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another cleansing

Nehemiah 13:1-31

Nehemiah 13:1 At that time the book of Moses was read publicly to the people. The command was found written in it that no Ammonite or Moabite should ever enter the assembly of God,
Nehemiah 13:2 because they did not meet the Israelites with food and water. Instead, they hired Balaam against them to curse them, but our God turned the curse into a blessing.
Nehemiah 13:3 When they heard the law, they separated all those of mixed descent from Israel.
Nehemiah 13:4 Before this, the priest Eliashib had been put in charge of the storerooms of the house of our God. He was a relative of Tobiah
Nehemiah 13:5 and had prepared a large room for him where they had previously stored the grain offerings, the frankincense, the articles, and the tenths of grain, new wine, and fresh oil prescribed for the Levites, singers, and gatekeepers, along with the contributions for the priests.
Nehemiah 13:6 While all this was happening, I was not in Jerusalem because I had returned to King Artaxerxes of Babylon in the thirty-second year of his reign. It was only later that I asked the king for a leave of absence
Nehemiah 13:7 so I could return to Jerusalem. Then I discovered the evil that Eliashib had done on behalf of Tobiah by providing him a room in the courts of God’s house.
Nehemiah 13:8 I was greatly displeased and threw all of Tobiah’s household possessions out of the room.
Nehemiah 13:9 I ordered that the rooms be purified, and I had the articles of the house of God restored there, along with the grain offering and frankincense.
Nehemiah 13:10 I also found out that because the portions for the Levites had not been given, each of the Levites and the singers performing the service had gone back to his own field.
Nehemiah 13:11 Therefore, I rebuked the officials, asking, “Why has the house of God been neglected?” I gathered the Levites and singers together and stationed them at their posts.
Nehemiah 13:12 Then all Judah brought a tenth of the grain, new wine, and fresh oil into the storehouses.
Nehemiah 13:13 I appointed the priest Shelemiah, the scribe Zadok, and Pedaiah of the Levites as treasurers over the storehouses, with Hanan, son of Zaccur, son of Mattaniah, to assist them because they were considered trustworthy. They were responsible for the distribution to their colleagues.
Nehemiah 13:14 Remember me for this, my God, and don’t erase the deeds of faithful love I have done for the house of my God and for its services.
Nehemiah 13:15 At that time, I saw people in Judah treading winepresses on the Sabbath. They were also bringing in stores of grain and loading them on donkeys, along with wine, grapes, and figs. All kinds of goods were being brought to Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, so I warned them against selling food on that day.
Nehemiah 13:16 The Tyrians living there were importing fish and all kinds of merchandise and selling them on the Sabbath to the people of Judah in Jerusalem.
Nehemiah 13:17 I rebuked the nobles of Judah and said to them: “What is this evil you are doing — profaning the Sabbath day?
Nehemiah 13:18 Didn’t your ancestors do the same so that our God brought all this disaster on us and on this city? And now you are rekindling his anger against Israel by profaning the Sabbath!”
Nehemiah 13:19 When shadows began to fall on the city gates of Jerusalem just before the Sabbath, I gave orders that they be closed and not opened until after the Sabbath. I posted some of my men at the gates so that no goods could enter during the Sabbath day.
Nehemiah 13:20 Once or twice the merchants and those who sell all kinds of goods camped outside Jerusalem,
Nehemiah 13:21 but I warned them, “Why are you camping in front of the wall? If you do it again, I’ll use force against you.” After that, they did not come again on the Sabbath.
Nehemiah 13:22 Then I instructed the Levites to purify themselves and guard the city gates in order to keep the Sabbath day holy. Remember me for this also, my God, and look on me with compassion according to the abundance of your faithful love.
Nehemiah 13:23 In those days I also saw Jews who had married women from Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab.
Nehemiah 13:24 Half of their children spoke the language of Ashdod or the language of one of the other peoples but could not speak Hebrew.
Nehemiah 13:25 I rebuked them, cursed them, beat some of their men, and pulled out their hair. I forced them to take an oath before God and said, “You must not give your daughters in marriage to their sons or take their daughters as wives for your sons or yourselves!
Nehemiah 13:26 Didn’t King Solomon of Israel sin in matters like this? There was not a king like him among many nations. He was loved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel, yet foreign women drew him into sin.
Nehemiah 13:27 Why then should we hear about you doing all this terrible evil and acting unfaithfully against our God by marrying foreign women?”
Nehemiah 13:28 Even one of the sons of Jehoiada, son of the high priest Eliashib, had become a son-in-law to Sanballat the Horonite. So I drove him away from me.
Nehemiah 13:29 Remember them, my God, for defiling the priesthood and the covenant of the priesthood and the Levites.
Nehemiah 13:30 So I purified them from everything foreign and assigned specific duties to each priest and Levite.
Nehemiah 13:31 I also arranged for the donation of wood at the appointed times and for the first fruits. Remember me, my God, with favor.

another cleansing

Nehemiah’s life story ends with one more attempt to cleanse the temple, much like the life story of Hezekiah (2 Chronicles 29). The temple was significant because it represented the presence of God before men. The church – not the buildings, but the people – is supposed to do that today. That is why we should strive to be pure and undefiled. It is not ethnic diversity that defiles the church. Jesus commanded us to make disciples of all nations. He wants ethnic diversity. What he doesn’t want is divided loyalty. That is what makes any temple impure.