What I Noticed Today (Nehemiah 13)
Nehemiah 13
Note: The opening of chapter 13 is a bit confusing. It says, “On that day” (some translations “At that time”) which makes you think it is connected to the previous chapter and the description of the dedication and service at the temple.
Note: However, we see in Nehemiah 13:6 that the events described in verses 1-5 occurred while Nehemiah was back in Babylon with King Artaxerxes. So at some point after completing the rebuilding of the wall and the dedication celebration, Nehemiah returned to King Artaxerxes.
In verses 1-3 during his absence, the people returned to some of their former practices.
In verses 4-5 Eliashib the priest, who was in charge of the storehouses allowed his relative, Tobiah the Ammonite to live in one of the empty storehouse chambers in the temple.
Note: Ammonites were not even supposed to enter the temple (Deuteronomy 23:3-6), much less be allowed to live there.
Note: The fact that the temple storehouse rooms were empty also speaks to the fact that the people had not been providing for the priests and the Levites the way they had promised.
In verses 6-7 Nehemiah had returned to serve King Artaxerxes in the 32nd year of his reign (432 B.C.)
- Nehemiah asked the king for a leave of absence to return to Jerusalem and when he arrived he found out about the evil Eliashib had allowed.
In verses 8-14 Nehemiah was greatly upset with what he learned when he returned to Jerusalem:
- Nehemiah had all of Tobiah’s things removed and the temple storehouse rooms purified.
- Then he confronted the leaders for neglecting the tithes and offerings that were promised.
- He put trusted men in charge of the storehouse and the distribution of food.
In verses 15-18 Nehemiah also discovered the people were working on the Sabbath.
- They were treading out grapes in the winepress, bringing stores into the city on donkeys, and buying and selling.
- Nehemiah rebuked the leaders reminding them how their ancestors had angered God by profaning the Sabbath.
In verses 19-22 foreign merchants were allowed to enter the city with their wares on the Sabbath.
- Nehemiah had the city gates closed at the beginning of the Sabbath and told the merchants not to return until the Sabbath was over.
- Nehemiah had the Levites purify themselves and guard the gates to keep the Sabbath holy.
In verses 23-30 Nehemiah found the people had intermarried with foreign women again.
- Some of their children were speaking the language of their wives and were not even familiar with their native language.
- He reminded them how even Solomon, as great as he was, was led astray by foreign women who practiced other religions.
- He charged them once again not to marry foreign women, not to give their sons and daughters in marriage to foreigners.
- Even Eliashib, the high priest’s, grandson had married the daughter of Sanballat the Horonite who had objected to the rebuilding of the city.
In verses 30-31 Nehemiah prayed for the Lord to remember His covenant with the priests despite the fact they had defiled the priesthood.
- Nehemiah purified the priests and Levites and re-established the requirement for the people to bring offerings in support of the priests and Levites.
Some thoughts for additional consideration:
- Nehemiah worked so hard to rebuild the temple and restore the people’s relationship with God. How frustrating it must have been to return after an absence of a few years to see so much of what had been put in place cast aside and forgotten.
- It reminds me that we are literally only one generation away from complete apostasy. If we fail to teach our children the language of God, they will grow up not knowing or understanding Jesus our Savior.
What did you notice in your study today? Feel free to visit the website and leave a question or a comment.
