Nehemiah 13:1-31
As they read Deuteronomy 23:3-6, the Israelites grew zealous for their national identity and resolved to separate themselves from the other peoples. Perhaps they enjoyed being the unique “society of God,” and they did not want to allow anyone they considered beneath them into their midst.
Beneath the surface of this showy concern to be God’s people (vv.1-3), however, three plagues were quietly eating away at the Lord’s community (vv.4-31). They had to do with the care of the house of God, with regular worship, and with the moral life. Nehemiah ends his account of how he dealt with each of these problems with a prayer, which reveals that everything he does he does first for good, and second in order to please God. Let us hear his account.
1. The Care of the House of God (vv.4-11)
“4 Before this [that is, in spite of the explicit command of the law being read and the Ammonites and Moabites being excluded from Israel], Eliashib the priest had been put in charge of the storerooms of the house of our God. He was closely associated with Tobiah,” (Nehemiah 13:4)
Tobiah was a foreigner – an Ammonite – precisely one of those who were never to enter the community of God. On top of that, he was one of the sworn enemies of the Israelites and a fierce opponent of the rebuilding of the wall of Jerusalem.
“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 olive oil prescribed for the Levites, musicians and gatekeepers, as well as the contributions for the priests.” (Nehemiah 13:5)
Notice that Tobiah settled down to live in the very rooms that were set apart for the tithes, which provided the economic resource for the functioning of the house of God.
“10 I also learned that the portions assigned to the Levites had not been given to them, and that all the Levites and musicians 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.” (Nehemiah 13:10-11)
2. Regular Worship (vv.15-17)
Besides the neglected house of God, the second hidden plague that was eating away at the community of God was the failure of many of the people — and especially the merchants — to take part in the regular worship of the nation and to keep the Sabbath. And they set a bad example for all the citizens of Jerusalem as well. Perhaps they had forgotten that one of the reasons for the Babylonian captivity was precisely the breaking of the Fourth Commandment and the refusal to keep the Sabbaths holy.
“15 In those days I saw people 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 People 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?’” (Nehemiah 13:15-17)
3. The Moral Life (vv.23-27)
Besides the withholding of the tithe and the failure to take part in regular worship, the third hidden plague that was eating away at the community of God was a lowered morality and the failure to keep the law regarding mixed marriages, which led to idolatry and to the loss of the Israelites’ identity as the people of God.
“23 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?’” (Nehemiah 13:23-27)
Did you notice the questions Nehemiah asks concerning the tithes, the worship services, and morality?
- Concerning the tithes — Why is the house of God neglected?
- Concerning the worship services — What is this wicked thing you are doing — desecrating the Sabbath day?
- Concerning morality — Must we hear now that you too are doing all this terrible wickedness and are being unfaithful to our God?
I believe these are the questions that we, too, must ask ourselves from time to time:
- Is everything in order with the support of the church? Are we good stewards? Do we regularly give what belongs to God?
- Do we take part regularly in worship, or, by not going to church, do we tell God that for us there are more important things than He is?
- Do we allow ourselves to make compromises regarding God’s revealed will and at the same time persuade ourselves that there is nothing wrong in it?
Remember that withholding the tithe, staying away from church, and allowing compromises in our morality are indicators that we are cooling toward God and that a spiritual shipwreck lies ahead.
The prior arrangements and decisions on the questions of the care of the house of God, regular worship, and the moral life were part of a covenant of consecration that the Israelites had made with all their heart (Nehemiah 9:38).
“38 In view of all this, we are making a binding agreement, putting it in writing, and our leaders, our Levites and our priests are affixing their seals to it.” (Nehemiah 9:38)
And precisely because the tithes, the worship, and morality were part of the covenant, breaking them was very serious — the same as breaking a vow you have made before God. What were the decisions of the Israelites on these so serious and important matters?
1. The Care of the House of God (10:37-39; 12:44,47)
Here is what the Jews had promised concerning the house of God (Nehemiah 10:37-39):
“37 Moreover, we will bring to the storerooms of the house of our God, to the priests, the first of our ground meal, of our grain offerings, of the fruit of all our trees and of our new wine and olive oil. And we will bring a tithe of our crops to the Levites, for it is the Levites who collect the tithes in all the towns where we work. 38 A priest descended from Aaron is to accompany the Levites when they receive the tithes, and the Levites are to bring a tenth of the tithes up to the house of our God, to the storerooms of the treasury. 39 The people of Israel, including the Levites, are to bring their contributions of grain, new wine and olive oil to the storerooms, where the articles for the sanctuary and for the ministering priests, the gatekeepers and the musicians are also kept. We will not neglect the house of our God.” (Nehemiah 10:37-39)
I think these verses make it perfectly clear that the Israelites understood that withholding the tithes is equivalent to abandoning the house of God. That is why they resolved that it should never happen. Today, for us, the “house of God” is our local church. Therefore, let us make the same decision — that we will not abandon it and, for no reason whatsoever, will we willingly stop supporting it with our tithes!
Later, in 12:44,47, we see that at first the Jews joyfully began to fulfill their promise:
“44 At that time men were appointed to be in charge of the storerooms for the contributions, firstfruits and tithes. From the fields around the towns they were to bring into the storerooms the portions required by the Law for the priests and the Levites, for Judah was pleased with the ministering priests and Levites. 47 So in the days of Zerubbabel and of Nehemiah, all Israel contributed the daily portions for the musicians and the gatekeepers. They also set aside the portion for the other Levites, and the Levites set aside the portion for the descendants of Aaron.” (Nehemiah 12:44,47)
So the violations that Nehemiah notices and deals with in chapter 13 were violations of principles and laws that the Israelites of that same generation had bound themselves to keep through a personal covenant with God. At first they did these things willingly, but then, unnoticed, something happened, and the care of the house of God was abandoned. Such was the picture not only for the tithes, but also for the regular worship and for morality.
2. Regular Worship (10:31)
So that they might carry out their regular worship, the Israelites had resolved to refrain from secular affairs on a holy day and to keep God’s holy rest (Nehemiah 10:31).
“31 When the neighboring peoples bring merchandise or grain to sell on the Sabbath, we will not buy from them on the Sabbath or on any holy day. Every seventh year we will forgo working the land and will cancel all debts.” (Nehemiah 10:31)
Concerning the keeping of one day in seven and the keeping of the Fourth Commandment, the Westminster Confession of Faith, chapter XXI — OF RELIGIOUS WORSHIP AND THE SABBATH DAY, points 7 and 8, says:
“7. As it is of the law of nature that a due proportion of time be set apart for the worship of God; so, in His Word, by a positive, moral, and perpetual commandment binding all people in all ages, God has particularly appointed one day in seven for a Sabbath, to be kept holy unto Him (Ex.20:8-11; Isa.56:2-7). From the beginning of the world to the resurrection of Christ this day was the last day of the week, and after the resurrection of Christ it was changed to the first day of the week (Gen.2:2-3; 1Cor.16:1-2; Acts 20:7), which in Scripture is called the Lord’s Day (Rev.1:10) and is to be kept to the end of the world as the Christian Sabbath (Matt.5:17-18; Mark 2:27-28; Rom.13:8-10; James 2:8-12).
8. This Sabbath is kept holy unto the Lord when people, after a proper preparation of their hearts and after having ordered their everyday affairs beforehand, not only observe a holy rest all the day from their own works, words, and thoughts about their worldly occupations and recreations (Ex.20:8; 16:23-30; 31:15-17; Isa.58:13-14; Neh.13:15-22), but also take up the whole time in the public and private worship of God, except for what is to be taken up in duties of necessity and mercy (Isa.58:13-14; Luke 4:16; Matt.12:1-13; Mark 3:1-5).”
3. The Moral Life (10:30)
Concerning the moral life, the Israelites had said (Nehemiah 10:30):
“30 We promise not to give our daughters in marriage to the peoples around us or take their daughters for our sons.” (Nehemiah 10:30)
In a New Testament context, the apostle Paul says something similar:
“14 Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? 15 What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? 16 What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: ‘I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.’ 17 Therefore, ‘Come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.’ 18 And, ‘I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.’” (2 Corinthians 6:14-18)
Up to this point we have seen that the Israelites had willingly consecrated themselves to God to maintain the house of God and the worship in it with their tithes; they had promised that they would keep the day of rest holy and would not use the time set apart for worship for other secular activities; and that they would carry out God’s command not to mix with the other peoples and to live a moral life. Nevertheless, at a certain later moment they had broken all three of the resolutions they had adopted. This, of course, did not happen deliberately and all at once.
Perhaps the same thing has happened to us. Or, if it has not yet happened, it may happen — and that is why we must be very careful.
Today there are people, and even movements, that deny the giving of the tithe as a spiritual principle. Perhaps the reason for this is their personal bitterness over some unscrupulous workers of God, but in the end that is no excuse for rejecting the principle.
There are people who gradually thin out their participation in worship and finally decide that they can even stop going to church, because they have no time left for it.
And there are people who begin more and more to accommodate the sinful trends of the modern world, defiling the holiness of marriage and treating it as a small thing.
At the beginning of their walk with God, none of these people thought this way. In their first zeal, they gave with joy, they cared for the house of God, they did not miss a worship service, and they strove to live a holy life. Afterward, however, the picture gradually changed.
Spiritual decline and moral ruin most often do not happen abruptly, but come about unnoticed. They are like rust that slowly and secretly eats away at metal objects from within. In verse 6 Nehemiah says:
“6 But while all this was going on [the violations concerning the tithes, the worship, and morality], I was not in Jerusalem; for in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon I had returned to the king.” (Nehemiah 13:6)
As long as we keep watch over the normal course of our spiritual life, all will be well; but if we withdraw even a little, we can expect the enemy immediately to try to fill the emptied place. That is why we must constantly examine our hearts and watch for cracks, fractures, gaps, and breaches in the spiritual wholeness of our life, consecration, and service to God.
Notice how verses 10, 15, and 23 begin:
- v.10 — “I also learned that the portions assigned to the Levites had not been given to them”
- v.15 — “In those days I saw people 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 bringing all this into Jerusalem on the Sabbath”
- v.23 — “Moreover, in those days I saw men of Judah who had married women from Ashdod, Ammon and Moab, whose children spoke half in the language of Ashdod and did not know how to speak the language of Judah”
Looking closely into the life of the community of Jerusalem, Nehemiah discovers one by one the gaps and compromises that had crept in while the vigilance over the ministry was lowered in his absence — and which he must deal with without delay.
The same can happen to us. That is why we must examine our hearts daily — do we love God and our brothers, and do we care for the advance of the kingdom of heaven? Let us pay attention: are we reading the Bible, are we praying, are we going to church, are we giving our tithe, are we allowing compromises with sin in our hearts? Are we letting the enemy build strongholds in our minds, or are we being transformed into the image of God by the renewing of our mind according to His will?
THE ESSENCE OF THE PROBLEMS
If we trace out the essence of the problems Nehemiah faces, and what lies behind the withholding of the tithe, the irregular worship, and the low morality, we will see that the cause of all this is in fact making provision for the flesh.
What do I mean by “making provision for the flesh”?
- Ungodly alliances. With whom do we spend our time? Who are our friends? In 1 Corinthians 15:33 the apostle Paul warns,
“33 Do not be misled: ‘Bad company corrupts good character.’” (1 Corinthians 15:33)
- Truces and deals with the world instead of setting clear boundaries. Eliashib was not a bad man; he simply did not want to fight evil and resist it. Perhaps we, too, are not bad, but the author of the letter to the Hebrews rebukes us that we have not yet resisted to the point of shedding our blood in our struggle against sin (Heb.12:4).
- Temptations and patterns of behavior that lead to sin.
- Weaknesses to which we are susceptible — small compromises.
- Excuses — “I have my own understanding of these matters. It is hard to be upright when most of the people around me do not share my convictions. Is this sin really so terrible?”
Perhaps concerning the Sabbaths, some of the Jews would say: “Look, we live among people who are not Jews. And they have the custom of doing business on the Sabbath. In practice, our most serious business partners are the Tyrians. We are not breaking the Sabbath all that much. We are only buying what they are selling. Besides, a large part of their goods are food products, and if they are not handled in time, they may spoil. In our own homes we certainly do not break the Sabbath. If the pagans are permitted to sell on the Sabbath day, and the Jews are permitted to buy from the pagans, then what harm is there in a person shopping on the Sabbath? Is what we are doing really so bad?”
Perhaps we, too, make up similar excuses for why we should not go to church, should not give the tithe, and may allow compromises in our lives.
These excuses, however, are in fact strongholds in our minds that excuse us to go on sinning. In Romans 13:14 the apostle Paul warns us not to create the conditions for temptation in our lives:
“14 Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.” (Romans 13:14)
THE RESPONSIBILITY OF LEADERS
Another interesting thing in this thirteenth chapter of the book of Nehemiah is that Nehemiah holds the community’s leaders responsible for its ailments. Concerning the tithes, in v.11 he rebukes “the officials”; concerning the Sabbath, in v.17 he rebukes “the nobles of Judah”; and concerning the mixed marriages, in v.25 he turns to the heads of the families.
The saying is evidently true, that “a fish rots from the head.” In vv.4-5 we see that it is the priest Eliashib who hands over the storeroom for provisions to the Ammonite Tobiah, and from v.28 we learn that one of those who broke the covenant of marriage morality was the grandson of the high priest. So a priest, who ought to be a teacher of the truth, acts contrary to the law and sets a bad example.
The giving of the tithe, the going to church, and the moral life are principles that apply to the leaders in the church as well. When some of them allow themselves liberties in these directions, they become a bad yeast that infects others with their careless attitude and behavior.
On the other hand, we must know that the godly leaders are responsible for the breaches in the spiritual life of the community. The Lord will call precisely them to account. Therefore, when they, like Nehemiah, are strict with us, we should not be angry with them, but humbly submit to them. For if they insist on the care of the house of God, on regular worship, and on the moral life, it is for our good and because they are responsible for the spiritual life of the church and for its proper service before God Himself!
DEALING WITH THE PROBLEMS
Nehemiah can be an example for us not only in openly naming the problems, but also in the method by which he deals with them. First he applies the Word of God, and then he takes radical action.
1. Applying the Word of God in our personal and communal life.
Concerning the regular worship, in v.18 Nehemiah reminds the Israelites that one of the reasons for their being handed over by God into the Babylonian captivity was the failure to keep the holy rest.
“18 Didn’t your ancestors do the same things, so that our God brought all this calamity on us and on this city? Now you are stirring up more wrath against Israel by desecrating the Sabbath.” (Nehemiah 13:18)
Is it pleasing to God when, while our church is holding a worship service, we watch television, or arrange our time and lives in such a way that we have time for other things but not for fellowship with our brothers and sisters? Will this not, in the end, lead us into spiritual bondage and into the sickening of our spirit?
Concerning morality, in v.26 Nehemiah reminds the Israelites of the reason for the fall of their greatest and wisest king:
“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.” (Nehemiah 13:26)
Nehemiah, however, was not a man only of the word, but also of action.
2. Radical action — mercilessness toward making provision for the flesh; firmness and resolve in enforcing God’s standards.
1) Actions concerning the tithes
- Throwing out Tobiah’s household goods and the ritual cleansing of the storerooms for provisions (vv.8-9)
“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.” (Nehemiah 13:8-9)
Nehemiah so cleansed the room in which Tobiah had settled that not even a trace of him remained!
- Gathering the tithes, appointing trustworthy stewards, and restoring the care of the house of God (vv.12-13)
“12 All Judah brought the tithes of grain, new wine and olive 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 Zakkur, the son of Mattaniah, their assistant, because they were considered trustworthy. They were made responsible for distributing the supplies to their fellow Levites.” (Nehemiah 13:12-13)
2) Actions concerning the worship services
- He shut the gates in the merchants’ faces (v.19)
“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.” (Nehemiah 13:19)
- He issued a threat (vv.20-21)
“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 arrest you.’ From that time on they no longer came on the Sabbath.” (Nehemiah 13:20-21)
- He posted guards (v.22)
“22 Then I commanded the Levites to purify themselves and go and guard the gates in order to keep the Sabbath day holy.” (Nehemiah 13:22)
3) Actions concerning morality
- Rebuke, beating, pulling out of hair, and the exacting of an oath
“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.’” (Nehemiah 13:25)
- The expulsion of the grandson of the high priest from the community of the Lord (v.28) — “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.” (Nehemiah 13:28)
Nehemiah acted just as Jesus did when He cleansed the temple. He was angry without sinning. And in this he can be for us an example of radicalness and intolerance toward sin and injustice, an example of zeal for God and His house. Moreover, his attitude demonstrates the importance of the tithes, the worship, and morality in the eyes of God.
Conclusion
If Nehemiah was so strict concerning the tithes, the worship, and morality, what must we be like? I think the same. This does not mean becoming legalists and thinking that going to church, or the tithes, or morality can save us, but that, as new creations and citizens of the kingdom of God, we should be concerned for our local church, that we should not forsake our assembling together (Heb.10:25), and that we should strive to live a holy life.
As conditions for membership in our church we set five things:
1. Water baptism. This condition assumes that the candidate for membership has repented of his sins and has received Jesus Christ as his Savior and Lord.
2. A written declaration of the desire for membership in the church through an application to the spiritual council.
3. Regular attendance at the church worship services — at least once a week.
4. A blameless and moral life — a conscious striving toward spiritual purity and holiness.
5. Voluntary support of the church in accordance with the biblical principles of the tithe and other kinds of giving.
The first two of these conditions are quite easy and require a one-time action. The second three, however, are rather serious, since they touch the whole of a person’s life.
Tithes, worship, and morality — we believe that these conditions are not too great or artificial, but biblical standards that contribute to a normal and healthy spiritual life and to a basic service to God. These are matters that require consecration and discipline.
Once a person becomes a member of the church, he can then pray and seek his calling from God for a more concrete and personal additional ministry. But without tithes, worship, and morality, he could hardly be any kind of servant in the body of Christ.
May God help us to be faithful in little. Then He is the One who, seeing our humility, faithfulness, and love, will set us on high.
Amen.