Nehemiah 13:4-9 – Don’t abuse the temple of God

Nehemiah was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah for 12 years (Nehemiah 5:14). He completed his duty in the 32nd year of Artaxerxes’ reign and had to return to Persia. But before he left for Persia, he had restored some semblance of propriety in Jerusalem. The people repented and returned to their devotion to God. The temple was put in order and the priests and Levites were duly assigned. But while he was away, the situation back home in Jerusalem deteriorated. How long he was in Persia was not indicated. But on his return to Jerusalem, Nehemiah was appalled to see widespread deterioration there. Sanballat and Tobiah the enemies introduced to us in Nehemiah 2 had infiltrated and influenced the community of the returned exile. In Nehemiah 13:28 we learned that one of the sons of Johaida, the son of Eliashib, became Sanballat’s son-in-law.

The first thing Nehemiah did on his return was to reform the temple (Nehemiah 13:4-9). He had to deal with the abuse of the usage in the temple. Eliashib the high priest was to be blamed. Verse 7 said that he housed Tobiah in the room in the temple that was used to store “the grain offerings, the frankincense, the utensils and the tithes of grain, wine, and oil prescribed for the Levites, the singers and the gatekeepers, and the contributions for the priests.” In doing so, Eliashib accommodated an enemy in the house of God. Verses 8-9 tell us that what happened was displeasing to Nehemiah. So he threw out all of Tobiah’s belonging in the room and ordered the room cleansed. Then he put back “the utensils of the house of God with the grain offerings and the frankincense” in the room.

As far as Nehemiah was concerned, holiness to the Lord could not be compromised. When he saw the temple abused, it greatly displeased him. He was displeased by the laxity of the priesthood, especially the family of Eliashib. He has grieved that an area that was meant for the things of God was occupied by the things of the enemy. However, being displeased alone was not enough, it stirred him into action. Like the Lord Jesus, when he saw the abuse of the temple, he cleansed it that day. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 6:19 tells us that our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. Let’s take action to care and make sure that the temple of God is rightly handled for the glory of God.