NEHEMIAH 13
NEHEMIAH 13 OPENS WITH NEHEMIAH'S REFORMS
True worship leads to the nation's obedience.
Verses 1-2 tells us HEARING THE LAW brings a call to obedience.
"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, 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."
No Ammonite or Moabite should ever come into the assembly of God...
WE NEED TO REMEMBER IN THAT DAY, ONLY THE SPIRITUAL LEADERS HAD 24/7 ACCESS TO THE SCRIPTURES. THE OLD TESTAMENT WAS NOT MASS PRODUCED AS IT IS TODAY. SO THE PEOPLE HAD TO DEPEND ON THEIR SCRIBES/PRIESTS TO READ THEM AND TEACH THEM THE WORD, AMEN?
THIS VERSE RIGHT HERE PROVES IT. AS WELL, THIS VERSE TELLS US THAT EVERY TIME WE HEAR THE WORD OF GOD AND/OR READ THE WORD OF GOD WE FIND/LEARN SOMETHING NEW, AMEN?
AND THIS VERSE IS CONFIRMED IN JAMES 4:8, "DRAW NEAR TO GOD AND HE WILL DRAW NEAR TO YOU."
BECAUSE AS THE people drew near to God in worship (as seen in Nehemiah 11 and 12), they LEARNED AND BECAME AWARE OF God's standards.
In this case THE STANDARD stated in Deuteronomy 23:3-4, where the Ammonites and Moabites were NOT to be regarded as part of Israel.
WHY?
DEUTERONOMY 23:3-6 EXPLAINS IT ALL.
"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, 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. Nevertheless the LORD your God would not listen to Balaam, but the LORD your God turned the curse into a blessing for you, because the LORD your God loves you. You shall not seek their peace nor their prosperity all your days forever."
Spurgeon, Redpath, Poole, Trapp, & Clarke, as MOST Bible scholars agree, that the idea of THE ASSEMBLY OF THE LORD refers TO the LEADERSHIP, POLITICAL, CIVIL & RELIGIOUS RULERS OF ISRAEL. These people were barred NOT from the religious life, meaning attending worship, of Israel, if they OBEYED HIS COMMANDMENTS, but from the HOLDING OFFICES IN the nation.
AND AS FOR THE AMMONITES & MOABITES IN PARTICULAR, GOD EXPLAINS IT IN DEUTERONOMY 23.
AND WHY DID GOD FEEL THIS WAY ABOUT THE MOABITES AND THE AMMONITES?
NOT ONLY DID THEY TREAT ISRAEL CRUELLY ON THEIR WAY TO THE PROMISED LAND, BUT WORSE, they also were a people with a DISGRACEFUL beginning.
REMEMBER IN OUR STUDY OF GENESIS 19:30-38, Moab and Ammon were the TWO SONS born to the daughters of Lot through their INCEST with their father when he was drunk.
FULL KNOWLEDGE OF THEIR ANTECEDENTS EXPLAINS WHY The Ammonites and Moabites were singled out because of their devious schemes against Israel, when Israel came into the promised land - AND THAT HAD BEEN AT LEAST A 1000 YEARS BEFORE THE DAYS OF NEHEMIAH!
AND REMEMBER TOO....Long BEFORE the Ammonites and Moabites had schemed against Israel, God had made A COVENANT PROMISE to the father of the Jewish people, Abraham, IN GENESIS 12:3, "I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you."
GOD'S COMMAND about the Ammonites and the Moabites is a simple fulfillment of this COVENANT promise, AMEN?
Should ever come into the assembly of God...This meant to be regarded as one of the people of Israel and people of God. It meant one could fully participate in the spiritual life of Israel.
WHAT THIS MEANT...IS AN ISRAELITE became a part of God's covenant BY BIRTH; but an Ammonite or Moabite COULD NOT.
They FIRST had to become a part of the covenant BY CHOICE- by joining with God's covenant people and leaving their own people & BELIEVING, FOLLOWING GOD'S WORD, HIS COMMANDS INSTEAD OF THEIR OWN PEOPLES BELIEFS/PRACTICES, AMEN?
BUT REMEMBER THE AMMONITES AND MOABITES WERE PAGANS WHO PRAYED TO/PRACTICED/BELIEVED IN DEVINATION, DARK ARTS, BLOOD SACRIFICE OF CHILDREN, BURNING THEIR CHILDREN IN WORSHIP & HONOR OF THEIR OCCULT...KNOWINGLY OR UNKNOWINGLY FOLLOWERS OF SATAN HIMSELF. GOD WAS RIGHT TO DEMAND AND EXPECT THEM TO WALK AWAY FROM THEIR PEOPLES, THEIR IDEOLOGIES, & THEIR PAGAN PRACTICES FOREVER IFFFFFF THEY WANTED TO BE A PART OF ISRAELS WORSHIP ASSEMBLIES.
THEN AND NOW...THIS COMMAND WAS/IS A POWERFUL MESSAGE. It said to these Ammonites and Moabites, "You are not a part of the people of God by birth. You must make a choice. You can not live the thinking and deeds of your anti-God culture, and truly join in the spiritual life of God's people. Unless you leave one and join the other, you will never really be a part of this spiritual life. Come join us!"
However, our God turned the curse into a blessing...THIS REMINDER FROM GOD REFERS TO THE EVENTS OF NUMBERS 22-24, where God blessed Israel, even though the prophet Balaam wanted to curse them. It also reminds us that God is able - THEN AND NOW, more than able TO TURN ANY CURSE into a blessing, AMEN?!
Verse 3 tells us AFTER HEARING God's command, Israel obeys and separates from the mixed multitude.
"So it was, when they had heard the Law, that they separated all the mixed multitude from Israel."
They separated ALL THE MIXED multitude from Israel.
WHY?
GOD KNEW, HISTORY PROVES, FOR HIS PEOPLE, HIS CHURCH, ONE DEVIL WITHIN THE CHURCH IS FAR MORE DANGEROUS THAN 1000 DEVILS OUTSIDE THE CHURCH, AMEN?
AND GOD KNOWSSSSSSSS HIS CREATION. HE KNEWWWWWW they could have, and some probably did AT FIRST, have thought of 20 reasons to NOT DO what the word of God SIMPLY AND CLEAR AS CRYSTAL TOLD THEM TO DO. Instead, they simply obeyed.
THEN AND NOW, THOSE WHO LOVE THE TRIUNE GOD MIGHT AND SOME DO, HAVE MADE AND STATED FAMILIAR EXCUSES: SUCH AS:
- "That command was made long ago, and speaks to a different time."
- "Things are different now."
- "Let's not go overboard."
- "Let's assign a task force to examine the issue."
AND I DO NOT KNOW ABOUT YOU, BUT TODAY, I HAVE HEARD CHURCH LEADERS AND OTHER CHRISTIANS VOICE THESE SAME EXCUSES, AMEN?
ONCE AGAIN, THIS PROVES, THAT NO MATTER HOW INTELLECTUALLY AND SCIENTIFICALLY AND TECHNOLOGICALLY ADVANCED MANKIND HAS BECOME..BASIC HUMAN NATURE REMAINS THE SAME, BUT THEN TO, SO DOES SATAN AND ALL HIS DEMONS, AMEN?
The mixed multitude...
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN EXACTLY?
This refers to those who wanted to associate with the people of Israel, but DID NOT want to count the cost and make a full commitment TO GOD AND HIS COMMANDS.
AND WE ALL KNOW, THAT EVEN TODAY, there may be people of good will in churches; honorable people, who respect God and His word. Yet they ARE part of the MIXED MULTITUDE because they have NOT RECEIVED God's covenant of salvation in Jesus. Such people are welcome, but it should be understood where they stand. AND UNTIL THEY COME TO, REPENT, INVITE IN, AND ACCEPT THE COVENANT SALVATION IN JESUS....IN THE EYES OF OUR TRIUNE GOD....THEY ARE STILL SET APART FROM THOSE WHO KNOW AND LOVE AND CALL JESUS CHRIST LORD, SAVIOR, REDEEMER, AND FRIEND, AMEN?
THOSE MIXED MULTITUDES BEING PEOPLE WHO ARE VITAL MEMBERS OF THE CHURCH, PERFECT ATTENDANCE, ON COMMITTEES, OUTREACHS, GENEROUS GIVERS AND SUPPORTERS OF THE CHURCH, THE BUILDING, THE PLACE, THE ORGANIZATION, AS IT WERE, BUT DO NOT HAVE A SALVATION RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS CHRIST.
AND SADLY, THE BIBLE TELLS US, AND WE KNOW, THAT THOSE MIXED MULTITUDES WITHIN OUR CHURCHES WILL BE LEFT BEHIND AT THE TRUMPET BLAST, WHEN JESUS APPEARS IN THE EASTERN SKIES, IN THE CLOUDS, AND SNATCHES US UP TO MEET HIM IN THE CLOUDS BEFORE THE GREAT TRIBULATION BEGINS, AMEN?
Verses 4-9 tells us of NEHEMIAH'S TEMPLE REFORMS.
"Now before this, Eliashib the priest, having authority over the storerooms of the house of our God, was allied with Tobiah. 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. 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, 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. And it grieved me bitterly; therefore I threw all the household goods of Tobiah out of the room. 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."
But during all this I was not in Jerusalem...
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?
This section indicates that Nehemiah HAD LEFT Jerusalem and went back to his duties in the Persian court. THE BIBLE TIME LINE LEADS US TO BELIEVE NEHEMIAH WAS GONE BACK TO THE PERSIAN COURT FOR 10 to 12 years.
Nehemiah left sometime after the remarkable spiritual revival noted in the recent chapters. But the real test of revival - the real test of God's work in our lives - is the LONG TERM. It is seeing where we are with the Lord ten years after a season of great work, AMEN?.
I came to Jerusalem and discovered the evil that Eliashib had done for Tobiah...When Nehemiah came back, he SAW that Eliashib the priest had ENTERED INTO AGREEMENTS with one of the ENEMIES of GOD & Nehemiah's work of rebuilding the wall - Tobiah.
AND INTERESTINGLY ENOUGH, DID YOU KNOW THAT Tobiah was an Ammonite (Nehemiah 2:10) - one of the very mixed multitude that had been put out of the assembly of God's people some 10 years before. AND WORSE, AT THIS POINT IN THE RECORD OF NEHEMIAH, Tobiah was not only PRESENT among the assembly, he actually rented rooms IN the temple courts.
THIS TELLS US SOMETHING...Tobiah had NOT changed over the years. He did NOT REPENT, CHANGE, OBEY & join the people of God in the terms of His covenant. The problem was evident to Nehemiah - but Eliashib was COMPLETELY BLIND to it.
And it grieved me bitterly...There were MANY GOOD REASONS WHY this was so distressing to Nehemiah.
1...Because rooms in the courts of the temple of God were being occupied by a man not only a PAGAN, but who also had a history of actively OPPOSING God's work in the days of Nehemiah.
2...Because it reflected so BADLY ON Eliashib (a man who was a spiritual leader in Israel) and those around him. It showed that if Eliashib was BLIND to a problem area, there was also NO ONE THERE, IN NEHEMIAH'S ABSENCE who could confront him with the problem.
3...Because it made Nehemiah question the LASTING VALUE of the spiritual revival he witnessed when last in Jerusalem.
Therefore I threw all the household goods of Tobiah out of the room...Nehemiah WAS NOT ONE TO SIT BACK MOURN AND GRIEVE.
He SAW THE DANGER AND THE WRONG AND HE TOOK ACTION - throwing all Tobiah's stuff out of the rooms he occupied in the temple courts, then ceremonially cleansing the rooms, and finally by putting the rooms to their proper use - as storerooms for the sacred things of the temple.
AND DID YOU NOTICE...HE TOOK THE EVIL INTENTS OF SATAN AND MAN AND TURNED THEM INTO THE GOOD. THIS IS WONDROUSLY REPEATED IN THE NEW TESTAMENT AMEN?
Nehemiah is much like Jesus when He CLEANSED THE TEMPLE from those who profaned it. Both Jesus and Nehemiah had THE WISDOM to not confuse love with being "nice" - and the wisdom to know when to take bold action, AMEN?
Verses 10-14 tell us of NEHEMIAH'S FINANCIAL REFORMS.
"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. 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. Then all Judah brought the tithe of the grain and the new wine and the oil to the storehouse. 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. 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!"
I also realized that the portions for the Levites had not been given them...YOU NOTICE, MUCH LIKE WHEN NEHEMIAH FIRST CAME TO JERUSALEM...HE WALKED OVER ALL THINGS AND TOOK ACCOUNT OF THE DAMAGE, THE WRONG AND THE MISTAKES BEFORE HE ADDRESSED THEM WITH THE PEOPLE AND THE LEADERS.
NEHEMIAH DID NOT ARRIVE AND START HOWLING....HE TOOK ACCOUNT, HE VISITED AND MADE SURE OF THE TRUE FACTS & STATE OF AFFAIRS BEFORE HE ACTED...THAT IS WISDOM AND DISCERNMENT AND MATURITY IN OUR JESUS, AMEN?
BUT ONCE NEHEMIAH KNEWWWWWWWW THE TRUTH, HE GOT BUSY. HE WENT ABOUT SETTING TO RIGHTS THE WRONGS, AMEN?
The people did not obey God's word regarding giving. Because of the lack of support, those who should give their time to the service of God and His people (the Levites and the singers) could not - and they had to leave that service & go back to the fields to earn a living or starve.
AS WE KNOW, THE LEVITES AND THE SINGERS WERE IN SERVICE TO THE HOUSE OF GOD AND ITS PEOPLE DAILY. THEY DID NOT HAVE TIME TO WORK AND FULFILL THE CALLING GOD HAD UPON THEIR LIVES, SO GOD EXPECTED THE PEOPLE TO PROVIDE FOR THEIR BASIC DAY TO DAY NEEDS WITH TITHES. FOR WOOD, OIL, GRAIN, CLOTHING, AND MEAT TOO. AND SINCE THEY HAD GONE BACK TO WORK IN THE FIELDS, THIS TELLS US THAT THEY WERE LEFT DESTITUTE AND STARVING AND FORGOTTEN BY THE LEADERS AND PEOPLE OF ISRAEL.
Why is the house of God forsaken?
The LACK of giving was a way of forsaking the house of God.
I gathered them all together and set them in their place...Nehemiah set the situation right by expecting the Levites and the singers to recommit to the work of serving God and His people as they should. He also reorganized the collection and accounting of the people's tithes and gifts. NEHEMIAH REALIZED JERUSALEM NEEDED ACCOUNTANTS AND OVERSEERS WHO LOVED GOD, HIS WORD, THE TEMPLE, THE PEOPLE AND JERUSALEM....BECAUSE THEY WOULD BE FAITHFUL TO SEE THAT THE WORKERS SERVING GOD WOULD ALWAYS BE CARED FOR.
Verses 15-22 tells us of NEHEMIAH'S PRIORITY REFORM.
"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. 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. 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? 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." 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. Now the merchants and sellers of all kinds of wares lodged outside Jerusalem once or twice. 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. 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!"
In those days I saw people in Judah treading wine presses on the Sabbath... The Sabbath was BEING IGNORED in disobedience to God's clear command under the Old Covenant. Foreigners sold and the people of Israel bought ON GOD'S DAY.
JUST AS JESUS CLARIFIED DURING HIS MINISTRY ON EARTH, GOD DID NOT MEAN, THAT IF A NIEGHBOR NEEDED BREAD, OR WAS HURT AND NEEDED HELP, THAT THEY WERE TO IGNORE ALL THAT ON THE SABBATH. NOR THAT GOD WAS AGAINST THEM HELPING AND SERVING OTHERS ON HIS DAY. WHAT THE TRIUNE GOD DID NOTTTTTTTT ALLOW AND DID NOTTTTTT WANT WAS THEM WORKING AND MAKING MONEY, BUYING AND SELLING FOR PERSONAL GAIN ON HIS DAY, AMEN?
AND NEHEMIAH KNEW, AND DISCERNED THAT AT THE ROOT, this was a problem of priorities. There is nothing wrong with buying and selling, only when our desire to buy and sell, to make money or spend money, becomes MORE important to us than honoring God. This was a clear way the people of Israel were putting making and spending money before glorifying God & HONORING HIM ONE DAY A WEEK.
The New Testament makes it clear we are not under the law of the Sabbath in the same sense Israel was under the Old Covenant (Colossians 2:16-17); but we are certainly under the same obligation to make honoring God more important than making money or spending money.
You bring added wrath on Israel by profaning the Sabbath...
WHAT DID NEHEMIAH MEAN BY THIS?
Nehemiah knew that sin was not only a personal issue. When such open sin is winked at and left uncorrected among God's people, it invites the correcting hand of God.
Nehemiah wasn't going to sit still for this; he threatened If you do so again, I will lay hands on you! He did not mean the gentle laying on of hands for prayer, but the rough laying on of hands for correction.
JUST AS JESUS TOOK A WHIP & CHASED THOSE MONEY CHANGERS OUT AND TURNED OVER MERCHANT TABLES AND SENT THE MERCHANTS FLEEING....SO TO WOULD NEHEMIAH GET PHYSICAL AND THROW THEM OUT BODILY IF THEY CONTINUED TO DISMISS AND SHRUG OFF NEHEMIAH'S REFORMS THAT PLEASED AND HONORED GOD. NEHEMIAH DID NOTTTTTT WANT THE CORRECTIVE PUNISHMENT AND WRATH OF GOD TO FALL ON HIM OR THE PEOPLE...SO HE WAS MORE THAN WILLING TO GET PHYSICAL IF NEED BE TO PROTECTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT ISRAEL, AMEN?
Verses 23-31a tells us of NEHEMIAH'S RELATIONSHIP REFORMS.
"In those days I also saw Jews who had married women of Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab. 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. 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. 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. Should we then hear of your doing all this great evil, transgressing against our God by marrying pagan women?" 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. Remember them, O my God, because they have defiled the priesthood and the covenant of the priesthood and the Levites. Thus I cleansed them of everything pagan. I also assigned duties to the priests and the Levites, each to his service, and to bringing the wood offering and the firstfruits at appointed times."
In those days I also saw Jews who had married women of Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab...DO YOU HEAR THE DISGUST AND THE DESPAIR IN NEHEMIAH HERE... HE HAD GIVEN THEM THE LAW, THEY HAD HEARD, UNDERSTOOD, AND COVENANTED TO KEEP THEM...YET IN THE FEW YEARS, 10-12 YEARS HE WAS GONE BACK TO PERSIA IN HONOR OF SERVING THE KING AS HE PROMISED, the Israelites had GONE BACK TO THE WORLD & HAD RESUMED their practice of intermarrying with the pagan nations surrounding them. This was in DRAMATIC AND DANGEROUS disobedience to God's command.
So I contended with them and cursed them, struck some of them and pulled out their hair, and made them swear...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. AND WORSE, THEN NOT TEACHING THEIR CHILDREN THE BIBLE AND THE HEBREW LANGUAGE..BUT ALLOWING THEM TO SPEAK ONLY THE LANGUAGE OF THEIR PAGAN SPOUSES.
SOME HAVE ASKED WHY PULL OUT THEIR HAIR? TO THE WOMEN OF THAT DAY...THEIR LONG HAIR WAS THEIR CROWN OF GLORY, A SIGN OF PURITY, HOLINESS TO GOD AND TO THE MEN THEIR HAIR AND BEARDS WERE A SIGN OF THEIR PIETY, LEADERSHIP, AND CLOSE WALK WITH GOD...SO TO BE BALD AS A CUE BALL...LET EVERYONE KNOW THAT THEY HAD SINNED GREATLY, WERE UNDER PUNISHMENT AND WERE NOT HOLY UNTO GOD.
NOW WE KNOW THE HAIR WOULD GROW BACK...BUT EACH TIME THEY LOOKED AT THEMSELVES, OR FELT THEIR HEADS THEY WERE REMINDED OF THEIR SIN....AND MOST DID NOT DAREEEEEEE DO SO AGAIN, AMEN?
AND THE LOSS OF HAIR IS FAR BETTER THAN THE LOSS OF THEIR SOULS TO THE LAKE OF FIRE AMEN?
His example of Solomon is well taken (Did not Solomon king of Israel sin by these things? … pagan women caused even him to sin). If Solomon, one of the wisest and most blessed men ever, sinned with unwise and ungodly romance then no one else should consider themselves invulnerable AMEN?
Verse 31b tells us the CONCLUSION...NEHEMIAH'S CONSCIENCE IS CLEAR.
"Remember me, O my God, for good!"
REMEMBER ME...At the end of it all, Nehemiah knew he did HIS BEST to make the people of God strong, safe, and secure. Beyond that, he also led them to be pure, worshipful, and obedient.
REMEMBER ME O MY GOD FOR GOOD! Yet, this tells us that in Nehemiah's heart of hearts he certainly carried a sense of failure.
WHY?
In Nehemiah 10 the people made a SOLEMN SIGNED COVENANT to God that they would NOT do three things:
1. THEY WOULD NOT have ungodly romantic relationships (10:30).
2. THEY WOULD NOT buy and sell on the Sabbath (10:31).
3. THEY WOULD support the work of God with money as He commanded (10:32-39).
IN A FEW YEARS, THEY HAD DISMISSED THEIR PROMISES, AND HAD BROKEN EVERY ONE OF THEIR PROMISES. NOW NOT ALLLLLLL THE PEOPLE HAD BROKEN COVENANT, BUT FOR THE MOST PART ALLLLLL WERE HELD RESPONSIBLE BECAUSE THEY EITHER BROKE THEM, OR SAW THEM BROKEN, AND KNEW THEY WERE BROKEN AND DID NOTHING ABOUT IT, AMEN.
Nevertheless, in Nehemiah 13, some 10 to 12 years later, Israel was steeped in the exact sins they vowed to stop. Nehemiah had TO REMIND THEM AND ONCE AGAIN ADDRESS THOSE THREE PROBLEMS.
1...HE ADDRESSED to address the problems of ungodly romantic relationships (13:23-31)
2...HE ADDRESSED buying and selling on the Sabbath (13:15-22)
3...HE ADDRESSED failing to support the work of God as He commanded (13:10-14).
In Nehemiah 10:39 the people PROMISED: we will not neglect the house of our God. But later in Nehemiah 13:11, Nehemiah had to ask: Why is the house of God forsaken? It was forsaken because Israel did NOT keep its promises before God.
This makes a point vividly clear: the law - that is, rules, vows, promises, covenants, and the such.
WHY?
IT TELLS AND SHOWS US THAT WE ARE ALL ultimately powerless to stop sin BY OURSELVES AND THROUGH OUR OWN POWER. Only the grace of God, THROUGH OUR SAVING AND REDEEMING JESUS CHRIST, alive and flowing in our lives, can give us the power to truly overcome sin, AMEN?
Paul REMINDS US OF THIS in Romans 8:3, which says, "For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh."
Too many Christians look for VICTORY in the making of rules, of vows, of promises - and fail to find it.
WHY?
Because ALL those MAN-MADE MAN CREATED RULES, LAWS, & PRECEDENTS tend to make us LOOK TO, TRUST IN, AND BELIEVE IN ourselves, instead of LOOKING TO, TRUSTING IN, AND BELIEVING IN Jesus, AMEN?
FROM STUDYING THE BIBLE, AND THE OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY OF ISRAEL, from beginning to end, illustrates this..PERFECTLY....JUST AS OUR TRIUNE GOD INTENDED.
When the nation was FIRST born at the Exodus, despite the most spectacular miracles, displays of God's glory, and revelation of the law, the people sinned, by crediting a gold calf with their deliverance from Egypt!
And now here, at the end of the Old Testament history of God's people in the promised land, Nehemiah is pulling hair out - his own and those of sinners - because they couldn't keep their promises to God.
AND ONCE AGAIN, THE OLD TESTAMENT AFFIRMS THE NEW TESTAMENT AND THE NEW TESTAMENT CONFIRMS THE OLD TESTAMENT...
THE BIBLE TELLS US AND SHOWS US THAT MANKIND NEEDED A PERFECT WILLING SACRIFICE TO BE SAVED.
If WE COULD be saved by OUR OWN promises, by our own commitment to Jesus, then His death would have been noble, but unnecessary.
We aren't saved by some vow we make, or some leaf we turn over, but by trusting in who Jesus is, and what He has done to save us.
So trust as NEHEMIAH did in our Jesus' grace, mercy, love, faithfulness, and His promises to us in His Word.
CALL on the name of JESUS!
TRUST JESUS!
HE WILL NEVERRRRRRRR FORSAKE OR FAIL US!