Nehemiah 13:1-31

Maintenance is one of the hardest parts of our spiritual walk.  We are often very motivated to grow in certain circumstances of our lives and by God’s grace we experience progress in our lives.  However, with the passing of time it is easy for us to slip back into old habits, start to neglect our commitments to the Lord and little by little we find ourselves drifting away from the Lord.  When the children of Israel first returned from exile and were exposed to the Scripture they were sensitive to the Lord, made huge changes in their lives and commitments to follow the Word of God.  They worked very hard to build the wall and establish their new homes as well as implement the care of the temple, sacrifices and spiritual leadership.  Unfortunately, with the passing of time they began to tolerate certain sinful practices and were allowing these commitments to wane.  This is where strong leadership was necessary to recognize the problem and have the courage to confront the problems head on.

NEHEMIAH CONFRONTED THE PEOPLE FOR THEIR SINFUL ALLIANCES: Israel had historically become polluted and eventually taken into captivity because of the influence of the godless nations around them.  During the reconstruction period they had continued to suffer under this type of influence but had taken very radical steps to be separate from these other nations.  Now Nehemiah returns from a journey back to visit the king and enters Jerusalem to find one of the most vocal detractors during the building of the wall actually living in the temple and many of the families allowing their children to take foreign wives.  Nehemiah did not hesitate, the room that Tobias had occupied in the Temple was cleaned out and the priest who had invited him in was severely punished.  The families who were practicing intermarriage were also corrected with both verbal and corporal punishment.  Leaders must have the courage to confront and correct their people when they are bringing in competing influences.

NEHEMIAH CONFRONTED THE PEOPLE FOR THEIR SPIRITUAL APATHY: When the temple was consecrated and the people were worshiping the Lord they had made clear commitments to make worship their priority and to support the Priests and Levites who were in charge of leading the people in worship.  However, as time went on the people stopped giving the offerings that were needed to support the work and the Levites ended up having to go back to their homes and fields in order to provide for their families.  It is easy to make financial commitments, but it is sometimes very hard to keep those commitments before the Lord.  When our own needs pop up and we begin to prioritize other things the first thing that slips is often our giving.  Nehemiah called the people back to obedience and the people complied and the problem was solved.  We must remember to be faithful in our giving and the contributions we make to the Lord and His work.  It is easy to let other needs or interests distract our affections from giving faithfully to the work of the Lord.

NEHEMIAH CONFRONTED THE PEOPLE FOR THEIR SINFUL ACTIONS: The law was very clear about what could and could not be done on the Sabbath day.  When Nehemiah found that the people were treading in the wine presses and allowing commerce to take place on the Sabbath he, once again, flew into action and confronted the people who were permitting this blatant disobedience of the law.  The gates were closed to all commerce and Nehemiah threatened any who would ignore these standards and regulations with bodily harm.  Sinful associations coupled with spiritual apathy will always result in sinful actions.  One of the most important functions of leadership is to call the people to holiness and obedience as well as to confront rebellion and disobedience amongst the people.  Nehemiah was a consistent and courageous leader who was far more concerned with doing what was right than being popular.  May God help us to be leaders like he was!Maintenance is one of the hardest parts of our spiritual walk.  We are often very motivated to grow in certain circumstances of our lives and by God’s grace we experience progress in our lives.  However, with the passing of time it is easy for us to slip back into old habits, start to neglect our commitments to the Lord and little by little we find ourselves drifting away from the Lord.  When the children of Israel first returned from exile and were exposed to the Scripture they were sensitive to the Lord, made huge changes in their lives and commitments to follow the Word of God.  They worked very hard to build the wall and establish their new homes as well as implement the care of the temple, sacrifices and spiritual leadership.  Unfortunately, with the passing of time they began to tolerate certain sinful practices and were allowing these commitments to wane.  This is where strong leadership was necessary to recognize the problem and have the courage to confront the problems head on.

NEHEMIAH CONFRONTED THE PEOPLE FOR THEIR SINFUL ALLIANCES: Israel had historically become polluted and eventually taken into captivity because of the influence of the godless nations around them.  During the reconstruction period they had continued to suffer under this type of influence but had taken very radical steps to be separate from these other nations.  Now Nehemiah returns from a journey back to visit the king and enters Jerusalem to find one of the most vocal detractors during the building of the wall actually living in the temple and many of the families allowing their children to take foreign wives.  Nehemiah did not hesitate, the room that Tobias had occupied in the Temple was cleaned out and the priest who had invited him in was severely punished.  The families who were practicing intermarriage were also corrected with both verbal and corporal punishment.  Leaders must have the courage to confront and correct their people when they are bringing in competing influences.

NEHEMIAH CONFRONTED THE PEOPLE FOR THEIR SPIRITUAL APATHY: When the temple was consecrated and the people were worshiping the Lord they had made clear commitments to make worship their priority and to support the Priests and Levites who were in charge of leading the people in worship.  However, as time went on the people stopped giving the offerings that were needed to support the work and the Levites ended up having to go back to their homes and fields in order to provide for their families.  It is easy to make financial commitments, but it is sometimes very hard to keep those commitments before the Lord.  When our own needs pop up and we begin to prioritize other things the first thing that slips is often our giving.  Nehemiah called the people back to obedience and the people complied and the problem was solved.  We must remember to be faithful in our giving and the contributions we make to the Lord and His work.  It is easy to let other needs or interests distract our affections from giving faithfully to the work of the Lord.

NEHEMIAH CONFRONTED THE PEOPLE FOR THEIR SINFUL ACTIONS: The law was very clear about what could and could not be done on the Sabbath day.  When Nehemiah found that the people were treading in the wine presses and allowing commerce to take place on the Sabbath he, once again, flew into action and confronted the people who were permitting this blatant disobedience of the law.  The gates were closed to all commerce and Nehemiah threatened any who would ignore these standards and regulations with bodily harm.  Sinful associations coupled with spiritual apathy will always result in sinful actions.  One of the most important functions of leadership is to call the people to holiness and obedience as well as to confront rebellion and disobedience amongst the people.  Nehemiah was a consistent and courageous leader who was far more concerned with doing what was right than being popular.  May God help us to be leaders like he was!