Nehemiah 13:1-9--On that day they read aloud from the book of Moses so that the people could hear [its words], and in it was found written that no Ammonite or Moabite could ever enter the assembly of God, 2 because they did not meet the Israelites with bread and water, but hired Balaam against them to curse them. Yet our God turned the curse into a blessing. 3 When the Jews heard the law, they separated from Israel all who were of foreign descent.
4 Now prior to this, Eliashib the priest, who was appointed over the chambers of the house of our God, and was [b]related to Tobiah [our adversary], 5 had prepared for Tobiah a large room (chamber) where previously they had put the grain offerings, the frankincense, the utensils, and the tithes of grain, new wine, and [olive] oil which were given by commandment for the Levites, the singers, and gatekeepers, and the contributions for the priests. 6 But during all this time I was not at Jerusalem, for in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes [Persian] king of Babylon I went to the king. Then after some time I asked for a leave [of absence] from the king, 7 and I came to Jerusalem. Then I discovered the evil [thing] that Eliashib had done for Tobiah by preparing a room for him in the courtyards of the house of God. 8 It was very displeasing to me, so I threw all of Tobiah’s household furnishings out of the room. 9 Then I gave an order, and they cleaned the rooms; and I put back there the utensils of the house of God with the grain offerings and the frankincense.
Going back to Nehemiah 11 and 12, we see that the closer we get to God in worship the more aware we become of his standards. In the example found in these scriptures, we can see that the Moabites and the Ammonites were singled out that they could not come into the assembly of God due to their attempts to curse and scheme against Israel in the past. if you remember in Genesis 12:3, God told Abraham, “I will bless those who bless you, and curse those who curse you.” This stands true today. God don’t play. When you come against God and what belongs to Him, God has no place for you. If you seek to destroy what belongs to Him, God will destroy you. AMERICA BETTER LISTEN.
Basically, the message that was given (towards the Moabites and Ammonites), was that Ammonites refused to help feed and nourish Israel when they were at battle and the Moabites tried to curse Israel. Let me tell you today, that…
1. You cannot serve the world and mock things of God
2. You cannot mock church
3. You cannot mock God’s called and chosen
4. You cannot reject God’s command of assembling together
5. You cannot reject His call for Holiness
6. You cannot mock God by presenting ourselves as a servant to Him in the House of God without being sincere in your obedience and love towards Him
7. You cannot mock God by stating that you are want to serve His interests, but instead you serve your own interests.
8. You cannot mock God by reading His Word, listening to His Word in an effort to better learn how to serve Him, and then not doing it. Not serving Him or by not improving on your service to Him or applying His truths to your life. It’s as if to say, “Your Word is good, but not good enough for me to apply it to my life.”
9. You cannot mock God by confessing your sins to Him, but not repenting.
10. You cannot mock God by taking communion without being a true follower of Christ, by having unforgiveness in our heart towards someone else, or towards ourselves.
11. You cannot mock God by ignoring ‘the least of these.’ For whatever you do for the least of these, you also do it for me. (Matthew 25:40)
Galatians 6:7-8 (AMP)-- 7 Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 8 Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.
Ezekiel 33:31 (AMP)-- 31 They come to you as people come, and they sit before you as My people, and they hear your words, but they do not practice them; for with their mouth they express loving devotion, but their heart goes after their (unlawful) gain.
Matthew 15:7-9 (AMP)-- You hypocrites (play-actors, pretenders), rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you when he said, ‘This people honors Me with their lips, But their heart is far away from Me. ‘But in vain do they worship Me, For they teach as doctrines the precepts of men.’”
In verse 3, after they read and heard The Word, they immediately separated themselves from those who were not supposed to be there. They didn’t use any excuses, they didn’t try to say that The Word was archaic and out of touch with today’s society, they didn’t ignore it, they didn’t try to re-examine The Word and try to find any loopholes in it. They didn’t ‘rewrite’ the Word according to what they FELT was right. They just followed it. They recognized the importance of following it and they did follow it.
Let’s go back to Nehemiah 9:2 (AMP)-- 2 The descendants of Israel (Jacob) separated themselves from all foreigners, and stood and confessed their sins and the wrongdoings of their fathers.
At this point in time, Nehemiah had been gone for about 10-12 years and returned to check on things. When he had left, things were headed in the right direction. We can see HOW EASY IT IS TO SLIP OFF THE TRACK WHEN WE ARE NOT PAYING ATTENTION TO THE WORD. After reading The Word, Nehemiah completes what had started to take place in Neh 9:2, separating themselves from those that don’t belong there. WE HAVE TO REMEMBER TO SEPARATE OURSELVES FROM NEGATIVE INFLUENCES AND THOSE PEOPLE, PLACES, AND THINGS IN OUR LIVES THAT TRY TO CONVINCE US TO MOCK GOD.
Sometimes, we grow into such an acceptance of things that we don’t even realize it is against God’s commands and requirements. Sometimes we compromise our walk and character, not on purpose, but due to not being connected enough with God. Listen, you have to BE INTENTIONAL about your life. Eliashib (The God of Conversion) took part in helping to rebuild the walls, but he may have allowed his own personal sympathy and empathy get in the way of being obedient to God. I HOPE YOU REALIZE THAT IT IS POSSIBLE TO COMPROMISE YOUR OBEDIENCE TO GOD DUE TO BEING TOO SYMPATHETIC TO OTHERS. Eliashib was blind to the fact that Tobiah was an enemy to God’s chosen. Eliashib had allowed God’s enemy to take up shelter in the place (a storeroom) that was set aside for the tithes to the Levites and Priests. If you are not careful, you will allow the enemy to steal from the church. I am not talking about this church, but I am talking about you. You are the church, and if you aren’t careful, it is possible to be so sympathetic to the world, or the enemy of God, that it steals from you.
Remember when Jesus cleansed the Temple and overturned the tables of the moneychangers? Nehemiah did this exact same thing. Neither one of these guys allowed their heart, or niceness, to get in the way of standing up for God’s Word. WE HAVE TO BE CAREFUL NOT TO ALLOW OUR HEARTS TO INTERFERE WITH OUR OBEDIENCE TO THE WORD OF GOD.
One last point I want to make about all this. Nehemiah led the project of rebuilding the walls in 52 days. Between him and Ezra, they saw a revival take place that we are reading about 2,450 years later. After Nehemiah left for 10-12 years, he came back to a mess. People had gotten off course and He had to ‘cleanse the Temple’ by removing Tobiah from his residence in the courtyard. Let me just tell you, A REVIVAL IS NOT MEASURED BY HOW GREAT A TIME YOU HAVE IN SERVICE, OR HOW GREAT THE SERMON WAS. A TRUE REVIVAL IS MEASURED BY THE LONG TERM IMPACT IT HAS ON YOUR LIFE. IT IS MEASURED BY THE CHANGE IN YOUR LIFE.
CONCLUSION
Standing in the House of God and going through the motions will leave you on the outside when God calls you home unless you have truly repented and accepted salvation through Christ. If you remember a couple of weeks ago when I spoke about those who volunteered to live inside the ‘new’ Holy City. They had to give up much in order to do so. They had to reject things and relationships of this world for a more permanent relationship with God. In the end, many are going to be standing on the outside because they refused to ‘volunteer’ to give up earthly pleasures. Making a mockery of the things of God and not being truly committed to Him, will leave you separated and on the outside looking in on the Day of Judgement.
