On that day they read in the book of Moses in the hearing of the people; and it was found written in it that an Ammonite and a Moabite should not enter into the assembly of God forever, because they didn’t meet the children of Israel with bread and with water, but hired Balaam against them, to curse them; however our God turned the curse into a blessing. It came to pass, when they had heard the law, that they separated all the mixed multitude from Israel.
Now before this, Eliashib the priest, who was appointed over the rooms of the house of our God, being allied to Tobiah, had prepared for him a great room, where before they laid the meal offerings, the frankincense, the vessels, and the tithes of the grain, the new wine, and the oil, which were given by commandment to the Levites, the singers, and the gatekeepers; and the wave offerings for the priests. But in all this, I was not at Jerusalem; for in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon I went to the king; and after some days I asked leave of the king, and I came to Jerusalem, and understood the evil that Eliashib had done for Tobiah, in preparing him a room in the courts of God’s house. It grieved me severely. Therefore I threw all Tobiah’s household stuff out of the room. Then I commanded, and they cleansed the rooms. I brought into them the vessels of God’s house, with the meal offerings and the frankincense again.
I perceived that the portions of the Levites had not been given them; so that the Levites and the singers, who did the work, had each fled to his field. Then I contended with the rulers, and said, “Why is God’s house forsaken?” I gathered them together, and set them in their place. Then all Judah brought the tithe of the grain, the new wine, and the oil to the treasuries. I made treasurers over the treasuries, Shelemiah the priest, and Zadok the scribe, and of the Levites, Pedaiah: and next to them was Hanan the son of Zaccur, the son of Mattaniah; for they were counted faithful, and their business was to distribute to their brothers.
Remember me, my God, concerning this, and don’t wipe out my good deeds that I have done for the house of my God, and for its observances.
In those days I saw some men treading wine presses on the Sabbath in Judah, bringing in sheaves, and loading donkeys; also with wine, grapes, figs, and all kinds of burdens, which they brought into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day; and I testified against them in the day in which they sold food. Some men of Tyre also lived there, who brought in fish and all kinds of wares, and sold on the Sabbath to the children of Judah, and in Jerusalem. Then I contended with the nobles of Judah, and said to them, “What evil thing is this that you do, and profane the Sabbath day? Didn’t your fathers do this, and didn’t our God bring all this evil on us, and on this city? Yet you bring more wrath on Israel by profaning the Sabbath.”
It came to pass that when the gates of Jerusalem began to be dark before the Sabbath, I commanded that the doors should be shut, and commanded that they should not be opened until after the Sabbath. I set some of my servants over the gates, so that no burden should be brought in on the Sabbath day. So the merchants and sellers of all kinds of wares camped outside of Jerusalem once or twice. Then I testified against them, and said to them, “Why do you stay around the wall? If you do so again, I will lay hands on you.” From that time on, they didn’t come on the Sabbath. I commanded the Levites that they should purify themselves, and that they should come and keep the gates, to sanctify the Sabbath day. Remember to me, my God, this also, and spare me according to the greatness of your loving kindness.
In those days I also saw the Jews who had married women of Ashdod, of Ammon, and of Moab; and their children spoke half in the speech of Ashdod, and could not speak in the Jews’ language, but according to the language of each people. I contended with them, and cursed them, and struck certain of them, and plucked off their hair, and made them swear by God, “You shall not give your daughters to their sons, nor take their daughters for your sons, or for yourselves. Didn’t Solomon king of Israel sin by these things? Yet among many nations there was no king like him, and he was loved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel. Nevertheless foreign women caused even him to sin. Shall we then listen to you to do all this great evil, to trespass against our God in marrying foreign women?”
One of the sons of Joiada, the son of Eliashib the high priest, was son-in-law to Sanballat the Horonite; therefore I chased him from me. Remember them, my God, because they have defiled the priesthood, and the covenant of the priesthood and of the Levites.
Thus I cleansed them from all foreigners, and appointed duties for the priests and for the Levites, everyone in his work; and for the wood offering, at times appointed, and for the first fruits. Remember me, my God, for good.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv3, 4, 6, 7, 14, 15, 18, 19, 22, 23, 25, 29, 31 That is, all such which had joined in unlawful…
That is, all such which had joined in unlawful marriage, and also those with whom God had forbidden them to have society.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 30, 31 Neh 13:1 On that day they read in the…
Neh 13:1 On that day they read in the book of Moses in the audience of the people; and therein was found written, that the Ammonite and the Moabite should not come into the congregation of God for ever;
Ver. 1. On that day] That great fast day, Neh 9:1-2, &c. Or, after Nehemiah’s return from the court of Persia, Neh 13:6, so the most expound it.
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They read in the book of Moses] viz. In Deu 23:3, called by the Rabbis Sepher tochechoth, the book of rebukes, or of instructions, upon conviction.
And therein was found written] Perquam durum est (so it might seem to Ammonites and Moabites), sed ita lex scripta est, The law was perpetual and indispensable; a sign of great wrath.
That the Ammonite and the Moabite] Lot’s by-blows and the Church’s constant enemies.
Into the congregation of God] i.e. Assemblies of God’s people, whether sacred or civil, unless proselyted.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 27, 28, 29, 31 On that day; not now presently after the dedication…
On that day; not now presently after the dedication of the wall, and gates, and city, but upon a certain day, as that phrase is very commonly used in Scripture without any relation to the time or things mentioned next before it, to wit, when Nehemiah was returned again from the Persian court to Jerusalem, from which he had been absent for some considerable time, in which some errors and abuses had crept in, which now he endeavours to remove.
In the audience of the people; partly because it was not only the priests’, but also the people’s, duty to study and understand God’s law and their own duty; and partly that the people hearing that this was the express mind and will of the great God, might the more willingly yield to the following duties, some of which were attended with difficulty, and required self-denial.
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Should not come into the congregation of God, i.e. not be incorporated into the commonwealth of Israel, nor be joined with any Israelite in marriage relation, as appears from Neh 13:3; that practice being a plain comment upon this law. But of this and the next verse, See Poole "Deu 23:3", See Poole "Deu 23:4".
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On vv1, 10, 15, 23 It was the honour of Israel, and the greatest…
It was the honour of Israel, and the greatest preservation of their holiness, that they were a peculiar people, and were so to keep themselves, and not to mingle with the nations, nor suffer any of them to incorporate with them. Now here we have,
I. The law to this purport, which happened to be read on that day, in the audience of the people (Neh 13:1), on the day of the dedication of the wall, as it should seem, for with their prayers and praises they joined the reading of the word; and though it was long after that the other grievances, here mentioned, were redressed by Nehemiah's power, yet this of the mixed multitude might be redressed then by the people's own act, for so it seems to be, Neh 13:3. Or, perhaps, it was on the anniversary commemoration of that day, some years after, and therefore said to be on that day. They found a law, that the Ammonites and Moabites should not be naturalized, should not settle among them, nor unite with them, Neh 13:1. The reason given is because they had been injurious and ill-natured to the Israel of God (Neh 13:2), had not shown them common civility, but sought their ruin, though they not only did them no harm, but were expressly forbidden to do them any. This law we have, with this reason, Deu 23:3-5.
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II. The people's ready compliance with this law, Neh 13:3. See the benefit of the public reading of the word of God; when it is duly attended to it discovers to us sin and duty, good and evil, and shows us wherein we have erred. Then we profit by the discovery when by it we are wrought upon to separate ourselves from all that evil to which we had addicted ourselves. They separated from Israel all the mixed multitude, which had of old been a snare to them, for the mixed multitude fell a lusting, Num 11:4. These inmates they expelled, as usurpers and dangerous.
III. The particular case of Tobiah, who was an Ammonite, and to whom, it is likely, the historian had an eye in the recital of the law (Neh 13:1), and the reason of it, Neh 13:2. For he had the same enmity to Israel that his ancestors had, the spirit of an Ammonite, witness his indignation at Nehemiah (Neh 2:10) and the opposition he had given to his undertakings, Neh 4:7, Neh 4:8. Observe,
1. How basely Eliashib the chief priest took this Tobiah in to be a lodger even in the courts of the temple. (1.) He was allied to Tobiah (Neh 13:4), by marriage first and then by friendship. His grandson had married Sanballat's daughter, Neh 13:28. Probably some other of his family had married Tobiah's, and (would you think it?) the high priest thought the alliance an honour to his family, and was very proud of it, though really it was his greatest disgrace, and what he had reason to be ashamed of. It was expressly provided by the law that the high priest should marry one of his own people, else he profanes his seed among his people, Lev 21:14, Lev 21:15. And for Eliashib to contract an alliance with an Ammonite, a servant (for so he is called) and to value himself upon it, probably because he has a wit and a beau, and cried up for a fine gentleman (Neh 6:19), was such a contempt of the crown of his consecration as one would not wish should be told in Gath or published in the streets of Ashkelon. (2.) Being allied to him, he must be acquainted with him. Tobiah, being a man of business, has often occasion to be at Jerusalem, I doubt upon no good design. Eliashib is fond of his new kinsman, pleased with his company, and must have him as near him as he can. He has not a room for him stately enough in his own apartment, in the courts of the temple; therefore, out of several little chambers which had been used for store-chambers, by taking down the partitions, he contrived to make one great chamber, a state-room for Tobiah, Neh 13:5. A wretched thing it was, [1.] That Tobiah the Ammonite should be entertained with respect in Israel, and have a magnificent reception. [2.] That the high priest, who should have taught the people the law and set them a good example, should, contrary to the law, give him entertainment, and make use of the power he had, as overseer of the chambers of the temple, for that purpose. [3.] That he should lodge him in the courts of God's house, as if to confront God himself; this was next to setting up an idol there, as the wicked kings of old had done. An Ammonite must not come into the congregation; and shall one of the worst and vilest of the Ammonites be courted into the temple itself, and caressed there? [4.] That he should throw out the stores of the temple, to make room for him, and so expose them to be lost, wasted, and embezzled, though they were the portions of the priests, merely to gratify Tobiah. Thus did he corrupt the covenant of Levi, as Malachi complained at this time, Mal 2:8. Well might Nehemiah add (Neh 13:6), But all this time was not I at Jerusalem. If he had been there, the high priest durst not have done such a thing. The envious one, who sows tares in God's field, knows how to take an opportunity to do it when the servants sleep or are absent, Mat 13:25. The golden calf was made when Moses was in the mount.
2. How bravely Nehemiah, the chief governor, threw him out, and all that belonged to him, and restored the chambers to their proper use. When he came to Jerusalem, and was informed by the good people who were troubled at it what an intimacy had grown between their chief priest and their chief enemy, it grieve him sorely (Neh 13:7, Neh 13:8) that God's house should be so profaned, his enemies so caressed and trusted, and his cause betrayed by him that should have been its protector and patron. Nothing grieves a good man, a good magistrate, more than to see the ministers of God's house do any wicked thing. Nehemiah has power and he will use it for God. (1.) Tobiah shall be expelled. He fears not disobliging him, fears not his resentments, or Eliashib's, nor excuses himself from interposing in an affair that lay within the jurisdiction of the high priest; but, like one zealously affected in a good thing, he expels the intruder, by casting forth all his household stuff. He did not seize it for his own use, but cast it out, that Tobiah, who it is probable was now absent, when he came again, might have no conveniences for his reception there. Our Saviour thus cleansed the temple, that the house of prayer might not be a den of thieves. And thus those that would expel sin out of their hearts, those living temples, must throw out its household stuff and all the provision made for it, strip it, starve it, and take away all those things that are the food and fuel of lust; this is, in effect, to mortify it. (2.) The temple stores shall be brought in again, and the vessels of the house of God put in their places; but the chambers must first be sprinkled with the water of purification, and so cleansed, because they had been profaned. Thus, when sin is cast out of the heart by repentance, let the blood of Christ be applied to it by faith, and then let it be furnished with the graces of God's Spirit for every good work.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv1–28 On that day,.... Not when the wall of the…
On that day,.... Not when the wall of the city was dedicated, nor quickly after; for it cannot be thought that people should be so corrupted so soon as this chapter shows; but when Nehemiah had governed them twelve years, and had been at Babylon, and was returned again, as appears from Neh 13:6, compared with Neh 2:1,
they read in the book of Moses in the audience of the people; for from the time of the reading of the law by Ezra, Neh 8:1 it became a custom to read the law publicly:
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and therein was found written, that the Ammonite and the Moabite should not come into the congregation of the Lord; that is, be admitted to marry with any of the people of Israel; See Gill on Deu 23:3.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 16, 17, 19, 22, 25, 28, 31 The Israelites are separated from the mixt multitude, ver.…
The Israelites are separated from the mixt multitude, ver. 1-3. Nehemiah cleansed the chambers of the temple, ver. 4-9. He recovers and secures the portion of the priests and Levites, ver. 10-14. Contends with the nobles concerning the sabbath, and takes care for the due observance of it, ver. 15-22. Restrains them from marrying strange wives, ver. 23-31.
That day - Not presently after the dedication of the wall and city, but upon a certain day, when Nehemiah was returned from the Persian court to Jerusalem, from which he had been absent for some considerable time, in which some errors and abuses had crept in. Not come - Not be incorporated into the common-wealth of Israel, nor be joined with any Israelite in marriage.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 17, 19, 20, 21, 22, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 31 The law is read, which commands that the Ammonite…
CHAPTER XIII
The law is read, which commands that the Ammonite and Moabite
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should be separated from the congregation, on which they
separate all the mixed multitude, 1-3.
Eliashib the high priest having not only joined opinion with
Sanballat, but being also allied to Tobiah the Ammonite, and
having given him some of the chambers in the court of the house
of God, 4, 5;
Nehemiah casts out the goods of Tobiah, and purifies the
chambers, 6-9.
He rectifies several evils; and the people bring the tithes of
all things to the treasuries, 10-12.
He appoints treasurers, 13, 14;
finds that the Sabbaths had been greatly profaned by buying and
selling, and rectifies this abuse, 15-22;
finds Jews that had married strange wives; against whom he
testifies, and expels one of the priests who had married the
daughter of Sanballat the Horonite, 23-29.
He cleanses them from all strangers, makes a final regulation,
and prays for God's mercy to himself, 30, 31.
NOTES ON CHAP. XIII
Verse 1. On that day] I am quite of Calmet's mind that the transaction detailed in this chapter did not immediately succeed the dedication of the walls of Jerusalem. It is most likely that, when this dedication was ended, Nehemiah returned to Babylon, as himself particularly marks, Ne 13:6, for he did return in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes; and then, after certain days, supposed to be about the term of one year, he got leave to return to Jerusalem to see how matters were conducted: and there he found the evils which he mentions in this chapter, and which he redressed in the manner himself describes. See the introduction to this book.
Should not come into the congregation] That is, Ye shall not form any kind of matrimonial alliance with them. This, and this alone, is the meaning of the law.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17, 18, 20, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 29, 30, 31 Neh 13:1. On that day they read in the…
Neh 13:1. On that day they read in the book of Moses — Not upon the day of the dedication of the wall and city, but upon a certain day, when Nehemiah was returned from the Persian court to Jerusalem, from which he had been absent for some considerable time, during which some errors and abuses had crept in. After his return, it seems, he continued the public reading of the law at stated times, probably on the great festivals, when all the people met together, (such as those mentioned chap. 8.,) upon some day of which that portion of Scripture was read (Deu 23:3) which forbids the admission of the Ammonites and Moabites into the congregation of the Lord. The meaning of which phrase is, not that they were prohibited from attending divine worship in the court of the Gentiles, and in their synagogues, but from being admitted to the privileges of Jews, and becoming one body with them by intermarriages. “None of the house of Israel, of either sex, were to enter into marriage with any Gentile, of what nation soever, unless they were first converted to their religion; and even in that case, some were debarred from it for ever, others only in part, and others again only for a limited time. Of the first sort, were all of the seven nations of the Canaanites. Of the second sort, were the Moabites and the Ammonites, whose males were excluded for ever, but not their females. And of the third sort, were the Edomites and Egyptians, with whom the Jews might not marry till the third generation. But with all others who were not of these three excepted sorts, they might freely make intermarriages, whenever they became thorough proselytes to their religion. At present, however, because, through the confusions which have since happened in all nations, it is not to be known who is an Ammonite, an Edomite, a Moabite, or an Egyptian, they hold this prohibition to have been long out of date, and that now any Gentile, as soon as proselyted to their religion, may immediately be admitted to make intermarriages with them.” See Dodd, and Prid. Con., Ann. 428.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, 10, 11, 15, 16, 19, 21, 22, 24, 30 On that day - Or, “at that time,” as…
On that day - Or, “at that time,” as in Neh 12:44.
The entire Pentateuch is probably meant by “the Book of Moses”.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 14, 15, 16, 18, 19, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 27, 28, 31 That day, is often used for an indefinite time.…
That day, is often used for an indefinite time. (Haydock) --- It is not probable that all this happened when the walls were dedicated. After that event, Nehemias rather went to court, and remained there about ten years. During his absence, many abuses crept in, which he endeavoured to remedy, (ver. 7.) perhaps on the solemn day of tabernacles, when the law had been read. --- Ever, (Deuteronomy xxiii. 3.) so as to marry. (Calmet)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures 1864 · Public Domain On v1 1On that day [of dedication] they read [it was…
Neh_13:1-30
1On that day [of dedication] they read [it was read] in the book of Moses in the audience [ears] of the people; and therein was found written, that the Ammonite and the Moabite should not come into the congregation of God for ever; 2because they met not the children of Israel with bread and with water, but [and] hired Balaam against them, that he should curse them: howbeit [and] our God turned the 3curse into a blessing. Now [And] it came to pass, when they had heard the law, that they separated from Israel all the mixed multitude.
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[Events of 12 Years’ Later Date]
4And before this, [in the face of this], Eliashib the priest, having the oversight of [being set over] the chamber [chambers] of the house of our God was allied unto Tobiah: 5And he had prepared [and he prepared] for him a great chamber, where aforetime they laid the meat-offerings, the frankincense, and the vessels, and the tithes of the corn, the new wine, and the oil, which was commanded to be given to 6the Levites, and the singers, and the porters; and the offerings of the priests. But [and] in all this time was not I at Jerusalem; for in the two and thirtieth year of Artaxerxes, king of Babylon, came I unto the king, and after certain days [at the end of days] obtained I leave of the king: 7And I came to Jerusalem, and understood of the evil that Eliashib did for Tobiah, in preparing him a chamber in the courts of the house of God. 8And it grieved me sore: therefore [and] I cast forth 9all the household stuff of Tobiah out of the chamber. Then [and] I commanded, and they cleansed the chambers: and thither brought I again the vessels of the house of God, with the meat-offerings and the frankincense. 10And I perceived that the portions of the Levites had not been given them: for [and] the Levites and the 11singers, that did the work, were fled every one to his field. Then [and] contended I with the rulers, and said, Why is the house of God forsaken? And I gathered them [i. e, the Levites and singers] together, and set them in their place. 12Then brought all Judah [And all Judah brought] the tithe of the corn and the new wine and the oil unto the treasuries. 13And I made treasurers over the treasuries, Shelemiah the priest, and Zadok the scribe, and of the Levites, Pedaiah: and next to them [at their hand] was Hanan the son of Zaccur, the son of Mattaniah: for they were counted faithful, and their office was [and it was upon them] to distribute unto their brethren. 14Remember me, O my God, concerning this, and wipe not out my good deeds [kindnesses] that I have done for the house of my God, and for the offices thereof. 15In those days saw I in Judah some treading wine-presses on the sabbath, and bringing in sheaves, and lading asses; as also [and besides] wine, grapes, and figs, and all manner of burdens, which they brought [and bringing them] into Jerusalem on the sabbath day: and I testified against them in the day wherein they sold victuals. 16There dwelt men of Tyre also therein [And the Tyrians dwelt therein], which brought fish, and all manner of ware, and sold on the sabbath unto 17the children of Judah, and in Jerusalem. Then [And] I contended with the nobles of Judah, and said unto them, What evil thing is this that ye do, and profane the sabbath day? 18Did not your fathers thus, and did not our God bring all this evil upon us, and upon this city? yet [and] ye bring more wrath upon Israel by profaning the sabbath. 19And it came to pass that when the gates of Jerusalem began to be dark [were shaded] before the sabbath, I commanded that the gates should be shut [and the gates were shut], and charged [commanded] that they should not be opened till after the sabbath, and some of my servants set I at the gates, that there 20should no burden be brought in on the sabbath day. So [and] the merchants and 21sellers of all kinds of ware lodged without Jerusalem once or [and] twice. Then [and] I testified against them, and said unto them, Why lodge ye about [before] the wall? if ye do so again, I will lay hands on you. From that time forth came they no more on the sabbath. 22And I commanded the Levites that they should cleanse themselves, and that they should come and keep the gates, to sanctify the sabbath day. Remember me, O my God, concerning this also, and spare [pity] me according to the greatness [abundance] of thy mercy.
23In those days saw I also [the] Jews that had married [carried to dwell with them] wives of Ashdod, of Ammon, and of Moab: 24and their children spake half in the speech of Ashdod (and could not speak [were not acquainted with speaking] in the Jews’ language), but [and] according to the language [tongue] of each people [of people and people]. 25And I contended with them, and cursed them, and smote certain [men] of them, and plucked off [tore out] their hair, and made them swear by God, saying, Ye shall not give your daughters unto their sons, nor take their daughters unto your sons, or for yourselves. 26Did not Solomon, king of Israel, sin by these things? yet [and] among many nations was there no king like him, who [and he] was beloved of his God, and God made him king over all Israel: nevertheless even him did outlandish [foreign] women cause to sin. 27Shall we then [and shall we] hearken unto you to do [hear that ye do] all this great evil, to transgress 28against our God in marrying [carrying to dwell with us] strange wives? And one of the sons of Joiada, the son of Eliashib the high-priest was son-in-law to Sanballat the Horonite; therefore [and] I chased him from me. 29Remember them, O God, because they have defiled [on account of the defilings of] the priesthood, and the covenant of the priesthood, and of the Levites. 30Thus cleansed I [And I cleansed] them from all strangers, and appointed the wards of the priests and the Levites, every one in his business; and for the wood-offering, at times appointed, and for the first-fruits. Remember me, O God, for good.
TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL
1 [Neh_13:6. נִשְׁאַלְתִּי. The lexicographers interpret this Niphal as Kal. But both here and in 1Sa_20:6; 1Sa_20:28 (the only places where the Niph. occurs), the meaning “to receive permission” seems to be necessary. It would be a quasi passive of the Kal meaning.
2 Neh_13:19. אֲשֶׁר omitted before לֹא־יָבוֹא.
3 Neh_13:22. שֹׁמְרִים. Wav omitted. Yet we may read “come as keepers of the gates.”
4 Neh_13:24. וּבְנֵיהֶם stands absolutely, for מְדַבֵּר being singular takes חֲצִי as its nominative.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
Neh_13:1. On that day,i.e. the day of dedication of the walls, as in Neh_12:43-44.
The part of the law which forbade mingling with the other nations was specially read on the dedication-day. Deu_23:3 would naturally be read, as also Deu_7:1-6. The reference to the former passage here uses the words adh olam (forever), which are not found alone in Deuteronomy. There it reads: “Even to their tenth generation shall they not enter into the congregation of the Lord forever,“ where the “forever” seems to signify the perpetuity of this ordinance, and not the perpetuity of their exclusion. It is quoted here in brief, without any design to change the meaning. No Moabite or Ammonite family could be admitted to the privileges of Jewry until in the tenth generation after quitting heathenism and formally allying itself with Israel.
Neh_13:2. The reference to Deu_23:3-5 continues through this verse, the passage being condensed throughout. In the Heb. we have the singular, he hired (i.e. Balak) as in Deu_23:4.
Neh_13:3. The result of this reading was a careful exclusion of the mixed multitude (erev) from Israel. This was a different act from that of the 24th of Tisri. Then Israel separated itself from the strangers. Now they separate the erev from Israel. The former was a withdrawal; this an expulsion. For erev, see Exo_12:38.
Nehemiah’s Reform Movement on his Return to Jerusalem.
Neh_13:4. Before this.—This should be “in the presence of this” (in conspectu ejus), with the circumstantial and not the temporal signification of liphne mizzeh. For Eliashib’s evil conduct occurred while Nehemiah was away on his visit to Susa in Artaxerxes’ thirty-second year, and not before the dedication-day. The meaning is, that Eliashib, the high-priest, notwithstanding all this reform wrought by Nehemiah in Artaxerxes’ twentieth year, in the face of it all, dared, twelve years after, when Nehemiah was far away, to introduce Tobiah into the courts of the temple.
Nehemiah closes his record with a brief sketch of a new reform movement which he had to make twelve years later, owing to a long absence from Jerusalem at the Persian Court, in which time evil men had sought to undo his former work.
Between Neh_13:3 and Neh_13:4 we have therefore a gap of twelve years in the chronology.
We have no reason to suppose that Eliashib allied himself with Tobiah or (through his grandson) with Sanballat until this season of Nehemiah’s absence, when Eliashib may have supposed that he would never return.
Nehemiah in all probability did not write this book of his doings at Jerusalem till late in life, when his second visit to Jerusalem was a thing of the past, as well as his first visit.
Eliashib, the priest (i.e. the high-priest), having the oversight of the chamber of the house of our God.—The participle is being set over (as in the margin). The “chamber” (lishcah) is used collectively for the “chambers.” As high-priest, he would have control of all the various buildings in the temple-courts where the treasures of corn, oil and wine were preserved.
Was allied to Tobiah.—In what way we know not. Karov letoviyyah. A predicate adjective after so long a sentence, not in apposition (“being allied”), but as in E. V. a distinct assertion (“was allied”). A new fact is stated, and we are led to believe that this alliance marked a fearful period of falling away, after Nehemiah had turned his back. If it had existed before, we should have had mention made of it.
Neh_13:5. A second fact in the miserable business. The high-priest prepared for Tobiah a great chamber, probably by knocking many into one (see Neh_13:9), in which Tobiah resided when at Jerusalem (see Neh_13:8). This desecration Eliashib may have defended on the score of Tobiah being by blood a Jew (see on Neh_2:10), and the necessity of keeping on good terms with the influential men of the surrounding provinces.
These chambers had held all the unbloody sacrificial offerings and the tithes.
The Levites are distinguished from the singers and porters, although the singers and porters were Levites. So, on the other hand, the Levites are distinguished from the priests, although the priests were Levites. The Levites, as here designated, were those engaged in the more immediate sacrificial services, in attendance on the priests.
Neh_13:6. In the two and thirtieth year of Artaxerxes, king of Babylon,i.e. in B. C. 434–3. Probably the “time set” by Nehemiah and approved by the king (Neh_2:6) was twelve years. At the expiration of this term he was obliged to leave the superintendence of affairs at Jerusalem and return to the court. Artaxerxes is called “king of Babylon,” instead of “king of Persia,” probably because at this time of Nehemiah’s return the court was removed to Babylon for some special state reason.
After certain days.—Lit. at the end of days, a very general expression, and may here mean several years.
Obtained I leave, to wit, to return to Jerusalem.
Neh_13:8. This decided action shows that Nehemiah returned with full powers from the Court.
Neh_13:9. The chambers. See on Neh_13:5. The tithes are omitted in the enumeration, because, as we see by the next verse, the people had ceased paying tithes, and hence there were none to put in the store-chambers.
Neh_13:10. For the Levites,etc.,were fled. Rather: and the Levites, etc., were fled. They fled to their own fields to work for their living, because their tithes were withheld. Their own fields were those belonging to the Levitical cities.—The singers, that did the work, is a pregnant phrase for “the singers and porters who performed service.”
Neh_13:11. The rulers (seganim). The Pers. word does not necessarily refer to rulers set over the people by the Persians, although it may include such, but extends to all who might exercise authority by birth, election or otherwise. The Pers. word is used as a familiar term for magistrates.
Set them in their place.—That is, put the Levites back into their positions.
Neh_13:12. Unto the treasuries (or storehouses). Or for stores.
Neh_13:13. I made treasurers.—The Hiphil of Atzar, “to store.” Lit.: “I caused to store over the store-houses.” That is: “I placed men over the store-houses, whom I caused to store the stores in them.”
Shelemiah.—See Neh_3:30.
Zadok.—See Neh_3:29.
Pedaiah.—See Neh_3:26 and Neh_8:4.
Next to them.—Lit. at their hand, as their assistant.
Neh_13:14. This prayer is not one of self-glorification, but of faith in God’s truth. A man who knows he is doing right in the sight of God can say so to God without presumption. It is a testimony of God’s grace, and he can rejoice in it.
Neh_13:15. In those days of my return to Jerusalem. The Sabbath had become desecrated in Nehemiah’s absence, so that in some cases the works of the farm were wrought on that day, and produce brought to Jerusalem, and there sold on the Sabbath.
Neh_13:16. Tyrian traders in fish and other products were plying their trade in the city on the Sabbath.
Neh_13:17. The nobles (horim), not the “rulers” of Neh_13:11, but the higher classes generally.
Neh_13:18. See Jer_17:20-27.
Neh_13:19. When the gates of Jerusalem began to be dark before the Sabbath.—This seems to show that the day among the Jews did not begin at sunset. For here after sunset when it began to be dark, it was before the Sabbath. Only a special Sabbath was counted from the evening before. See Lev_23:32.
Neh_13:20. The merchants, or traffickers.—On arriving with their wares, according to their wont, they find the gates shut, and are obliged to pass the night outside the walls until the Sabbath is over.
Neh_13:21. When this hint was not enough, Nehemiah sends them word that if they make their appearance again before the gates on the Sabbath to lodge there, they will be arrested. This broke up the evil.
Neh_13:22. Cleanse themselves, as for a holy service, and so guard the Sabbath by guarding the gates. For the prayer, see on Neh_13:14.
Neh_13:23. In those days of my return from Jerusalem. As at Neh_13:15.
Jews that had married.—With the article, the Jews that had married. As the children’s speech was affected, these Jews must have lived on the outskirts of the Jewish province near the Philistines, Ammonites and Moabites. For children will always know the prevailing language of a district. Ashdod seems to stand for all Philistia, at this time probably the most conspicuous Philistine town.
Neh_13:24. And could not speak in the Jews’ language.—A parenthetical phrase.—The succeeding “but” should be “and.”—Of each people,i.e. Ammon and Moab.
Neh_13:25. Here is described the action not of a private man in his ungovernable rage, but of a public officer in the faithful use of his power. Notice the word contended. In Neh_13:11 Nehemiah contends with the rulers regarding the neglect of the tithes; in Neh_13:17, he contends with the nobles regarding the profanation of the Sabbath, and here he contends with the Jews who had married heathen wives for this open disregard of the law.
Neh_13:26. Beloved of his God.—Comp. 2Sa_12:24. This does not imply saving grace on God’s part or holiness on Solomon’s part. It only denotes special favor and privilege. Compare Mar_10:21.
Outlandish,i. e foreign.
Neh_13:27. Shall we then hearken unto you to do,etc. (welakhem hanishma laasoth).—Lit.: And for you is it heard to do, etc., i.e. “do we hear that you do all this great evil?”
Although it is not stated expressly, it is implied in Neh_13:30, that Nehemiah insisted on a separation from the “outlandish” wives, as did Ezra many years before (Ezr_10:3).
Neh_13:28. Finding that Eliashib’s grandson had married Sanballat’s daughter, Nehemiah makes a public example of so glaring a case of defiance to the law, for here the special sanctity of the priesthood was desecrated (Lev_21:6-8).
I chased him from me (abrihehu me alai). Lit.: “I made him flee from off me.” Nehemiah forced him to leave Jerusalem, and be no longer a burden to his government.
Neh_13:29. The covenant of the priesthood and of the Levites was, first, the general covenant with the tribes as Israel’s teachers and God’s special servants (Deu_33:8-11), and, second the special covenant of priesthood (Lev_21:6-8).
Neh_13:30. Thus cleansed I them from all strangers—The irregularities regarding tithes, the Sabbath, and the marriages were all attributable to connection with strangers. When this was stopped, the careful ordering of the priestly and Levitical work was made easy, which had all been disarranged and much neglected in Nehemiah’s absence.
Neh_13:31. The wood-offering (see on Neh_10:34) and the first-fruits are mentioned for all the offerings, as those most apt to be neglected.
Remember me, O my God, for good.—See on Neh_13:14.
HISTORICAL AND ETHICAL
1. The severe exclusion of the Moabite and Ammonite was an enacted token against sin. Even these blood relations of Israel were to be kept away as polluted, because they showed no sympathy with Israel, and made a deliberate and vile attempt to plunge Israel into sin. A permanent horror was to be erected between Israel and these monsters of iniquity. The key to many of the stern Mosaic statutes is to be found in the necessity of holding up the heinousness of sin, which men are ever ready to make light of. (See the exegetical commentary for an explanation of this statute.)
2. The lapse of Israel on Nehemiah’s return to Persia throws into clear light the immense work which Nehemiah had wrought, and the remarkable power of the man. His influence had worked the reform and had upheld it, and when his presence was removed the structure at once began to crack and crumble. A generation later Malachi lamented over the spiritual waste that Judah presented. Great as Nehemiah was, he could not make healthy the diseased body of Jewry. He could only, by the force of his character, rouse the people to a decent semblance of righteousness. And yet, while he was powerless to renew the nation, we may believe that his influence ran down private channels in families and humble houses to the very time of the Messiah; making green lines of spiritual growth amid the arid desert of Judaism.
3. Ezra had effected a reform a dozen years before Nehemiah came to Judah. He had separated the Jews from the heathen people, and in this reform had forced the highest in the land to dissolve their wicked matrimonial alliances. The book of Ezra concludes with this statement. When Nehemiah arrived there was a new separation from strangers effected. (Neh_9:2.) Whether the mingling with the heathen had again amounted to marriage alliances we may not say. It may have only involved mercantile partnerships. A dozen years later again on Nehemiah’s second visit, there is a necessity for a most stern application of Nehemiah’s personal and official power to cure the same old evil, which seems to have been bolder than ever.
4. There are times when good men must assume great severity of manner and allow a holy indignation to fire their souls. Gentleness of style before barefaced villany is weakness and inefficiency. Had Nehemiah acted with a soft and effeminate method, the offenders would have laughed at him. God loves to guide with His eye, but sometimes He uses the thunderbolt.
HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL
Neh_13:1-3. The duty of the church to purify itself constantly anew. 1. In regard to those with whom they assimilate themselves; in the Old Testament, in regard to the Ammonites, etc., not on account of their nationality, but on account of their ways; in the church, in regard to those who not only go astray, but also who will not allow themselves to be bettered, and who thus exclude themselves. 2. Whereon it grounds itself; not only on the right of self-preservation, but also upon God’s word. 3. What it aims at; namely, that the church set forth more and more what it should be as Christ’s spotless bride.
Starke: One cannot read or preach God’s Word too often, for one always finds something which one had not noticed or known before.
What God has commanded one must perform, even though it may seem hard to us, and we may draw upon us the enmity of others in its performance.
Neh_13:4-9. The sanctity of holy places. 1. That upon which it is grounded; in the Old Testament, upon the fact that God had connected His peculiar presence with the temple; in the Christian dispensation, upon the fact that God’s honor dwells in the churches, that is, is cherished there. 2. What it binds us to; to uphold the churches in a condition corresponding to their aim, or where they are lacking to restore them in a worthy manner. 3. What blessing it has for us; it reminds us of the holiness, the majesty and the glory of our God, and fosters our regard therefor; it works frequently by elevating and edifying, whereas an unworthy desecration of churches only promotes the crudity from which it has sprung. Bede: Et tu quidquid inter fideles infidelitatis et immunditiœ reperis continuo projice foras, ut immundatis credentium cordibus, quœ sunt gazophylacia Domini, cum virtutum fuerint plena divitiis, vasa Domini inferantur; hoc est, illa ipsa corda quœ paullo ante vasa erroris fuerant per culpam denuo vasa Domini fiant per correctionem; ibiqua sacrificium bonœ operationis et thus purœ orationis, ubi pridem spelunca erat latronum, inveniatur.
Neh_13:30-31. The retrospect of a servant of God upon his life and his usefulness. 1. It elevates him, because God’s grace was with him, and made him worthy to engage in the cause of God and the salvation of mankind. 2. It humbles him, because he was so unworthy of this grace, and moreover because he has fallen so far short of what he might have been able to accomplish through its means. 3. It drives him to prayer, that God would also be merciful to him at the last for Christ’s sake, whose righteousness is also his.
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures (Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical), ed. John Peter Lange, English translation edited by Philip Schaff (1864–1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv4, 6, 10, 15, 24, 25 before this--The practice of these mixed marriages, in open…
before this--The practice of these mixed marriages, in open neglect or violation of the law, had become so common, that even the pontifical house, which ought to have set a better example, was polluted by such an impure mixture.
Eliashib the priest . . . was allied unto Tobiah--This person was the high priest (Neh 13:28; also Neh 3:1), who, by virtue of his dignified office, had the superintendence and control of the apartments attached to the temple. The laxity of his principles, as well as of his practice, is sufficiently apparent from his contracting a family connection with so notorious an enemy of Israel as Tobiah. But his obsequious attentions had carried him much farther; for to accommodate so important a person as Tobiah on his occasional visits to Jerusalem, Eliashib had provided him a splendid apartment in the temple. The introduction of so gross an impropriety can be accounted for in no other way than by supposing that in the absence of the priests and the cessation of the services, the temple was regarded as a common public building, which might, in the circumstances, be appropriated as a palatial residence.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 18, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31 THE SEPARATION FROM STRANGERS, Neh_13:1-3.
THE SEPARATION FROM STRANGERS, Neh_13:1-3.
1. On that day — This is to be understood in the same sense as at that time, in Neh_12:44. But no doubt public readings of the law took place frequently during Nehemiah’s administration.
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The book of Moses — Here it is evident that the Book of Deuteronomy, from which they read on that occasion, was regarded as the work of Moses. Its Mosaic authorship was not questioned in Nehemiah’s day.
Found written — The passage referred to is in Deu_23:3-6, and reads as follows: “An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter into the congregation of the Lord; even to their tenth generation shall they not enter into the congregation of the Lord forever; because they met you not with bread and with water in the way, when ye came forth out of Egypt; and because they hired against thee Balaam the son of Beor of Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse thee. Nevertheless the Lord thy God would not hearken unto Balaam; but the Lord thy God turned the curse into a blessing unto thee, because the Lord thy God loved thee. Thou shalt not seek their peace nor their prosperity all thy days forever.”
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv1–31 1–3. Separation from the mixed multitude
1–3. Separation from the mixed multitude
1. On that day] See note on Neh_12:44.
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they read] Literally ‘it was read,’ without any intimation that the Levites were the readers.
the book of Moses] A short form for that which is found in Neh_8:1, ‘the book of the law of Moses.’
that the Ammonite and the Moabite] The passage which had excited attention was doubtless Deu_23:3-6, which opens with the following prohibition, ‘An Ammonite or a Moabite shall not enter into the assembly of the Lord; even to the tenth generation shall none belonging to them enter into the assembly of the Lord for ever.’
come into the congregation] R.V. enter into the assembly. It is important that the words of Deuteronomy should be adhered to in the quotation: and ‘assembly’ (qahal) not ‘congregation’ (êdah) is the word generally used by the Deuteronomist.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv1, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, 20, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 31 (1-3) Reform as to mixed marriages.
XIII.
(1-3) Reform as to mixed marriages.
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(1) On that day.—Probably the season of the Feast of Tabernacles, as before. But portions were selected to be read.
They read in the book of Moses.—“It was read” in the Pentateuch, and specially Deuteronomy 23. This is introduced for the sake of the action taken, and the history is given in brief, with a striking and characteristic parenthesis of Nehemiah’s own concerning the curse turned into a blessing.
Therein was found written.—What to the people generally was not known.
For ever.—No Ammonite or Ammonite family could have legal standing in the congregation, “even to their tenth generation;” and this interdict was to last “for ever.” It virtually though not actually amounted to absolute exclusion.
(3) The mixed multitude.—For the “mixed multitude,” or Ereb, which plays so prominent a part in Jewish history, see on Exo_12:38. The process here was that of shutting out heathens who were in the habit of mingling with the people in the services. In Nehemiah 9 it was, as we saw, the people’s separation from the practices and spirit of the heathen.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31 NEHEMIAH"S EFFORTS FOR THE REFORM OF RELIGION. (Neh_13:1-31) After…
NEHEMIAH"S EFFORTS FOR THE REFORM OF RELIGION. (Neh_13:1-31) After having exercised the office of governor for twelve years, from B.C. 444 to B.C. 432, Nehemiah had had occasion to visit the Persian court, either to consult Artaxerxes personally on certain matters connected with his province, or for some other reason unknown to us. During his absence various evil practices, to which some reference has been already made in connection with the renewal of the covenant, (Neh_10:30-39) acquired so much strength, and came to such a head, that, on Nehemiah"s return to Jerusalem at the expiration of a year (ver. 6), he felt it necessary to take active steps to put an end to them. In the first place, intermarriages between the Jews and the neighbouring heathen, like those which Ezra had dissolved twenty-five years previously, (Ezr_10:16-44) had again occurred, and a new generation was growing up which could not speak its own language correctly (ver. 24). The family of the high priest, Eliashib, shared in this trespass. He himself was allied by marriage to the Ammonite chief, Tobiah (ver. 4), and one of his grandsons had taken to wife a daughter of Sanballat, the Samaritan (ver. 28). Secondly, through the growing influence of the heathen, and their intermixture with the Jews in Judaea and Jerusalem, the strict observance of the sabbath had fallen into disrepute. Trade was carried on upon the sabbath in Jerusalem itself; in the country wine-presses were at work, and farming operations continued, without the observance of any day of rest (vers. 15, 16). Further, the payment of the tithes was very irregular; and the Levites, who ought to have found their daily food provided for them in the temple, not receiving their "portions" there, were forced to absent themselves from the daily service, and to support themselves by cultivating their own plots of ground (vers. 10, 11). Finally, the temple had ceased to be regarded as sacred to the Almighty; a portion of it had been converted into a dwelling-house by the order of the high priest himself (ver. 5), an i the Ammonite, Tobiah, had been allowed to take possession of it. Nehemiah tells us in this chapter the mode wherein he dealt with these various evils, treating of the mixed marriages in vers. 1-3 and 23-28; of the profanation of the sabbath in vers. 15-22; of the nonpayment of the tithes in vers. 10-13; and of the desecration of the temple in vers. 4-9. The chapter is remarkable for the number of "interjectional prayers" which it contains (vers. 14, 22, 29, 31), and for the plainness and roughness of the language (see especially vers. 9, 17, 21, 25, 28). The authorship of Nehemiah is universally admitted.
On that day. See Neh_12:44. The phrase seems to mean, in Nehemiah, "About that time." They read in the book of Moses. It is uncertain whether this was a casual reading, like that of Ezra"s, recorded in Neh_8:1-8, or whether it was the prescribed reading (Deu_31:11) at the time of the feast of tabernacles. Therein was found written. See Deu_23:3-5. It seems to be implied that the nation at large had no knowledge of the law, except that which they derived from the occasional public reading of the Pentateuch, or portions of it. Copies of the law were extremely scarce; and even if an ordinary Jew possessed one, he would not have been able to understand it (comp. above, Neh_8:8).
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Vers. 1-3. Separation from Israel of foreigners.
In the public reading of the law, the command was met with to keep the Ammonite and the Moabite out of the congregation of God for ever. Upon this, interpreting the precept apparently as applicable to all strangers, the people separated from them "the mixed multitude" (for the phrase see Exo_12:38). To what extent these had been united with Israel before, and how far the separation was carried, does not appear. The law (Deu_23:3) seems clearly to mean that even if an Ammonite or Moabite became converted from heathenism to the faith of the Israelites, neither he nor his descendants, to the tenth generation, should be allowed to unite in their worship, or be capable of naturalisation. Was this law rigidly carried out in the case of proselytes from the heathen? But if "the mixed multitude" had not been fellow-worshippers, from what were they now excluded? Were they expelled from the city? Without attempting an answer to such questions, we may take the passage as suggesting the duty of the Christian Church to keep itself pure from alien elements. This duty is clearly set forth in not a few passages in the New Testament, which, when they are read in public in some Churches, must surely be at times felt as protesting against the existing state of things.
I WHOM CHRISTIANS ARE TO EXCLUDE FROM THEIR FELLOWSHIP. None are to be separated, as under the law, on account of nationality. "There is neither Jew nor Greek," etc. (Gal_3:28) None because "of the faults of their parents, still less of their remote ancestors. But
1. Total unbelievers in Christianity. This is implied in Mat_18:17, and clearly included in the prohibition in 2Co_6:14-17. But it needs no express precept; it is evident from the nature of the case that a Christian Church must be composed of professed Christians.
2. Rejecters of essential truths. Especially the teachers of serious error. (see 1Ti_1:20 2Jn_1:10 Rev_2:14, Rev_2:15)
3. The immoral. (see 1Co 5)
4. Impenitent offenders against a fellow-member of the Church. (see Mat_18:15-17)
5. Disturbers of the peace and unity of the Church. (Rom_16:17)
II To WHAT EXTENT THE SEPARATION IS TO BE MADE.
1. From Church communion.
2. From the intimacies of private life.
The main ends of the separation cannot be secured if those who are excluded from Church ordinances are freely admitted to friendship and family life. "With such a one no not to eat," is the language of St. Paul as to certain classes of offenders. (1Co_5:11) Avoidance of private friendship is even enjoined towards some who are yet to be regarded as brethren. (2Th_3:6, 2Th_3:14, 2Th_3:15)
III WHY IT IS TO BE MADE. It is required by
1. The laws of Christ.
2. The idea and design of the Church. As a community consecrated to God; baptized into the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost; instituted to witness for truth and holiness, to maintain the worship of God, to promote his kingdom, which is righteousness; constituted the visible body of Christ, to speak his words, do his work, for conversion of sinners and spiritual improvement and comfort of saints. Christian communion is impaired, the power of Christian ministry and ordinances lessened, when the Church is itself palpably "a mixed multitude" of believers and unbelievers, righteous and unrighteous.
3. The safety of individual and family Christian life.
4. The benefit of the.separated themselves. That unbelievers may be impressed with the reality and importance of Christian faith and holiness, and their own lack of them. If treated as Christians, they will come to regard themselves as Christians, much to their own injury. So in the case of such as are guilty of immorality; their expulsion from fellowship is to be with a view to their repentance and restoration. (see 2Co_2:5-8)
In conclusion
1. The exercise of such discipline doubtless requires much wisdom and charity. It is vain to hope for, it is wrong to attempt, a perfect separation between the true and the false, the wheat and the tares. It is possible to be too rigid; it is more easy to err on the side of laxity. There is danger on one side of Pharisaism and narrow bigotry; on the other, of growing indifference to truth and righteousness, the welfare of souls and the glory of Christ. Christian intelligence, piety, and love rather, the Spirit of Christ in the Church can alone preserve from these opposite evils, and guide in a course harmonising at once with the purity and the charity which are united in the gospel, and ought never to be dissevered in the practice of Christians. But, in the face of the teaching and injunctions of the New Testament, it can never be right to seek to escape difficulty by abandoning Church discipline altogether.
2. The narrative shows the value of the written word, and the importance of the reading of it. It preserves the truth during periods of neglect and disobedience; and when studied afresh brings it to light again, for conviction and reformation.
3. The Divine law, though neglected and disobeyed, is not thereby abolished. It endures as a witness against those who disobey, and the standard by which they will be judged.
HOMILIES BY R.A. REDFORD. Vers. 1-31. The blessing of God on an active life founded upon his word.
I THE TRUE RELIGIOUS REFORMATION, both negative and positive.
1. Abuses must be vigorously attacked and cleansed away. The house of God has to be purified of strangers. The neglect of discipline a terrible evil. Unfaithful ministers the curse of the Church. The "mixed multitude" is no strength to Jerusalem, but weakness. The observance of the sabbath. To the Jew a typical commandment, which represented obedience altogether. While days cannot possess the same place under the new dispensation, there is guardianship of the day of rest which is absolutely necessary for the life of religion. In all active efforts of reformation personal caprice and mere self-assertion must be renounced. The open Bible must be the strong basis of operations, the unfailing armoury from which the weapons are taken. On that simply dependent, the true reformer can be bold, energetic, uncompromising, intolerant of evil, driving out the violators of God"s law and defilers of his temple. We have a great example of consuming zeal in the Lord himself.
2. All really religious reformation will be constructive as well as destructive. The evil driven away will come back finding "the house empty and garnished" unless it be possessed by the spirit of active obedience. The only principle upon which we can keep out abuse is that of the right use of the things before abused. This applies to the service of God"s house, to the observance of the sabbath, and to the purity of communion among God"s people. Nehemiah re-established the true order of religious life. The safety of the Church lies in its activity and development according to the word of God. All living growth is defence against attack and decay.
II THE TRUE MEMORIAL BEFORE GOD AND MAN. Remember me, Lord, for good.
1. We should cast ourselves on the faithfulness of God. Men forget one another. God rewards his servants.
2. To hold a place among the honoured names of God"s word, to be in the line of the great succession, is more than all that this world can offer us.
3. God"s blessing descends to future generations. We build a monument in the characters and lives of those we leave behind us. R.
HOMILIES BY W. CLARKSON Vers. 1-9. Reading, obeying, suffering etc.
These verses record two cleansings the one of the congregation, and the other of the sanctuary of the Lord; the one by the people, and the other by a single servant of Jehovah. Taking them together, we learn
I THAT THE BIBLE SHOULD BE READ WITH A SPECIAL VIEW TO ITS BEARING ON OUR OWN LIVES (ver. 1). "On that day they read in the book of Moses, .... and therein was found written that the Ammonite and the Moabite should not come into the congregation of God for ever;"... and "when they had heard the law they separated," etc. (vers. 1, 3). The Israelites listened not only to understand and admire and be moved with joy and gladness, but to learn what they should do, that they might conform more perfectly to the will of God. We may read our Bible from
(1) the antiquarian point of view, or
(2) the poetical, or
(3) the professional, or
(4) perfunctorily, as a part of the day"s routine; but we shall not have treated it as it deserves to be treated, as its Divine Author would have us use it, as our own spiritual necessities demand that it should be approached, unless we come to it in the spirit of those old words, "Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?" We must study it devoutly, to learn what there is in us to be uprooted, about us to be avoided, absent from us to be implanted and cultivated.
II THAT PLAIN DUTY, HOWEVER PAINFUL, MUST BE DONE FORTHWITH (vers. 3, 7, 8, 9). It is very soon told that "it came to pass when they had heard the law that they separated from Israel all the mixed multitude." But the act of separation, of expulsion, must have been an exceedingly painful one. The "mixed multitude" must have been closely allied to and inwoven with "the congregation," and there must have been great rents and gaps made in families and connections and friendships for this excommunication to be thoroughly carried out. When, too, Nehemiah returned from Babylon, and found the house of the Lord used for an enemy"s storehouse, it must have "grieved him sore" (ver. 8), not only to find this fact in existence, but also to have to put himself into direct antagonism with the high priest, and to reflect so sternly on his conduct as he did (vers. 8, 9). So Paul must have been troubled to withstand Peter to the face, (Gal_2:11) and we know how "out of much affliction and anguish of heart" he wrote "with many tears" a letter of reproach to the Church at Corinth. (2Co_2:4) We are told that we are to deal tenderly and graciously with offenders; those who are spiritual restoring such "in the spirit of meekness"; (Gal_6:1) but when the integrity, the purity, the reputation of the family, the Church, the society absolutely demand severe measures, we must take them. We should in such cases act,
(1) where possible, after remonstrance and giving opportunity for repentance;
(2) with all possible regard to wounded feelings;
(3) with manifest attention to the directions of Scripture;
(4) thoroughly and speedily, lest slackness or delay should do as much harm as entire unfaithfulness.
III THAT SIN HAS FAR-REACHING CONSEQUENCES IN ITS TRAIN. There was written in the law "that the Ammonite and the Moabite should not come into the congregation of God for ever," etc. (vers. 1, 2). There is nothing so cruel in the end as undue leniency in the presence of sin; there is nothing so kind and wise, all things considered, as the manifestation of "righteous indignation" against iniquity. God"s revealed anger at the transgressions of his people was one side of his mercy the less pleasant to our view, but not the less necessary for our redemption. Hence, among other things, his severity and apparent harshness. Hence such an act of judgment as this against the Ammonite. An act of inhospitality, and then of seductive treachery, done a thousand years before, leading to exclusion from privilege now! What a long train of consequences has sin! How far in its injurious results may one guilty action reach! "Oh, mortal man, beware Lest one wrong act should bring an age of care!
IV THAT INDIVIDUAL MEN HAVE A GREAT AND GRAVE POWER FOR GOOD AND EVIL (vers. 4, 5, 8, 9). One man, the high priest, had very gravely compromised the people by admitting Tobiah, the enemy, to a chamber of the house of the Lord. It is impossible to say how much evil might not have arisen from this foolish step had not Nehemiah come in time to take effective action against it. But it is not every Eliashib who has a Nehemiah to correct his follies and save his country from their consequences. One man in high office, or with great faculties, or with peculiar charms, may commit a large body of people to folly and sin, and may bring down on their head saddest visitations. On the other hand, one wise and strong man, acting energetically, may do as Nehemiah did forth" the evil (ver. 8), and "cleanse the chambers," and restore sacred places to a sacred use (ver. 9). Exalted station is much coveted by men, but it has grave responsibilities attached to it by God. We may be well content to be without its burden of obligation; or if, in God"s providence, that should rest on us, it becomes our duty prayerfully and earnestly to rise to the height of our opportunity, and dedicate it to the service of our God and our race. C.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv2, 7, 11, 14, 15, 22, 26, 31 Howbeit our God turned the curse into a blessing.
Neh_13:2
Howbeit our God turned the curse into a blessing.
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The curse turned into a blessing
This was just like God, whose name and nature are love.
1. The devil turns the blessing into a curse. When God created man He endowed him with the power of choice, made his will free, so that he might choose good and evil. The creature was thus endowed with an inestimable blessing. The devil, by the subtlety and force of temptation, turned mans dignity against himself and effected his ruin, and through successive generations he has sought to turn the blessing into a curse.
2. Man often turns the blessing into a curse. Physical strength, intellectual endowments, social position, wealth, opportunities for usefulness--things good in themselves--are often transformed by mans depraved nature into instruments and occasions of evil. Of all the plots and assaults of the devil, all the mischievous purposes of wicked men, all the disasters of life, all the forms of evil we may have to encounter we may say, Howbeit our God turned the curse into a blessing.
I. God has turned the curse of sin into a blessing. The existence of sin is an awful and mysterious fact, permitted by God for wise and gracious issues. We can conceive of no greater curse. It separated man from God. It destroyed his original righteousness. It cut him off from happiness. It brought upon him condemnation and death. God comes to man in this state with the blessings of His grace.
1. The fall of man furnished an occasion for the exercise of the restoring grace of God. Sin prepared the way for salvation. Paradise Regained is more than Paradise Lost.
2. The curse of sin has supplied an opportunity for such an exhibition of the character and glory of God as we nowhere else behold. Gods brightest glory shines in the method of mans salvation. God in Christ is more glorious far than God in creation. In the Saviour of the world we have the most perfect manifestation of God.
3. Throughout the earth, following in the track of the destroyer, God bestows the blessings of His great salvation. God is still in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself.
II. God turns sorrow into a blessing.
1. Sorrow is a teacher. Sorrow seems sent for our instruction as we darken the cages of birds when we would teach them to sing. As the night brings out the stars, so trouble reveals to us many truths that would otherwise remain unseen. It clears our visions, so that we get new views of God and ourselves, of truths and duty, of this world and the next.
2. It awakens thoughtfulness.
3. Under this gracious ministry and discipline the noblest characters have been perfected. Poets, it is said, learn in suffering what they teach in song. Sorrow is one of the best nurses of godliness. Some plants thrive better in a poor than in a rich soil; so some virtues come to speedier and fuller perfection in grief than in gladness. When spices are crushed, then they emit their odours. After the diamond is ground and polished On the wheel, its facets flash with lustre. It is said that when growers of roses want to develop the bloom of a favourite tree in special richness and beauty they sometimes deprive it for a season of light and moisture. In this condition its leaves fall off. But while this process is going on, and the tree is almost leafless, a new life is springing, from which come in due season a tenderer foliage and a choicer and more abundant bloom. This suggests some of the sweet uses of sorrow,
4. In the gracious arrangements of God sorrow is often succeeded by joy,
5. God is preparing the way for the extinction of sorrow on the earth.
III. God turns the curse of death into a blessing. To the Christian man death ceases to be the king of terrors, and becomes a friend to call him home, He delivers him from the infirmities of the flesh, the corruptions of sin, the temptations of Satan, and the sufferings and troubles of life. Death is the gate of life. In conclusion--
1. The subject teaches us the benevolence of God.
2. Learn the loving confidence you may cherish in God. Let us learn to imitate God. Let us endeavour through life to turn the curse into a blessing. (William Walters.)
Sorrows turned to blessings
We might tell of the blessed effects of the captivity of Joseph--the means of preserving his fathers household and the lives of the thousands of Egypt. We might speak of the happy results of Israels national calamities; how they were led to seek the Lord in their sorrow, and the Lord hearkened and heard them. We might tell of Pauls imprisonment issuing in the conversion of his jailor and his household; or we might speak of Johns banishment to the lonely Isle of Patmos, where his spirit was refreshed with those wondrous discoveries of Gods doings and purposes that form the last book in the Canon of Sacred Writ. In these instances sorrow is not to be denominated a cures, but a blessing--not a punishment, but a medicine. True it is that sorrow has been Styled the winter of the soul, because it freezes up the streams of comfort, and ices the soul over with the frosts of sadness; but, like as that season, rough and stormy and bleak as it is, is conducive to the ultimate fertility of the earth, so the moral Winter at once prepares for the fuller enjoyment of the coming spring of peace, and is productive of a richer harvest of righteousness to the praise and glory of our God. Affliction has been styled the storm of life; but, like as those tempests that agitate the bosom of the ocean serve alike to overpower the shattered bark, and to urge forward others more speedily to their desired haven, so these moral tempests, while they may overwhelm the wicked and impenitent, are ever conducive in speeding forward the journey of the children of the kingdom to heaven and to God. (J. Macnaughton, A. M.)
Curses and blessings
Nehemiah sees God at work in this transformation, and openly, gladly, gratefully acknowledge that the transformation of the curse was not the work of human good-will or of human genius, but a direct operation of the Divine almightiness itself. We lose so much by not seeing God immediately. Why do we allow God to go so far sway from our consciousness and appreciation and love? Why do we not cry for Him, and bid Him come to us, and give Him no rest until He draws near? This is the true religion; this is the noble piety.
I. To be cursed of man is really no proof of Gods disapprobation.
II. He ought to be a very great man, and a very pure, lofty, and godly soul, who under takes to curse anybody else.
III. To be blessed of man is no proof of Gods favour iv. The vanity of trusting in anything which can be turned into a curse. Application of these truths to your personal experience:
1. The frowns of society.
2. Wronged in business.
3. The seeming opposition of nature, God is willing and able to turn all curses into blessings.
But the blessing will not be given without action on our part. Art thou suffering? Go to thy knees; tell God thy sin; then the film shall be taken from thine eyes--thou shall see the great, mighty, redeeming Cross of Christ, and He shall say, Thy sins, which are many, are all forgiven thee The curse will be turned into a blessing, and thou shalt be the better for the abasement. (Joseph Parker, D. D.)
Sorrows keeping front worldliness
An evangelist tells of a young lad who left his fathers home to be a sailor. He was absent for three years, and on the return voyage, just as he was thinking of how soon he should see all the dear ones at home, his ship was wrecked off the coast of Norway. Many were lost, but he and some others managed to get into a boat. They tried to row for the shore, but the men being wet, and the cold so intense, many of them were frozen to death. The first mate had command of the boat, and the lad being a favourite of his, he was afraid that he should fall a victim to the cold, and whenever he saw him dozing, or showing any signs of sleeping, he thrashed him with a ropes-end. In vain the lad expostulated, the thrashing continued until all drowsiness was gone. At length they reached land, and were hospitably entertained by the natives, and in time were forwarded home. That young man often says he owes his life to the mate who administered to him that timely discipline. The sufferings and sorrows which God puts upon His people are like that thrashing. Only to keep them from falling into the sleep of worldliness that leads to death, to keep them alive in grace, looking unto Him, does He afflict them.
Gods Providences not to be feared
We ought never to be afraid of Gods providences when they seem to break up our lives and crush our hopes, and even to turn us away from our chosen paths usefulness and service. God knows what He wants to do with us, how He san boot use us, and where and in what lines of ministry He would have us serve. When He shuts one door it is because He has another standing open for our feet. Whoa He breaks our lives to pieces it is because they will do more for His glory and the worlds good broken and shattered than whole.
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Expositor's Bible 1887 · Public Domain On v1 Nehemiah 13
THE RIGOUR OF THE REFORMER
Nehemiah 13
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THERE is no finality in history. The chapter, that seems to be rounded off with a perfect conclusion always leaves room for an appendix, which in its turn may serve as an introduction to another chapter. Ezras and Nehemiahs work seemed to have reached its climax in the happy scene of the dedication of the walls. All difficulties had vanished; the new order had been. greeted with widespread enthusiasm; the future promised to be smooth and prosperous. If the chronicler had laid down his pen at this point, as any dramatist before Ibsen who was not bound by the exigencies of prosaic facts would have done, his work might have presented a much more artistic appearance than it now wears. And yet it would have been artificial, and therefore false to the highest art of history. In adding a further extract from Nehemiahs memoirs that discloses a revival of the old troubles, and so shows that the evils against which the reformers contend had not been stamped out, the writer mars the literary effect of his record of their triumph, but, at the same time, he satisfies us that he is in contact with real life, its imperfections and its disappointments.
It is not easy to settle the time of the incident mentioned in Neh_13:1-3. The phrase "on that day" with which the passage opens seems to point back to the previous chapter. If so it cannot be taken literally, because what it describes must be assigned to a later period than the contents of the paragraph that follows it. It forms an introduction to the extract from Nehemiahs memoirs, and its chronological position is even later than the date of the first part of the extract, because that begins with the words "And before this," {Neh_13:4} i.e., before the incident that opens the chapter. Now it is clear that Nehemiahs narrative here refers to a time considerably after the transactions of the previous chapter, inasmuch as he states that when the first of the occurrences he now records happened he was away in the court of Artaxerxes. {Neh_13:6} Still later, then, must that event be placed before which this new incident occurred. We might perhaps suppose that the phrase "at that day" is carried over directly from the chroniclers original source and belongs to its antecedents in that document, but so clumsy a piece of joinery is scarcely admissible. It is better to take the phrase quite generally. Whatever it meant when first penned, it is clear that the events it introduces belong only indefinitely to the times previously mentioned. We are really landed by them in a new state of affairs. Here we must notice that the introductory passage is immediately connected with the Nehemiah record. It tells how the law from Deuteronomy requiring the exclusion of the Ammonite and the Moabite was read and acted on. This is to be remembered when we are studying the subsequent events.
When Nehemiahs extended leave of absence had come to an end, or when perhaps he had been expressly summoned back by Artaxerxes, his return to Babylon was followed by a melancholy relapse in the reformed city of Jerusalem. This is not by any means astonishing. Nothing so hinders and distresses the missionary as the repeated outbreak of their old heathen vices among his converts. The drunkard cannot be reckoned safe directly he has signed the pledge. Old habits may be damped down without being extinguished, and when this is the case they will flame up again as soon as the repressive influence is removed. In the present instance there was a distinct party in the city, consisting of some of the most prominent and influential citizens, which disapproved of the separatist, puritanical policy of the reformers and advocated a more liberal course. Some of its members may have been conscientious men, who honestly deplored what they would regard as the disastrous state of isolation brought about by the action of Ezra and Nehemiah. After having been silenced for a time by the powerful presence of the great reformers, these people would come out and declare themselves when the restraining influences were removed. Meanwhile we hear no more of Ezra. Like Zerubbabel in the earlier period, he drops out of the history without a hint as to his end. He may have returned to Babylon thinking his work complete; possibly he had been recalled by the king.
It is likely that some rumours of the declension of Jerusalem reached Nehemiah at the Persian court. But he did not discover the whole extent of this retrograde movement until he was once more in the city, with a second leave of absence from Artaxerxes. Then there were four evils that he perceived with great grief.
The first was that Tobiah had got a footing in the city. In the earlier period this "servant" had been carrying on intrigues with some members of the aristocracy. The party of opposition had done its best to represent him in a favourable light to Nehemiah, and all the while this party had been traitorously keeping Tobiah informed of the state of affairs in the city. But now a further step was taken. Though one of the three leading enemies of Nehemiah, the ally and supporter of the Samaritan governor Sanballat, this man was actually permitted to have a lodging in the precincts of the temple. The locality was selected, doubtless, because it was within the immediate jurisdiction of the priests, among whom the Jewish opponents of Nehemiah were found. It is as though, in his quarrel with Henry, Thomas A. Becket had lodged a papal envoy in the cathedral close at Canterbury. To a Jew who did not treat the ordinances of religion with the Sadducean laxity that was always to be found in some of the leading members of the priesthood, this was most abhorrent. He saw in it a defilement of the neighbourhood of the temple, if not of the sacred enclosure itself, as well as an insult to the former governor of the city. Tobiah may have used his room for the purpose of entertaining visitors in state, but it may only have been a warehouse for trade stores, as it had previously been a place in which the bulky sacrificial gifts were stowed away. Such a degradation of it, superseding its previous sacred use, would aggravate the evil in the sight of so strict a man as Nehemiah.
The outrage was easily accounted for. Tobiah was allied by marriage to the priest who was the steward of this chamber. Thus we have a clear case of trouble arising out of the system of foreign marriages which Ezra had so strenuously opposed. It seems to have opened the eyes of the younger reformer to the evil of these marriages, for hitherto we have not found him taking any active part in furthering the action of Ezra with regard to them. Possibly he had not come across an earlier instance. But now it was plain enough that the effect was to bring a pronounced enemy of all he loved and advocated into the heart of the city, with the rights of a tenant, too, to back him up. If "evil communications corrupt good manners," this was most injurious to the cause of the reformation. The time had not arrived when a generous spirit could dare to welcome all comers to Jerusalem. The city was still a fortress in danger of siege. More than that, it was a Church threatened with dissolution by reason of the admission of unfit members. Whatever we may say to the social and political aspects of the case, ecclesiastically regarded, laxity at the present stage would have been fatal to the future of Judaism, and the mere presence of such a man as Tobiah, openly sanctioned by a leading priest, was a glaring instance of laxity; Nehemiah was bound to stop the mischief.
The second evil was the neglect of the payments due to the Levites. It is to be observed again that the Levites are most closely associated with the reforming position. Religious laxity and indifference had had an effect on the treasury for which these men were the collectors. The financial thermometer is a very rough test of the spiritual condition of a religious community, and we often read it erroneously, not only because we cannot gauge the amount of sacrifice made by people in very different circumstances, nor just because we are unable to discover the motives that prompt the giving of alms "before men," but also, when every allowance is made for these causes of uncertainty, because the gifts which are usually considered most generous rarely involve enough strain and effort to bring the deepest springs of life into play. And yet it must be allowed that a declining subscription list is usually to be regarded as one sign of waning interest on the part of the supporters of any public movement. When we consider the matter from the other side, we must acknowledge that the best way to improve the pecuniary position of any religious enterprise is not to work the exhausted pump more vigorously, but to drive the well deeper and tap the resources of generosity that lie nearer the heart-not to beg harder, but to awaken a better spirit of devotion.
The third indication of backsliding that vexed the soul of Nehemiah was Sabbath profanation. He saw labour and. commerce both proceeding on the day of rest-Jews treading the winepress, carrying their sheaves, lading their asses, and bringing loads of wine, grapes, and figs, and all sorts of wares, into Jerusalem for sale, and fishmongers and pedlars from Tyre - not, of course, themselves to be blamed for failing to respect the festivalof a people whose religion they did not share-pouring into the city, and opening their markets as on any weekday. Nehemiah was greatly alarmed. He went at once to the nobles, who seem to have been governing the city, as a sort of oligarchy, during his absence, and expostulated with them on their danger of provoking the wrath of God again, urging that Sabbath-breaking had been one of the offences which had called down the judgment of Heaven on their fathers. Then he took means to prevent the coming of foreign traders on the Sabbath, by ordering the gates to be kept closed from Friday evening till the sacred day was over. Once or twice these people came up as usual and camped just outside the city, but as this was disturbing to the peace of the day, Nehemiah threatened that if they repeated the annoyance he would lay hands on them. Lastly, he charged the Levites, first to cleanse themselves that they might be ready to undertake a work of purification, and then to take charge of the gates on the Sabbath and see that the day was hallowed in the cessation of all labour. Thus both by persuasion and by vigorous active measures Nehemiah put an end to the disorder.
The importance attached to this matter is a sign of the prominence given to Sabbath-keeping in Judaism. The same thing was seen earlier in the selection of the law of the Sabbath as one of the two or three rules to be specially noted, and to which the Jews were to particularly pledge themselves in the covenant. {Neh_10:31} Reference was then made to the very act of the Tyrians now complained of the offering of wares and food for sale in Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. Putting these two passages together, we can see where the Sabbath-breaking came from. It was the invasion of a foreign custom-like the dreaded introduction of the "Continental Sunday" into England. Now to Nehemiah the fact of the foreign origin of the custom would be a heavy condemnation for it. Next to circumcision, Sabbath-keeping was the principal mark of the Jew. In the days of our Lord it was the most highly prized feature of the ancient faith. This was then so obvious that it was laid hold of by Roman satirists, who knew little about the strange traders in the Ghetto except that they "sabbatised." Nehemiah saw that if the sacred day of rest were to be abandoned, one of his bulwarks of separation would be lost. Thus for him, with his fixed policy, and in view of the dangers of his age, there was a very urgent reason for maintaining the Sabbath, a reason which of course does not apply to us in Eng and today. We must pass on to the teaching of Christ to have this question put on a wider and more permanent basis. With that Divine insight of His which penetrated to the root of every matter, our Lord saw through the miserable formalism that made an idol of a day, and in so doing turned a boon into a burden. At the same time He rescued the sublimely simple truth which contains both the justification and the limitation of the Sabbath, when He declared, "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath." In resisting the rigour of legal-minded Sabbatarianism, the modern mind seems to have confined its attention to the second clause of this great utterance, to the neglect of its first clause. Is it nothing, then, that Jesus said, "The Sabbath was made for man"-not for the Jew only, but for man? Although we may feel free from the religion of law in regard to the observance of days as much as in other external matters, is it not foolish for us to minimise a blessing that Jesus Christ expressly declared to be for the good of the human race? If the rest day was needed by the Oriental in the slow-moving life of antiquity, is it any less requisite for the Western in the rush of these later times? But if it is necessary to our welfare, the neglect of it is sinful. Thus not because of the inherent sanctity of seasons, but on our Lords own ground of the highest utilitarianism-a utilitarianism which reaches to other people, and even to animals, and affects the soul as well as the body-the reservation of one day in seven for rest is a sacred duty. "The world is too much with us" for the six days. We can ill afford to lose the recurrent escape from its blighting companionship originally provided by the seventh and now enjoyed on our Sunday.
Lastly, Nehemiah was confronted by the social effects of foreign marriage alliances. These, alliances had been contracted by Jews resident in the southwestern corner of Judaea, who may not have come under the influence of Ezras drastic reformation in Jerusalem, and who probably were not married till after that event. They afford another evidence of the counter-current that was running so strongly against the regulations of the party of rigour while Nehemiah was away. The laxity of the border people may be accounted for without calling in any subtle motives. But their fault was shared by a member of the gens of the high-priest, who had actually wedded the daughter of Nehemiahs arch-enemy Sanballat! Clearly this was a political alliance, and it indicated a defiant reversal of the policy of the reformers in the very highest circles. The offender, after being expelled from Jerusalem, is said to have been the founder of the Samaritan temple on Mount Gerizim.
Then the social mischief of the mixed marriages was showing itself in the corruption of the Hebrew language. The Philistine language was not allied to the Egyptian, as some have thought, nor was it Indo-Germanic, as others have supposed, but it was Semitic, and only a different dialect from the Hebrew, and yet the difficulty persons from the south of England feel in understanding the speech of Yorkshiremen in remote parts of the county will help us to account for a practical loss of mutual intelligence between people of different dialects, when these dialects were still more isolated by having grown up in two separate and hostile nations. For the children of Jewish parents to be talking with the tones and accents of the hereditary enemies of Israel was intolerable. When he heard the hated sounds, Nehemiah simply lost his temper. With a curse on his lips he rushed at the fathers, striking them and tearing their hair. It was the rage of bitter disappointment, but behind it lay the grim set purpose in holding to which with dogged tenacity Ezra and Nehemiah saved Judaism from extinction. Separatism is never gracious, yet it may be right. The reformer is not generally of a mild temperament. We may regret his harshness, but we should remember that the world has only seen one perfectly meek and yet thoroughly effective Revolutionist, only one "Lamb of God" who could be also named "the Lion of the tribe of Judah."
The whole situation was disappointing to Nehemiah and his memoir ends in a prayer beneath which we can detect an undertone of melancholy. Three times during this last section he appeals to God to remember him-not to wipe out his good deeds, {Neh_13:14} to spare him according to the greatness of the Divine mercy, {Neh_13:22} and finally to remember him for good. {Neh_13:31} The memories of the Jerusalem covenanters had been brief; during the short interval of their leaders absence they had forgotten his discipline and fallen back into negligent ways. It was vain to trust to the fickle fancies of men. With a sense of weary loneliness, taught to feel his own insignificance in that great tide of human life that flows on in its own course though the most prominent figures drop out of notice, Nehemiah turned to his God, the one Friend who never forgets. He was learning the vanity of the worlds fame, yet he shrank from the idea of falling into oblivion. Therefore it was his prayer that he might abide in the memory of God. This was by itself a restful thought. It is cheering to think that we may dwell in the memory of those we love. But to be held in the thought of God is to have a place in the heart of infinite love. And yet this was not the conclusion of the whole matter to Nehemiah. It is really nothing better than a frivolous vanity, that can induce any one to be willing to sacrifice the prospect of a real eternal life in exchange for the pallid shadow of immortality ascribed to the "choir invisible" of those who are only thought of as living in the memory of the world they have influenced enough to win "a niche in the temple of fame." What is fame to a dead man mouldering in his coffin? Even the higher thought of being remembered by God is a poor consolation in prospect of blank non-existence. Nehemiah expects something better, for he begs God to remember him in mercy and for good. It is a very narrow, prosaic interpretation of this prayer to say that he only means that he desires a blessing during the remainder of his life in the court at Susa. On the other hand, it may be too much to ascribe the definite hope of a future life to this Old Testament saint. And yet, vague as his thought may be, it is the utterance of a profound yearning of the soul that breaks out in moments of disappointment with an intensity never to be satisfied within the range of our cramped mortal state. In this utterance of Nehemiah we have, at least, a seed thought that should germinate into the great hope of immortality. If God could forget His children, we might expect them to perish, swept aside like the withered leaves of autumn. But if He continues to remember them, it is not just to His Fatherhood to charge Him with permitting such a fate to fall upon His offspring. No human father who is worthy of the name would willingly let go the children whom he cherishes in mind and heart. Is it reasonable to suppose that the perfect Divine Father, who is both almighty and all-loving, would be less constant? But if He remembers His children, and remembers them for good, He will surely preserve them. If His memory is unfading, and if His love and power are eternal, those who have a place in His immortal thought must also have a share in His immortal life.
William Robertson Nicoll, ed., The Expositor's Bible (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1887–1910) — public domain. 65 of 66 books (1 Corinthians is not separately keyed, as that volume carries no machine-parseable verse references); section-level commentary keyed to the opening verse. Introductory and overview sections not keyed to a specific passage are excluded.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain On v1 EXPLANATORY Notes.]
EXPLANATORY Notes.]
Neh_13:1. On that day] This is to be understood in the same sense as at that time, in chap. Neh_12:44. But no doubt public readings of the law took place frequently during Nehemiah’s administration. Found written] “The part of the law which forbade mingling with the other nations was specially read on the dedication-day. Deu_23:3 would naturally be read, as also Deu_7:1-6.… No Moabite or Ammonite family could be admitted to the privileges of Jewry until in the tenth generation after quitting heathenism and formally allying itself with Israel”—Crosby.
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Neh_13:3. They separated from Israel all the mixed multitude] Non-Israelitish people who followed the Israelites at their departure from Egypt. Here transferred to strangers living among them.
Neh_13:4-5. Eliashib … Tobiah] Nehemiah left for Persia. Irregularities were permitted. Amongst them this desecration.
Neh_13:6. In the two and thirtieth year of Artaxerxes, king of Babylon] “Probably the ‘time set’ by Nehemiah and approved by the king (chap. Neh_2:6), was twelve years. At the expiration of this term he was obliged to leave the superintendence of affairs at Jerusalem and return to the court. Artaxerxes is called ‘king of Babylon,’ instead of ‘king of Persia,’ probably because at this time of Nehemiah’s return the court was removed to Babylon for some special state reason.”—Crosby. After certain days] No definite interval. Some expositors think a year. No proof.
Neh_13:8. I cast forth all the household stuff of Tobiah] Nehemiah a man of decision.
Neh_13:10. The Levites and the singers … were fled] Their allowance had been withheld. They fled to their own fields for livelihood.
Neh_13:11. Then contended I with the rulers] They had soon forgotten their vow (chap. Neh_10:39). I gathered them] The Levites.
Neh_13:13. I made treasurers] Managers of the stores. Four faithful men appointed.
Neh_13:14. Wipe not out] Conceives of his deeds as written in a book.
Neh_13:15. In those days] When he returned to Jerusalem. Sabbath had become desecrated. Work was done and produce brought in.
Neh_13:17. The nobles] Nehemiah reminded them of the unchanged law and the sufferings its visitation had brought upon their fathers (Jer_17:20-27).
Neh_13:20. Lodged without] The traders forbidden to enter hoped the people would come out to buy.
Neh_13:22. Cleanse themselves and keep the gates] Increasing the sanctity of the Sabbath by making Levites responsible.
Neh_13:23. Jews that had married] Borderers who by living near the heathen nations had formed alliances. The children’s speech was affected.
Neh_13:25] The action of a governor acting officially.
Neh_13:28. I chased him from me] Forced him to leave Jerusalem.
Neh_13:30. Thus cleansed I them … and appointed the wards of the priests and Levites] So important did he deem the temple.
Neh_13:31. Remember me] A repeated supplication. Nehemiah was great and good.
HOMILETICAL CONTENTS OF CHAPTER 13
Neh_13:1-3. Renewed Purification.
Neh_13:1-2. The Irrevocableness of Wrong-doing.
Neh_13:2. Good out of Evil.
Neh_13:4-8. Reformation a Slow Work.
Neh_13:17-18. Profanation of the Sabbath.
Neh_13:22. Nehemiah.
Neh_13:26. Solomon.
Neh_13:31. Divine Remembrance.
Neh_13:31. A Life’s Work Reviewed.
RENEWED PURIFICATION
Neh_13:1-3. On that day they read in the book of Moses in the audience of the people; and therein was found written, that the Ammonite and the Moabite should not come into the congregation of God for ever; because they met not the children of Israel with bread and with water, but hired Balaam against them, that he should curse them: howbeit our God turned the curse into a blessing. Now it came to pass, when they had heard the law, that they separated from Israel all the mixed multitude.
The duty of the Church to purify itself constantly anew.
I. In regard to those with whom they assimilate themselves. In the Old Testament, in regard to the Ammonites, &c. In the Church, in regard to those who not only go astray, but also who will not allow themselves to be bettered, and who thus exclude themselves.
II. Whereon it grounds itself. Not only on the right of self-preservation, but also upon God’s word.
III. What it aims at. That the Church set forth more and more what it should be as Christ’s spotless bride.—Dr. Schultz.
Illustrations: The true and grand idea of a Church is a society for the purpose of making men like Christ—earth like heaven—the kingdoms of the world the kingdom of Christ.—Arnold.
THE IRREVOCABLENESS OF WRONG-DOING
Neh_13:1-2. On that day they read in the book of Moses in the audience of the people; and therein was found written, that the Ammonite and the Moabite should not come into the congregation of God for ever; because they met not the children of Israel with bread and with water, but hired Balaam against them, that he should curse them.
“The severe exclusion of the Moabite and Ammonite was an enacted token against sin. Even these blood relations of Israel were to be kept away as polluted, because they showed no sympathy with Israel, and made a deliberate and vile attempt to plunge Israel into sin. A permanent horror was to be erected between Israel and these monsters of iniquity. The key to many of the stern Mosaic statutes is to be found in the necessity of holding up the heinousness of sin, which men are ever ready to make light of.”—Crosby.
The immortality of evil.
I. It is done—cannot be undone. An act has passed into the irreparable past. It has become part of the constitution of things. Man may forget it, and God forgive it—but it is done. The doer may plead ignorance, prejudice, habit, custom—excuse may busy itself, and regret plead for pity, but the deed is done. Let inexperience remember and hardness ponder this.
II. It has moulded you—you can never again be the same. The dyer’s hand is subdued to what it works in. A man’s trade, profession, or calling is indicated in his features. Habit is a second nature. The beauty of the soul touches the form and face. Vice makes the doer unlovely; stamps its image and superscription upon the otherwise divine form. “Be not deceived; God is not mocked,” &c.
III. It has warped others. Their task is rendered more difficult. Their steps will henceforth be more faltering. An Ammonite may thwart Israel. “Ahab made Israel to sin.” That is his title to remembrance—he has an immortality. I am my brother’s keeper. His path and mine meet. I cannot throw off my responsibility. Doing wrong is ruinous. Sin is the great foe. The wages of sin are duly paid even to the uttermost farthing.
GOOD OUT OF EVIL
Neh_13:2. Howbeit our God turned the curse into a blessing.
Nevertheless Balaam’s memory is infamous. Evil was intended though God averted it. So in life.
I. Sin. Sin is still sin albeit the sinner is forgiven. God loves not sin. “God hath turned the curse of sin into a blessing. And here it is proper to reflect upon the profound and incomprehensible wisdom of God, who hath made an advantage to us even of our sin and misery. It was truly said by one of the ancients, upon this account, that Job was a happier man upon the dunghill than Adam was in paradise. His holiness indeed was perfect, his happiness was great; but neither of them permanent and indefeasible, as our happiness by the Mediator is. So that in the same sense we may call Adam’s fall a happy fall, because ordered and overruled by the wisdom of God to our great advantage. And to this purpose Austin somewhere sweetly speaks: ‘O how happily did I fall in Adam, who rose again more happily in Christ!’ Thus did the Lord turn a poison into an antidote; thus did that dreadful fall make way for a more blessed and fixed state. Now we are so confirmed and established by Christ in the favour of God, that there can be no more such fatal breaches and dreadful jars betwixt God and his reconciled ones for ever. The bone that’s well set is stronger where ’tis knit, than it was before. Blessed be God for Jesus Christ!”—Flavel.
II. Sorrow. “God has turned the curse of sorrow into a blessing. Sweet are the uses of adversity! In God’s hand indeed they are: when he puts his children into the furnace of affliction, it is that he may thoroughly purge away all their dross. A great writer has spoken with great beauty of the resources which God has placed within us for bringing good out of evil, or, at least, for greatly alleviating our trials in the cases of sickness and misfortune. ‘The cutting and irritating grain of sand,’ he says, ‘which by accident or incaution has got within the shell, incites the living inmate to secrete from its own resources the means of coating the intrusive substance. And is it not, or may it not be, even so with the irregularities and unevenness of health and fortune in our own case?’ We too may turn diseases into pearls. But how much more wonderful are the wisdom and mercy of God, in making the spiritual trials and distresses of his people their necessary discipline for their highest good, the means for the greatest perfection and stability of their characters! This is indeed a wonderful transformation. ‘God,’ says holy Leighton, ‘hath many sharp cutting instruments, and rough files for the polishing of his jewels; and those he especially esteems and means to make the most resplendent, he hath oftenest his tools upon.’ ”—Cheever.
III. Death. “God hath turned the curse of death into a blessing. It were a waste of words to attempt to prove that death is indeed a curse: it was the woe specially denounced against men as the result of transgression—the ill inflicted on the workers of iniquity. But, through the obedience and death of Christ, the Redeemer, the sting of death has been destroyed, the uncertainty of the future has been dissipated, and, by the destruction of guilt, separation from the world has been revealed, as the beginning of a perfected happiness and an enlarged blessedness to the believer. If it is indeed a blessed thing, for a spirit, weighed down with a sinking mortality, and groaning beneath the load of unnumbered ills, to flee away from its troubles, and soar amid the cloudless light of immortal day, then death has been turned into a blessing, since it merely cuts asunder the chains whereby we are bound to earth, and admits the spirit to a land of peace and joy. If it is indeed a blessed thing for a being long pent up amid the closeness of a dungeon, to exchange its pestilential air for the fragrant breath of paradise, then death has been turned into a blessing, since it serves to dissociate the children of the covenant from the pollution of this world, and advance them to the regions beyond the grave, where the Lamb shall feed them and guide them to fountains of living water, and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. I say, if God hath made death the very instrument of exchanging earth for heaven, of ending the warfare and strife of time, and crowning believers with the unspeakably precious reward, then undoubtedly, while they exultingly proclaim, ‘O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?’—they must not cease to remember that death was indeed a crying evil, a bitter curse, but that our God turned the curse into a blessing.”—M‘Naughton.
REFORMATION A SLOW WORK
Neh_13:4-8. And before this, Eliashib the priest, &c.
When Nehemiah returned to Persia he left the people penitent and devoted; the temple restored; the priests and Levites at their posts. All were loyal to conscience and God. When Nehemiah came back again to Jerusalem he found Tobiah in the temple, Levites in the fields, tithes in the people’s hands, the house of God forsaken, and the Sabbath of God desecrated. And it grieved him sore. He had to build again from the foundations.
I. Reformers are sanguine men. They see the evil, and the needs-be for its removal. Too often they overlook the herculean task that lies before them.
II. Reformation meets with opposition. The reformers propose to destroy. They confront the selfishness of human nature, and war against the passions of men.
III. Reformation must build up after it has destroyed. Building up is slower than pulling down. All reformers have been disappointed. Those whom they have striven to help have been their most determined hinderers. Faith, hope, and courage are indispensable.
PROFANATION OF THE SABBATH
Neh_13:17-18. Then I contended with the nobles of Judah, and said unto them, What evil thing is this that ye do, and profane the Sabbath day? Did not your fathers thus, and did not our God bring all this evil upon us, and upon this city? yet ye bring more wrath upon Israel by profaning the Sabbath.
INTRODUCTION. Historical. Nehemiah absent; disorder ensued. Among other irregularities profanation of the Sabbath became frequent and flagrant. It moved the spirit of Nehemiah not so much that the men of Tyre sold their fish and wares on the Sabbath, which in consideration of their being heathen they might be expected to do, as that they sold them to “the men of Judah,” the visible worshippers of God, and “in Jerusalem,” the seat of his worship; coming up to the very threshold of his house with their merchandise, as if in contempt of his presence and authority. But we have a more serious concern in this matter than merely to vent our indignation against “the men of Tyre.” Our first and main concern is to see that our own garments are clean. Nor is it sufficient that our own habits in respect to our personal observation of the Sabbath are correct. In this respect the nobles of Judah, for aught that appears, were without fault. Yet Nehemiah did not hesitate to charge them with the guilt of the profanations which they witnessed. “What evil thing is this that ye do,” said he, “and profane the Sabbath day?” He said this on the assumption that they had the power to prevent the sin, and were answerable for the consequences of their neglect. Hence I derive the sentiment that—
MEN OF AUTHORITY AND INFLUENCE INCUR GREAT GUILT, AND BRING WRATH UPON THE COMMUNITY, BY CONNIVING AT PROFANATIONS OF THE SABBATH.
Men of authority and influence, because in all countries where the people are the source of power, men in authority can do but little unsupported by men of influence. As men of all classes have their share of influence the responsibility rests in a measure upon all. By whatever means the influence of individuals is increased, their responsibility also is enhanced.
I. Profanation of the Sabbath is a great sin. The Sabbath is a Divine institution. At the creation, God by His express appointment set it apart from a common to a sacred use. This appointment He confirmed and renewed at Mount Sinai. Our Saviour, by the authority vested by him in his apostles, added his sanction to the appointment and made it a law of his kingdom, after the obligation of the Jewish ritual had ceased, with only the circumstantial change of the first instead of the seventh in the series, as the day of rest, in commemoration of his resurrection. Consecrated peculiarly to God’s service. Wantonly to profane the Sabbath is open contempt of God. This is not a sin of ignorance. A few men there may be who seriously disbelieve in the moral obligation of the Sabbath, and others are blinded by custom in regard to the guilt of certain common violations of it, but the great mass know what they do. This sin is an outrage on the rights of men. It opens the door to universal licentiousness; enfeebles the laws of society; tends to destroy our best blessings and blot out our dearest hopes. The Sabbath is necessary to the perpetuation of true religion. Some, while they think lightly of religion, profess highly to value free institutions. They boast of liberty, and of the sciences, the arts, the enterprise, the universal education of the people, and the general prosperity and happiness which they claim to be its fruits. And what is liberty? The unrestricted enjoyment of our rights, so far as this is consistent with the wellbeing of society. What liberty then can there be among depraved men, without law to restrain their appetites and passions? or what efficacy can there be in law, without a corresponding moral sentiment in the community to sustain it? or what efficacious moral sentiment without religion? or what religion without the Sabbath? Turn your eyes on those regions of the earth where the Sabbath is unknown, and what do you find the moral, social, and civil condition of men there? See also those portions of the world where the Sabbath is now abandoned, or given up to pastime.
2. Civil laws to protect the Sabbath from open violation, are just and proper. In Jewish national code the law of the Sabbath was enforced by civil penalties. On this ground it was that Nehemiah went to the magistrates of Jerusalem and charged them with guilt in forbearing to exercise the authority which God had vested in them to restrain profanations of the day. Equally incumbent is it on every other community, which has authority over its own members, whether it be a family or an empire, to protect the Sabbath from desecration. Nor is there anything in this unjust. To enforce a spiritual observation of the Sabbath is not indeed the province of civil authority. With duties appropriately religious it has no direct concern. These it must leave to the higher authority of God, and the conscience of every individual. But to protect those who are disposed religiously to observe the Sabbath, in the peaceful enjoyment of the privilege, is no less just and proper, than it is to protect them in the enjoyment of any other right or privilege. They too are the mass of the community. Ninety-nine hundred probably would consider a general disregard of the Sabbath destructive to their best interests. Such being the fact, to require that no laws for the protection of the Sabbath be made, or that having been made, they be a dead letter; to require that the mass of our citizens yield to the few, and be governed by their wishes, is a position which, on any other subject of legislation, would not for a moment be tolerated.
3. For a due execution of these laws, men clothed with the authority and the influence to do this, are answerable to God, and incur great guilt by neglecting it. They are ministers of God. They have taken official oaths. The fact of their being clothed with office, binds them to discharge its duties.
APPLICATION.
1. To the friends of Sabbath.
2. To fathers and mothers.
3. To the young.—Noah Porter, D.D.; abridged.
Illustrations:—“Each should do what his talent and influence in society enjoin and permit. It is the principle upon which I insist. If we cannot absolutely shut the gates of our great cities to the entrance of merchandise, we may do something to lessen the evil. We may shut the door of our houses—we may prohibit the purchase or reception of articles of consumption by our servants and dependants—we may encourage those upon whom we have any influence, to observe the sacred day. Let only the zeal, the courage, the firmness, the disinterestedness of Ezra and Nehemiah be connected with their piety and love to the house of their God, and much would be done.”—Bishop Wilson.
“We find from the beginning of the Christian Church that all days were not alike to Christians, but that one day, the first-day of the week, was singled out and separated from the others as their day of worship. The end of the Paschal Lamb was accomplished in the sacrifice of our Lord; the end of the one Temple has been accomplished; but the end of the Sabbath has not been accomplished, and will not be till toil, and trouble, and sin, and sorrow shall cease. Then it will be merged in the eternal Sabbatism which remains for the people of God. But till then the solemn words of our Lord are as a wall of fire around it, to protect its sacredness and integrity. ‘Verily I say unto you. till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in nowise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.’ ”—John Kennedy, D.D.
“The Sabbath is the guardian of every other Divine institution. The sin of profaning the Sabbath stamps in the individual, the family, or the nation, which is guilty of it, the character of irreligious, and speedily ripens them for the judgments of God. This is the danger of being any way concerned in this iniquity, we are furthering an evil which would ultimately destroy religion itself, and which will assuredly prove as ruinous to the temporal renown, as the spiritual interests, of our country.”—Rev. J. A. Wylie.
“It is a most important sentiment, and ought to be kept constantly before the public mind, that religion is the most direct and powerful cause of national comfort, prosperity, and security, and that in its absence all their other causes must be limited and transient in their effects. If religion were a mere abstraction of devotion, confined to the closet and the sanctuary, and restricted in its influence to the imagination and the taste, but not having any necessary control over the conscience, the heart, and the life, and not intended to regulate the intercourse of society; if it consisted merely in attendance on the rites and forms of the Church, and began and ended upon the threshold of the house of God, then it would be difficult to point out what a connection such a religion had with the welfare of a country. It would, in that case, resemble the ivy, which, though it add a picturesque effect to a venerable fabric, imparts neither stability to its walls, nor convenience to its apartments. But if religion be indeed a principle of the heart, an element of the character, the habit of thinking, feeling, and acting aright in all our social relations, the basis of every virtue, and the main prop of every excellence; if it be indeed the fear of the Lord by which men depart from evil; if it be faith working by love; if it be such a belief in the gospel of Christ as leads to a conformity to his example, religion being such as this must secure the welfare of any country. There is not one single influence, whether of law, of science, of art, of learning, tending to the well-being of society, which true religion does not guard and strengthen.”—James.
The Lord’s Day.—Stations on the line of your journey are not your journey’s end, but each one brings you nearer. Such are our Lord’s Days. A haven is not home, but it is a place of quiet and rest, where the rough waves are stayed. Such is the “Lord’s Day.” A garden is a piece of common land, and yet it has ceased to be common land. It is an effort to regain Paradise. Such is “The Lord’s Day.” A bud is not a flower, but it is the promise of a flower. Such is “The Lord’s Day.” The world’s week tempts you to sell your soul to the flesh and the world: “The Lord’s Day” calls you to remembrance, and begs you rather to sacrifice earth to heaven and time to eternity, than heaven to earth and eternity to time. The six days not only claim you as captives of the earth, but do their best to keep the prison-doors shut that you may forget the way out. “The Lord’s Day” sets before you an open door. Samson has carried the gates away. “The Lord’s Day” summons you to the threshold of your house of bondage, to look forth unto immortality, your immortality. The true Lord’s Day is the Eternal life; but a type of it is given to you on earth, that you may be refreshed with the anticipation and foretaste of your rest.—John Pulsford.
NEHEMIAH.
Neh_13:22. Remember me, O my God, concerning this also, and spare me according to the greatness of thy mercy
INTRODUCTION. Historical. Every part of Nehemiah’s short history shows that the fear and love of God formed the principal motive with Nehemiah. Here is, first—
I. An appeal to God’s approbation. “Remember me, O my God, concerning this also.” Nehemiah often makes appeals of this kind. This manner of speaking was an appeal to God—
1. From man’s judgment. His distinguished abilities had hitherto recommended him to notice in the royal palace, notwithstanding the disgrace of his Jewish faith. But he had now engaged in an undertaking which was likely enough to appear enthusiastic and contemptible in the eyes of his Persian acquaintance. But what then? It was for God’s honour, and therefore he despises this shame, casting himself upon the approbation of God. This principle it was that influenced Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, Paul. It is the principle of faith rendering an unseen God visible. Such men look for a future “recompense of reward,” promised by Him who cannot lie. When misunderstood, and undervalued, and misrepresented by the world, they can appeal to God. “Let them curse, but bless thou.” Nehemiah makes his appeal to God, secondly—
2. From man’s enmity. While one party satisfied themselves with despising, there was another party in Jerusalem itself, who hated and opposed, his proceedings. These were they who, being Jews, had connected themselves by marriage with heathen families—or the offspring of such marriages. To such persons, the revival of pure Jewish manners was very provoking. Others found that their worldly interests were interfered with by Nehemiah’s strict enforcing of the Sabbath. It is in reference to their enmity that the appeal in the text is made. Modem enmity. Nehemiah appeals, thirdly—
3. From man’s ingratitude. It was here that this zealous servant of God found his greatest trial. He might easily have disregarded man’s judgment; or have endured man’s enmity. But how painful, when the very persons, whom in God’s name he sought to benefit, were cold, reluctant, unfeeling! Nehemiah’s was no solitary case.
Is there no danger lest appeals of this kind should lead us to trust in ourselves that we are righteous, and despise others? Not if we make them in the spirit of Nehemiah: for you find in close connection with this appeal—
II. A contrite prayer for God’s forgiveness. “Spare me, according to the greatness of thy mercy.” Every real believer, while he habitually labours to have a conscience void of offence, maintains at the same time a deep feeling of humility and of his need of unsparing mercy. Let us endeavour to trace the course of this feeling.
1. After all that he has done for God’s service, Nehemiah cannot forget that there is a load of original and actual sin recorded against him, for which no subsequent obedience can make satisfaction.
2. Nehemiah finds even his religious actions so stained with sin, that though he may appeal from man, he cannot make them a plea of merit before God.
3. He casts himself, with a steadfast faith, on the free grace and covenanted mercies of the Lord.
APPLICATION. If the despised believer may thus appeal from man to God, what hope can there be for those who compel him so to do?
If the repenting and believing sinner is so graciously spared, how active should he be in serving the Lord, amid a gainsaying and perverse generation!—Rev. Joseph Jowett, M.A.; abridged.
SOLOMON
Neh_13:26. Did not Solomon king of Israel sin by these things? yet among many nations was there no king like him, who was beloved of his God.
“It may appear remarkable that one who fell so grievously should contribute at all to the Book of God, nor is there any other instance of the kind; but his sad history adds a peculiar weight of warning to his words; nor are there any books more strongly marked by the finger of God.”
“Solomon was chosen of God, and afterwards rejected as Saul had been; he was full of wisdom and understanding, and, what is far more, of holiness and goodness. There is perhaps no one of whom the early promise of good seemed so decisive.”
“It has been said, as by St. Augustine, that Solomon was more injured by prosperity than profited by wisdom. Yet we may observe, that his falling away is not in Scripture attributed to his wealth, his power and honour.”
“We cannot conclude that Solomon himself did not at last repent; but this has always been considered by the Church as very doubtful, to say the least. All we know is, that Scripture has fully made known to us his falling away from God, but has said nothing of his repentance. The very silence is awful and impressive.” “What more melancholy than the fall of one so great—so wise? What words could have been spoken to him more powerful than his own? What eloquence could describe his fall with more feeling and beauty than his own words? What could more powerfully paint the loveliness of that holiness from which he fell? What the overpowering sweetness of that Divine love which he has consented to give up to feed on ashes? Who can describe the temptations to those very sins by which he was ensnared in a more searching manner than he has done?… How must his own sweet and Divine words sound to him like music of Paradise to the lost spirits; yea, as songs of heaven would come back to fallen angels in sad remembrance?.… It is very awful to think how God may use men as instruments of good that his Spirit may teach them, and through them teach others, and guide them to the living fountains of waters, yet they themselves at last fail of the prize of their high calling. What a warning for fear.”—From Rev. Isaac Williams’ ‘Characters of the Old Testament.’
DIVINE REMEMBRANCE
Neh_13:31. Remember me, O my God, for good
Our Protestant forefathers were fond of the maxim—“They who observe Providences shall never want Providences to observe.” The truth of this is eminently seen in the rescue of the Church from the Babylonish Captivity; in the rebuilding of the temple; and in the restoration of the people to the Holy Land. High political considerations rather than religious ones no doubt actuated Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes, but “the hearts of kings are in the hand of God.” So in the Reformation it has been said that God put little thoughts into Henry VIII’s mind for great purposes, just as the preservation of the Church in Esther’s time was brought about by a single sleepless night of Ahasuerus the king. “This also cometh from the Lord of Hosts, who is wonderful in counsel and excellent in working.” The Life and Times of Nehemiah are of much more consequence to the history of the Jewish Church than ordinary readers suppose. Great men are born for great occasions, and eventful times form the training school for public men. Our text is Nehemiah’s last recorded prayer, showing us the secret of his strength. It expresses much, but it implies more.
I. Nehemiah’s delight in the remembrance of God. The remembrance of God the habit of his life. Note the instructive occasions on which the prayer was uttered. Not in the closet for private devotion; not in the family for domestic contemplation; not in the sanctuary for public worship; but in the daily walks of life—amidst the toils of his office, amidst the reforms he was carrying on, amidst the hot enmity of the world, amidst the plots that were formed against his life. Again and again he prays, “Remember me, O God.” He was in the habit of remembering God, or such a prayer would not have risen spontaneously to his lips.
1. A test of religious character. The manner and degree in which devout thoughts mingle with daily thoughts and incorporate themselves with worldly employments the special mark of a child of God. Nehemiah specifies this as the distinctive mark of those holy ones who were associated with him—“thy servants, who desire to fear thy name.” And Malachi tells us that “a book of remembrance was written for those who feared the Lord, and thought upon his name;” and were thus the patterns of distinguished excellence in most degenerate times. Throughout Scripture the remembrance of God is set forth as the active principle of all vice. “The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.”
2. A voluntary remembrance. Not enforced. The result of a principle. When Solomon says, “Remember thy Creator in the days of thy youth,” he appeals to the first and best affections of the human heart, under the impressions of early piety. “In the days of thy youth” some render “in the days of thy choice.” Religion is choice. “Choose ye this day whom ye will serve.” Not an appeal to fear. God might have compelled our remembrance—by awful judgments; by outward demonstrations of his power. He asks where he might command; entreats when he might enforce. “My son, give me thine heart.” So when Jesus says, “Do this in remembrance of me,” he appeals to the more generous emotion of inward piety which disposed them to obey at a touch, and yield to the gentler insinuations of Divine grace. Nehemiah’s remembrance of God was spontaneous and free: it sprang up on all occasions; like water from a fountain, or music from a bird, or light from the sun. It was part of a life—the life of faith and devotion; a life hid with Christ in God. In your best moments you say, “The love of Christ constraineth us.”
3. A blessed, though difficult, exercise. It is difficult amidst the active duties of life to keep up a devout remembrance of God; but the blessedness more than compensates its difficulty. It is the advantage of any useful habit that when once formed it becomes easy and spontaneous; and would require an effort to forego or counteract it. “Use is second nature.” Same law holds in Christian life. That which we have once determined upon by principle and by choice we continue to do by preference and by affection. Well for us when the remembrance of God is the solace and delight of the mind in active and in solitary hours. “Yea, in the way of thy judgments, O Lord, have we waited for thee; the desire of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee.”
Not an easy attainment. All good men are painfully conscious how great an effort it requires, whilst sedulously engaged with the concerns of time, to give their best hopes and affections to heaven; to carry the spirit of the sanctuary into the cares and vexations of each returning day. It is difficult to mind the business of two worlds and to do justice to both: to be in the fear of God all the day long.
Difficult: not impossible. God enjoins nothing which his strengthening aids will not enable the faithful to achieve. “With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.” The history of the long cloud of witnesses attests the practicability of the religious life amidst all the agitation of this world’s cares. Patriarchs, prophets, reformers, and martyrs had as many hindrances in their way to heaven as we have in ours.
II. Nehemiah’s devout desire for God’s remembrance of him.
1. He set a very high value upon the friendship of God. Not a matter of indifference to him whether he possessed it or not. It was vital to his enjoyment, vital to his prosperity, vital to his existence. Like a crust to a starving man; like a plank to the shipwrecked is the love of Christ to a Christian. “Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, therefore my soul seeketh thee.” The Psalmist prayed, “Remember me, O Lord, with the favour that thou bearest unto thy people: O visit me with thy salvation.” Luther protested that he would not be put off with common things. Much emphasis is in the words, “That I may see the good of thy chosen, and rejoice with thine inheritance”—that I may see it, and partake of it; have the vision and the fruition of this great goodness.
2. He had nothing to claim in the way of merit, but everything to hope for in the way of mercy. Not a touch of the Pharisee in Nehemiah. The deepest humiliation characterized his first prayer and his last; a spirit of self-renunciation and dependence. “I beseech thee, O Lord, the great and terrible God, that keepest covenant and mercy.” The only word that seems to look the other way is Neh_13:14, “Remember me, O my God, for good, and wipe not out the remembrance of my good deeds:” but this was only an earnest appeal to God for his integrity in resisting the tyranny of the nobles of Judah, and maintaining the cause of the poorer among the Levites. As there is a book of remembrance written before God, Nehemiah would not be wiped out of that book. He only says, Remember me—not reward it, not record it—yet he was remembered and rewarded too, and his good deeds were recorded as well as remembered. As says Matthew Henry, “Deeds done for the house of God and the offices of it, for the support and encouragement of religion, are good deeds; there is both righteousness and godliness in them; and God will certainly remember them, and not wipe them out.”
3. He possessed a happy consciousness of his personal interest in the Divine regards. Again and again he utters the words, “My God.”
4. He attached much importance to the service of the sanctuary. He maintained altar and priest.
APPLICATION. HOW to attain amidst the business of life this pervading principle of spiritual piety. No fixed and invariable rules. Every man with the Bible before him must in some respects be a law to himself. Generally—
1. Stated seasons of retirement ought to be appointed.
2. Occupy the thoughts in the morning with some leading truth or text of Scripture.
3. Form the habit of ejaculatory prayer.
4. Make conscience of your thoughts.—Thodey.
A LIFE’S WORK REVIEWED
Neh_13:31. Remember me, O my God, for good
I. The review is coming. All days point on to the day of judgment.
II. A review is desirable. It elevates a man to take a retrospect of his life, judge his motives, broaden his field of vision. To realize the grace of God within him, to mark the purpose of God towards him, and note the work God has given him to do; all this is well. But here is no elation. Rather is he humbled. God is great, and we know him not. That he should employ me—such a man may say—is not matter for pride or self-boasting. I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies which he has shown unto his servant. And so he prays for mercy and grace to be found faithful. Reverence and trust, fear and hope, are in the man who thus pleads with God.—Enlarged from Dr. Schultz.
THE END.
INDEX
Accusing cry of humanity, 114
Adversaries of the Church, craft and cruelty of, 101
Anger, 96 et seq., 117
Bad men praised, 170
Beginning again, 103
Benevolence, 13, 40
Bible—preciousness of, 201 et seq.; how to read 203; read, and expounded, 204
Boldness, 150
Book, the marvel of a, 244
Bribery, 161
Brotherhood, of man, 182
Certitude, value of, 152
Christians criticized by the world, 123
Church—common service of, 190; an edifice, 225; requires a ministry, 226; a missionary institution, 226; a brotherhood, 226; dwelling-place of God, 227; place where God and man meet, 228
Church revival, prayer for, 22
Church, enemies of, 63
Cities, 185
City, Holy, replenished, 234 et seq.; symbolism of the, 236
City of God—Christ the door of, 79; spaciousness of, 178; emptiness of, 179
Classes, fusion of, 84
Clergy, origin of the Christian, 76
Conviction, courage from, 149
Courage, Christian, 92
David, the Jewish hero, 85
Day-book, the workmen’s, 87
Debt, 116
Derision, 60, 67
Deserters, 169
Detraction, 147; sin of, 148
Devotion, habit of, 152
Elect—place and people, 30; people, 38
Equality of men in the sight of God, 34
Ezra’s preaching, effect of, 192
Ezra reading the Law, 194
Faithful Promiser, the, 216
Family, idea of, 180; family history, 181
Fasting, the duty of, 18
Fasting and Feasting, 220
Faults, 139
Fear and Faith, 150 et seq.
Festivals, 203
Foes—140; foiled, 173
Forethought, prudence of, 48
Genealogies, 186
Generation, a—history of, 217; task of, 217; responsibility of, 217
Generosity, enthusiasm of, 181
Gifts, 155
God—majesty and mercy of, 23; interposition of, 42; the hand of, 49; faith in, a condition of success, 62; the overruling, 165; world’s acknowledgment of, 167; Hebrew conceptions of, 206; in history, 207; in nature, 208; in lives of men, 208; a personal, 209; mercy of, 214, 215
Good out of evil, 249
Goodness, modesty of, 33, 40
Greatness, perilous, 135
Greed and its corrections, 108
Handicraft, honourable, 81
Hananiah and Hanani, 177, 178, 188
Hearers, 193
Hebrew character, Egyptian influence on, 210
Hebrew history, God in, 209 et seq.
Honour, responsibility of, 219
Hostility active, frustrated, 93
House of God—resolve concerning the, 229; importance of attending the, 230
Idleness, a life of, 81
Imprecations, 100
Inconsistency, 121 et seq.
Influence, baneful effects of, 167
Injustice, social, 114
Integrity, 131
James, St., 222
Jealousy, 53
Jerusalem, modern, 89
Joy—defined, 200; Christian, 195 et seq.; strength of the Christian, 197; supporting virtue, 198, 199; result of faith, 200; within our power, 201; God its object, 205; true, 245
Judah, defection of, 106
Kingdoms ruined by sin, 35
Labour—division of, 72, 74; sacredness of, 73; duty of, 74; rewarded, 75
Language, origin of, 71
Life—work and warfare of, 103 et seq.; review of, 133, 256
Man, a true, 86, 177
Memory—forgotten sins recalled to remembrance, 26, 37, of God, 27, 221; work and anticipation, 82
Moses, 224 et seq.
Nation’s prayer, a, 211
Names—significance of, 69; Hebrew, 70; marking periods in Hebrew History, 70
Nehemiah—biographical sketch of, 1; the reformer, 5 et seq.; unselfish sorrow of, 16 et seq.; his love for the Church, 43; honouring the king, 44; the secret of his presence of mind, 45; retirement of, 54; inspecting the decayed walls, 55; appealing for help, 57; praying, 106; his watchfulness, 106; his policy and appeal, 107; his loyalty to conscience, 129, 130; an inspired man, 189; a general view of his motives, 253
Nehemiah, Book of, 2 et seq.; topography of the, 87
Opponents, 171
Opposition, the laws of, 95
Panic, 154
Past, the, 247
Persistency, 137
Piety and position, 9 et seq.
Poor, the—the work of, 81; claim of, 182
Possessions, the meaning of, 113
Posthumous influence, 244
Power, the passion for, 113
Prayer—intercessory. 20; importunity in, 25; why unanswered, 33; submission in, 40; ejaculatory, 46, 153
Praying and working, 99
Prescience, human, 160
Priesthood, ideal, 75, 77
Prophets, false, 172
Prosperity, 217
Providence, world preserved by, 212
Public worship, divine ordination of, 227
Punishment and penitence, 28
Purification, 244, 248
Reformation—the difficulty of beginning a, 50; slow growth of, 250
Rejoicing, a great, 245
Remembrance, Divine, desired, 254
Resolution, clenching a good, 125
Responsibility, 157
Rest, 183 et seq.
Retirement, the importance of, 65
Revivals, hindrances to, 142
Rich and poor, 81
Rich man, empire of the, 113
Rights and duties, 128
Rival classes, 80
Sabbath, 250 et seq.
Sacred and secular, 237
Sacred service, 205
Saint’s support, 132
Sanballat, 106, 173
Sanctuary, zeal for, 226
Satan, subtlety of, 102, 160
Secrecy, importance of, 56
Secular power, place of the, 52
Self, communion with, 119 et seq.
Self, respect for, 159
Sepulchres, 86
Service of song, 238 et seq.
Shemaiah, 172
Silence and speech, 146
Singularity, 129, 130
Sin, the destructiveness of, 15, 254
Sinners, an assembly convoked against, 120
Slander, 143, 146
Small things, day of, 98
Solitariness, 152
Steadiness, the secret of, 153
Sundays—a year of, 162; needed by busy men, 228
Taxation, voluntary, 225
Testimonial, the best, 172, 176
Thanksgiving, 64; thanks-living the best, 246
Tithes, 231
Tobiah, 106, 173
Tongue, the, its use and abuse, 145 et seq.
Union, strength of, 59
Unknown future, working for the, 80
Unrighteousness, doom of, 106
Unworldliness, 169, 223 et seq.
Vocation, life a, 77
Wall—the Church a broad, 82; completion of the, 188; dedication of the, 242
Warrior builders, 94
Wealth, 110
Women, famous, 83; influence of, 83
Work, conditions of success in, 78 et seq.; the great, 140; Divinely inspired, 163; finished, 174; unfinished, 175 et seq.
Workers Divinely helped, 164
Worship Christian, 75
Wrong-doing, inexcuseableness of, 124; irrevocableness of, 248
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
Alexander MacLaren 1905 · Public Domain On v15 Neh 13:15 - Neh 13:22.
Nehemiah
SABBATH OBSERVANCE
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Neh 13:15 - Neh 13:22.
Many religious and moral reformations depend for their vitality on one man, and droop if his influence be withdrawn. It was so with Nehemiah’s work. He toiled for twelve years in Jerusalem, and then returned for ‘certain days’ to the king at Babylon. The length of his absence is not given; but it was long enough to let much of his work be undone, and to give him much trouble to restore it to the condition in which he had left it. This last chapter of his book is but a sad close for a record which began with such high hope, and tells of such strenuous, self-sacrificing effort. The last page of many a reformer’s history has been, like Nehemiah’ s, a sad account of efforts to stem the ebbing tide of enthusiasm and the flowing tide of worldliness. The heavy stone is rolled a little way up hill, and, as soon as one strong hand is withdrawn, down it tumbles again to its old place. The evanescence of great men’s work makes much of the tragedy of history.
Our passage is particularly concerned with Nehemiah’s efforts to enforce Sabbath observance. The rest of the chapter is occupied with similar efforts to set right other irregularities of a ceremonial character, such as the exclusion of Gentiles from the Temple, the exaction of the ‘portions of the Levites,’ and the like. The passage falls into three parts-the abuse {Neh 13:15 - Neh 13:16}, the vigorous remedies {Neh 13:17 - Neh 13:22}, and the prayer {Neh 13:22}.
I. The abuse consisted in Sabbath work and trading. Nehemiah found, on his return, that the people ‘in Judaea’-that is, in the country districts-carried on their farm labour and also brought their produce to market to Jerusalem on the Sabbath. So he ‘testified against them in the day wherein they sold victuals’; that is, probably meaning that he warned them either in person or by messengers before taking further steps. Not only did Jews break the sacred day, but they let heathen do so too. The narrative tells, with a kind of horror, the many aggravations of this piece of wickedness. ‘They’-Gentiles with whom contact defiled-’sold on the Sabbath’-the day of rest-’to the children of Judah’-God’s people-’in Jerusalem’-the Holy City. It was a many-barrelled crime. Tyre was far from Jerusalem, and one does not see how fish could have been brought in good condition. Perhaps their perishableness was the excuse for allowing their sale on the Sabbath, as is sometimes the case in fishing-villages even in Sabbath-keeping Scotland. Such was the abuse with which Nehemiah struggled.
It is easy to pooh-pooh his crusade against Sabbath labour as mere scrupulousness about externals. But it is a blunder and an injustice to a noble character if we forget that the stage of revelation at which he stood necessarily made him more dependent on externals than Christians are or should be. But his vindication does not need such considerations. He had a truer insight into what active men needed for vigorous working days, and what devout men needed for healthy religion, than many moderns who smile at his eagerness about ‘mere externalisms.’
It is easy to ridicule the Jewish Sabbath and ‘the Puritan Sunday.’ No doubt there have been and are well-meant but mistaken efforts to insist on too rigid observance. No doubt it has been often forgotten by good people that the Christian Lord’s Day is not the Jewish Sabbath. Of course the religious observance of the day is not a fit subject for legislation. But the need for a seventh day of rest is impressed on our physical and intellectual nature; and devout hearts will joyfully find their best rest in Christian worship and service. The vigour of religious life demands special seasons set apart for worship. Unless there be such reservoirs along the road, there will be but a thin trickle of a brook by the way. It is all very well to talk about religion diffused through the life, but it will not be so diffused unless it is concentrated at certain times.
They are no benefactors to the community who seek to break down and relax the stringency of the prohibition of labour. If once the idea that Sunday is a day of amusement take root, the amusement of some will require the hard work of others, and the custom of work will tend to extend, till rest becomes the exception, and work the rule. There never was a time when men lived so furiously fast as now. The pace of modern life demands Sunday rest more than ever. If a railway car is run continually it will wear out sooner than if it were laid aside for a day or two occasionally; and if it is run at express speed it will need the rest more. We are all going at top speed; and there would be more breakdowns if it were not for that blessed institution which some people think they are promoting the public good by destroying-a seventh day of rest.
Our great trading centres in England have the same foreign element to complicate matters as Nehemiah had to deal with. The Tyrian fishmongers knew and cared nothing for Israel’s Jehovah or Sabbath, and their presence would increase the tendency to disregard the day. So with us, foreigners of many nationalities, but alike in their disregard of our religious observances, leaven the society, and help to mould the opinions and practices, of our great cities. That is a very real source of danger in regard to Sabbath observance and many other things; and Christian people should be on their guard against it.
II. The vigorous remedies applied by Nehemiah were administered first to the rulers. He sent for the nobles, and laid the blame at their doors. ‘Ye profane the day,’ said he. Men in authority are responsible for crimes which they could check, but prefer to wink at. Nehemiah seems to trace all the national calamities to the breach of the Sabbath; but of course he is simply laying stress on the sin about which he is speaking, as any man who sets himself earnestly to work to fight any form of evil is apt to do. Then the men who are not in earnest cry out about ‘exaggeration.’ Many other sins besides Sabbath-breaking had a share in sending Israel into captivity; and if Nehemiah had been fighting with idolatrous tendencies he would have isolated idolatry as the cause of its calamities, just as, when fighting against Sabbath-breaking, he emphasises that sin.
Nehemiah was governor for the Persian king, and so had a right to rate these nobles. In this day the people have the same right, and there are many social sins for which they should arraign civic and other authorities. Christian principles unflinchingly insisted on by Christian people, and brought to bear, by ballot-boxes and other persuasive ways, on what stands for conscience in some high places, would make a wonderful difference on many of the abominations of our cities. Go to the ‘nobles’ first, and lay the burden on the backs that ought to carry it.
Then Nehemiah took practical measures by shutting the city gates on the eve of the Sabbath, and putting some of his own servants as a watch. The thing seems to have been done without any notice; so when the country folk came in, as usual, on the Sabbath, they could not get into the city, and camped outside, making a visible temptation to the citizens, to slip out and do a little business, if they could manage to elude the guards. Once or twice this happened; and then Nehemiah himself seems to have taken them in hand, with a very plain and sufficiently emphatic warning: ‘If ye do so again, I will lay hands on you.’
Of course, ‘from that time they came no more on the Sabbath,’ as was natural after such a volley. A man with a good strong will is apt to get his own way, even when he is not clothed with the authority of a governor. Then Nehemiah strengthened the guard, or perhaps withdrew his own servants and substituted for them Levites, whose official position would put them in full sympathy with his efforts. That priestly guard would be inflexible, and with its appointment the abuse appears to have been crushed.
The example of Nehemiah’s enforcing Sabbath observance is not to be taken as a pattern for Christian communities, without many limitations. But it appears to the present writer that it is perfectly legitimate for the civil power to insist upon, and if necessary to enforce, the observance of Sunday as a day of rest; and that, since legitimate, it is for the well-being of the community that it should do so. Tyrians might believe anything they chose, and use the day of rest as they thought proper, so long as they did not sell fish on it. We do not interfere with religious convictions when we enjoin Sunday observance. Nehemiah’s argument has sometimes to be used, even about such a matter: ‘If ye do so again, I will lay hands on you.’
The methods adopted may yield suggestions for all who would aim at reforming abuses or public immoralities. One most necessary step is to cut off, as far as possible, opportunities for the sin. There will be no trade if you shut the gates the night before. There will be little drunkenness if there are no liquor shops. It is quite true that people cannot be made virtuous by legislation, but it is also true that they may be saved from temptations to become vicious by it.
Another hint comes from Nehemiah’s vigorous word to the country folk outside the wall. There is need for very strong determination and much sanctified obstinacy in fighting popular abuses. They die hard. It is permissible to invoke the aid of the lawful authority. But a man with strong convictions and earnest purpose will be able to impress his convictions on a mass, even if he have no guards at his back. The one thing needful for Christian reformers is, not the power to appeal to force, but the force which they can carry within them. And it is better when the traders love the Sabbath too well to wish to drive bargains on it, than when they are hindered from doing as they wish by Nehemiah’s strong will or formidable threats.
Once more, the guard of Levites may suggest that the execution of measures for the reformation of manners or morals is best entrusted to those who are in sympathy with them. Levites made faithful watchmen. Many a promising measure for reformation has come to nothing because committed to the hands of functionaries who did not care for its success. The instruments are almost as important as the measures which they carry out.
III. Nehemiah’s prayer occurs thrice in this chapter, at the close of each section recounting his reforming acts. In the first instance {Neh 13:14} it is most full, and puts very plainly the merit of good deeds as a plea with God. The same thing is implied in its form in Neh 13:22. But while, no doubt, the tone of the prayer is startling to us, and is not such as should be offered now by Christians, it but echoes the principle of retribution which underlies the law. ‘This do, and thou shalt live,’ was the very foundation of Nehemiah’s form of God’s revelation. We do not plead our own merits, because we are not under the law, but under grace, and the principle underlying the gospel is life by impartation of unmerited mercy and divine life. But the law of retribution still remains valid for Christians in so far as that God will never forget any of their works, and will give them full recompense for their work of faith and labour of love. Eternal life here and hereafter is wholly the gift of God; but that fact does not exclude the notion of ‘the recompense of reward’ from the Christian conception of the future. It becomes not us to present our good deeds before the Judge, since they are stained and imperfect, and the goodness in them is His gift. But it becomes Him to crown them with His gracious approbation, and to proportion the cities ruled in that future world to the talents faithfully used here. We need not be afraid of obscuring the truth that we are saved ‘not of works, lest any man should boast,’ though we insist that a Christian man is rewarded according to his works.
Nehemiah had no false notion of his own goodness; for, while he asked for recompense for these good deeds of his, he could not but add, ‘Spare me according to the greatness of Thy mercy.’ He who asks to be ‘spared’ must know himself in peril of destruction; and he who invokes ‘mercy’ must think that, if he were dealt with according to justice, he would be in evil case. So the consciousness of weakness and sin is an integral part of this prayer, and that takes all the apparent self-righteousness out of the previous petition. However worthy of and sure of reward a Christian man’s acts of love and efforts for the spread of God’s honour may be, the doer of them must still be ‘looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.’
Alexander MacLaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture (1904–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. R. Dummelow 1909 · Public Domain On v1 The Reform of Abuses
The Reform of Abuses
The reforms embraced the separation of Israel from the mixed multitude and the abolition of certain abuses that had arisen in connexion with the chambers of the Temple, the provision for the Levites, the observance of the sabbath, and mixed marriages.
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1. On that day] the particular time intended is uncertain. Was found written] see Deu_23:3-6.
3. Separated] see Ezra 9, 10. All the mixed multitude] cp. Exo_12:33; Num_11:4. The term may be illustrated by Ezr_9:2, where 'mingled themselves with the peoples of those lands' is a kindred expression.
4. Eliashib] previously mentioned in Neh_3:1; Neh_12:10. Chamber] RV 'chambers.'
6. The two andthirtieth year] i.e. 433 b.c. Obtained I leave] i.e. to return to Palestine.
7. Understood of] better, 'perceived.'
10. For] RV 'so that.' The Levites not receiving the support due to them had to work to maintain themselves.
11. Forsaken] i.e. unprovided for.
Gathered them] i.e. the Levites.
17. What evil.. the sabbath] The protests made by the prophets and others against the profanation of the sabbath (see Eze_20:12, Eze_20:20; Eze_44:24; Isa_56:4, Isa_56:6; Isa_58:13) eventually brought the Jews to observe it so strictly that they even allowed themselves to be massacred rather than desecrate it by defending themselves (1Ma_2:32-38).
23. That had married wives, etc] The same practice was condemned by Ezra (Nehemiah 9, 10).
24. Their children spake half] better, 'of their children half spake,' etc.
26. Outlandish] i.e. foreign.
28. Chased him from me] i.e. expelled him from the Jewish community. According to Josephus (who, however, places the incident at a much later date) Joiada's son was named Manasseh, and when expelled by Nehemiah, was induced by his father-in-law Sanballat to join him at Samaria by the promise of being appointed high priest of a temple that was tobe built on Mt. Gerizim.
29. Defiled the priesthood] The actual high priest was prohibited from taking as his wife any but a virgin of his own people (Lev_21:14).
30. The wards of] better, 'charges for.' At this point the OT. record of Nehemiah closes; but in 2Ma_2:13 it is added that he collected together 'the books about the kings and prophets, and the books of David, and letters of kings about sacred gifts'—a statement the precise meaning of which it is unnecessary to discuss here. In Sir_49:13 he is eulogised for having 'raised up the walls that were fallen, and set up the gates and bars.'
J. R. Dummelow, A Commentary on the Holy Bible (Macmillan, 1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On v7 (See Scofield "Neh 2:10") .
Tobiah
(See Scofield "Neh 2:10") .
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Arno C. Gaebelein 1922 · Public Domain On v1 1. The separation of the mixed multitude (Neh 13:1-3)
CHAPTER 13
1. The separation of the mixed multitude (Neh 13:1-3)
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2. The unholy alliance repudiated (Neh 13:4-9)
3. Nehemiah’s action in behalf of the Levites and singers (Neh 13:10-14)
4. Provision for Sabbath observance (Neh 13:15-22)
5. Nehemiah’s protest (Neh 13:23-29)
6. His own testimony as to his work (Neh 13:30-31)
Neh 13:1-3. “On that day” does not mean the same day when the wall had been dedicated. It was a considerable time later, for we read in verse 10 that the Levites had not received their portion. It was different when the wall was dedicated. On a certain day when the law was read again, they came to the passage in Deu 23:3-5, where it is written that an Ammonite and a Moabite should not enter into the assembly of God forever. Obedience followed at once, “they separated from Israel all the mixed multitude.”
Neh 13:4-9. Here we have the first indication of declension, which in Malachi’s days reached a climax. Tobiah was an Ammonite, and with Sanballat and Geshem had strenuously opposed the building of the wall (chapter 6). Eliashib, the priest, who had the oversight of the chambers of the house of the Lord, had allied himself with the enemy of Jerusalem and prepared for this man a great chamber in the temple. There he had stored his household goods (verse 8). Nehemiah had been absent from the city, paying a visit to the Persian court, and during his absence all this happened. It was probably right after his return from King Artaxerxes in Babylon that the law was read that led to the separation from the mixed multitude, and this in time led to the discovery of the priest’s alliance with Tobiah. Nehemiah acted quickly, being deeply grieved. He could not tolerate such an alliance and profanation of the house of the Lord. How much greater and more obnoxious are the unholy alliances in Christendom, and the profanation of God’s best.
Neh 13:10-14. During Nehemiah’s absence the tithes had not been given, and the Levites and singers had received nothing. In consequence they left the city and the house of God was forsaken. It is possible that the people had been outraged by Eliashib’s alliance with Tobiah, and had refused the tithes. Nehemiah set all things in order, and he appointed also treasurers. On his prayer in verse 14 see chapter 5:19.
Neh 13:15-22. Another evidence of the declension which had set in after the spiritual revival was the laxity in observing the Sabbath. Nehemiah saw some on the Sabbath day treading winepresses; others brought all kinds of burdens on the Sabbath to Jerusalem; while still others sold victuals. And men of Tyre sold fish and other wares to the people on the Sabbath. We are sure that during Nehemiah’s absence the law of God was no longer read, or they could not have fallen into this evil. All declension begins with the neglect of the Word of God. Then Nehemiah contended with the nobles. “What evil thing is this that ye do, and profane the Sabbath day? Did not your fathers thus, and did not our God bring all this evil upon us, and upon this city? Yet ye bring more wrath upon Israel by profaning the Sabbath.”
Again, he not only rebuked the evil, but acted energetically, and the Sabbath day was sanctified.
Neh 13:23-29. Alas! the flesh is flesh, and will ever be the same. Some Jews turned back and deliberately married again women of Ashdod, Ammon and Moab. Their offspring talked a mongrel language. Nehemiah acted in holy zeal. He cursed them, smote them and plucked off their hair. And Joiada, the son of Eliashib the high priest, who had made an alliance with Tobiah, had married a daughter of Sanballat, the Horonite. Nehemiah refused to have anything to do with him--”I chased him from me.”
Neh 13:30-31. The final thing we hear of Nehemiah is his testimony concerning himself and his prayer, “Remember me.” In the day of Christ in glory, this great man of God will surely be rewarded for his earnest and faithful service.
Arno C. Gaebelein, The Annotated Bible (1913–1922) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On vv1, 15, 23 In the Temple and its Services
In the Temple and its Services
v. 1. On that day, namely, the day of the dedication of the walls, they read in the Book of Moses in the audience of the people, evidently the Book of Deu 7:1-6; Deu 23:3-8; and therein was found written that the Ammonite and the Moabite should not come into the congregation of God forever, neither by being made a part of the Jewish nation nor by entering into its organization through marriage; to be exact, no Moabite or Ammonite family could be admitted to the privileges of the Jewish Church until in the tenth generation after quitting heathenism and formally declaring its adherence to the Jewish religion;
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v. 2. because they met not the children of Israel with bread and with water, but hired Balaam against them that he should curse them, Num 22:5; howbeit, our God turned the curse into a blessing, Num 23:11; Num 24:10.
v. 3. Now, it came to pass, when they had heard the Law, this particular passage, that they separated from Israel all the mixed multitude, excluding all the children of mixed marriages from the congregation by authority of the divine Law. At this point of the narrative there seems to be a gap of about twelve years.
v. 4. And before this, rather, in the face of all this, in spite of the reforms instituted by Nehemiah at the time of his first sojourn in Jerusalem, Eliashib, the priest, the successor of Jehoiakim, having the oversight of the chamber of the house of God, as the high priest of the Jews, was allied unto Tobiah, contracting a family relation with this enemy of the Jews by marriage;
v. 5. and he had prepared for him a great chamber, where Tobiah could reside when visiting Jerusalem, where aforetime they laid the meat-offerings, the frankincense, and the vessels, and the tithes of the corn (grain), the new wine, and the oil, which was commanded to be given to the Levites and the singers and the porters, and the offerings of the priests. So Eliashib had calmly converted a number of cells of the Temple which had been designated for Un-bloody sacrificial offerings and tithes into a dwelling for this stranger and enemy of the Jews. Note that the Levites, whose duty it was to assist in the sacrifices, are distinguished from the priests on the one hand and from the singers and porters on the other.
v. 6. But in all this time, while this desecration took place, was not I at Jerusalem; for in the two and thirtieth year of Artaxerxes, king of Babylon, about twelve years after his first trip to Jerusalem, came I unto the king, and after certain days obtained I leave of the king, his earnest request to return to Jerusalem for a second time was granted;
v. 7. and I came to Jerusalem and understood of the evil that Eliashib did for Tobiah, the abuses which he had introduced in Nehemiah’s absence, in preparing him a chamber in the courts of the house of God, providing living quarters for his relative within the precincts of the Temple.
v. 8. And it grieved me sore; therefore I cast forth all the household stuff of Tobiah out of the chamber, much as our Lord later cleansed the Temple courts of the venders and money-changers.
v. 9. Then I commanded, and they cleansed the chambers; and thither brought I again the vessels of the house of God with the meat-offering and the frankincense.
v. 10. And I perceived that the portions of the Levites had not been given them, a fact which had probably furnished Eliashib with an excuse to appropriate the storage-cells for the use to which he had put them; for the Levites and the singers, including the porters, that did the work, were fled every one to his field, compelled to leave their posts in order to provide for the maintenance of themselves and their families.
v. 11. Then contended I with the rulers and said, Why is the house of God forsaken? The enthusiasm shown at the dedication of the walls had been replaced by an utter apathy, which permitted a total neglect of the Temple worship. The reproof was directed to the priests to whom the management of the Temple and its services had been committed, who should have opposed the course of Eliashib with all emphasis. And I gathered them, the Levites, and set them in their place, giving them back the positions which they formerly held.
v. 12. Then brought all Judah, all the members of the Jewish Church, the tithe of the corn and the new wine and the oil unto the treasuries, the storehouses of the Temple, as they had pledged themselves to do.
v. 13. And I made treasurers over the treasuries, placed men in charge of the storehouses: Shelemiah, the priest, and Zadok, the scribe, and of the Levites, Pedaiah, these men being responsible for the Temple stores of offerings and tithes; and next to them was Hanan, the son of Zaccur, the son of Mattaniah; for they were counted faithful, a very necessary virtue in this position, and their office was to distribute unto their brethren.
v. 14. Remember me, O my God, concerning this and wipe not out my good deeds that I have done for the house of my God and for the offices thereof, for everything that was required to be observed in connection with the Temple worship. This was not a prayer of self-glorification, but a testimony of God’s grace in the life of Nehemiah, and every believer may not only rightly boast of the possession of such grace, but also rejoice over it after the manner of Nehemiah.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv1, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 15, 16, 19, 21, 23, 25, 28, 30 in the hearing of the people
in the hearing of the people
"so that the people could hear it"
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should come into the assembly of God, forever
"should ever come into the assembly of God"
This was because
"They could not come into the assembly because"
translationWords
Moses
people group
written
Ammon
Moab
assembly
God
eternity
Israel
bread
water
Balaam
curse
bless
law, laws
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv1, 4, 6, 8, 10, 13, 14, 15, 19, 22, 23, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30 13:1-3 On the same day the Temple workers were…
13:1-3 On the same day the Temple workers were appointed (12:44), the text from Deut 23:3-6 was read. It said that no Ammonite or Moabite should ever be permitted to enter the assembly of God. Nehemiah later discovered (Neh 13:4-14) that these teachings were no longer being observed.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.