Nehemiah 13:23-29 – Set apart for God

Nehemiah 13:23-29 tell us that one other issue that became widespread during Nehemiah’s absence from Jerusalem was the intermarriage between God’s people and foreigners. The three groups of foreigners particularly mentioned were the people from  Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab. Half of the children that were born out of these marriages grew up accustomed to the language of Ashdod and unable to speak the language of Judah. Slowly but surely their identity as God’s people was eroding. These marriages affected the spiritual condition of the nation.  What was happening was unacceptable to Nehemiah. Desperate from what was happening, he “contended with them and cursed them and struck some of them and pulled out their hair, and made them swear by God. In no uncertain words, he said to them, “You shall not give your daughters to their sons, nor take of their daughters for your sons or for yourselves.” 

Using the example of Solomon, he pointed out to them that the king’s waywardness was caused by his many foreign wives. Though God loved him and endowed him with unparalleled wisdom, he was led astray by his foreign wives. Hence Nehemiah was outraged and appalled that these men should marry non-Jewish women. As God’s covenant people, they were being unfaithful to God.

What was more disappointing to Nehemiah was his discovery of the marriage of one of the grandsons of the high priest Eliashib to the daughter of Sanballat. Though Sanballat had a bitter opponent, a son of Joiada, the son of Eliashib had indiscriminately married his daughter. So Nehemiah excommunicated him and had nothing to do with him. He prayed to God to remember those who had defiled the sanctity of the priesthood and by marrying foreign women had violated the covenant as priests and Levites.

This problem was not peculiar to Nehemiah. Ezra was said to encounter this same problem in the two concluding chapters of his book. It would not be overstretching p our imagination to see how angry Nehemiah would be. This unholy alliance posed a danger to the holy purpose of God. They were God’s people to marry foreign women was to commit downright disobedience to the instruction of God. Being unequally yoked would open them to compromise. Besides, they would be opening the door to moral corruption. Non-covenant people of God would have their own set of values that would be opposite to the spiritual values that God had set for His people. What was at stake was the purity of faith and morality as God’s people.

In our calling to reach the world, we will be exposed to the value of the world. We need to be careful as we try to gain acceptance, approval, and appreciation from the world. For if we are not careful we may be tempted to assimilate their value into our system. Let us hear afresh what James 4:4 has to say, “You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.” Remember also to tuck in your heart these words of Paul, “Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness or what fellowship has light with darkness?” (2 Corinthians 6:14).