1 On that day they read from the Book of Moses in the hearing of the people. And in it was found written that no Ammonite or Moabite should ever enter the assembly of God, 2 for they did not meet the people of Israel with bread and water, but hired Balaam against them to curse them—yet our God turned the curse into a blessing. 3 As soon as the people heard the law, they separated from Israel all those of foreign descent.
4 Now before this, Eliashib the priest, who was appointed over the chambers of the house of our God, and who was related to Tobiah, 5 prepared for Tobiah a large chamber where they had previously put the grain offering, the frankincense, the vessels, and the tithes of grain, wine, and oil, which were given by commandment to the Levites, singers, and gatekeepers, and the contributions for the priests. 6 While this was taking place, I was not in Jerusalem, for in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon I went to the king. And after some time I asked leave of the king 7 and came to Jerusalem, and I then discovered the evil that Eliashib had done for Tobiah, preparing for him a chamber in the courts of the house of God. 8 And I was very angry, and I threw all the household furniture of Tobiah out of the chamber. 9 Then I gave orders, and they cleansed the chambers, and I brought back there the vessels of the house of God, with the grain offering and the frankincense.
10 I also found out that the portions of the Levites had not been given to them, so that the Levites and the singers, who did the work, had fled each to his field. 11 So I confronted the officials and said, “Why is the house of God forsaken?” And I gathered them together and set them in their stations. 12 Then all Judah brought the tithe of the grain, wine, and oil into the storehouses. 13 And I appointed as treasurers over the storehouses Shelemiah the priest, Zadok the scribe, and Pedaiah of the Levites, and as their assistant Hanan the son of Zaccur, son of Mattaniah, for they were considered reliable, and their duty was to distribute to their brothers. 14 Remember me, O my God, concerning this, and do not wipe out my good deeds that I have done for the house of my God and for his service.
15 In those days I saw in Judah people treading winepresses on the Sabbath, and bringing in heaps of grain and loading them on donkeys, and also wine, grapes, figs, and all kinds of loads, which they brought into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. And I warned them on the day when they sold food. 16 Tyrians also, who lived in the city, brought in fish and all kinds of goods and sold them on the Sabbath to the people of Judah, in Jerusalem itself! 17 Then I confronted the nobles of Judah and said to them, “What is this evil thing that you are doing, profaning the Sabbath day? 18 Did not your fathers act in this way, and did not our God bring all this disaster on us and on this city? Now you are bringing more wrath on Israel by profaning the Sabbath.”
19 As soon as it began to grow dark at the gates of Jerusalem before the Sabbath, I commanded that the doors should be shut and gave orders that they should not be opened until after the Sabbath. And I stationed some of my servants at the gates, that no load might be brought in on the Sabbath day. 20 Then the merchants and sellers of all kinds of wares lodged outside Jerusalem once or twice. 21 But I warned them and said to them, “Why do you lodge outside the wall? If you do so again, I will lay hands on you.” From that time on they did not come on the Sabbath. 22 Then I commanded the Levites that they should purify themselves and come and guard the gates, to keep the Sabbath day holy. Remember this also in my favor, O my God, and spare me according to the greatness of your steadfast love.
23 In those days also I saw the Jews who had married women of Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab. 24 And half of their children spoke the language of Ashdod, and they could not speak the language of Judah, but only the language of each people. 25 And I confronted them and cursed them and beat some of them and pulled out their hair. And I made them take an oath in the name of God, saying, “You shall not give your daughters to their sons, or take their daughters for your sons or for yourselves. 26 Did not Solomon king of Israel sin on account of such women? Among the many nations there was no king like him, and he was beloved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel. Nevertheless, foreign women made even him to sin. 27 Shall we then listen to you and do all this great evil and act treacherously against our God by marrying foreign women?”
28 And one of the sons of Jehoiada, the son of Eliashib the high priest, was the son-in-law of Sanballat the Horonite. Therefore I chased him from me. 29 Remember them, O my God, because they have desecrated the priesthood and the covenant of the priesthood and the Levites.
30 Thus I cleansed them from everything foreign, and I established the duties of the priests and Levites, each in his work; 31 and I provided for the wood offering at appointed times, and for the firstfruits.
Remember me, O my God, for good. – Nehemiah 13:1-31 ESV
The timing of these events is crucial. The opening line of this book states that Nehemiah received permission from Artaxerxes to return to Jerusalem during the king’s 20th year (445 B.C.). It is estimated that he arrived in Jerusalem sometime in 444 B.C. Because Nehemiah was on the king’s payroll as his cupbearer, he was allowed to go on his journey but was expected to return to report his progress to the king. Nehemiah states, “in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon I went to the king” (Nehemiah 13:6 ESV). This would have been 12 years after he arrived in Jerusalem. During his absence, things took a turn for the worse in Jerusalem. This brings to mind the old adage, “When the cats away, the mice will play.” While the teacher was out of the room, chaos broke out among the students.
It’s impossible to know how long Nehemiah was gone. He simply states that he returned “after some time” (Nehemiah 13:6 ESV). The gravity of the conditions in Jerusalem would suggest that he was gone for an extended time, perhaps years. Nehemiah likely received regular reports on the conditions in Jerusalem and was aware of the sorry state of affairs in his native land. This prompted him to approach the king and request another leave of absence to return to Jerusalem to deal with the matter.
When he arrived, Nehemiah was appalled by what he saw. Everywhere he looked, he saw signs that the people had violated the covenant they made with Yahweh.
“We promise not to let our daughters marry the pagan people of the land, and not to let our sons marry their daughters.
“We also promise that if the people of the land should bring any merchandise or grain to be sold on the Sabbath or on any other holy day, we will refuse to buy it. Every seventh year we will let our land rest, and we will cancel all debts owed to us.
“In addition, we promise to obey the command to pay the annual Temple tax of one-eighth of an ounce of silver for the care of the Temple of our God. This will provide for the Bread of the Presence; for the regular grain offerings and burnt offerings; for the offerings on the Sabbaths, the new moon celebrations, and the annual festivals; for the holy offerings; and for the sin offerings to make atonement for Israel. It will provide for everything necessary for the work of the Temple of our God.” – Nehemiah 10:30-33 NLT
The opening lines of Chapter 13 reveal that God’s law prohibited the Israelites from having anything to do with the Ammonites and Moabites. These two nations were the descendants of Lot, the nephew of Abraham. They were the result of his incestuous affairs with his daughters and had stood opposed to the Israelites when they were attempting to enter the land of Canaan. God had specifically told Moses, “No Ammonite or Moabite or any of their descendants for ten generations may be admitted to the assembly of the Lord. These nations did not welcome you with food and water when you came out of Egypt. Instead, they hired Balaam son of Beor from Pethor in distant Aram-naharaim to curse you” (Deuteronomy 25:3-4 NLT).
God made His views clear concerning Israel’s interactions with these two nations.
“As long as you live, you must never promote the welfare and prosperity of the Ammonites or Moabites.” – Deuteronomy 25:6 NLT
Yet, when Nehemiah returned to Jerusalem, he found that Tobiah the Ammonite had been given private accommodations in the Temple. This man was not only a pagan and a foreigner, but he had been one of the most vocal opponents of Nehemiah’s efforts to rebuild the walls. It seems that Tobiah was a relative of Eliashib the high priest (Nehemiah 13:28). This servant of God had taken it upon himself to empty out one of the Temple’s storerooms and convert it into an apartment for his Ammonite relative.
The room had previously been used for storing the grain offerings, the frankincense, various articles for the Temple, and the tithes of grain, new wine, and olive oil (which were prescribed for the Levites, the singers, and the gatekeepers), as well as the offerings for the priests. – Nehemiah 13:5 NLT
To make matters worse, one of Eliashib’s grandsons had married a daughter of Sanballat the Horonite, another prominent opponent of the rebuilding effort. The most prominent spiritual leader in Judah was guilty of fraternizing with the enemy and violating the law of God. His actions set an unacceptable precedence for the rest of the nation by promoting compromise and accommodation. God had set this man apart and tasked him with teaching the law to the people. Instead, he demonstrated an open disdain and disregard for God’s commands.
With the spiritual leaders modeling unrighteous behavior, the people followed suit. They became lax in their commitments to God, refusing to bring “their tithes of grain, new wine, and olive oil to the Temple storerooms” (Nehemiah 13:12 NLT). Their neglect of God’s commands had left the Levites and the Temple servants without enough food to survive and forced them to fend for themselves. They returned to farming and shepherding to make ends meet, abandoning their duties at the Temple.
On the first Sabbath after his return, Nehemiah discovered that the people’s vow to keep the seventh day holy had also been abandoned.
I saw men of Judah treading out their winepresses on the Sabbath. They were also bringing in grain, loading it on donkeys, and bringing their wine, grapes, figs, and all sorts of produce to Jerusalem to sell on the Sabbath. So I rebuked them for selling their produce on that day. Some men from Tyre, who lived in Jerusalem, were bringing in fish and all kinds of merchandise. They were selling it on the Sabbath to the people of Judah—and in Jerusalem at that! – Nememiah 13:15-16 NLT
The Sabbath day had become just like any day of the week. Work was being done. Business transactions were taking place. Foreigners were entering the city to trade and sell. It was a free-for-all and in direct violation of God’s command.
“Remember to observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of rest dedicated to the Lord your God. On that day no one in your household may do any work. This includes you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, your livestock, and any foreigners living among you. For in six days the Lord made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and everything in them; but on the seventh day he rested. That is why the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy.” – Exodus 20:8-11 NLT
When Nehemiah had first returned to Jerusalem in 444 B.C., he “inspected the walls of Jerusalem that were broken down and its gates that had been destroyed by fire” (Nehemiah 2:13 ESV). But those dismal conditions were nothing compared to the sorry state of affairs he found this time. Everywhere he looked he found the “spiritual” walls of Jerusalem had fallen. The covenant had been broken and the people were ripe for spiritual attack. The people had even violated God’s ban on marrying foreigners. It was a fiasco of epic proportions but Nehemiah took charge and began to set things right. He threw out Tobiah. He banished Eliashib’s grandson. He demanded that the people pay their delinquent tithes and offerings. He beat and cursed those who had allowed their children to intermarry with outsiders. He restored the Levites and priests to their duties. He locked the city gates on the Sabbath and shut down all business transactions.
In essence, Nehemiah orchestrated a community-wide revival. He single-handedly instituted a spiritual revitalization program that transformed an entire nation virtually overnight. What he accomplished on this occasion was far more important than building the walls of Jerusalem. The physical stones that comprised the wall could not keep out the apathy and moral decay that threatened to destroy the nation of Judah. The gates couldn’t prevent the enemy from infiltrating the hearts of the people and leading them to disobey God and disavow their allegiance to them. It took one man committed to God to rescue a city filled with people who had broken their vow to God. This faithful layman did what the high priest had failed to do.
In the Book of Ezekiel, God describes the real problem that existed in the land of Judah when Nehemiah first returned.
“I looked for someone who might rebuild the wall of righteousness that guards the land. I searched for someone to stand in the gap in the wall so I wouldn’t have to destroy the land, but I found no one.” – Ezekiel 22:30 NLT
But Nehemiah proved to be the right man for the job. He not only built a physical wall to protect the city of Jerusalem, but he also built a spiritual wall that restored a fallen people to their former status as “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Exodus 19:6 ESV).
English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.