we can also build solid lives when we follow God's instructions
revealed to us in His Word.
"Two thanksgiving choirs stood in the house of God. . .The singers sang loudly. . .God had made them rejoice with great joy; the women and the children also rejoiced, so that the joy of Jerusalem was heard afar off"! This was the scene at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem. What is the condition of the wall of our spiritual lives?
Tobiah, an Ammonite official had attempted to hinder Ezra and Nehemiah in the rebuilding of Jerusalem (Nehemiah 6). Eliashib, the priest, was allied with Tobiah-- a priest aligning himself with a worshiper of idols. He took upon himself to provide Tobiah with one of the storage rooms in the temple. He removed the grain offerings, frankincense, the tithes of grain, oil, and wine, along with other articles that were used in the temple.
Nehemiah had already returned to Babylon to resume his duties serving the king there. When he returned to Jerusalem, "(he) 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 (him) bitterly" (Nehemiah 13:7-8). We saw at the beginning of this chapter that on the day of the dedication, it was found written in the Book of Moses that "no Ammonite. . .should ever come into the assembly of God because they had refused to help God's people and even hired Balaam to curse Israel. Following the reading of this passage, "they separated all the mixed multitude from Israel" (verse 3). How much distance do we put between ourselves and ungodly influence? Are we grieved bitterly by what we see going on around us?
Nehemiah "cleaned house" and removed Tobiah's things from the room. (According to one source, the room was being used as an "office" for Tobiah to conduct business in the newly reconstructed temple.) Nehemiah also found that the house of God had been forsaken due to failure to carry out the tithing system. The tithe belonged to the Lord and was for the purpose of maintaining the operation of the house of God (Lev. 27:30, Mal. 3:8). The Sabbath day was also being desecrated with buying and selling, and business as usual on the Sabbath, rather than respect for it as a day of rest in obedience to God. Nehemiah reminded the nobles of Judah that God had previously brought disaster on them for this same evil. He went on to say, "Yet you bring added wrath on Israel by profaning the Sabbath"! Are we supporting the work of God? Is something we are doing bringing "added wrath" on our country?
Nehemiah took charge of the situation and had the gates of the city closed from evening until evening on the Sabbath day, thus preventing outsiders from bringing merchandise into the city to sell. At first, some of the merchants hung around outside the gate, however, Nehemiah warned them there would be a physical confrontation if they continued to do so. Do I deliberately deal with sin, close the gates, and forcefully confront persistent temptations? (Matthew 11:12, says, "the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force". According to Life Application Study Bible, this verse can mean that "entering God's Kingdom takes courage, unwavering faith, determination, and endurance because of the growing opposition leveled at Jesus' followers".)
Nehemiah also addressed the fact that the Jews were marrying pagan women. Eliashib's granddaughter had even married Sanballet's son. (Sanballet persistently attempted to stop God's work in Jerusalem.) Nehemiah drove Eliashib, the priest away from him and asked God to remember that he had defiled the priesthood. In the Book of Proverbs God reminds us to choose our friends carefully. Eliashib had unwisely allied himself with Tobiah.
The wisdom in Proverbs 22:3, could have prevented Eliashib's ruin as a priest. It says, "A prudent man foresees evil and hides himself, but the simple pass on and are punished". When people come into our lives, they bring things with them that can have an influence on us. We would do well to consider what those things might be before we become allied with them. In Psalm 89, God warns that He "will punish their transgression with the rod and their iniquity with stripes" (verse 32). Nehemiah had warned that he would lay hands on the merchants. He was also forceful with the Jews who had married pagan women when he discovered that some of their children could only speak a pagan language. "So I contended with them and cursed them, struck some of them and pulled out their hair" (Nehemiah 13:25). In other words, Nehemiah got their attention! He made them promise (swear by God) that they would not allow their children to marry worshipers of idols. He reminded them that pagan women caused even Solomon, the beloved of God and king of Israel, to commit sin! Do we convince ourselves that we are above being negatively influenced and that our situation will be different?
Nehemiah cleansed Judah of everything pagan. He also "assigned duties to the priests and the Levites" (verse 30). Eliashib had evidently forsaken his job as priest somewhere along the way. He had obviously failed to take his duties seriously as he became sidetracked by his friendship with Tobiah. Is something interfering with my carrying out my obligations to God and to others?
After reading the law of God, Israel had separated themselves from those who worshiped idols. In Romans 1:1, we read that Paul was "separated to the gospel of God". We are "the called of Jesus Christ"--who was "declared to be the Son of God. . .by the resurrection from the dead". In Romans 1:28-31, we find a list of practices that comes with this warning: "those who practice such things are deserving of death". Paul says there are those "who know the righteous judgment of God", yet they "not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them" (verse 32). God warns us in this chapter to beware of refusing to give up sin. He will allow us to be entangled with these sins that will eventually take over our lives and destroy us. We should read this list very carefully. It not only includes sins that most of us would recognize as such, but also lists conduct that we might feel less uncomfortable with--whisperers, back-biters, boasters, undiscerning, unloving, untrustworthy, unforgiving, unmerciful, full of envy, proud, strife, deceit. God makes no difference in these practices and the seemingly (to us) more serious sins. According to the previous verses, this entire list of sins has its origins in "a debased mind" and are considered as "things which are not fitting". What are we approving of by our actions? What do we enjoy watching or listening to?
Eliashib evidently saw nothing wrong with developing a friendship with Tobiah. He allowed Tobiah's influence to draw him away from God and his duties as priest. These practices listed in Romans 1, are serious to God and each has the potential for also taking us down a path that leads away from God. Prayerfully consider this list and confess our sins. "(God) is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (I John 1:9). We can then raise our voices with great joy as we re-dedicate ourselves to holy lives before God, just as the two "thanksgiving choirs" celebrated with gladness at the dedication of the restored wall at Jerusalem!
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