Nehemiah 13:1-9 New King James Version (NKJV) Principles of Separation 13 On that day they read from the Book of Moses in the hearing of the people, and in it was found written that no Ammonite or Moabite should ever come into the assembly of God, 2 because they had not met the children of Israel with bread and water, but hired Balaam against them to curse them. However, our God turned the curse into a blessing. 3 So it was, when they had heard the Law, that they separated all the mixed multitude from Israel. The Reforms of Nehemiah 4 Now before this, Eliashib the priest, having authority over the storerooms of the house of our God, was allied with Tobiah. 5 And he had prepared for him a large room, where previously they had stored the grain offerings, the frankincense, the articles, the tithes of grain, the new wine and oil, which were commanded to be given to the Levites and singers and gatekeepers, and the offerings for the priests. 6 But during all this I was not in Jerusalem, for in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon I had returned to the king. Then after certain days I obtained leave from the king, 7 and I came to Jerusalem and discovered the evil that Eliashib had done for Tobiah, in preparing a room for him in the courts of the house of God. 8 And it grieved me bitterly; therefore I threw all the household goods of Tobiah out of the room. 9 Then I commanded them to cleanse the rooms; and I brought back into them the articles of the house of God, with the grain offering and the frankincense. THE OLD FRIEND OF SIN Scripture Reading: Nehemiah 13:1-9 I was greatly displeased and threw all Tobiah’s household goods out of the room. —Nehemiah 13:8 A young woman came to our church door, carrying a bag of her clothes. Her face was bruised. Her voice cracked with grief. She wanted out of an abusive relationship. We helped her into a shelter, and she began attending church. Her face healed; her spirit was no longer downcast. Her life seemed to be turning around. Suddenly she disappeared. After several months she showed up again, bruised and bleeding. She had gone back to her old boyfriend. Life was too hard without him, she said, even if he was bad. Old habits are hard to break. Nehemiah had spent much time helping Israel restore its rela-tionship with God. He endured many sleepless nights protecting the workers. He had rallied throngs of Jews who had wanted to give up. He had tirelessly promoted God’s law. But it took only one man’s friendship with an old enemy to bring corruption back in. Nehemiah would have none of it. He kicked Tobiah out of his cozy room, cleaned it from top to bottom, and returned the things of God to their rightful place there. Nehemiah’s experiences in the past and his love for God’s people refused to give evil a foothold again. When old sins resurface in our lives, we can’t allow them back in. We must submit to God, resisting the devil (James 4:7). We have a Savior who doesn’t treat us as our sins deserve but grants us grace and power for a new start of service to him. Prayer: Jesus, sin keeps coming back into our lives. Help us to resist, by the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Posted on: Thu, 30 Jan 2014 12:51:21 +0000
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