A study of the book of Nehemiah 

#11 Standing by Our Promises Nehemiah 13

General William Booth, founder of The Salvation Army, once said to a group of new officers, “I want you young men always to bear in mind that it is the nature of a fire to go out; you must keep it stirred and fed and the ashes removed.”

Nehemiah discovered that the fires of devotion had gone out in Jerusalem. His first term as governor lasted for twelve years (5:14), after which he returned to the palace to report to the king (13:6). He was gone perhaps a year; but when he returned to Jerusalem, he discovered that the situation had deteriorated dramatically, for the people were not living up to the vows they had made (chap. 10). Nehemiah immediately began to act decisively to change the situation.

Without spiritual leadership, God’s people are prone to stray like sheep. One successful minister told me, “If we didn’t keep our eyes on this work twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, it would be invaded and soon fall apart.” Moses was away from the people of Israel only a short time, and they became idolaters (Ex. 32). Paul would establish a church and leave it in the hands of the elders, only to have trouble begin soon after his departure. Then he would have to write them a letter or pay them a visit to straighten things out. (No wonder Paul exhorted the Ephesian church leaders as he did in Acts 20:28-32!) After Nehemiah was gone from Jerusalem only a short time, he came home to find the people defiled by compromise.

If you compare this chapter with chapter 10, you will see that the people failed to keep several of the promises that they had made to the Lord.

The separation promise (Neh. 13:1-9, 23-31)

The mixed multitude (Neh. 13:1-3).

(Nehemiah 13:1-3)  "On that day the Book of Moses was read aloud in the hearing of the people and there it was found written that no Ammonite or Moabite should ever be admitted into the assembly of God, {2} because they had not met the Israelites with food and water but had hired Balaam to call a curse down on them. (Our God, however, turned the curse into a blessing.) {3} When the people heard this law, they excluded from Israel all who were of foreign descent."

According to 10:28-29, the Jews had willingly separated themselves from the people of the land and united with their Jewish brothers and sisters to obey the Law and walk in the way of the Lord. But apparently their separation was incomplete, or some of the people formed new alliances; for they discovered that there were Ammonites and Moabites in their congregation, and this was contrary to the Law of Moses (Deut. 23:3-4).

Ammon and Moab were born from the incestuous union of Lot and two of his daughters (Gen. 19:30-38), and their descendants were the avowed enemies of the Jews. Somehow this “mixed multitude” had infiltrated the people of Israel in spite of previous purgings (9:2; 10:28). It was the “mixed multitude” that gave Moses so much trouble (Ex. 12:38; Num. 11:4-6), and it gives the church trouble today. The “mixed multitude” is composed of unsaved people who want to belong to the fellowship of God’s people without trusting the Lord or submitting to His will. They want the blessings but not the obligations, and their appetite is still for the things of the world.

Balaam was a hireling prophet who tried to curse Israel but each time saw the curse turned into a blessing (Num. 22–24). Finally, however, he hit upon a scheme to defeat Israel: He encouraged the Moabites to be “neighborly” and invite the Jews to share in their religious feasts, which involved immorality and idolatry (Num. 25). Balaam knew that human nature would respond to the opportunity for sin and the Jews would disobey God. As a result of their sin, Israel was disciplined by God, and 24,000 people died.

Years ago, Oswald Chambers wrote, “Today the world has taken so many things out of the church, and the church has taken so many things out of the world, that it is difficult to know where you are” (The Servant As His Lord, p. 17). “Today the world has so infiltrated the church,” said Vance Havner, “that we are more beset by traitors within than by foes without. Satan is not fighting churches—he is joining them.”

An enemy intruder (Neh. 13:4-9).

(Nehemiah 13:4-9)  "Before this, Eliashib the priest had been put in charge of the storerooms of the house of our God. He was closely associated with Tobiah, {5} and he had provided him with a large room formerly used to store the grain offerings and incense and temple articles, and also the tithes of grain, new wine and oil prescribed for the Levites, singers and gatekeepers, as well as the contributions for the priests. {6} But while all this was going on, I was not in Jerusalem, for in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon I had returned to the king. Some time later I asked his permission {7} and came back to Jerusalem. Here I learned about the evil thing Eliashib had done in providing Tobiah a room in the courts of the house of God. {8} I was greatly displeased and threw all Tobiah's household goods out of the room. {9} I gave orders to purify the rooms, and then I put back into them the equipment of the house of God, with the grain offerings and the incense."

Not only were some of the Jews married to Ammonites or Moabites, but also an Ammonite was living in the Jewish temple! Tobiah the Ammonite (4:3) had been given a room in the temple by Eliashib the high priest (13:28). Eliashib is the first one named in the list of workers (3:1), and yet he had become a traitor. Why? Because one of his relatives was married to Sanballat’s daughter (13:28), and Sanballat and Tobiah were friends. They were all a part of the secret faction in Jerusalem that was fraternizing with the enemy (6:17-19).

Just because a family has been active in the church a long time and has helped to build the work, it is no sign that each generation will be spiritual, or that any generation will remain spiritual. Children and grandchildren can drift from the faith and try to bluff their way on the testimony of their ancestors, and fathers and mothers can depart from the faith just to please their children. Eliashib’s relative was privileged to be born into the priestly family, yet he threw away his future ministry by marrying the wrong woman (Lev. 21:14; Deut. 23:3); and Eliashib apparently approved of it.

All this happened while Nehemiah was away at the palace, which suggests that those he appointed to lead in his absence had failed in their oversight. It doesn’t take long for the enemy to capture leadership, and too often the people will blindly follow their leaders in the path of compromise and disobedience.

It was bad enough that an Ammonite was living in the temple, and that a Jewish high priest had let him in; but this intruder was using a room dedicated to God for the storing of the offerings used by the Levites. He defiled the temple by his presence and robbed the servants of God at the same time. Nehemiah lost no time throwing out both the man and his furniture, rededicating the room to the Lord, and using it again for its intended purpose. Like our Lord, Nehemiah had to cleanse the temple; and it appears that he had to do it alone.

Mixed marriages (Neh. 13:23-31).

(Nehemiah 13:23-31)  "Moreover, in those days I saw men of Judah who had married women from Ashdod, Ammon and Moab. {24} Half of their children spoke the language of Ashdod or the language of one of the other peoples, and did not know how to speak the language of Judah. {25} I rebuked them and called curses down on them. I beat some of the men and pulled out their hair. I made them take an oath in God's name and said: "You are not to give your daughters in marriage to their sons, nor are you to take their daughters in marriage for your sons or for yourselves. {26} Was it not because of marriages like these that Solomon king of Israel sinned? Among the many nations there was no king like him. He was loved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel, but even he was led into sin by foreign women. {27} Must we hear now that you too are doing all this terrible wickedness and are being unfaithful to our God by marrying foreign women?" {28} One of the sons of Joiada son of Eliashib the high priest was son-in-law to Sanballat the Horonite. And I drove him away from me. {29} Remember them, O my God, because they defiled the priestly office and the covenant of the priesthood and of the Levites. {30} So I purified the priests and the Levites of everything foreign, and assigned them duties, each to his own task. {31} I also made provision for contributions of wood at designated times, and for the firstfruits. Remember me with favor, O my God."

“We would not give our daughters as wives to the peoples of the land, nor take their daughters for our sons!” was the promise the Jews had made to the Lord (see 10:30, nkjv); but they did not keep it. In his survey of Jerusalem, Nehemiah saw women from Ashdod (see 4:7), Ammon, and Moab married to Jewish men; and he heard their children speaking foreign languages. (A child is more likely to learn how to speak from his mother, with whom he spends more time, than from his father who is away from home each day working.) If these children did not know the language of Israel, how could they read the Law or participate in the holy services? If a generation was lost to the faith, what was the future of the nation?

God’s people and the people of the world can be identified by their speech. “They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood” (1 John 4:5-6, niv).

Nehemiah dealt with the problem by first expressing his horror that such a thing should be done in Israel (Neh. 13:25). In a similar situation, Ezra had plucked his own hair and beard (Ezra 9:3); but Nehemiah plucked the hair of some of the offenders! Ezra had dissolved the mixed marriages (Ezra 10), but Nehemiah only rebuked the offenders and made the people promise that they would not do it again.

Nehemiah also delivered a sermon, reminding the people that Solomon, one of Israel’s greatest kings, was ruined by marrying foreign women (Neh. 13:26; 1 Kings 11:4-8). In Solomon’s case, his mixed marriages were a threat to the throne and the kingdom; and in Nehemiah’s day, mixed marriages even threatened the priesthood. The Law of Moses was clear, but both the priests and the common people had deliberately disobeyed it. Nehemiah then purified the priests and made certain that only those who were qualified served (Neh. 13:30). However, the problem with the priests was not completely settled, for the Prophet Malachi had to deal with disobedient priests in his day (Mal. 1–2).

How important it is that we take a stand for separation from sin “and having done all, to stand” (Eph. 6:13).

The support promise (Neh. 13:10-14)

(Nehemiah 13:10-14)  "I also learned that the portions assigned to the Levites had not been given to them, and that all the Levites and singers responsible for the service had gone back to their own fields. {11} So I rebuked the officials and asked them, "Why is the house of God neglected?" Then I called them together and stationed them at their posts. {12} All Judah brought the tithes of grain, new wine and oil into the storerooms. {13} I put Shelemiah the priest, Zadok the scribe, and a Levite named Pedaiah in charge of the storerooms and made Hanan son of Zaccur, the son of Mattaniah, their assistant, because these men were considered trustworthy. They were made responsible for distributing the supplies to their brothers. {14} Remember me for this, O my God, and do not blot out what I have so faithfully done for the house of my God and its services."

“We will not forsake the house of our God,” was the final statement the Jews made in their covenant with the Lord (10:39). This meant paying the temple tax, providing wood for the altar, and bringing the required tithes and offerings to the priests and Levites (vv. 32-39). Without the faithful support of the people, the ministry at the temple would languish; and the Levites would then scatter to the villages, where they could work the land and survive (13:10).

But when Nehemiah returned to the city, he discovered that the people had failed to keep their promise. (This helps to explain why one of the storage rooms was available for Tobiah.) The priests and Levites were without support and were deserting their work in order to survive. The people ignored the warnings of Moses, “Take heed to yourself that you do not forsake the Levite as long as you live in your land” (Deut. 12:19, nkjv) and “You shall not forsake the Levite who is within your gates, for he has no part nor inheritance with you” (14:27, nkjv; and 18:1-8).

Nehemiah “contended” with them, which means he rebuked the leaders for breaking their promise and disobeying the Law. Before his survey of the city was completed, he also rebuked the nobles of Judah (Neh. 13:17) and the men married to foreign women (v. 25). While the Hebrew word can refer to arguing or even physical combat, it also carries the judicial meaning of “to plead a case.” Since Nehemiah presented God’s case and defended it from the Law, the offenders had to admit that he was right.

The temple officers in charge of the gifts had forsaken their posts because there was nothing coming in or going out, so Nehemiah “set them in their place” (v. 11; “stationed them at their posts,” niv). He then saw to it that the people brought to God the offerings that rightfully belonged to Him (Mal. 3:7-12). He appointed four men to supervise the treasury and distribute the tithes and offerings. Note that these men represented the priests, Levites, scribes, and laymen; but they all had one thing in common: They were faithful to the Lord. “Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful” (1 Cor. 4:2).

When God’s people start to decline spiritually, one of the first places it shows up is in their giving. “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Matt. 6:21). The believer who is happy in the Lord and walking in His will has a generous heart and wants to share with others. Giving is both the “thermostat” and the “thermometer” of the Christian life: It measures our spiritual “temperature” and also helps set it at the right level.

The prayer in Nehemiah 13:14 is the first one recorded since 6:14 and is the seventh of Nehemiah’s “telegraph” prayers found in the book. You find three more such prayers in 13:22, 29, and 31. He was in the habit of talking to God as he served Him, a good example for us to follow. He reminded God of his faithfulness and prayed that what he had done would not be blotted out. Nehemiah was not pleading for blessings on the basis of personal merit, because he knew that God’s blessings come only because of God’s mercy (v. 22). This prayer is similar to the one recorded in 5:19 where Nehemiah merely asked God to remember him and what he had done. He wanted his reward from God, not from men.

Someone asked the American Episcopal bishop Phillips Brooks what he would do to resurrect a dead church, and he replied, “I would take up a missionary offering.” Giving to others is one secret of staying alive and fresh in the Christian life. If all we do is receive, then we become reservoirs; and the water can become stale and polluted. But if we both receive and give, we become like channels; and in blessing others, we bless ourselves. American psychiatrist Dr. Karl Menninger said, “Money-giving is a good criterion of a person’s mental health. Generous people are rarely mentally ill people.” Someone wrote in Modern Maturity magazine, ’’The world is full of two kinds of people, the givers and the takers. The takers eat well—but the givers sleep well.”

The Sabbath promise (Neh. 13:15-22)

(Nehemiah 13:15-22)  "In those days I saw men in Judah treading winepresses on the Sabbath and bringing in grain and loading it on donkeys, together with wine, grapes, figs and all other kinds of loads. And they were bringing all this into Jerusalem on the Sabbath. Therefore I warned them against selling food on that day. {16} Men from Tyre who lived in Jerusalem were bringing in fish and all kinds of merchandise and selling them in Jerusalem on the Sabbath to the people of Judah. {17} I rebuked the nobles of Judah and said to them, "What is this wicked thing you are doing--desecrating the Sabbath day? {18} Didn't your forefathers do the same things, so that our God brought all this calamity upon us and upon this city? Now you are stirring up more wrath against Israel by desecrating the Sabbath." {19} When evening shadows fell on the gates of Jerusalem before the Sabbath, I ordered the doors to be shut and not opened until the Sabbath was over. I stationed some of my own men at the gates so that no load could be brought in on the Sabbath day. {20} Once or twice the merchants and sellers of all kinds of goods spent the night outside Jerusalem. {21} But I warned them and said, "Why do you spend the night by the wall? If you do this again, I will lay hands on you." From that time on they no longer came on the Sabbath. {22} Then I commanded the Levites to purify themselves and go and guard the gates in order to keep the Sabbath day holy. Remember me for this also, O my God, and show mercy to me according to your great love."

When they signed the covenant, the Jews promised not to do business with the Gentiles on the Sabbath Day (10:31); but Nehemiah found the people not only doing business on the Sabbath, but also doing their daily work and carrying unnecessary burdens. The Jewish merchants didn’t want to lose the opportunity to make money from the Gentiles, and the Gentiles were quick to make a profit from their Jewish neighbors.

The child of God must choose spiritual wealth rather than material wealth and claim the promise of Matthew 6:33, “But seek first His kingdom, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you” (nasb). Whoever wrote Psalm 119 made it clear that he chose God’s Word rather than money (vv. 14, 72, 127, 162). King Saul made the wrong choice (1 Sam. 15), and so did Achan (Josh. 7) and Demas (2 Tim. 4:10).

Nehemiah took three steps toward changing the situation. First, he rebuked the Jews who were working and selling on the Sabbath and made them stop (Neh. 13:15). Then, he rebuked the nobles for allowing business on the Sabbath Day, reminding them that the nation’s violation of the Sabbath was one cause for their captivity (vv. 16-18; Jer. 17:21-27). Did they want to have more wrath come on the people?

His third step was a very practical one: He ordered the city gates shut on the Sabbath Day. The guards had been willing to open the gates to the Gentile merchants, possibly because they were bribed; so Nehemiah put some of his own servants on duty. He also ordered the Levites to set a good example on the Sabbath and minister to the people.

The Lord’s Day, the first day of the week, is not a “Christian Sabbath,” because the Sabbath is the seventh day of the week and belonged especially to the Jews. Therefore, the Old Testament laws governing the Jewish Sabbath don’t apply to the Lord’s Day. But Sunday is a special day to God’s people because it commemorates the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead as well as the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. We ought to use the Lord’s Day to the glory of the Lord.

More and more, especially in our cities, Sunday has become a day for shopping, sports, and chores around the house. The shopping center parking lot is as full on Sunday afternoons as it is on Saturdays. I once interviewed the manager of a shopping mall and asked him how he felt about being open on Sundays.

“The employees and I would rather stay home,” he replied, “but it’s a big day for business, especially from people on their way home from church.”

The French agnostic, Voltaire, is supposed to have said, “If you want to kill Christianity, you must abolish Sunday.” I’m not sure I agree with him, but I do know that many Christians have killed their joy, witness, and spiritual power by turning Sunday into an ordinary day and not putting Christ first in their week.

Nehemiah closes with two prayers (Neh. 13:29, 31) that God would remember him for his faithful service. His conscience was clear, for he knew he had done everything for the good of the people and the glory of God. There would probably be little appreciation from the people, in spite of his sacrifices; but he knew that God would reward him accordingly.

May those who come behind us find us faithful!

Nehemiah 13

Nehemiah 13:1-9. Upon the reading of the Law separation is made from the mixed multitude.

Verse 1. On that day—This was not immediately consequent on the dedication of the city wall and gates, but after Nehemiah’s return from the Persian court to Jerusalem, his absence having extended over a considerable period. The transaction here described probably took place on one of the periodical occasions for the public readings of the law, when the people’s attention was particularly directed to some violations of it which called for immediate correction. There is another instance afforded, in addition to those which have already fallen under our notice, of the great advantages resulting from the public and periodical reading of the divine law. It was an established provision for the religious instruction of the people, for diffusing a knowledge and a reverence for the sacred volume, as well as for removing those errors and corruptions which might, in the course of time, have crept in.

the Ammonite and the Moabite should not come into the congregation of God for ever—that is, not be incorporated into the Israelitish kingdom, nor united in marriage relations with that people (Deuteronomy 23:3, 4). This appeal to the authority of the divine law led to a dissolution of all heathen alliances (Nehemiah 9:2; Ezra 10:3).

Verses 4, 5. before this—The practice of these mixed marriages, in open neglect or violation of the law, had become so common, that even the pontifical house, which ought to have set a better example, was polluted by such an impure mixture.

Eliashib the priest … was allied unto Tobiah—This person was the high priest (Nehemiah 13:28; also Nehemiah 3:1), who, by virtue of his dignified office, had the superintendence and control of the apartments attached to the temple. The laxity of his principles, as well as of his practice, is sufficiently apparent from his contracting a family connection with so notorious an enemy of Israel as Tobiah. But his obsequious attentions had carried him much farther; for to accommodate so important a person as Tobiah on his occasional visits to Jerusalem, Eliashib had provided him a splendid apartment in the temple. The introduction of so gross an impropriety can be accounted for in no other way than by supposing that in the absence of the priests and the cessation of the services, the temple was regarded as a common public building, which might, in the circumstances, be appropriated as a palatial residence.

Verses 6-9. But in all this was not I at Jerusalem—Eliashib (concluding that, as Nehemiah had departed from Jerusalem, and, on the expiry of his allotted term of absence, had resigned his government, he had gone not to return) began to use great liberties, and, there being none left whose authority or frown he dreaded, allowed himself to do things most unworthy of his sacred office, and which, though in unison with his own irreligious character, he would not have dared to attempt during the residence of the pious governor. Nehemiah resided twelve years as governor of Jerusalem, and having succeeded in repairing and refortifying the city, he at the end of that period returned to his duties in Shushan. How long [Nehemiah] remained there is not expressly said, but “after certain days,” which is a Scripture phraseology for a year or a number of years, he obtained leave to resume the government of Jerusalem; to his deep mortification and regret, he found matters in the neglected and disorderly state here described. Such gross irregularities as were practiced, such extraordinary corruptions as had crept in, evidently imply the lapse of a considerable time. Besides, they exhibit the character of Eliashib, the high priest, in a most unfavorable light; for while he ought, by his office, to have preserved the inviolable sanctity of the temple and its furniture, his influence had been directly exercised for evil; especially he had given permission and countenance to a most indecent outrage—the appropriation of the best apartments in the sacred building to a heathen governor, one of the worst and most determined enemies of the people and the worship of God. The very first reform Nehemiah on his second visit resolved upon, was the stopping of this gross profanation [by Eliashib]. The chamber which had been polluted by the residence of the idolatrous Ammonite was, after undergoing the process of ritual purification (Numbers 15:9), restored to its proper use—a storehouse for the sacred vessels.

Nehemiah 13:10-14. Nehemiah reforms the officers in the House of God.

Verses 10-13. And I perceived that the portions of the Levites had not been given them—The people, disgusted with the malversations of Eliashib, or the lax and irregular performance of the sacred rites, withheld the tithes, so that the ministers of religion were compelled for their livelihood to withdraw to their patrimonial possessions in the country. The temple services had ceased; all religious duties had fallen into neglect. The money put into the sacred treasury had been squandered in the entertainment of an Ammonite heathen, an open and contemptuous enemy of God and His people. The return of the governor put an end to these disgraceful and profane proceedings. He administered a sharp rebuke to those priests to whom the management of the temple and its services was committed, for the total neglect of their duties, and the violation of the solemn promises which they had made to him at his departure. He upbraided them with the serious charge of having not only withheld from men their dues, but of having robbed God, by neglecting the care of His house and service. And thus having roused them to a sense of duty and incited them to testify their godly sorrow for their criminal negligence by renewed devotedness to their sacred work, Nehemiah restored the temple services. He recalled the dispersed Levites to the regular discharge of their duties; while the people at large, perceiving that their contributions would be no longer perverted to improper uses, willingly brought in their tithes as formerly. Men of integrity and good report were appointed to act as trustees of the sacred treasures, and thus order, regularity, and active service were re-established in the temple.

Nehemiah 13:15-31. The violation of the Sabbath.

Verses 15-22. In those days saw I in Judah some treading wine-presses on the sabbath—The cessation of the temple services had been necessarily followed by a public profanation of the Sabbath, and this had gone so far that labor was carried on in the fields, and fish brought to the markets on the sacred day. Nehemiah took the decisive step of ordering the city gates to be shut, and not to be opened, till the Sabbath was past; and in order to ensure the faithful execution of this order, he stationed some of his own servants as guards, to prevent the introduction of any commodities on that day. On the merchants and various dealers finding admission denied them, they set up booths outside the walls, in hopes of still driving a traffic with the peasantry; but the governor threatened, if they continued, to adopt violent measures for their removal. For this purpose a body of Levites was stationed as sentinels at the gate, with discretionary powers to protect the sanctification of the Sabbath.

Verse 24. could not speak in the Jews’ language, but according to the language of each people—a mongrel dialect imbibed from their mothers, together with foreign principles and habits.

Verse 25. cursed them—that is, pronounced on them an anathema which entailed excommunication.

smote … and plucked off their hair—To cut off the hair of offenders seems to be a punishment rather disgraceful than severe; yet it is supposed that pain was added to disgrace, and that they tore off the hair with violence as if they were plucking a bird alive.

13:1–31 This chapter is a sort of “surprise ending” to the book. To understand it, one must know that between chapters twelve and thirteen Nehemiah returned to Persia. At first sight, the phrase On that day (v. 1) may seem to refer to the day of dedication just pictured. But 13:6 and 7 make that impossible, as does v. 10, which states that on the “day” of chapter thirteen, the Levites were not being given their portion, whereas that had just been done at the time of dedication (12:47). So, Nehemiah returned to Persia between chapters twelve and thirteen and on the day after his return, he discovered what became the surprise ending of his book; namely, that those devoted and dedicated people had tripped over temptation, fallen into sin, and lain down in disobedience. This chapter deals with five issues: foreigners (vv. 1–3), the temple (vv. 4–9), the Levites (vv. 10–14), the Sabbath (vv.15–22), and marriage (vv. 23–31). More specifically, the chapter records separation from foreigners, the cleansing of the temple, the restoration of the Levites, the enforcement of the Sabbath, and the condemnation of mixed marriages.

13:1–3 The first area of backsliding for the people was their relationship with foreigners. Even though 9:2 states that “those of Israelite lineage separated themselves from all foreigners,” the people once again allowed foreigners into the congregation. Relationships between the Jewish people and the foreigners in the land had caused them to violate God’s command (1 Cor. 15:33).

13:4–9 The second major area of backsliding dealt with in this chapter (vv. 1–3) was that the high priest was allowing God’s enemy to live in God’s house. Eliashib was the high priest (vv. 4, 28). Tobiah was one of the men who had tried to stop the building of the wall (2:10, 19; 4:3; 6:10–12, 17, 19). Eliashib allowed Tobiah to stay in the large room of the temple that had previously been used for storing grain and the like. In fact, Tobiah had been given access to several rooms of the temple.

13:6, 7 Nehemiah returns to Jerusalem.

13:8, 9 When Nehemiah returned to Jerusalem, he immediately initiated reforms. He removed Tobiah’s furniture from the chamber and then ordered that the room be cleansed. When the washing, scouring, and sprinkling with blood were completed, the chamber was once again filled with grain and the other items that had been there before.

13:10, 11 Contended is a term used often in the prophets to refer to God bringing a legal case against His errant people (Jer. 2:9). Nehemiah was acting like a prophet, bringing a legal case against an apostate person. He contended for what was right. Note the pointed question he asked: Why is the house of God forsaken?

13:12, 13 Then all Judah brought the tithe: The gifts that should have been brought earlier were finally being brought by the people. treasurers: Nehemiah chose faithful men (7:2; 1 Cor. 4:2; 2 Tim. 2:2) to make sure the gifts were distributed properly.

13:14 Normally prayer is offered to the Lord before or during an event. In this case, Nehemiah’s prayer followed his good deeds. Nehemiah was saying, “What I did, I did in accordance with Your will; now preserve it and protect me.”

13:15–22 Another difficulty that Nehemiah faced concerned the Sabbath. The Jewish people in Judah were working on Saturday. People were buying and selling produce in Jerusalem. Men of Tyre brought fish and other things to be sold both in Judah and Jerusalem. These were all violations of Ex. 20:8–11 and of the people’s own oath (10:31). The people had put their business ahead of obedience to God’s command concerning their day of rest.

13:19–22 I commanded the gates to be shut: Nehemiah took charge, ordering the gates to be closed from Friday evening to Saturday evening and even posting his own servants as guards. When the merchants set up outside the wall, Nehemiah warned them that if they stayed around again on the Sabbath, he would himself attack them. Awed by the threat of the one-man army, the merchants left.

13:23, 24 The problem of Jews marrying foreigners had been dealt with thirty years before by Ezra (Ezra 9:1–4). The people had then made a covenant, vowing that they would not do this (10:30). In this case Nehemiah found children of the mixed marriages who could not speak Hebrew, the language of Scripture. Without knowing Hebrew, these children could not learn the Law in their homes or worship in the holy temple. The Jews were raising children who did not know or worship the living God.

13:25–27 Nehemiah’s attack on the Jews who had married non-Jews was confrontational, direct, and even brutal. contended … cursed … struck … pulled out their hair: It is unnerving to read this list of verbs and imagine the scene. These were not the dispassionate remarks of someone giving a seminar. Nehemiah used everything he could, including his hands, to enforce obedience to the Law. made them swear: Nehemiah forced them to comply to the will of God in this matter. After all, this was the principal issue that had led to Israel’s captivity in the beginning. Nehemiah simply could not allow such a disaster to happen again. Solomon: Despite his greatness and God’s love for him, even Solomon had sinned greatly in this regard (1 Kin. 11:4–8). How then, with the great lessons of the past so clearly before them, could the people repeat these sins?

13:28, 29 I drove him from me: This action was taken against the most prominent offender, the grandson of the high priest Eliashib. This young man had married the daughter of Sanballat (2:10), the governor of Samaria and the archenemy of the Jewish people. The marriage was particularly offensive because it formed a treasonable alliance with Israel’s enemies and compromised the purity of the high priesthood (ch. 12). Because of the seriousness of this offense, Nehemiah took dramatic action. He expelled the young man from the community, praying that God would remember those who had defiled the priesthood.

13:30, 31 I cleansed them of everything pagan: Nehemiah’s testimony was that he had done everything he knew how to bring about righteousness in the priesthood and among the Levites, including their offerings and service. Nehemiah’s last recorded words (5:19), remember me, O my God, for good, would serve well as the last words of any person of faith.^[1]