Heritage Reformed Baptist Mission
NEHEMIAH
Chapter 13
Summary Commentary
Nehemiah had again returned to Persia for a period of time. When he returned to Judah, he discovered a number of evil things had happened among the leadership and the people while he was gone. One of them was discovered on this occasion of the reading of "the Book of Moses", namely, that Moabites and Ammonites were not to be a part of the congregation of Israel. The result was the putting out of Israel all foreigners.
It is always good when God's people, upon learning something before unknown, to make immediate application without question. Things foreign to our lives as believers need likewise to be expelled.
One of the leading priests, Eliashib, who was very likely the high priest named in v. 28, was related to Tobiah the Ammonite by marriage in their families. While Nehemiah was gone Eliashib had given Tobiah a lodging place in the Temple, perhaps to use on his visits to Jerusalem. This, of course, was gross desecration of the Temple and Nehemiah immediately took action by throwing Tobiah's belongings out of the room, and then having the room cleansed and refurnished with its proper furniture.
There are a lot of 'rooms' in our lives which make up the thoughts and activities with which we are regularly, even sometimes, engaged. We must not tolerate even one of those 'rooms' being contaminated with sin. If and when it is found there, it must be cast out and the room cleansed through confession and repentance.
During Nehemiah's absence, the tithes due to the Levites ceased to be brought by the people, perhaps because the people saw the leaders were not faithful to their responsibilites. This caused the Levites and others to leave their Temple service and return to their fields in order to sustain themselves. Nehemiah admonished the officials for their laxity and returned the Levites and singers to their proper places of service. He also organized and appointed faithful overseers of the tithes and offerings which encouraged the people to resume giving as commanded.
When leadership is unfaithful, the work of God suffers by not being carried out as commanded. God's sheep need faithful shepherds.
Another evil which arose during Nehemiah's absence was desecration of the Sabbath. Upon discovering this, Nehemiah immediately took action to put a stop to the work which was being done and the selling of wares at the city gates. He not only ordered the gates to be closed on the Sabbath, but also appointed faithful men to stand guard at them to assure his orders were obeyed.
God has given us the Holy Spirit who not only warns us of temptations to disobey our Lord, but who also is faithful to stand guard and enable us to overcome and obey when the temptations come.
Some of the Jews, probably in outlying villages close to the borders of the surrounding foreign nations, had married foreign wives. Such marriages were forbidden by the Law of Moses (see Deuteronomy 7:1-14). One of the results of these marriages was the children could speak only in the language of their mothers. Though it is not recorded that Nehemiah required the dissolution of the marriages already made, he punished some of the men physically and took an oath of them not to give their sons or daughters to foreigners in marriage. He invoked the example of Solomon whose many foreign wives led him to sin against God. If such a man as Solomon, beloved of the Lord, could be led astray by foreign women, lesser men must not even think they could resist such a temptation.
A child of God must never even date, let alone marry, an unbeliever. In addition to forbidding such unions, the testimony of Scripture is clear such unions result in the believer being led astray. Though God in His grace can and does forgive upon their confession and repentance those who have been disobedient in the matter of marriage, it is presumption for a believer to knowingly marry an unbeliever on the grounds God will forgive.
A grandson of the high priest was one of those who had married a foreigner. Him Nehemiah chased from the priesthood and prayed God would deal with him and others who had "desecrated the priesthood and the covenant of the priesthood and the Levites."
Nehemiah dealt faithfully and harshly in cleansing Israel from all foreign influence. It behooves us as Christians to be faithful in cleansing ourselves from everything that is foreign to our life in the Lord Jesus Christ. The Word of God teaches us what those things are. The Holy Spirit of God enables us to deal harshly with them.