Thursday, August 22
Read Nehemiah 13
Think About It:
Nehemiah was Governor for 12 years. He returned to the King and the Palace (13:6) to report to the king. It is estimated he was gone one year, but when he returned to Jerusalem, he discovered that the situation had deteriorated dramatically. The people were not living up to the vows that they had made while Nehemiah was their Governor. Moreover, Eliashib the priest, had given the store room to Tobias – enemy of the Jews. This store room was where the provisions for the Levites and singers were kept. Since the provisions were not available for the Levites and singers, they had no choice to but to leave their posts serving the Lord of Israel and provide for their families.
- Nehemiah threw out all of Tobias’ things and required them to cleanse the rooms.
- Nehemiah contended with the rulers, “Why is the house of God forsaken?” Then he brought back the articles to the house of the Lord.
- Nehemiah made appointment for treasurer, Men of faith. Assigned duties to the priest and Levites
- Nehemiah prayed to the Lord. Notice a trend…..
- Nehemiah put an end to buying and selling on the Sabbath.
- Nehemiah contended with the Jews who married women of Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab – their own children could not even speak the language of Judah! He cursed them (Deuteronomy 23), struck them and pulled out the hairs of their beard!
- Nehemiah showed them they were doing the same things that the Greatest King that ever lived on the face of the earth sinned because he married pagan women.
- Nehemiah separated the son-in-law of Sanballat from the temple. The priesthood cannot be defiled. Thus he cleansed them of every pagan thing.
- Can you see there can be no compromise? Can you see that there cannot be any separation from the Word of God? Can you see that you must live in truth and not allow any idolatry in your life?
Family Time:
- Nehemiah 13:8 – “And it grieved me bitterly; therefore I threw all the household goods of Tobiah out of the room.” Can you see yourself doing something like that? You get SO upset at the actions of someone who should know better, you give their room a full “clean out”? Has this ever happened to you?
- Nehemiah 13:23 – Believers flirt with the world’s standard, and are not held to the call of the Word regarding distinction. What do you think can happen to change this situation? Have you ever thought about living in the world and by its standards? Is this what God wants us to do?
- Nehemiah 13:24 – The people compromise even the most basic identifications with the people of God, and go far beyond what their parents ever imagined they would. How do you think this made their parents feel?
- What does Nehemiah want God to remember?
