February 9, 2003
1On that day they read aloud from the book of Moses in the hearing of the people; and there was found written in it that no Ammonite or Moabite should ever enter the assembly of God, 2because they did not meet the sons of Israel with bread and water, but hired Balaam against them to curse them. However, our God turned the curse into a blessing. 3So when they heard the law, they excluded all foreigners from Israel.
Tobiah Expelled and the Temple Cleansed
4Now prior to this, Eliashib the priest, who was appointed over the chambers of the house of our God, being related to Tobiah, 5had prepared a large room for him, where formerly they put the grain offerings, the frankincense, the utensils and the tithes of grain, wine and oil prescribed for the Levites, the singers and the gatekeepers, and the contributions for the priests. 6But during all this time I was not in Jerusalem, for in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon I had gone to the king. After some time, however, I asked leave from the king, 7and I came to Jerusalem and learned about the evil that Eliashib had done for Tobiah, by preparing a room for him in the courts of the house of God. 8It was very displeasing to me, so I threw all of Tobiah’s household goods out of the room. 9Then I gave an order and they cleansed the rooms; and I returned there the utensils of the house of God with the grain offerings and the frankincense.
Tithes Restored
10I also discovered that the portions of the Levites had not been given them, so that the Levites and the singers who performed the service had gone away, each to his own field. 11So I reprimanded the officials and said, “Why is the house of God forsaken?” Then I gathered them together and restored them to their posts. 12All Judah then brought the tithe of the grain, wine and oil into the storehouses. 13In charge of the storehouses I appointed Shelemiah the priest, Zadok the scribe, and Pedaiah of the Levites, and in addition to them was Hanan the son of Zaccur, the son of Mattaniah; for they were considered reliable, and it was their task to distribute to their kinsmen. 14Remember me for this, O my God, and do not blot out my loyal deeds which I have performed for the house of my God and its services.
Nehemiah 13:1-14 (NASB)
Will Rogers was one of America’s most well-beloved humorists. It is a folklore story that during World War I the American naval forces were having a lot of problem catching German submarines. Rogers was asked what he thought ought to be done. It is reported that Rogers thought for a minute and then offered this piece of sage advice: Well, I’ll tell ya what oughta be done; jus’ heat-up that ocean out there; heat it right up to boilin’ temperature, an those ol’ submarines will just bubble up to the top.
When everyone stopped laughing, one wag asked, Will, how do you suggest we boil the ocean? Rogers replied, I was asked to solve the problem about them submarines. I gave y’all the big picture solution -- now ya gotta work out the details for yerself!
“Boiling the ocean” is a good analogy for examining closely our lifestyles and our discipleship. The examining fire that boils the “sea” of our lives is the Word of God. Paul expressed it this way:
16All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It straightens us out and teaches us to do what is right. 17It is God’s way of preparing us in every way, fully equipped for every good thing God wants us to do. 2 Timothy 3.16 NLT
Now, with the picture in our minds’ eyes of God’s Word boiling the seas of our lives, let’s return to the story of Tobiah’s Goods. Ezra and Nehemiah had spent considerable time and energy bringing reform and restoration to God’s people Israel, to restoring temple worship and returning dignity and strength to the nation. Then Nehemiah’s 12-year term as governor ended, and, as promised, he returns to report to the king of Babylon. He is gone for an extended period of time, perhaps several years. Evidently Ezra died at some point either before Nehemiah left, or before he returned.
Of course while the cat’s away the mice play. During Nehemiah’s absence Tobiah came back into the picture and convinced Eliashib, priest in charge of the temple, to empty a large chamber in the temple buildings for him to occupy. Who was this Tobiah?
TOBIAH (Toh bi’ uh) Personal name meaning, “Yah is good.” One of the major adversaries to Nehemiah’s rebuilding efforts at Jerusalem, Tobiah was a practicing Jew who lived in a residence chamber in the Temple. He is called an “Ammonite” (Neh. 2:10, 19) probably because his family fled to that territory at the destruction of Jerusalem. He enjoyed aristocratic favor and had the title “servant” bestowed on him by the Persian ruler. He opposed the rebuilding of Jerusalem because it would weaken his political authority in the area. Tobiah allied with Sanballat and Geshem in trying to thwart Nehemiah. (from the Holman Bible Dictionary)
Tobiah was Nehemiah’s nemesis, an arch enemy of the kingdom of God. This passage is so much like the farewell address and warning Paul gave to the church when he was departing for Jerusalem:
29“I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; 30and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them. 31“Therefore be on the alert…. Acts 20.29-31a
Nehemiah was more than alert; he knew a wolf like Tobiah wouldn’t leave God’s flock alone for long. He returned and found that Tobiah had moved right into the temple – and the temple therefore had to be fumigated! Nehemiah tossed Tobiah’s goods (and probably Tobiah with them) onto the front lawn of the temple for everyone to see.
Tobiah’s goods in the temple represent (in my opinion) everything unholy that Satan would have mess up our lives, and destroy our service to God and our witness for Jesus. This, I believe is a foreshadow of Jesus’ cleansing of the temple the day the moneychangers had polluted the house of prayer, making it into a den of thievery.
I would have loved to be a fly on the wall that day – tables smashed, suitcases pitched over the Kidron wall, plates and saucers flying everywhere! What a sight! It is a picture of taking Satan by the throat and pitching him into the darkness before he can do more harm to God’s people. It is a boiling of the sea to have ungodliness bubble to the surface.
Now, that’s the story line. How does it apply to our day, to our lives? What does boiling the sea for Tobiah’s goods mean in 2003? Let’s look at a few BOILING POINTS that can benefit our lives and service for the King.
Boiling Point #1. HOMES
It doesn’t make much difference what you build on a flawed foundation. Scripture tells us all our efforts are in vain if a household is not built on Godly principles (Psalm 127).
The boiling point starts with checking the foundation of our homes to make certain all our building blocks are Godly. We had a wood frame house in Jacksonville, Florida. The climate was warm and humid – and the backyard had a pool 6 feet from the back door. Bugs that like warm, humid places had a feast on that back wall.
Many people today build their homes, their family life, without regard to God’s Word. They imagine something written more than 2000 years ago can’t possibly have anything to do with governing their lives wisely today. How wrong. How very wrong.
Do you recall the little song you probably learned in VBS? The words make the point:
The wise man built his house upon the rock…
The storms came up and the rains came down…
And the house on the rock stood firm!
But…
The foolish man built his house upon the sand…
The storms came up and the rains came down…
And the house on the sand went SMASH!
So build your house on the rock (LORD).
Sometimes the very people who teach the little ones in church to sing about building your life on the rock only mean to teach them a little melody and words – nothing of life’s principles and obedience! However, I tell you the truth; a house built on a flawed foundation will never stand the boiling point of God’s Word.
Let the seas of your life be boiled by God’s Word. It doesn’t matter what is built on a flawed foundation; it doesn’t matter what is built on a neglected foundation.
The Word of God tells us that the Ammonites and Moabites were forbidden from the temple. Who were they? They were descendants of Abraham through Lot. If you remember, Lot was dragged out of Sodom the night it was destroyed. Lot’s wife perished in her disobedience and unbelief.
Lot’s daughters thought they were probably the last women left on earth, so they tricked their father into producing children. This incest produced two sons, Ammon and Moab. They settled in regions near the Promised Land. They were ungodly pagans who sacrificed their small children in torturous fires to the pagan gods, Molech and Chemosh.
When Joshua led the people into Canaan the Ammonites and Moabites fought them tooth and nail. People like Tobiah, a Jew who made alliances with the Ammonites, gave his children in marriage to the enemies of Israel, are like the neglected foundations of a house waiting to crumble.
In both the Old and New Testaments we are strongly cautioned to reject alliances with evil. This includes who we “run with” and who we marry. Parents, if you wait for the preacher or the Sunday School teacher to teach your children that they ought not to marry an unbeliever, you are doing what the Ammonites and Moabites did, sacrificing them to the pagans. We need the feel the water boil in this area my friends! Be careful of the alliances you allow into your homes.
Folks, you may make a good foundation in Christ, accept His free offer of salvation, join the church, witness, tithe and serve. But, my friend, if you let ungodly alliances into the chambers of your temple like Eliashib inviting Tobiah in – you will find everything Christlike in your character and lifestyle will begin to crumble. It may not happen overnight – but neither did Adam and Eve die overnight when they sinned either. But they did die!
Boiling Point #2. LEADERSHIP
A second place Nehemiah reminds us to check the boiling water for bad stuff rising to the surface is in leaders. (This is dangerous for a pastor, but it is in the scripture isn’t it?). Christians are not to follow the kind of leadership of an Eliashib. He is the one who let Tobiah and his goods in the temple in the first place. Here are four “bubbles” in the boiling water for which we must look;
1. A Good Heart that wont quit.
Some time ago President Bush referred to North Korea and Iraq as part of an axis of evil. Well, the Scripture shows us Eliashib and Tobiah, an alliance of weasels! It is impossible to look into a leader’s heart; however, you can look at the results of what a good heart is supposed to produce. A good question to ask about the heart is: Do I see this leader as committed to the Lord and this church? Is there long staying power here? Or, like Tobiah, running off to join the Ammonites every time there’s a little trouble, can I not depend on this leader to be there? Another “bubble” is:
2. A Good Mind that is competent.
When I choose a leader to follow I want to know if he is a person who is still continually growing, or has he figured he doesn’t have anything more to understand about God’s kingdom.
3. A Good Spirit that is compassionate and humble.
Many people are knowledgeable, competent and determined, but without compassion and humility, leadership becomes dictatorship. Over the years I have had people in churches where I serve coming down on both sides of issues. Some of them have wanted me to cut a path of control through a congregation to settle the issue. That, my friends, is not serving as a leader, that’s bullying like a dictator! You cannot be humble and heavy-handed at the same time. It may work in corporate America, but the pulpit is where God rules – not tyrants, or members who want the pastor to make all the decisions.
Good heart that won’t quit, good mind that is competent and a good spirit that is compassionate and humble…these are the “bubbles” to look for when the word of God boils our sea of leadership.
Now, I want you to know I believe in not quitting. If that describes a good heart, I’ve got one because I hate quitting almost as much as I hate my own sin.
And I have a reasonably good mind – at least I study hard to learn all of God I can each week.
As far as having a good spirit of compassion and humility, I shared with you before you called me as Pastor that I believe the Godly way for a church to operate is to always seek counsel from God’s Word, and always seek Him in prayer. I told you I didn’t believe a few people should run a church – be they charter members or the newest members. We work together, worship together and seek God’s will together…and when it comes to making decisions, we make them together! That is the essence of a good spirit. Leaders should have it…and so should followers!
When we elect leaders each year, look for this. When you are invited each year to go to the Ministry Fair to indicate in which ministries you have an interest to serve, remember these…and pray God’s guidance for your own heart, mind and spirit. Good leadership needs great follower ship.
Boiling Point #3. STEWARDSHIP
Now, this is the point that always runs the risk of making stingy folks mad! However, stewardship is a Godly matter. The issue goes right back to the Garden of Eden, and the first question God ever asked. When Adam had sinned, and God came to him, He asked, Adam, where are you? That was not God asking Adam’s location; that was a stewardship question. God was asking what Adam had done with the life that had been entrusted to him.
Our lives are represented by what we produce. And God has stated that we are to bring the produce of our lives – a tenth (tithe) of all of it to the storehouse as an outward recognition that we understand the principle that He owns it all – the tithe AND the other 90% as well! That is why we talk about all the issues – time talent and tithe – all of life, not just money!
Isn’t God good to let us manage the 90% and only requires 10%? Tobiah didn’t think so – and neither do those who think like him. He moved into God’s temple, and the net result was that the Levites, the ones charged with keeping the temple up were moved out. God’s people stopped bringing their offerings in light of the ungodly stewardship example set by the high priest, Eliashib. He taught by his actions that giving to God was not as important as making and strengthening alliances with evil Tobiah.
We need to turn up the heat, and get a boiling going here! Stewardship is one of the measures which God is going to stretch out against the conduct of your life. Are you ready for His questions?
Every Methodist pastor of the last 250 years has answered the same set of 17 questions – questions that John Wesley himself asked of all his ministers. They range from the most basic and fundamental issues of Christianity: “Have you faith in Christ” to the complicated: “Have you studied the doctrines of the United Methodist Church and do you believe that our doctrines are in harmony with Holy Scripture?” to the challenging: “Are you earnestly striving after perfection in love?”
But it is number 16 that is the “trick question” for many pastors: “Are you in debt so as to embarrass you in your work?” Of course, they ask this of brand new pastors who are fresh out of seminary and often have substantial student loans! So this question, “Are you in debt so as to embarrass you in your work?” can be a tough one to answer. But, the joke among pastors is that when the bishop asks this question, the proper answer is simply, “I don’t embarrass easily!”
(I shared this with my wife’s boss – the Associate minister at First United Methodist – and she looked it up – the questions are in there!)
Nehemiah got things straightened out. The priest-leader who didn’t believe in tithing was replaced – the people got their confidence back and began bringing their tithes. The ungodly influence of Tobiah and Eliashib were boiled out of the picture and worship began again.
We need that every so often. Did you look at your giving record when you received it this January? (For more than tax purposes, that is!). Are you confident that there is no Tobiah influence holding back your stewardship? Friends, brothers and sisters, I did not mention one thing about how much money you bring to our offering plate – it is just that – a free will offering. I would just suggest that you look at the cross every time you make your decision about stewardship and get honest about who’s making what kind of sacrifice!
Boiling points – I’m sure it has been that today. But, we need it some times. Gen. William Booth of the Salvation Army said: “I want you young men always to bear in mind that it is in the nature of a fire to go out; you must keep it stirred and fed and the ashes removed.”
Friends, that is what you do with Tobiah’s goods that boil to the surface when the Word of God turns up the heat. You stir that fire, you watch things boil – and when influences of an ungodly sort bubble-up to the surface, do what Nehemiah did – PITCH ‘EM OUT ON THE FRONT LAWN!
How is that possible? How do we do that? Do it the way Will Rogers said – I’ve given you the big picture here…work out the details between you and God. Do it right now.
12Dearest friends, you were always so careful to follow my instructions when I was with you. And now that I am away you must be even more careful to put into action God’s saving work in your lives, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. 13For God is working in you, giving you the desire to obey him and the power to do what pleases him. Philippians 2.12-13 NLT
Reverence for God, deep reverence for God – listen to His Word, watch it boil-up, and treat ‘em like enemy submarines – POW!
