Separate the People from Worldly Influence
Nehemiah 13:1-3, “On that day the Book of Moses was read aloud in the hearing of the people and there it was found written that no Ammonite or Moabite should ever be admitted into the assembly of God, because they had not met the Israelites with food and water but had hired Balaam to call a curse down on them. (Our God, however, turned the curse into a blessing.) When the people heard this law, they excluded from Israel all who were of foreign descent.”
The Moabites and Ammonites refused Israel passage through their lands and refused to offer any aid to the desert weary travelers. Instead, they hired a prophet to curse them (Number 22-24). When that didn’t work, they seduced the men and caused them to “… yoke themselves to the Baal of Peor. And the Lord’s anger burned against them” (Numbers 25:3). Israel again moved to separate themselves from the mixture among them.
When we lay down our lives and choose to follow Jesus, we become a new creature (2 Corinthians 5:17). As such, we need to separate ourselves from our old life as much as possible. Yes, that may even include people you love and care about. The influences of the world and culture around us will yoke us to them.
1 John 2:15-17, “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life —comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.”
Nehemiah’s Final Reforms
Tobiah was an enemy of Nehemiah’s since he first arrived in Jerusalem. He was an Ammonite official who attempted to hinder Nehemiah’s efforts to rebuild Jerusalem. He was in league with Sanballat and the Samaritans against the Israel,Nehemiah 2:10; 4:3.
Nehemiah was away in Babylon at this time giving a report on his progress in Jerusalem. Tobiah exploited his relationship with High Priest Eliashib, whose grandson had married the daughter of Sanballat. He persuaded him to lease the storerooms of the temple to him. Remember, the temple was to be separate from all defilement and corruption. It was Holy. These storerooms were intended for the work of the temple and the temple workers themselves.
Remember, Nehemiah is a type of the Holy Spirit. Now while I do not believe Holy Spirit will leave us, I do believe we can get so complacent in our walk that we begin to not discern His voice anymore. I speak from experience on this. Eliashib represents us; our soul. He is a priest of the temple, but he is not the High Priest.
When we get to this point, we give the enemy a free pass to sneak around in our lives and take possession of and corrupt certain areas. We separate ourselves from God’s presence. Areas that are set apart for service to God and others. We allow sin to take a foot hold in the temple of God. That’s not good.
1 Thessalonians 5:19, “Do not quench the Spirit.”
Cleansing the Temple Chambers
Nehemiah 13:7-9, “And I came to Jerusalem and discovered the evil that Eliashib had done for Tobiah, in preparing a room for him in the courts of the house of God. And it grieved me bitterly; therefore I threw all the household goods of Tobiah out of the room. Then I commanded them to cleanse the rooms; and I brought back into them the articles of the house of God, with the grain offering and the frankincense.”
When Nehemiah returned to Jerusalem he learned of the collusions of Tobiah and Eliashib in using God’s holy temple for improper purposes. He was bitterly grieved and tossed Tobiah’s goods out of the Chamber then had the chambers cleansed and restored them to their proper use and order.
God is a Jealous God, Deuteronomy 4:24, “For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.” He does not take kindly to others trying to take that which He owns. And He especially hates those who try to corrupt that which is His. Make no mistake, you are His!
The sin committed by Tobiah and Eliashib was a sin against God’s temple. It would separate this area from God’s presence. We know now that we are the temple of God and He is in the process of rebuilding and restoring us to His glory. He’s cleaning us out of all that defiles and pollutes His temple. Just as they sinned against God, so to we sin against God when we in anyway defile ourselves. Whether physically or mentally.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20, “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.”
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[…] The Church today is continually mixing itself with foreign peoples. Satan is infiltrating the true and pure religion with mixture to corrupt it and reduce its power and effectiveness. Remember, the Church is called to be holy and separate from the world. […]