As mentioned, the final chapter of Nehemiah did not end as most would have liked, as in fairy tales: “And the Israelites lived happily ever after.”
• On his return to Jerusalem, Nehemiah was not only saddened, but for most parts, very angry at seeing his people returning to their old sinful ways.
• The religious leaders were corrupt and did not set good examples. The people did not bring in the tithes and observe the Sabbath rest to honour God.
• And in today’s passage, they had again intermarried with unbelieving foreigners from the surrounding nations.
This was not a new problem. We saw that in Ezra 9-10 when Ezra the priest wept bitterly and confessed this sin, and led the people to repent.
• When Nehemiah returns, he saw the same problem resurfaced. Neh 13:1-3, 23-31.
Being tempted to stray from God’s ways is not a problem that plague only the people in Nehemiah’s time, we have to admit. It is a problem for every generations.
• We need to be on guard because we are prone to stray from God’s ways.
• As long as we live on earth and in this flesh, we are susceptible to temptations that cam come from this world, our fleshly desires and the evil one, Satan.
• We can pretend that they are not there but they won’t go away. No one is immune.
Yet we do not need to feel defeated. Look at Nehemiah. He set us a good example.
• By God’s grace, we can remain faithful. We can make the choice to obey God and do His will.
• We honour Him and God will enable us “to will and to act according to His good purpose.” (Phil 2:13)
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THE NEED TO GUARD OUR FAITH
The men of Jerusalem had taken wives from Ashdod (capital city of the Philistines), Ammon and Moab.
• They had befriended and married foreigners who were previously enemies of Judah.
• As mentioned before, the issue has nothing to do with race, culture or their status. It has to do with God. It is spiritual. The foreigners do not worship God.
The Lord said through Moses in Deut 12:29-31.
29The LORD your God will cut off before you the nations you are about to invade and dispossess. But when you have driven them out and settled in their land, 30and after they have been destroyed before you, be careful not to be ensnared by inquiring about their gods, saying, "How do these nations serve their gods? We will do the same." 31You must not worship the LORD your God in their way, because in worshiping their gods, they do all kinds of detestable things the LORD hates. They even burn their sons and daughters in the fire as sacrifices to their gods.
The Lord says “be careful (take care ESV) not to be ensnared”. They will trap you into their mould and influence you into following their ways.
• Do not even inquire, the Lord says. You do not want to know. You do not have to know. You will be influenced to copy their ways.
• Their ways are detestable to God. It is an abomination to God. God puts out a warning sign!
Read the intention. It’s for their good. It is God’s protection for His people!
• A warning against idolatry. Keep a distance, mentally (don’t inquire) and physically (don’t intermarry idolaters).
• Co-existing under one roof is too close not to be influenced.
Parents understand this. We set boundaries for our kids. Not to harm or restrict them, but to protect them.
• We want them to keep a distance from any bad company that can potentially harm them. Don’t get too close to these people.
• Children, you understand this, I hope. When parents set rules or boundaries they are not being strict and demanding. They are just concerned for you.
• I know, some children might say, “Well, they are overly protective.” That’s why we need to communicate and listen to each other more.
• We need to know and understand where parents are coming from.
Do we understand where God is coming from?
God set these firm boundaries (Law of Moses) even before the Israelites step into Canaan. He forewarns His people. So learn to appreciate God’s commands.
• We read the Word to understand His heart and His intentions for us.
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And Nehemiah highlighted TWO incidents, one from history, from the royalty.
13:26 “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.”
• No one expected a greatly blessed and wise king like Solomon to fall into temptation like this. You see, no one is immune.
• The only immunity is to stay away, to be separated from bad influences in our lives that can lead us astray.
• Psalmist says we do not “walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers.” (Psalm 1:1) We stay away.
We have another example from the priesthood.
• One of the grandsons of the high priest Eliashib had married the daughter of Sanballat, the enemy who came against them in the rebuilding of the wall (2:19).
• Nehemiah drove him away. 13:29 “Remember them, O my God, because they defiled the priestly office and the covenant of the priesthood and of the Levites.”
The word that the Bible uses with regard to sin is FLEE.
• “Flee from sexual immorality” (1 Cor 6:18), “Flee from idolatry” (1 Cor 10:14), “Flee from evil desires of youth…” (2 Tim 2:22).
• We don’t play with fire and expect not to be burned. We don’t even get near it.
• It’s a call to separation, a call to stay away from anything that can potentially cause us to sin.
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THE NEED TO PASS ON OUR FAITH
Nehemiah saw another grave consequence. No wonder he was so angry and rebuked the people harshly.
• The damage done wasn’t confined only to the compromisers. It goes beyond their generation.
• Nehemiah noted that “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.” (13:24)
In the typical Jewish family, we have the father going out to work and the mother staying at home to care for the children.
• Naturally the children pick up the language of their mother, and in this situation, the women from Ashdod, Ammon and Moab.
• They spent most of their time with their mothers who speak foreign languages.
• Soon half of that generation could not speak the language of Judah (Hebrew).
The issue is not about learning new languages but in NOT knowing the Jewish language, Hebrew.
• It is about not being able to understand Hebrew and therefore, the inability to read, listen or understand the Law of Moses, which is in Hebrew.
• Remember in Neh 8 when Ezra the priest took out the book of the Law of Moses and read aloud. The bible specifically says “all those who were able to understand” gathered to listen attentively to what was being read.
This would be a problem, if half of the younger generation “did not know how to speak the language of Judah” (13:24). They won’t understand the Word.
• They would likely not be able to participate fully in the Temple worship. They could not even sing the psalms, written in Hebrew.
• The passing on of their faith has been compromised. They could not be “talking” about it at home.
• 13:27 “Must we hear now that you too are doing all this terrible wickedness and are being unfaithful to our God by marrying foreign women?”
As God has so warned, mixing with foreigners would lead them astray, into idolatry and apostasy. For just for their generation but also the generation that comes after.
Look at the damage caused. No wonder God sent Nehemiah back. His intervention was crucial and necessary. It was timely to retard this spiritual decline.
The problems were not new and that’s probably the reason for this final chapter.
• It’s a warning to future generations reading this, to stay vigilant and guard our faith. Don’t compromise.
• We live in a world that is increasingly intolerant of our faith in Christ. We are constantly exposed to worldly values and temptations.
• It is a stern reminder to persevere in our walk with Christ, and to support and encourage one another to keep the faith and walk in His ways.
Nehemiah’s return was critical and helped to keep the faith of the Jewish remnant alive. Not just for that generation but also for the generation to come.
So what do we really want to leave behind? Consider this.
• On the one side, we see the complacency of the people - not serious with God, neglecting their faith and not passing on what God has instructed.
• And on the other side, we have Nehemiah, the faithful servant of God who was determined to glorify God and fulfil His purpose, undeterred by the harsh realities.
I believe we can all agree that Nehemiah left something impactful.
• He did what was necessary, important and most of all, godly - of God’s will.
• He left a lasting legacy and we are still reading his story today.
• He has been consistently faithful to God from chapter 1 to chapter 13, totally committed to obeying Him and doing His will.
• He did not give in to sin. He did not give room for sin to grow. He stood by God’s way whether against enemies without or within.
Nehemiah’s passion for God’s glory remains undiminished with time.
• We see his heart for God’s city, God’s temple, God’s Law, and God’s people.
• This is the kind of servant we want to be. We can all learn to be a Nehemiah today. Watch what we are leaving behind.
At the end of the day, we do not want to leave our name on a tombstone.
• We want it carved in the lives of the people that we have impacted for Christ.
