The service of restoring the temple

Nehemiah 13:1-14

¹ On that day the Book of Moses was read aloud in the hearing of the people and there it was found written that no Ammonite or Moabite should ever be admitted into the assembly of God, ² because they had not met the Israelites with food and water but had hired Balaam to call a curse down on them. (Our God, however, turned the curse into a blessing.) ³ When the people heard this law, they excluded from Israel all who were of foreign descent.

⁴ Before this, Eliashib the priest had been put in charge of the storerooms of the house of our God. He was closely associated with Tobiah, 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 oil prescribed for the Levites, singers and gatekeepers, as well as the contributions for the priests.

⁶ But while all this was going on, I was not in Jerusalem, for in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon I had returned to the king. Some time later I asked his permission ⁷ and came back to Jerusalem. Here I learned about the evil thing Eliashib had done in providing Tobiah a room in the courts of the house of God. 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.

¹⁰ I also learned that the portions assigned to the Levites had not been given to them, and that all the Levites and singers 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.

¹² All Judah brought the tithes of grain, new wine and 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 Zaccur, the son of Mattaniah, their assistant, because these men were considered trustworthy. They were made responsible for distributing the supplies to their brothers.

¹⁴ Remember me for this, O my God, and do not blot out what I have so faithfully done for the house of my God and its services.

1. Message

Content:

1. Once the Israelites heard that no Ammonite or Moabite should ever be admitted into the assembly of God, they excluded from Israel all who were of foreign descent. (v.1-3)
2. Tobiah, due to his close associations with Eliashib, the priest who had been put in charge of the storerooms, was provided with a room in the house of God. This corrupted the temple. (v.3-5)
3. When Nehemiah heard the news, he was furious and began the work of purification, cleansing and restoration. (v.6-9)
4. Due to the officials slacking off, the temple was deserted, the people stopped donating and many returned home to find work. Nehemiah restored all of this. (v.10-12)
5. Nehemiah reassigned those who were considered trustworthy, making them responsible to distribute the supplies. (v.13)
6. Nehemiah asked God to remember the services that he had done. (v.14)

Themes:

1. The service of restoring the temple

2. Who is God, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit?

1. God who promulgates the law (v.1)

2. God who turns curses into blessings (v.2)
3. God who listens to prayers (v.14)

III. What does the passage teach us (about commands, promises, examples, exhortations and warnings)?

1. Sanctified life

¹ On that day the Book of Moses was read aloud in the hearing of the people and there it was found written that no Ammonite or Moabite should ever be admitted into the assembly of God, ² because they had not met the Israelites with food and water but had hired Balaam to call a curse down on them. (Our God, however, turned the curse into a blessing.) ³ When the people heard this law, they excluded from Israel all who were of foreign descent.

Through the reading of the law of Moses, it is clearly stated that no Ammonite or Moabite should ever be admitted into the assembly of God. The reason for this is because when the Israelites were fleeing from Egypt, not only did the Ammonites and Moabites not give them any food or water but even hired Balaam to call a curse on them. When the Israelites heard this law, they excluded themselves from all those of foreign descent.

However, why was it mandatory for them to be isolated with the people of foreign descent? Was it due to racism? Of course not! The reason for this action was to allow the people of God to live sanctified lives.
Because God’s love is for all people, He will not discriminate against any one race.

However, the Ammonites and Moabites have always been enemies of Israelites. They do not want to come back to God, do not obey Him, worship other foreign gods, and tempt the Israelites to follow them to forsake God and ultimately into sin. Therefore, that is why Moses was very clear in stating that the people of Israel should not associate with them.
Reflection: As a Christian in Taiwan, where folk religion is very common, do I live a sanctified life?

2. Priest who shows favoritism

⁴ Before this, Eliashib the priest had been put in charge of the storerooms of the house of our God. He was closely associated with Tobiah, 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 oil prescribed for the Levites, singers and gatekeepers, as well as the contributions for the priests.

When Nehemiah was going back to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, Tobiah was the main one in opposition. However, after the walls of Jerusalem had been rebuilt and Nehemiah had returned to Persia, Tobiah used his close relation (His daughter was married to Tobiah) with Eliashib, the priest who had been in charge of the storerooms, to take resident in the temple. He was provided with a room originally to store grain offerings and incense and temple articles for the Levites, singers and gatekeepers. This action was extremely ridiculous, which also polluted the sanctity of the temple.

From this incident, we can clearly see that Eliashib, the priest in charge of the storerooms, is not a person who reveres God and is devoted. He uses his authority and shows favoritism to benefit others and is really unworthy.

Reflection: Has there been people who have used their position or have shown favoritism to achieve private ends in church?

3. Turning curses into blessings

¹ On that day the Book of Moses was read aloud in the hearing of the people and there it was found written that no Ammonite or Moabite should ever be admitted into the assembly of God, ² because they had not met the Israelites with food and water but had hired Balaam to call a curse down on them. (Our God, however, turned the curse into a blessing.)

The Scriptures clearly mentions that when the Israelites were on their way out of Egypt, the Ammonites and Moabites not only did not give the Israelites food or water, they also hired Balaam to call a curse down on them. However, God turned the curse into a blessing.
God is Almighty. He owns the history of mankind, the authority in the nation, life and death. He can therefore turn a curse into a blessing. Similarly, Joseph was betrayed by his brothers and sold to Egypt. This was a curse, however God turned everything around. That is, He was lifted to become a powerful man in Egypt. During the time of famine on the land, not only did he save the land but also the people of his tribe. This was a blessing. Therefore, only God can turn a curse into a blessing.

Reflection: In my life, have I experienced a curse which was turned into a blessing, by trusting in God?

4. Evil that causes anger

⁶ But while all this was going on, I was not in Jerusalem, for in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon I had returned to the king. Some time later I asked his permission ⁷ and came back to Jerusalem. Here I learned about the evil thing Eliashib had done in providing Tobiah a room in the courts of the house of God. 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.

When Nehemiah had returned to Persia, Tobiah used his close relation (His daughter was married to Tobiah) with Eliashib, the priest who had been in charge of the storerooms, to take resident in the temple. He was provided with a room originally to store grain offerings and incense and temple articles for the Levites, singers and gatekeepers.

This truly is an evil which causes anger and confusion between black and white. Therefore, when Nehemiah heard of this, he was very angry. On one hand, he threw out all of Tobiah’s belongings. On the other hand, he gave orders to purify the rooms, to put back all of the equipment, grain offerings and incense into the house of God.

Reflection: Has there been any evil that has taken place in church which God could not tolerate and which made people angry?

5. Life that cares full-time
   

¹⁰ I also learned that the portions assigned to the Levites had not been given to them, and that all the Levites and singers 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.

¹² All Judah brought the tithes of grain, new wine and oil into the storerooms.

Nehemiah learned that the Levites and singers had left Jerusalem, back to their own fields because the people did not provide them enough food to survive. The reason for this was that the officials did not perform their duty, leaving the temple deserted, causing the Israelites not to bring one tenth of the grains, wine and olive oil into the temple’s storerooms.

The people in charge also did not honestly distribute the goods to the workers. Facing this circumstance, Nehemiah in one sense rebuked the officials for leaving the temple deserted. On the other hand, he called the Levites and singers back to the temple, allowing them to go back to work. Seeing the restoration of the temple, the Israelites began bringing the grains, wine and olive oil into the temple’s storerooms once again. This also lets us know that the staffs who serve in the temple fulltime also require care for basic living.

Reflection: Are the staffs who serve in the church fulltime provided with the supply of goods for basic living?

6. Carefully choosing the financial management personnel

¹³ I put Shelemiah the priest, Zadok the scribe, and a Levite named Pedaiah in charge of the storerooms and made Hanan son of Zaccur, the son of Mattaniah, their assistant, because these men were considered trustworthy. They were made responsible for distributing the supplies to their brothers.

Once Nehemiah realized that the officials left the temple deserted, the people put in charge of the storerooms showed favoritism, people no longer contributed enthusiastically, the clergy returned home to find work and the service in the temple ended. In order to regain prosperity, many reforms were undergone. One of these included choosing the right people to take care of the storerooms. He said: I put Shelemiah the priest, Zadok the scribe, Levite Pedaiah in charge of the storerooms.

Their assistant was to be Hanan, son of Zaccur, the son of Mattaniah. He trusted these people. They would honestly distribute the goods to their coworkers. This shows that the personnel in charge of finance in the church play a very important role.

Reflection: Is there a system that that the church finance group follows? Were the people, to be a part of finance group, carefully chosen?

IV. My prayer / Life applications