How To Clean House
Notes
Transcript
Review
Review
Turn to Nehemiah 13
Nehemiah chapter twelve had two main sections. The first was a list of the priests and Levites that had resettled in the land of Israel since 538 BC. This list authenticated that the priests and Levites who were alive in Nehemiah’s day were worthy of serving in their religious capacities. The second portion of Nehemiah twelve tells the story of a great celebration as Nehemiah and the Jews dedicated the new wall of Jerusalem to the Lord. It was a time where they retold the stories of what God had done over approximately the last year. By faith, they saw that God was there through it all. God was at work even in the hardest of times. They remembered that God is real and they taught that reality to the next generation.
Introduction
Introduction
Read Nehemiah 13:1-9
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A note for historical context - Nehemiah 13:1-3
One indisputable fact of life is that context matters. Knowing the backstory is often vital to understanding something that is said or done.
Context matters in conversation. Have you ever jumped into a conversation and given your opinion without hearing the context? Yeah, me too. That’s never a good idea, but we’ve probably all done it.
Context matters in history. You can get a really warped perspective on an historical event if you don’t understand the context in which that event took place.
That’s exactly why verses 1-3 are here. They provide some important context to what is described in verses 4-6 and then how Nehemiah responds to the situation in verses 7-9. We’ll look at verses 4-6 in a little while, but let’s get the context first.
It says that the law of the Lord was read and the people were reminded about something that had happened approximately 900 years earlier. Numbers 22 tells us that the people of Israel came up out of Egypt and were making their way to the Promised Land. There was a problem, though. The Ammonites and Moabites did everything they could to stop the Israelites. By the way, both of those groups were distant cousins of the Israelites, which made their actions all the more revolting. Could Moabites and Ammonites still be saved by faith by becoming followers of Jehovah? Yes, Ruth is a perfect example of this. However, it seems that God excluded members of those groups from certain privileges or religious gatherings.
Now what does this law about the Ammonites and the Moabites have to do with Nehemiah 13?
Read Nehemiah 13:4
Let me ask you: who was Tobiah? What was his ethnicity? He was an Ammonite.
Now you can see why this matters.
Read Nehemiah 13:5
Tobiah was an Ammonite who was given privileged access and living quarters in one of the storage rooms of the temple. He received it from the hand of the high priest, no less! The highest religious leader of the Jews was openly violating the very law of God that he was to uphold! A chamber that was dedicated for use in God’s service had been given instead to foreign squatter. Tobiah was living rent-free in a portion of God’s house.
Eliashib got into all this trouble because he was friends with Tobiah.
He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: But a companion of fools shall be destroyed.
Application: Be careful who your friends are. The most important quality you can look for in a friend is not that they are fun to be around, not that they have the same interests as you, and not that they make you feel good. The most important quality you can look for in a friend is that they challenge you to walk with Jesus.
This lead us to our next point…
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A failure during Nehemiah’s absence - Nehemiah 13:4-6
Read Nehemiah 13:6a
You see, Nehemiah was gone when all this was taking place. Everything that is described in verses 4-5 happened under the condition mentioned at the beginning of verse 6: “in all this time was not I [Nehemiah] at Jerusalem…]
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444 BC - 20th year of the king - Nehemiah left Shushan for Jerusalem
432 BC - 32nd year of the king - Nehemiah returned to Shushan
That first term as governor was 12 years. At some point during that time, Eliashib struck this crazy deal with Tobiah the Ammonite and he began living somewhere on the Temple property.
How long did this Ammonite live there? We don’t know.
How long was Nehemiah absent from Jerusalem? We don’t know.
But what God does reveal to us is that after Nehemiah left, it seems like everything was allowed to slide.
Read Nehemiah 12:47
It was only under the leadership of Zerubbabel and then later of Nehemiah that the people gave the required tithes to support the temple singers and gatekeepers.
It was only under the leadership of Zerubbabel and then later of Nehemiah that the people gave the required tithes to support the priests and the Levites. See Nehemiah 13:10.
Whoever is in charge really makes a difference, doesn’t it? When you have unrighteousness, spineless leaders, they will fail time after time to support the good and to resist evil.
Last night my wife and I had the opportunity to attend the Pennsylvania Family Institute’s Friends of the Family Banquet over at the Hershey Lodge. I’ve driven by that place many times but I had never been in there. The food was good, but my wife’s cooking is better.
During the program, we were reminded of some of the restrictions that were enforced in PA during the COVID crisis. Governor Wolf brought various restrictions and the PA Supreme Court supported his interpretation and his use of emergency powers.
You know who the keynote speaker was at that banquet last night? Governor Ron Desantis of Florida. He was the one who drew some of those comparisons and who reminded us of the importance of courageous leadership.
When Nehemiah went back to his day job as cupbearer to the king, a void was left because Eliashib the high priest didn’t have the courage to stand for what was right. When there is a failure of leadership, people suffer and evil surges.
That’s what happened in Jerusalem during Nehemiah’s absence.
Application: at risk of getting on my soapbox, I’m going to say it again: please go vote biblical values on November 4th. You’re never going to vote for a perfect politician, but you have the extraordinary opportunity to bring your biblical worldview to the ballot box and to vote for the candidates that most closely align with your worldview.
If I can help educate you concerning the people on your ballot, I’ll do my best to help.
Read Nehemiah 13:6a
All of this happened while Nehemiah was back at the capitol city and serving the king.
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A correct response to sin - Nehemiah 13:7-9
After an unknown amount of time, Nehemiah obtained a second leave of absence from the king and he came to Jerusalem and discovered everything that Eliashib had done. I’m sure Eliashib had a half a dozen ways that he could rationalize his decision to let Tobiah live on the temple grounds, but notice how Nehemiah calls this what it is. Look at verse seven.
Read Nehemiah 13:7.
Nehemiah cut right through whatever excuses that Eliashib gave and called this exactly what it was: it was evil in the sight of God.
Something I’ve discovered in the last several years is how clarifying it is when someone in a leadership position simply speaks truth and calls out evil when they see it. We live in a day where good is called evil and evil is called good. So when someone in leadership - whether its a pastor or its a politician - calls evil for what it is, that acts clears the air. It takes courage because it’s like picking a fight. But it bring clarity to a world of confusion.
Eliashib’s credentials as the high priest didn’t give him a pass. Nehemiah took Eliashib decision and held it up to the scrutiny of the Word of God and said, “no, you’re wrong. This is evil.”
It bothers me how often public figures will publicly sin and then very publicly sugarcoat it in their apology. They’ll say something or do something that is morally bankrupt and then when they issue a public apology they have the audacity to lie to us point blank in their apology.
“Pastor Tim, what do you mean?”
They lie when they “apologize” for what they did and then they say these words, “that’s not who I am.”
Excuse me, yes, it is.
It bothers me when public figures lie to us like that! Just call sin “sin”! Just call evil “evil” because it is!
But you know what bothers me even more? When I find myself doing the same thing in my own life.
You see, we all try to sugarcoat our sin and make it prettier than what it really is because we all have the same sinful flesh.
Before you get upset at the public figures who make public apologies and publicly lie to us, how about you find some moral ground to stand on by getting upset at your own sin first!
Read Nehemiah 13:8a
Application: When was the last time that you were grieved at your own sin?
When was the last time you were grieved at the cutting words that come out of your mouth that hurt your spouse?
When was the last time you were grieved at the selfishness that dominates every corner of your life?
When was the last time you were grieved at the things you allow yourself to watch on your devices?
When was the last time you were grieved at your complaining attitude about your car, about your house, about your job, and about everything else that God has given you?
When was the last time you were grieved at your critical spirit that cuts down everyone in your path?
When was the last time you were grieved at your unbelief and your refusal to have faith in God?
When was the last time you were grieved at how you break any of the 10 Commandments?
We get so mad at some of our politicians being morally bankrupt and we should. But if we took half of that energy and applied it to ourselves we would be a much purer people.
Forget the public figures. It’s time for you to be broken about your sin.
Nehemiah’s response to sin didn’t stop there though. He was so grieved in his heart that it moved him to action. He decided to clean house.
Read Nehemiah 13:8-9
Often times we’ll get convicted about our sin. We’ll get stirred up during the preaching of God’s Word. We might even commit to doing something about it during the invitation. But then we’ll go home after the service and not do a thing about it!
Application: Nehemiah cleaned house! He personally laid hold on all of Tobiah’s household stuff and threw it out the door! But he didn’t stop there! He had the place ceremonially cleansed and had all the defilement removed. Then he restored the chamber to its proper use. That’s the correct response to sin!
Call out the sin in your life! Confess that sin to God as 1 John 1:9 says! Seek the forgiveness of others that you have offended!
Be grieved over your sin! But don’t get on your highhorse and think that you’re done!
You have to clean your spiritual house! Go home and make some radical changes to replace your evil with something good!
Were you speaking cutting words against your spouse? Replace that habit with words of praise and encouragement!
Were you viewing wickedness on your devices? Throw that out and get help! Get filtering and accountability software on your devices! I’ll help you!
Have you been a complaining voice in the ear of everyone around you? Don’t wait until Thanksgiving! Replace that with a habit of thanking God for what He has given you.
Conclusion
Conclusion
When Nehemiah returned to Jerusalem, he showed us How To Clean House. He let God’s Word be the authority of his life, even to the point of standing up to the high priest and calling out his decision as evil. I challenge you to do the same this morning. Let the Bible be the authority that course corrects your life. Confess your sin, be grieved over it, forsake it, and replace it with something else that will please God and bring Him glory.
Invitation
Invitation
