Nehemiah 13:1-3 narrates that when the remnants read the law, they were reminded to exclude the Ammonites and the Moabites. Due to their historical actions, these groups were considered unworthy to enter the temple. They failed to offer the necessary assistance to the Israelites during their journey to the promised land but instead enlisted Balaam to curse them. However, God intervened and transformed Balaam’s curse into a blessing for His people. To maintain the sanctity of God's temple, it was then mandated that pagans should be denied entry.
Verses 4-9 describe the decline
of the remnants during Nehemiah’s absence from Jerusalem. Verse 6 reveals that
King Artaxerxes recalled Nehemiah to Persia after he had served a significant
twelve-year tenure as the governor of Jerusalem. In his absence, there was a
period of religious regression among the Jews, and their old adversaries,
Sanballat and Tobiah, began to exert influence in Jerusalem.
Eliashib, the high priest, was at
fault for allowing a member of the high priestly family to marry Sanballat’s
daughter and for permitting Tobiah to reside in one of the temple rooms. These
actions, a clear violation of the law that Nehemiah had worked hard to uphold demanded
immediate attention. As Tobiah was an Ammonite, when Nehemiah returned, he
promptly addressed and corrected these issues. He dispelled Tobiah and his
family and had the room purified, restoring the sanctity of the temple.
One lesson we can learn from this
passage is the significance of preserving the sanctity of sacred spaces.
Nehemiah’s actions in addressing the violations of the law and restoring the
sanctity of the temple demonstrate the importance of upholding the principles
and values that are central to our beliefs and practices. This serves as a
reminder for us to remain vigilant in safeguarding the integrity of our relationship
with God and the significance it holds in our lives.
No comments:
Post a Comment