Setting Things Right...Again

Today we finish up our series in Nehemiah. Last week, we saw a celebration that covered 2 chapters in Nehemiah. Today, we see where the city took a step back and then forward again with Nehemiah’s leadership.

A few chapters ago, we saw Nehemiah lead the people in a commitment to the Lord in several areas, all related to honoring the Lord with their lives, their resources and in keeping God’s house, the temple, in order.

We’ll see that after a few short years with Nehemiah back in Persia, they find themselves forsaking the commitment they made. Nehemiah returns and challenges them in three major areas. Let’s read about how they neglected God’s house in the first 13 verses...

Nehemiah 13:1–14 NIV

1 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, 2 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.) 3 When the people heard this law, they excluded from Israel all who were of foreign descent. 4 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, 5 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. 6 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 7 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. 8 I was greatly displeased and threw all Tobiah’s household goods out of the room. 9 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. 10 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. 11 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. 12 All Judah brought the tithes of grain, new wine and olive oil into the storerooms. 13 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. 14 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.

This Tobiah was the same Tobiah the Ammonite who opposed the rebuilding of the wall in the first place. Yet somehow he managed to weasel his way into the city....not only into the city, but somehow managed to be able to have his things in the temple itself.

When Nehemiah saw this, he promptly threw those belongings out and had those rooms purified.

Additionally he saw where the regular giving and maintenance of God’s house and the workers were neglected. Giving was ignored and as a result, the normal functioning of the temple was not happening.

He reminded the leaders and the people that this was important. They had committed in chapter 10 to maintain and keep up the House of our God and yet here we find that they once again fell into a pattern of disobedience.

Notice how this section ends - Nehemiah prays that God would remember his deeds in leading the people, not for his own benefit, but for the benefit of God’s house…essentially Nehemiah is doing this to honor God in this city.

So, they forsook keeping God’s house up…let’s what else happened...

Nehemiah 13:15–22 NIV

15 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. 16 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. 17 I rebuked the nobles of Judah and said to them, “What is this wicked thing you are doing—desecrating the Sabbath day? 18 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.” 19 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. 20 Once or twice the merchants and sellers of all kinds of goods spent the night outside Jerusalem. 21 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. 22 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.

The next thing he saw was that the Sabbath was not being honored. Not only did they allow people to bring goods into the city to be sold, they were also making wine and gathering grain. This was a clear violation of what God commanded of them on the Sabbath and also what they had committed to just a few years prior.

Nehemiah didn’t hesitate to lock the merchants out of the city and also threatened them with arrest if they continued to try.

He then challenged the Levites, the spiritual leaders, to make things right and keep the Sabbath holy.

Again, Nehemiah prays, asking God to remember his actions and to show him mercy as a result.

Alright…one more challenge to the city...

Nehemiah 13:23–31 NIV

23 Moreover, in those days I saw men of Judah who had married women from Ashdod, Ammon and Moab. 24 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. 25 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. 26 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. 27 Must we hear now that you too are doing all this terrible wickedness and are being unfaithful to our God by marrying foreign women?” 28 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. 29 Remember them, my God, because they defiled the priestly office and the covenant of the priesthood and of the Levites. 30 So I purified the priests and the Levites of everything foreign, and assigned them duties, each to his own task. 31 I also made provision for contributions of wood at designated times, and for the firstfruits. Remember me with favor, my God.

Lastly, we see where there was already a generation of children who could no longer understand the language of the people of Judah. As such, they would not be able to understand God’s word and instructions to them. They had again gone against the commitment they made to keep their families holy.

We also hear again about Sanballat who through marriage had infiltrated the city of Jerusalem just like Tobiah. Both of these guy were enemies of this project to see the city rebuilt and had infiltrated the city through their alliance with Eliashib.

Nehemiah called it all out. He said what needed to be said and did so boldly because he knew what God’s word said. And again, he finishes the section with a prayer for God to remember him with favor.

And this is how this book ends. It doesn’t have the “happily ever after ending” that we probably would have preferred.

There are a few lessons for us in this chapter that we can take to apply to today.

Flesh is prone to rebellion and requires renewal from the Word

In each of these areas of rebellion, Nehemiah spoke to it using God’s Word. We all have need for being renewed by God’s word to us. This happens by regular assembling together, by regular reading of the word and by time spent in prayer.

Without those three things, we can pretty much count on our rebellious flesh getting the upper hand. Jesus speaking in John 15 says this:

John 15:1–5 NIV

1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. 5 “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.

There is a promise in these verses that tells us that by staying connected to Christ, the fruit will follow. Being disconnected from Christ will result in rebellion and our flesh nature ruling.

We are in need of regular renewal by the Word in our lives.

Next, Nehemiah is a voice for the people to return to God’s ways...

Give someone permission to speak correction in your life.

Not that the people in Jerusalem actively gave him permission, but this is key. Who is the godly friend in your life who you’ve given permission to speak truth to you? Who asks you the hard questions about the things you struggle with?

We need a Nehemiah in our lives who will come in and just empty out our sin filled room. Someone who will not hesitate to challenge us.

If you are a member here are Crossroads, by default, you’ve given the elders and I permission to speak into your lives. Now, we are committed to not abusing this permission and will really only do so when we see major issues going on. But the elders are not enough. You need someone who knows all about you and will confidentially walk with you through it.

Lastly, the world and the church needs more Nehemiah’s.

Be willing to challenge even when it makes you unpopular.

I think as a whole, people are very apprehensive about speaking truth. We have actively been told by the world to keep our stuff to ourselves and not offend anyone. We are told not to judge or be judgmental.

Nehemiah on several occasions in our passage today spoke in ways we may have labeled harsh and controlling, but I don’t think he was. These people committed to God with Nehemiah to follow a certain standard of living. The agreed and signed their name to it. He is holding them to their commitment. He is holding them to their word.

This is a great perspective as we consider how we might challenge someone. This is not meant for us to have permission just to speak our mind in each and every situation.

Here are some helpful tips on when it is appropriate to challenge:

If someone has already given you permission to do so. It may be helpful for you to start the conversation like this…Brother, we agreed that if we saw something that wasn’t right that we would speak to that…I am seeing something that is of concern and I’d like to challenge you on that.

If you believe this thing will cause damage to their witness, their walk or to the church. A couple of criteria for this. It has to be a person you know fairly well. If you don’t know the person, perhaps bring the issue to an elder and ask them for advice on how to proceed. Next, you should be certain of what you are going to challenge about. If not, you should approach the situation with questions and try to understand better what you are seeing.

A few other considerations...

Don’t challenge in a text or in email. As much as is possible, have the conversation face to face.

If it is an overly sensitive topic or you are unsure of the response, have a trusted person with you.

There is no urgency to speak quickly. It is ok to take some time to pray and to seek wise counsel. Be careful when talking with other that it does not become gossip.

I want to close with a passage from Ephesians 4. This passage deals with this very idea of how we are to relate to one another in areas that are lacking in Christ-likeness.

Ephesians 4:11–16 NIV

11 So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. 14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. 15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. 16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

Close in Prayer