leaders are staring around and trying to appear innocent.
The first Sabbath comes, and Jerusalem is full of noise! Despite previous oaths to keep the Sabbath properly, workers are carrying out their daily activities and all the merchants from Tyre and other places are streaming in to sell things. So much for Sabbath – keeping! Once more, Nehemiah is forced to be the bad guy who enforces Sabbath restrictions.
Finally, Nehemiah sees that the Jews have continued to intermarry with surrounding people to the point that half their children can’t even speak the language of Judah. By this point, Nehemiah is beyond despair! He tells us, “I rebuked them and called down curses on them. I beat some of these men and pulled out their hair.” Worse and more of it, one of the members of the high priest’s family has married one of Sanballat’s daughters, creating an enormous religious and political challenge. Nehemiah drives this foolish man away. After having taken this step, Nehemiah continues to rectify matters with the priests and Levites. Nehemiah’s repeated pleas begin, “Remember me, O my God.”
APPLICATION: The priests, Levites, and opinion leaders of Judah had previously signed what was supposed to be a binding covenant. But a covenant that is not respected might as well be written on T – roll! (“T – roll” is the Ghanaian slang for toilet paper.)
The problems Nehemiah faced remain the same problems that every other reformer who is trying to return people to righteous living has faced since the beginning of time. I’m sure that when Nehemiah reached heaven, Moses and he had some vivid conversations. Can’t you just imagine? Nehemiah: “They were actually treading out wine on the Sabbath! I even had to sack the fish sellers from Tyre and then they camped outside the city gates anyway.” Moses: “Hey, that’s nothing! My very own brother created a gold copy of the Egyptian god Hathor and told people that was the god that had delivered them from the Egyptians and an orgy broke out! How stupid can some people be?”
This is the last chapter of the Book of Nehemiah. The name “Nehemiah” means “God comforts.” Nehemiah lived from 473 B.C. to 403 B.C., dying when he was 70. While some sources criticize Nehemiah for self – complacency or self – righteousness, personally, I feel the poor man was desperate. After all, Nehemiah appealed to all the leaders, both religious and secular, and they signed a covenant. In those days, a signed covenant was second only to splitting animal carcasses and then walking around and through them, reciting an oath that the same thing should be done to anyone who broke the covenant, that is, that a covenant breaker should be split in two. Nehemiah had every reason to believe that these men would keep covenant. To return from Babylon only to find that the leaders had swiftly gone back on their word must have been extremely discouraging. To realize that the priests were the ones most at fault would have been an even greater blow.
Nehemiah continues to plead with God that God should remember those who have broken covenant because he suspects that as soon as he is gone, they will revert to their previous behavior. Nehemiah also begs God to remember him with favor because he has no confidence that the leaders of Judah will remember him at all. It is highly significant that despite the intervening centuries, Nehemiah’s story has been preserved in precise detail. Truly, God has remembered Nehemiah with favor and has kept Nehemiah’s story alive so that those of us tasked with reform will study it and take heart. Truly also, God has remembered those who should have kept faith and didn’t. May all of us who find ourselves standing for righteousness in precarious situations take courage from Nehemiah’s example!
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to follow hard after You all the days of our lives and to stand for righteousness, even when it is very difficult. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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