Howbeit our God turned the curse into a blessing. Nehemiah 13:2 The curse turned into a blessing William Walters. This was just like God, whose name and nature are love. 1. The devil turns the blessing into a curse. When God created man He endowed him with the power of choice, made his will free, so that he might choose good and evil. The creature was thus endowed with an inestimable blessing. The devil, by the subtlety and force of temptation, turned man's dignity against himself and effected his ruin, and through successive generations he has sought to turn the blessing into a curse. 2. Man often turns the blessing into a curse. Physical strength, intellectual endowments, social position, wealth, opportunities for usefulness — things good in themselves — are often transformed by man's depraved nature into instruments and occasions of evil. Of all the plots and assaults of the devil, all the mischievous purposes of wicked men, all the disasters of life, all the forms of evil we may have to encounter we may say, "Howbeit our God turned the curse into a blessing." I. GOD HAS TURNED THE CURSE OF SIN INTO A BLESSING. The existence of sin is an awful and mysterious fact, permitted by God for wise and gracious issues. We can conceive of no greater curse. It separated man from God. It destroyed his original righteousness. It cut him off from happiness. It brought upon him condemnation and death. God comes to man in this state with the blessings of His grace. 1. The fall of man furnished an occasion for the exercise of the restoring grace of God. Sin prepared the way for salvation. "Paradise Regained" is more than "Paradise Lost." 2. The curse of sin has supplied an opportunity for such an exhibition of the character and glory of God as we nowhere else behold. God's brightest glory shines in the method of man's salvation. God in Christ is more glorious far than God in creation. In the Saviour of the world we have the most perfect manifestation of God. 3. Throughout the earth, following in the track of the destroyer, God bestows the blessings of His great salvation. God is still "in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself." II. God turns sorrow into a blessing. 1. Sorrow is a teacher. Sorrow seems sent for our instruction as we darken the cages of birds when we would teach them to sing. As the night brings out the stars, so trouble reveals to us many truths that would otherwise remain unseen. It clears our visions, so that we get new views of God and ourselves, of truths and duty, of this world and the next. 2. It awakens thoughtfulness. 3. Under this gracious ministry and discipline the noblest characters have been perfected. Poets, it is said, "learn in suffering what they teach in song." Sorrow is one of the best nurses of godliness. Some plants thrive better in a poor than in a rich soil; so some virtues come to speedier and fuller perfection in grief than in gladness. When spices are crushed, then they emit their odours. After the diamond is ground and polished On the wheel, its facets flash with lustre. It is said that when growers of roses want to develop the bloom of a favourite tree in special richness and beauty they sometimes deprive it for a season of light and moisture. In this condition its leaves fall off. But while this process is going on, and the tree is almost leafless, a new life is springing, from which come in due season a tenderer foliage and a choicer and more abundant bloom. This suggests some of the sweet uses of sorrow, 4. In the gracious arrangements of God sorrow is often succeeded by joy, 5. God is preparing the way for the extinction of sorrow on the earth. III. GOD TURNS THE CURSE OF DEATH INTO A BLESSING. To the Christian man death ceases to be the king of terrors, and becomes a friend to call him home, He delivers him from the infirmities of the flesh, the corruptions of sin, the temptations of Satan, and the sufferings and troubles of life. Death is the gate of life. In conclusion — 1. The subject teaches us the benevolence of God. 2. Learn the loving confidence you may cherish in God. Let us learn to imitate God. Let us endeavour through life to turn the curse into a blessing. ( William Walters. ) Sorrows turned to blessings J. Macnaughton, A. M. We might tell of the blessed effects of the captivity of Joseph — the means of preserving his father's household and the lives of the thousands of Egypt. We might speak of the happy results of Israel's national calamities; how they were led to seek the Lord in their sorrow, and the Lord hearkened and heard them. We might tell of Paul's imprisonment issuing in the conversion of his jailor and his household; or we might speak of John's banishment to the lonely Isle of Patmos, where his spirit was refreshed with those wondrous discoveries of God's doings and purposes that form the last book in the Canon of Sacred Writ. In these instances sorrow is not to be denominated a cures, but a blessing — not a punishment, but a medicine. True it is that sorrow has been Styled the winter of the soul, because it freezes up the streams of comfort, and ices the soul over with the frosts of sadness; but, like as that season, rough and stormy and bleak as it is, is conducive to the ultimate fertility of the earth, so the moral Winter at once prepares for the fuller enjoyment of the coming spring of peace, and is productive of a richer harvest of righteousness to the praise and glory of our God. Affliction has been styled the storm of life; but, like as those tempests that agitate the bosom of the ocean serve alike to overpower the shattered bark, and to urge forward others more speedily to their desired haven, so these moral tempests, while they may overwhelm the wicked and impenitent, are ever conducive in speeding forward the journey of the children of the kingdom to heaven and to God. ( J. Macnaughton, A. M. ) Curses and blessings Joseph Parker, D. D. Nehemiah sees God at work in this transformation, and openly, gladly, gratefully acknowledge that the transformation of the curse was not the work of human good-will or of human genius, but a direct operation of the Divine almightiness itself. We lose so much by not seeing God immediately. Why do we allow God to go so far sway from our consciousness and appreciation and love? Why do we not cry for Him, and bid Him come to us, and give Him no rest until He draws near? This is the true religion; this is the noble piety. I. TO BE CURSED OF MAN IS REALLY NO PROOF OF GOD'S DISAPPROBATION. II. HE OUGHT TO BE A VERY GREAT MAN, AND A VERY PURE, LOFTY, AND GODLY SOUL, WHO UNDER TAKES TO CURSE ANYBODY ELSE. III. TO BE BLESSED OF MAN IS NO PROOF OF GOD'S FAVOUR IV. THE VANITY OF TRUSTING IN ANYTHING WHICH CAN BE TURNED INTO A CURSE. Application of these truths to your personal experience : 1. The frowns of society. 2. Wronged in business. 3. The seeming opposition of nature, God is willing and able to turn all curses into blessings.But the blessing will not be given without action on our part. Art thou suffering? Go to thy knees; tell God thy sin; then the film shall be taken from thine eyes — thou shall see the great, mighty, redeeming Cross of Christ, and He shall say, "Thy sins, which are many, are all forgiven thee" The curse will be turned into a blessing, and thou shalt be the better for the abasement. ( Joseph Parker, D. D. ) Sorrows keeping front worldliness An evangelist tells of a young lad who left his father's home to be a sailor. He was absent for three years, and on the return voyage, just as he was thinking of how soon he should see all the dear ones at home, his ship was wrecked off the coast of Norway. Many were lost, but he and some others managed to get into a boat. They tried to row for the shore, but the men being wet, and the cold so intense, many of them were frozen to death. The first mate had command of the boat, and the lad being a favourite of his, he was afraid that he should fall a victim to the cold, and whenever he saw him dozing, or showing any signs of sleeping, he thrashed him with a rope's-end. In vain the lad expostulated, the thrashing continued until all drowsiness was gone. At length they reached land, and were hospitably entertained by the natives, and in time were forwarded home. That young man often says he owes his life to the mate who administered to him that timely discipline. The sufferings and sorrows which God puts upon His people are like that thrashing. Only to keep them from falling into the sleep of worldliness that leads to death, to keep them alive in grace, looking unto Him, does He afflict them. God's Providences not to be feared We ought never to be afraid of God's providences when they seem to break up our lives and crush our hopes, and even to turn us away from our chosen paths usefulness and service. God knows what He wants to do with us, how He san boot use us, and where and in what lines of ministry He would have us serve. When He shuts one door it is because He has another standing open for our feet. Whoa He breaks our lives to pieces it is because they will do more for His glory and the world's good broken and shattered than whole. And I came to Jerusalem, and understood of the evil that Elashib did. Nehemiah 13:7-31 The religious reformer W. Ritchie. Remark — I. The state of Jerusalem during Nehemiah's absence. II. The reforms he achieved. 1. His purification of the temple. 2. His renewal of the observance of Divine ordinances. 3. His promoting the sanctification of the Sabbath. 4. His setting apart Judah from mingling with the heathen. ( W. Ritchie. ) Personal purification of the believer W. P. Lockhart. We must never forget that the Christian is now what the temple was of old, the dwelling-place of the Most High ( 1 Corinthians 6:19 ). Luther observes: "A Christian may be compared with the tripartite temple of Solomon. His spirit is the holy of holies, God's dwelling amid the darkness of faith (he believes what he neither sees, nor feels, nor grasps); his soul is the holy place, where are the seven lights of the golden candlesticks; his body is the fore-court exposed to general view, where every one can observe how he lives and what he does; in the fore-court stands the altar of burnt-offerings, whereon we are to lay our bodies as living sacrifices unto God. How sad when the temple in any part of it is desecrated! When the heart in which Christ should dwell is occupied by the world, many things must be cast forth, in order that it may become the abode of the King. ( W. P. Lockhart. ) The devoted patriot M. G. Pearse. The story commences with the return of Nehemiah to Babylon. Either through the reports that his enemies had sent to the court, or the leave of absence having expired ( Nehemiah 2:6 ), Nehemiah returns to the king to report himself, and to seek permission for a further sojourn in Jerusalem. The fact that Ezra is absent at the same time strengthens the opinion that the misrepresentations of those about them moved the jealousy of the king and led to their recall. It is scarcely possible to think of the swift and complete destruction of the religious life of the city apart from a deeply-laid plot on the part of the foes who saw in the recall of Nehemiah their own Opportunity, and whose plans were carefully laid and boldly carried out as soon as he had left. The building of the walls and gateways of the city had been followed by a yet bolder effort for the security of Jerusalem. Taking advantage of the fervour of the new religious life which had sprung up amongst them, Nehemiah had gathered the people together and got them to enter into a very solemn covenant, which they had signed and sealed. The list of those who signed this covenant is given — in itself a suggestion that it was not signed by all. The first name is that of Nehemiah: and next to his we should naturally look for that of Eliashib, the high priest, and of Jehoiada his son. But these two are conspicuously absent. So then it is plain that before the departure of Nehemiah there were two parties whose antagonism could only be fierce and bitter; a party which had surrendered itself to the strictest observance and enforcement of the law, and another party which had entangled itself by heathen relationships; and of this latter party the first and foremost was Eliashib, the high priest. As soon as Nehemiah has gone this Eliashib at once becomes the head and ruler of the city. Now comes the collision of the two parties; on the one side a people like the Puritans of old — stern, resolute, exclusive, hateful of everything that swerved a hair's breadth from the letter of the law. On the other side was the party of the court — hand in glove with the wealthy "people of the land"; eager for their own advancement and position. Eliashib, the leader of the courtiers, had nothing to expect from the covenanters but a stem and bitter opposition. To strengthen his position, and perhaps for his own personal security, he gathers about him these from the outside, intending doubtless to draw the line sharply as soon as they had served his purpose, but finding, as such men always do, that he has to yield step by step, until everything that the law held sacred was broken down before the influx of "the people of the land." A swift and terrible reaction followed the high-pitched fervour of the great revival. First to be swept away were the reforms that Nehemiah had introduced in the matter of mixed marriages. That which the high priest himself had sanctioned by the example of his own family was speedily imitated, until it seems to have become a rage amongst the people, many of the Jews putting away their own wives for these women of Ammon and Moab and Ashdod. The Book of Malachi throws a lurid light upon the condition of things in this as in other respects ( Malachi 2:11, 14, 16 ). Eliashib seeks further to strengthen his position and to weaken his opponent's by a concession to the greed of the people, as he had previously indulged their lust. The tithes and offerings which were claimed by the priests and Levites were withheld from them, or the people brought only that which was diseased or torn by the wild beasts; the people robbed God, as Malachi says. Thus the female came to be neglected, as the priests had to go "every one to his own field." With this must have fallen every barrier for the protection of Jerusalem. When thin us had reached such a pass it was evident that the heathen had everything their own way. The occupations of the people went on as if there were no Sabbath day. The wine presses were trodden; the corn was carried; the asses were laden; through the city gates same the men of Tyre with their fruit and fish for sale; foreigners filled the streets with their cries, and the place rang with the noisy chaffering of those who stood to sell and those who came to buy. With them these strangers brought their evil ways, and their foul idolatries — the sorceries of which Malachi speaks ( Malachi 3:5 ). Such is the state of things which Nehemiah finds on his return to Jerusalem. Perhaps his coming was unlooked for, the enemy hoping to keep him still at the court of the king. We have thought perhaps of Nehemiah as the graceful courtier, the stately cupbearer, whose appearance would have much to do with his high position. But here is a very different man. He seems to stand before us with knitted brows and flashing eyes — a man who does not hesitate to lay hands upon the offenders, and whose words terrify the city. Nehemiah's indignation is kindled first by the tidings of the desecration of the House of God; and hastening thither he faces Eliashib on his own ground, and with his own hands he flings out the "household stuff" of the intruding Tobiah, and has the chambers cleansed from the defilement, and the holy vessels set again in them. That Eliashib and his party should have submitted to such a high-handed proceeding may seem surprising; but the conscience of the people was with Nehemiah, and they felt that it was useless to resist one of such resoluteness, backed by such authority as he possessed. Then he priests and Levites were again set in their places, and the provisions were duly delivered, treasurers being appointed to receive and distribute the offerings of corn and oil and wine. Meanwhile the rulers had gathered themselves together, as they did when Christ came to the temple. The interference with the hope of their gains stirred their resentment; for to those nobles a working day was not to be lightly parted with, since others did the Work of which they reaped the advantage. Nehemiah orders the gates to be shut at sunset on the Sabbath eve, and that none shall enter bearing burdens until the day is done. Yet more difficult and involved was the matter of the mixed marriages. But in this as in everything else Nehemiah would tolerate no half measures. When the people gathered to protest, he tells us that "I contended with them, and cursed them, and plucked off their hair, and made them swear by God, saying, Ye shall not give your daughters unto their sons, nor take their daughters unto your sons, or for yourselves." Jehoiada, the son of the high priest, and the son-in-law of Sanballat, thought doubtless to screen himself behind these high relationships. But instead of defence it added to the wrong, and the indignant governor chased him out of the city, and forbade him to return. Taking refuge-in Samaria with others who resented the action of Nehemiah, he set up there a rival temple and service, and thus cleared the way for the reforms which were established in Jerusalem. Looking back over the chapter, we see a lesson for all time and for us: that we can never loosen the law of God in one particular without loosening it in all. The law of God is one, and to break it in any point is to endanger it in all. The thickening of the ills about Eliashib one by one until everything is lost, is the story of the destruction of the individual and the nation. ( M. G. Pearse. ) Then contended I with the rulers. Nehemiah 13:11 Work and worship J. A. Jowett, M. A. Then the topic is not new. It is a question which propounds itself in every age. The particular aspect of the question we have to deal with at present is this, Why does the working man forsake the house of God? Many of the reasons given arise out of the industrial conditions of the working classes. 1. One of the reasons given by working men is that the conditions of their industrial existence afford them no leisure time. Is this a reason or an excuse? It is true that there is a considerable number of working men who are doomed to drag on a weary, dreary, grinding, rayless life. They have no leisure. The only rest they have is the unconscious rest of sleep. The system that perpetuates this state of things is unrighteous, inhuman, and hostile to the teachings of the Bible. But this is not true of the majority of working men; their absence arises not from want of leisure, but from want of inclination. 2. Another reason assigned is that the Christian ministry is in league with the employers. I am not here to hold a brief for the ministry, but I am here to defend the interests of truth, and I wish to ask where this weak and effeminate ministry is to be found? I venture to believe that there never was a time when the pulpits were ringing with a clearer and more unambiguous note, when there was more straight and wholesome teaching on the obligations of power and the responsibilities of wealth. I believe that to-day there is far more preaching to the rich than there is to the poor, and this charge of sinful silence and sinful flattery cannot be sustained. 3. Another reason advanced is that ministers do not take their rightful position as leaders of secular progress, and that they are not to be found in the van of social and political reform. This is a more reasonable objection. I wish to confess candidly and frankly that in my opinion the pulpit has been too speculative, too abstract, too unpractical, too other-worldly. But this reproach is now being rapidly rolled away, and the ministry are giving both hands to the neglected work of social reform. 4. Working men further complain that when they do come to church they meet with a cold and unfriendly reception. In the church there is "respect unto persons." It is charged against us that our profession of brotherhood is a mere pretence. It is said that men will sit by their fellows in the house of God for years, will pray and sing of their brotherliness and love, and then outside the church will ignore and pass them by without so much as recognition. Against such conduct no word can be too outspoken or too severe. 5. Another reason is that the church is not democratic, and that the workman has no voice or influence in its affairs. This reason has been confirmed and emphasised by the editors of our daffy press. But it is a statement altogether too sweeping. If the working man wants democratic churches he need not seek far to find them. 6. One speaker at a meeting convened to consider this question, declaimed against the pulpit because it treats of such topics as the restoration of man and the forgiveness of sins. He declared that there is no practical value in such teaching, and that the working man does not hold to it or believe in it. Here there is no room for compromise. Oh! fellow-men, the Nazarene wears many crowns, and among His crowns is that of Social Reformer. But there is another crown brighter by far than that of Reformer, the crown of Redeemer. The gospel we have to preach is not a mere uprooter of social wrongs, an equaliser of men's estates; it is a regenerator of the human heart. The supreme aim of the gospel is not to beautify man's circumstances, but to beautify man's life. The Master Himself told us how useless it is to reform a man's house unless you redeem the man. The gospel is preached, then, that man may be rectified, and that rectified man may transform the world. The work of the Redeemer includes the work of the Reformer, but redemption is the first and dominant note in the Church's song. On the other hand, if we are truly Christ's we are genuine reformers, The Church of Christ should be the centre of all the reforming agencies of our time. All true reformers get their weapons from Christ. ( J. A. Jowett, M. A. ) Remember me, O my God, concerning this Nehemiah 13:14-22 The mercy of God Chin origin of the reward of good works Joseph Mede, B. D. Learn — I. THAT TO MAKE PROVISION FOR MAINTENANCE OF GOD'S WORSHIP AND THE MINISTERS THEREOF IS A WORTHY WORK, AND OF HIGH ESTEEM AND FAVOUR WITH GOD ( 1 Chronicles 29:17, 18 ; Deuteronomy 12:19 ; 2 Kings 4 .; Luke 7:3-5 ; Matthew 10:41 ; Philippians 4:18 ; 2 Timothy 1:16-18 ). II. THAT GOD REWARDETH THESE AND ALL OUR OTHER GOOD DEEDS AND WORKS NOT FOR ANY MERIT OR WORTHINESS THAT IS IN THEM, BUT OF HIS FREE MERCY AND GOODNESS. 1. The Scriptures encourage us to work in hope of reward ( Psalm 19:11 ; Proverbs 11:18 ; Matthew 5:11, 12 ; Matthew 10:41, 42 ; Luke 6:35 ; 2 John 8). 2. Whence this reward cometh. "According to Thy great mercy" ( Hosea 10:12 ; Romans 6:23 ; Psalm 62:12 ). III. THAT IT IS LAWFUL TO DO GOOD WORKS WITH RESPECT TO THE RECOMPENSE OF REWARD. It is plain Nehemiah here did so. So did Moses Hebrews 11:25, 26 ). ( Joseph Mede, B. D. ) The law of reward A. Maclaren, D. D. Nehemiah's prayer occurs thrice in this chapter, at the close of each section recounting his reforming acts. In the first instance (ver. 14) it is most full, and puts very plainly the merit of good deeds as a plea with God. The same thing is implied in its form in ver. 22. But while, no doubt, the tone of the prayer is startling to us, and is not such as should be offered now by Christians, it but echoes the principle of retribution which underlies the law. "This do, and thou shalt live," was the very foundation of Nehemiah's form of God's revelation. We do not plead our own merits, because we are not under the law, but under grace, and the principle underlying the gospel is life by impartation of unmerited mercy and Divine life. But the law of retribution still remains valid for Christians in so far as that God will never forget any of their works, and will give them full recompense for their work of faith and labour of love. Eternal life here and hereafter is wholly the gift of God; but that fact does not exclude the notion of "the recompense of reward" from the Christian conception of the future. It becomes not us to present our good deeds before the Judge, since they are stained and imperfect, and the goodness in them is His gift. But it becomes Him to crown them with His gracious approbation and to proportion the cities ruled in that future world to the talents faithfully used here. We need not be afraid of obscuring the truth that we are saved "not of works, lest any man should boast," though we insist that a Christian man is rewarded according to his works. ( A. Maclaren, D. D. ) Nehemiah's sincerity Robert Burns, D. D. Paul assures the believing Hebrews that God will not forget "their work of faith and labour of love," and this prayer of Nehemiah's is nothing more than a petition that God will be pleased to fulfil Hie own promise regarding him. It was not the dictate of a self-righteous spirit. There is no self-righteousness in the humble prayer that God would look upon him in love; that He would deign to accept of his feeble services as proof and evidences of a religious spirit; that He would be pleased to verify His promise, that "it shall be well with them that fear the Lord," and that "godliness is profitable unto all things, having the promise of the life that now is, as well as of that which is to come." Consider — I. A sketch of Nehemiah's HISTORY. II. Nehemiah's CHARACTER. 1. His steady religious principle. Dwelling amid scenes very uncongenial to the progress of piety in the heart, he displayed a firmness of principle and an ardour of religious feeling truly admirable. Amidst the enticements of a splendid and licentious court he sought the glory of God and not the gratification of vanity, ambition, or worldly desire. Surrounded by the ensigns of a gross and impious superstition, he reared a standard for the true God, and stood forth as a witness for Him, in the midst of His enemies. Confidence in God kept him steady in the scene of danger; and the lofty aims of a devoted spirit raised him above the grovelling pursuits Of sense. 2. His self-denial. This is one of the best evidences of sound religious principle. When the will is subjugated to the will of God; when the mind feels itself completely satisfied with the wisdom and goodness of the Divine economy; when self is thrown into the background, and a noble disinterestedness gives its tone to the character, then we have some good proof that our religion is sincere. Nehemiah improved his advantages at the Persian court not for his individual good, but for the good of his countrymen. He lost sight of selfish considerations, and feeling for the humblest of the people, he gave them the full value of his labours, without the slightest remuneration. That which he asked not from man he knew God would bestow; hence the prayer of the text. 3. His zeal for the worship and ordinances of God. This is specially displayed in his anxiety to vindicate God's ordinances from abuse, and to enforce their punctual observance. The public reading and expounding the law, for the edification of the people, testified his regard for God's Holy Word. The exactness with which the appointed rites in the feasts of trumpets end tabernacles were gone about, under his superintendence, testified his reverence for the law, in all the minuteness of its requisitions. His zeal for the sanctification of the Sabbath proved the high sense he entertained of its value. 4. His enlightened and consistent perseverance in the discharge of personal and official duty. ( Robert Burns, D. D. ) In those days I saw in Judah some treading wine presses on the Sabbath. Nehemiah 13:15-22 Keeping the Sabbath D. J. Burrell, D. D. In reforming the evil of Sabbath desecration Nehemiah — I. CONTENDED WITH THE NOBLES, OR JEWISH ARISTOCRACY. It was their trade that kept the marts open. Were they to hold aloof, the Sabbath-breakers would fail for want of patronage. II. HE ENFORCED THE LAW. III. HE DEALT PARTICULARLY WITH THOSE WHO SOUGHT TO EVADE THE LAW. IV. HE TOOK MEASURES TO PERPETUATE THE REFORM. Conclusion: Reflect on the considerations which underlie the duty of Sabbath rest. 1. The institution of the Sabbath is coeval with the race. Adam in paradise kept the holy day. This is evidenced by the primitive division of time into weeks. The word "remember " in the fourth commandment shows that this injunction was but the revival and re-emphasising of one which had all along been binding upon them. 2. It is based upon a ground which in the nature of the case makes it perpetual. The Lord "rested on the seventh day; wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it." 3. The Sabbath law was interwoven with the nerves and sinews of the human constitution before it was inscribed on the tables of stone. 4. The injunction, "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy," when placed in the Decalogue, received the formal sanction of Jehovah as an essential part of the moral law. 5. Christ came to fulfil the ceremonial law; at His coming it vanished as shadows do before the sun. But as to the moral law, He came to fasten it more and more permanently on the hearts and consciences of men. 6. The change from the seventh to the first day was in no wise a violation of the original injunction, but rather in pursuance of it. It commemorates the resurrection of Christ, and thus a new and living branch of joy was engrafted upon it. ( D. J. Burrell, D. D. ) Keeping the Sabbath Monday Club Sermons., De Witt S. Clarke. The several points suggested by this narrative are specially suited to times like our own. I. IT REMINDS US OF THE BLINDING AND, HARDENING POWER OF WORLDLINESS. It blunts conscience, deadens spirituality, and estranges from God. II. IT REMINDS US OF THE RISKS OF ASSOCIATION WITH CARELESS AND IRRELIGIOUS NEIGHBOURS. III. IT REMINDS US OF THE RESPONSIBILITY OF MEN IN HIGH POSITION FOR PREVAILING EVILS. IV. IT REMINDS US THAT NEGLECT TO KEEP THE SABBATH IS AN EVIL WITH WHICH GOD CAN NEVER BE OTHERWISE THAN SORELY DISPLEASED. V. IT REMINDS US OF THE RESOLUTE FIDELITY REQUIRED TO SAVE THIS DAY FROM GENERAL PROFANATION. ( Monday Club Sermons. )Keeping the Sabbath — I. Sabbath observance has to contend with the greed of men with wealth. II. Sabbath observance secures the community and nation from peril. Divine requirements have always a wise and loving purpose in them. A God-fearing nation is strong because it has learned, in its several elements, to exalt those things which have abiding power in them. Charity and integrity, reverence, purity, intelligence, and self-control are mighty forces. Against these immorality, intemperance, extortion, ignorance, surge like a desolating flood. The Sabbath is a protecting dyke raised across their path, so clear and effective that they each hate and would abolish it. A million soldiers under arms cannot defend us as sixty million citizens without other weapon than recognition of God's claims and their fellows' rights will do. The former may be defeated as Rome's numerous legions were. The latter are invincible. III. SABBATH OBSERVANCE MAY BE DECREED BY PUBLIC STATUTE AND ENFORCED BY THE CIVIL MAGISTRATE. The State may, and must maintain itself. It may, and should, forbid those practices which threaten its life. It must respect the religious nature and requirements of its citizens. Its province is, not to say how any shall observe the hours of rest, but simply to guarantee that they shall have them. ( De Witt S. Clarke. ) The benefit of the Sabbath J. Venn, M. A. Consider it — I. AS AN ACCEPTABLE REST FROM THE TOILS AND LABOURS OF LIFE. II. AS HIGHLY USEFUL AND CIVIL INSTITUTION. III. AS A NECESSARY RELIGIOUS ORDINANCE. IV. AS A SIGN BETWEEN GOD AND MAN. ( J. Venn, M. A. ) Sabbath desecration A. Maclaren, D. D. The last page of many a reformer's history has been, like Nehemiah's, a sad account of efforts to stem the ebbing tide of enthusiasm and the flowing tide of worldliness. The heavy stone is rolled a little way up hill, and, as soon as one strong hand is withdrawn, down it tumbles again to its old place. The evanescence of great men's work makes much of the tragedy of history. Our lesson is particularly concerned with Nehemiah's efforts to enforce Sabbath observance. I. THE ABUSE CONSISTED IN SABBATH WORK AND TRADING. It is easy to ridicule the Jewis

Benson Commentary Nehemiah 13:1 On that day they read in the book of Moses in the audience of the people; and therein was found written, that the Ammonite and the Moabite should not come into the congregation of God for ever; Nehemiah 13:1 . On that day they read in the book of Moses — Not upon the day of the dedication of the wall and city, but upon a certain day, when Nehemiah was returned from the Persian court to Jerusalem, from which he had been absent for some considerable time, during which some errors and abuses had crept in. After his return, it seems, he continued the public reading of the law at stated times, probably on the great festivals, when all the people met together, (such as those mentioned chap. 8.,) upon some day of which that portion of Scripture was read ( Deuteronomy 23:3 ) which forbids the admission of the Ammonites and Moabites into the congregation of the Lord. The meaning of which phrase is, not that they were prohibited from attending divine worship in the court of the Gentiles, and in their synagogues, but from being admitted to the privileges of Jews, and becoming one body with them by intermarriages. “None of the house of Israel, of either sex, were to enter into marriage with any Gentile, of what nation soever, unless they were first converted to their religion; and even in that case, some were debarred from it for ever, others only in part, and others again only for a limited time. Of the first sort, were all of the seven nations of the Canaanites. Of the second sort, were the Moabites and the Ammonites, whose males were excluded for ever, but not their females. And of the third sort, were the Edomites and Egyptians, with whom the Jews might not marry till the third generation. But with all others who were not of these three excepted sorts, they might freely make intermarriages, whenever they became thorough proselytes to their religion. At present, however, because, through the confusions which have since happened in all nations, it is not to be known who is an Ammonite, an Edomite, a Moabite, or an Egyptian, they hold this prohibition to have been long out of date, and that now any Gentile, as soon as proselyted to their religion, may immediately be admitted to make intermarriages with them.” See Dodd, and Prid. Con., Ann. 428. Nehemiah 13:2 Because they met not the children of Israel with bread and with water, but hired Balaam against them, that he should curse them: howbeit our God turned the curse into a blessing. Nehemiah 13:3 Now it came to pass, when they had heard the law, that they separated from Israel all the mixed multitude. Nehemiah 13:3 . They separated from Israel all the mixed multitude — All the Ammonites, Moabites, and other heathenish people, with whom they had contracted alliances. All these were cast out from the congregation of Israel, together with the children born of them; that is, they would not look upon them as Israelites, or as entitled to the same privileges with themselves. Nehemiah 13:4 And before this, Eliashib the priest, having the oversight of the chamber of the house of our God, was allied unto Tobiah: Nehemiah 13:4 . And before this — That is, before this separation was made; Eliashib the priest — The high-priest, ( Nehemiah 3:1 ,) or some other priest so called, there being divers persons of this name in or about this time, though the first seems most probable; having the oversight of the chamber — Of the chambers, ( Nehemiah 13:9 ,) the high-priest having the chief power over the house of God, and all the chambers belonging to it; was allied unto Tobiah — The Ammonite, and a violent enemy to God’s people. He had suffered his grandson to marry Sanballat’s daughter, who was the fast friend of Tobiah, and the great enemy of the Jews. This is mentioned as a great blot on Eliashib’s character, and the cause of his other miscarriages, noticed Nehemiah 13:5 . We read also in Ezra 10:18 , that several of the priests had married strange wives; and, among the rest, some of the sons of the high-priest. Nehemiah 13:5 And he had prepared for him a great chamber, where aforetime they laid the meat offerings, the frankincense, and the vessels, and the tithes of the corn, the new wine, and the oil, which was commanded to be given to the Levites, and the singers, and the porters; and the offerings of the priests. Nehemiah 13:5 . He had prepared for him a great chamber — By breaking down the partitions, it is probable, between several little chambers, where holy things were laid, and by removing the things which were in them, he had prepared one large room for Tobiah’s reception, when he came to Jerusalem. This, no doubt, he had furnished for his use, and here Tobiah lodged, in order that he and the high-priest might have more free and secret communication with each other, this being a place where the people might not come. Nehemiah 13:6 But in all this time was not I at Jerusalem: for in the two and thirtieth year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon came I unto the king, and after certain days obtained I leave of the king: Nehemiah 13:6 . But in all this time was I not at Jerusalem — Which gave Eliashib the opportunity of doing these things; for unless Nehemiah had been absent, he durst not have done them. For in the two and thirtieth year of Artaxerxes, came I unto the king — Namely, from Jerusalem, where he had been once and again; and after certain days obtained I leave of the king — To return to Jerusalem. In the Hebrew it is, At the end of days; that is, at the year’s end: for so the word ???? , jamim, (days,) often signifies in Scripture. Nehemiah 13:7 And I came to Jerusalem, and understood of the evil that Eliashib did for Tobiah, in preparing him a chamber in the courts of the house of God. Nehemiah 13:7 . The evil Eliashib did in preparing him a chamber — “Tobiah had insinuated himself into the good opinion of many of the people, and especially those of note, by his making two alliances with families of this sort: for Johanan his son had married the daughter of Meshullam, the son of Berechiah, ( Nehemiah 6:18 ; Nehemiah 3:4 ,) who was one of the chief managers of the building of the wall of Jerusalem, and he himself had married the daughter of Shechaniah, another great man among the Jews. By these means he had formed an interest, and was looked upon as a worthy man, though, being an Ammonite, he could not but bear a national hatred to all that were of the race of Israel.” See Prideaux, An. 425. Nehemiah 13:8 And it grieved me sore: therefore I cast forth all the household stuff of Tobiah out of the chamber. Nehemiah 13:8 . It grieved me sore — That so sacred a place should be polluted by one who, on many accounts, ought not to have come there, being no priest, a stranger, an Ammonite, and one of the worst of that people; and that all this should be done by the permission and order of the high-priest. Nehemiah 13:9 Then I commanded, and they cleansed the chambers: and thither brought I again the vessels of the house of God, with the meat offering and the frankincense. Nehemiah 13:9 . Then I commanded, and they cleansed the chambers — Which had been thus profaned, and restored them to their former sanctity, by the water of purification, and such other means and rites as were then usual in such cases. And thither brought I again the vessels of the house of God — Which had been cast out to make room for Tobiah. Thus when sin is cast out of the heart by repentance, and faith in the blood of Christ, let it be furnished with the graces of God’s Spirit, and such holy gifts and blessings as will thoroughly fit it for every good work. Nehemiah 13:10 And I perceived that the portions of the Levites had not been given them : for the Levites and the singers, that did the work, were fled every one to his field. Nehemiah 13:10 . The portion of the Levites had not been given them — Which might be, either, 1st, Through this corrupt high-priest, Eliashib, who took their portions, as he did the sacred chambers, to his own use, or employed them for the entertainment of Tobiah, and his other great allies: or, 2d, Through the people, who either out of covetousness reserved them to themselves, contrary to their own solemn agreement, or were so offended at Eliashib’s horrid abuse of sacred things, that they abhorred the offering and service of God, and therefore neglected to bring in their tithes, which they knew would be perverted to bad uses. For the Levites, &c., were fled — To their possessions in the country, being forced to do so for a livelihood. Nehemiah 13:11 Then contended I with the rulers, and said, Why is the house of God forsaken? And I gathered them together, and set them in their place. Nehemiah 13:11 . Then contended I with the rulers — I sharply reproved those priests to whom the management of those things was committed, for the neglect of their duty, and breach of their late solemn promise. Why is the house of God forsaken? — So that there are few or no Levites or priests to attend there. You have not only injured men, in withholding their dues, but you have occasioned the neglect of God’s house and service, insomuch that little or no public worship is maintained. And I gathered them together — To Jerusalem, from their several country possessions. And set them in their place — Restored them to the exercise of their office. “A Levite in his field,” says Henry, “is out of his station: God’s house is his place, and there let him be found. Say to Archippus, Take heed to thy ministry.” Nehemiah 13:12 Then brought all Judah the tithe of the corn and the new wine and the oil unto the treasuries. Nehemiah 13:12 . Then brought all Judah the tithe, &c. — Out of the respect which they had to Nehemiah, and because they saw these tithes would now be applied to their proper uses. The people (as Conradus Pellicanus here observes) readily obey, if the magistrates and the priests be not remiss in their duty. As soon as the people saw the Levites at their work, they could not, for shame, withhold their wages any longer, but honestly and cheerfully brought them in. “The better church-work is done, the better will church-dues be paid.” — Henry. Nehemiah 13:13 And I made treasurers over the treasuries, Shelemiah the priest, and Zadok the scribe, and of the Levites, Pedaiah: and next to them was Hanan the son of Zaccur, the son of Mattaniah: for they were counted faithful, and their office was to distribute unto their brethren. Nehemiah 13:13 . For they were counted faithful — By the consent of those who knew them. They had approved themselves faithful in other trusts committed to them, and so had purchased to themselves this good degree, 1 Timothy 3:13 . Men should be tried first, and then trusted; tried in the less, and then trusted with more. The office of these treasurers was to receive and pay; to distribute to their brethren in due season, and due proportions. And Nehemiah sought out for faithful men the more diligently, because he had had experience of the perfidiousness of the former trustees. Nehemiah 13:14 Remember me, O my God, concerning this, and wipe not out my good deeds that I have done for the house of my God, and for the offices thereof. Nehemiah 13:14 . Remember me, O my God, concerning this — What I have done with an upright heart for thy house and service, be pleased graciously to accept, and remember for my good, according to thy promise. Nehemiah receiving no recompense, perhaps not even thanks, from those for whose benefit he did these things, he looks up to God as his paymaster, and refers himself and his actions to his consideration; not in pride, or as boasting of what he had done, much less depending upon it as his righteousness, or as if he thought he had made God his debtor, but in an humble appeal to him concerning his integrity and pure intention in all this service, and a believing expectation that God would not be unrighteous to forget his work and labour of love. And wipe not out my good deeds that I have done for the house of my God, &c. — Deeds done for the house of God, and the offices thereof, for the support of religion, and the encouragement of it, are good deeds; there is both righteousness and godliness in them; both mercy to men, and piety toward God; and God will certainly remember them, and not wipe them out. They shall in nowise lose their reward. Here again we find, (see Nehemiah 5:19 ,) that Nehemiah was employed much in pious ejaculations; and on every occasion looked up to God, and committed himself and his affairs to him. He here reflects with comfort upon what he had done for the house and service of God, and it afforded him much satisfaction to think that he had been any way instrumental to revive and support religion in his country, and to reform what was amiss. In like manner the kindness which any show to God’s ministers and people, and the care and labour they take to aid his cause, shall be returned into their own bosoms, in the secret joy they shall have there, not only through a consciousness of having done well, but of having glorified God, and done good of the best kind, spiritual good, to the souls of men. Nehemiah 13:15 In those days saw I in Judah some treading wine presses on the sabbath, and bringing in sheaves, and lading asses; as also wine, grapes, and figs, and all manner of burdens, which they brought into Jerusalem on the sabbath day: and I testified against them in the day wherein they sold victuals. Nehemiah 13:15-16 . I testified against them — I protested against the action, and admonished them to forbear it. Men of Tyre brought fish, and sold on the sabbath in Jerusalem — The holy city, where God’s house was; and where the great judicatories of the nation were. So this is added as an aggravation of their sin, that it was done with manifest contempt of God and men. Nehemiah 13:16 There dwelt men of Tyre also therein, which brought fish, and all manner of ware, and sold on the sabbath unto the children of Judah, and in Jerusalem. Nehemiah 13:17 Then I contended with the nobles of Judah, and said unto them, What evil thing is this that ye do, and profane the sabbath day? Nehemiah 13:17 . Then I contended with the nobles — Their chief men and rulers; whom he charges with this sin, because, though others committed it, it was done by their countenance or connivance, probably by their example: and if these nobles had exercised their authority, the people durst not have done as they did. If magistrates, nobles, and people in the higher ranks of life, allow themselves in recreations, in idle visits and idle talk on the sabbath day, men of business will profane it by their worldly employments, as the more justifiable practice of the two. Nehemiah 13:18 Did not your fathers thus, and did not our God bring all this evil upon us, and upon this city? yet ye bring more wrath upon Israel by profaning the sabbath. Nehemiah 13:18-19 . Did not your fathers thus? — He bids them reflect, and consider that this was one of the crimes of which their fathers were guilty; and for which God had suffered them to be carried captive out of their land, and their city to be destroyed. Did not God bring all this evil upon us? — Which you so well and sadly remember, that I need not tell you the particulars. When the gates began to be dark — Which was about sun- setting, by reason of the mountains which were round about and near Jerusalem: at which time they who sat at the gates could no longer see to do any thing. I commanded that the gates should be shut — In order that none who came to sell goods might enter in, and that no burden might be brought in on the sabbath day, or late in the evening before it, or early in the morning after. And some of my servants set I at the gates — Out of a diffidence in those to whom the keeping of the gates had been committed. Nehemiah 13:19 And it came to pass, that when the gates of Jerusalem began to be dark before the sabbath, I commanded that the gates should be shut, and charged that they should not be opened till after the sabbath: and some of my servants set I at the gates, that there should no burden be brought in on the sabbath day. Nehemiah 13:20 So the merchants and sellers of all kind of ware lodged without Jerusalem once or twice. Nehemiah 13:20-21 . The merchants, &c., lodged without Jerusalem — In the open field, (as appears by the next verse,) where, perhaps, they pitched their tents, and opened their packs, hoping to sell their wares on the sabbath day to the country people, though they could not get admittance into Jerusalem. Then I testified against them, and said, I will lay hands on you — I will punish you and seize your goods. For this was a temptation to covetous or needy Jews, that lived in or near the city, to steal opportunities of buying their commodities, which then they might do with more advantage. From that time forth came they no more on the sabbath — Such power have good magistrates; especially when they are resolute. And it is very observable, that these traffickers, being men of other nations, were not bound by the law of the sabbath enjoined to the Jews, and did not transgress in breaking it; yet he would not permit them to make the Jews, who were under the obligation of it, to break it; and thereby trouble the commonwealth of Israel, by drawing the people into sin. It is also observable, that though buying and selling was not a servile work, yet he thought this to be comprehended in those words, Thou shalt do no manner of work. Nehemiah 13:21 Then I testified against them, and said unto them, Why lodge ye about the wall? if ye do so again, I will lay hands on you. From that time forth came they no more on the sabbath. Nehemiah 13:22 And I commanded the Levites that they should cleanse themselves, and that they should come and keep the gates, to sanctify the sabbath day. Remember me, O my God, concerning this also, and spare me according to the greatness of thy mercy. Nehemiah 13:22 . I commanded the Levites that they should cleanse themselves — Because the work they now were set upon, though common in its nature, yet was holy in the design of it, and had respect unto the sabbath: and, because the day in which they were to do this was the sabbath day, for the observation whereof they were obliged to purify themselves; that they should come and keep the gates — The gates of the city: not daring to trust the common porters, and thinking that the Levites, by virtue of their character, would be more reverenced, and meet with more deference and respect than his domestic servants, he therefore appointed them to this office of keeping the gates on the sabbath, that all traffic might be prevented, and the day not fail to be sanctified, as it ought to be. O my God, spare me according to the greatness of thy mercy — By this he intimates, that though he mentioned his good works as things wherewith God was well pleased, and which he had promised to reward, yet he neither did, nor durst, trust to their merit, or his own worthiness, but, when he had done all, he judged himself an unprofitable servant, and one that needed God’s infinite mercy to pardon all his sins, and particularly those infirmities and corruptions which adhered to his good deeds. Nehemiah 13:23 In those days also saw I Jews that had married wives of Ashdod, of Ammon, and of Moab: Nehemiah 13:23 . Also saw I Jews that had married wives of Ashdod — A city of the Philistines; of Ammon and of Moab — They had married strangers, though not long before they had most solemnly promised not to do so, Nehemiah 10:30 . So hard a thing it is perfectly to root out tares, which will be continually springing up again. Nehemiah 13:24 And their children spake half in the speech of Ashdod, and could not speak in the Jews' language, but according to the language of each people. Nehemiah 13:24 . And their children spake half in the speech of Ashdod, &c. — What the natural language of the Jews at this time was, whether Hebrew or Chaldee, is matter of some inquiry among the learned. Those who suppose it was Hebrew, produce the books of Nehemiah, Ezra, and Esther, besides the prophecies of Daniel, which, for the most part, were written in Hebrew, and which they suppose the authors of them would not have composed in that language, if at that time it had not been the vulgar language. But to this it is replied, that the Jewish authors might make use of the Hebrew language in what they wrote, not only because the things which they recorded concerned the Jewish nation only, among whom there were learned men enough to explain them; but, chiefly, because they were inclined to conceal what they wrote from the Chaldeans, who at that time were their lords and masters, and, considering all circumstances, might not, perhaps, have been so well pleased with them, had they understood the contents of their writings. Since it appears then, say they, by several words recurring in the book of Maccabees, the New Testament, and Josephus, that the language which the Jews then spoke was Chaldee, that this language they learned in their captivity, and after their return never assumed their ancient Hebrew tongue so as to speak it vulgarly; it must hence follow, that what is here termed the language of the Jews, was at that time no other than the Chaldee, for the ancient Hebrew was only preserved among the learned. See Le Clerc and Dodd. Nehemiah 13:25 And I contended with them, and cursed them, and smote certain of them, and plucked off their hair, and made them swear by God, saying , Ye shall not give your daughters unto their sons, nor take their daughters unto your sons, or for yourselves. Nehemiah 13:25 . And I contended with them, &c. — These words, it must be acknowledged as proceeding from Nehemiah’s own mouth, sound somewhat harshly in our translation; but the meaning of them seems to be only as follows: I contended with them — That is, I expostulated the matter with them; I cursed them — That is, excommunicated them, and cast them out of the society of God’s people; in the doing of which, I denounced God’s judgments against them; I smote certain of them — That is, I ordered the officers to beat some of the most notorious offenders with rods or scourges, according to the law, Deuteronomy 25:2 ; and I plucked off their hair — That is, I commanded them to be shaved, thereby to put them to shame, and to make them look like vile slaves; for as the hair was esteemed a great ornament among the eastern nations, so baldness was accounted a great disgrace. And Nehemiah had a sufficient provocation to inflict these several punishments upon them, because, in their marrying with heathen nations, they had acted contrary, not only to the express law of God, but to their own late solemn covenant and promise. See Poole and Dodd. Nehemiah 13:26 Did not Solomon king of Israel sin by these things? yet among many nations was there no king like him, who was beloved of his God, and God made him king over all Israel: nevertheless even him did outlandish women cause to sin. Nehemiah 13:26 . Did not Solomon sin by these things? — He quotes a precedent to show the pernicious consequences of their conduct, which were such as rendered it necessary that their sin should be animadverted upon by the government. The falls of great and good men are therefore recorded, that we may take warning by them to shun the temptations by which they were overcome. Solomon was famous for wisdom; yet, when he married strange wives, his wisdom could not secure him from the snares of such connections: nay, it departed from him, and he acted very foolishly as well as wickedly. He was beloved of God, but his conduct, in that particular, threw him out of God’s favour, and went near entirely to extinguish the grace of God in his soul. He was king over Israel, but that lost his house ten of the twelve tribes. You plead that you can marry strange wives, and yet retain the purity of Israelites; but Solomon himself could not; even him did outlandish women cause to sin — Therefore let him that assuredly standeth, take heed lest he fall, when he runs upon such a precipice. Nehemiah 13:27 Shall we then hearken unto you to do all this great evil, to transgress against our God in marrying strange wives? Nehemiah 13:27-28 . Shall we then hearken unto you to do all this great evil? — That is, would you have me to connive at this wickedness, and so bring guilt upon myself, and ruin upon you? And one of the sons of Joiada, the son of Eliashib, &c. — It is supposed Eliashib died before Nehemiah returned from Persia, and that Joiada his son succeeded him as high-priest, one of whose sons had offended in this matter. Was son-in-law to Sanballat the Horaonite — He is said by Josephus to have been that Manasseh who, by Sanballat’s interest, procured liberty to build the Samaritan temple on mount Gerizim; to which those priests who had married strange wives, or been otherwise criminal, betook themselves: and, with or after them, others of the people in the same or like circumstances. Therefore I chased him from me — From my presence and court, from the city and temple, and from the congregation and church of Israel. Nehemiah 13:28 And one of the sons of Joiada, the son of Eliashib the high priest, was son in law to Sanballat the Horonite: therefore I chased him from me. Nehemiah 13:29 Remember them, O my God, because they have defiled the priesthood, and the covenant of the priesthood, and of the Levites. Nehemiah 13:29 . Remember them, O my God — Convince them of sin, and bring them to repentance; put them in mind of what they should be and do, that they may come to themselves. Or, remember them to reckon with them for it, and punish them according to their deserts. If we consider the words in this light, the prayer is a prediction that God would remember it against them. Because they have defiled the priesthood — God required greater purity in the priests than in other Israelites, and in the high-priest especially, who might marry none but a virgin of his own people, Leviticus 21:6-14 ; and the covenant of the priesthood, and of the Levites — There was a covenant with Phinehas (Numbers 25.) of an everlasting priesthood, which they had violated, because the covenant was mutual, binding them to observe the laws of the priesthood, as God engaged himself to preserve them in their office. What covenant was made with the Levites does not appear, but it is likely the meaning is, they dishonoured the whole tribe of Levi, who were set apart for divine ministries. Nehemiah 13:30 Thus cleansed I them from all strangers, and appointed the wards of the priests and the Levites, every one in his business; Nehemiah 13:30 . Thus cleansed I them from all strangers — That is, both priests and Levites were separated from their strange wives: and appointed the wards of the priests, &c. — To observe their courses of attendance at the house of God, and every one to perform there that business which was proper to him. Nehemiah 13:31 And for the wood offering, at times appointed, and for the firstfruits. Remember me, O my God, for good. Nehemiah 13:31 . Remember me, O my God, for good — The best services done to the public, have sometimes been forgotten by those for whom they were done, Ecclesiastes 9:15 ; therefore Nehemiah refers himself to God to be recompensed by him, and then doubts not but he shall be well paid. This may well be the summary of our petitions: we need no more to make us happy but this, Remember me, O my God, for good. Benson Commentary on the Old and New Testaments Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com . Used by Permission.

Expositor's Bible Commentary Nehemiah 13:1 On that day they read in the book of Moses in the audience of the people; and therein was found written, that the Ammonite and the Moabite should not come into the congregation of God for ever; THE RIGOUR OF THE REFORMER Nehemiah 13:1-31 THERE is no finality in history. The chapter, that seems to be rounded off with a perfect conclusion always leaves room for an appendix, which in its turn may serve as an introduction to another chapter. Ezra’s and Nehemiah’s work seemed to have reached its climax in the happy scene of the dedication of the walls. All difficulties had vanished; the new order had been. greeted with widespread enthusiasm; the future promised to be smooth and prosperous. If the chronicler had laid down his pen at this point, as any dramatist before Ibsen who was not bound by the exigencies of prosaic facts would have done, his work might have presented a much more artistic appearance than it now wears. And yet it would have been artificial, and therefore false to the highest art of history. In adding a further extract from Nehemiah’s memoirs that discloses a revival of the old troubles, and so shows that the evils against which the reformers contend had not been stamped out, the writer mars the literary effect of his record of their triumph, but, at the same time, he satisfies us that he is in contact with real life, its imperfections and its disappointments. It is not easy to settle the time of the incident mentioned in Nehemiah 13:1-3 . The phrase "on that day" with which the passage opens seems to point back to the previous chapter. If so it cannot be taken literally, because what it describes must be assigned to a later period than the contents of the paragraph that follows it. It forms an introduction to the extract from Nehemiah’s memoirs, and its chronological position is even later than the date of the first part of the extract, because that begins with the words "And before this," { Nehemiah 13:4 } i.e ., before the incident that opens the chapter. Now it is clear that Nehemiah’s narrative here refers to a time considerably after the transactions of the previous chapter, inasmuch as he states that when the first of the occurrences he now records happened he was away in the court of Artaxerxes. { Nehemiah 13:6 } Still later, then, must that event be placed before which this new incident occurred. We might perhaps suppose that the phrase "at that day" is carried over directly from the chronicler’s original source and belongs to its antecedents in that document, but so clumsy a piece of joinery is scarcely admissible. It is better to take the phrase quite generally. Whatever it meant when first penned, it is clear that the events it introduces belong only indefinitely to the times previously mentioned. We are really landed by them in a new state of affairs. Here we must notice that the introductory passage is immediately connected with the Nehemiah record. It tells how the law from Deuteronomy requiring the exclusion of the Ammonite and the Moabite was read and acted on. This is to be remembered when we are studying the subsequent events. When Nehemiah’s extended leave of absence had come to an end, or when perhaps he had been expressly summoned back by Artaxerxes, his return to Babylon was followed by a melancholy relapse in the reformed city of Jerusalem. This is not by any means astonishing. Nothing so hinders and distresses the missionary as the repeated outbreak of their old heathen vices among his converts. The drunkard cannot be reckoned safe directly he has signed the pledge. Old habits may be damped down without being extinguished, and when this is the case they will flame up again as soon as the repressive influence is removed. In the present instance there was a distinct party in the city, consisting of some of the most prominent and influential citizens, which disapproved of the separatist, puritanical policy of the reformers and advocated a more liberal course. Some of its members may have been conscientious men, who honestly deplored what they would regard as the disastrous state of isolation brought about by the action of Ezra and Nehemiah. After having been silenced for a time by the powerful presence of the great reformers, these people would come out and declare themselves when the restraining influences were removed. Meanwhile we hear no more of Ezra. Like Zerubbabel in the earlier period, he drops out of the history without a hint as to his end. He may have returned to Babylon thinking his work complete; possibly he had been recalled by the king. It is likely that some rumours of the declension of Jerusalem reached Nehemiah at the Persian court. But he did not discover the whole extent of this retrograde movement until he was once more in the city, with a second leave of absence from Artaxerxes. Then there were four evils that he perceived with great grief. The first was that Tobiah had got a footing in the city. In the earlier period this "servant" had been carrying on intrigues with some members of the aristocracy. The party of opposition had done its best to represent him in a favourable light to Nehemiah, and all the while this party had been traitorously keeping Tobiah informed of the state of affairs in the city. But now a further step was taken. Though one of the three leading enemies of Nehemiah, the ally and supporter of the Samaritan governor Sanballat, this man was actually permitted to have a lodging in the precincts of the temple. The locality was selected, doubtless, because it was within the immediate jurisdiction of the priests, among whom the Jewish opponents of Nehemiah were found. It is as though, in his quarrel with Henry, Thomas A. Becket had lodged a papal envoy in the cathedral close at Canterbury. To a Jew who did not treat the ordinances of religion with the Sadducean laxity that was always to be found in some of the leading members of the priesthood, this was most abhorrent. He saw in it a defilement of the neighbourhood of the temple, if not of the sacred enclosure itself, as’ well as an insult to the former governor of the city. Tobiah may have used his room for the purpose of entertaining visitors in state, but it may only have been a warehouse for trade stores, as it had previously been a place in which the bulky sacrificial gifts were stowed away. Such a degradation of it, superseding its previous sacred use, would aggravate the evil in the sight of so strict a man as Nehemiah. The outrage was easily accounted for. Tobiah was allied by marriage to the priest who was the steward of this chamber. Thus we have a clear case of trouble arising out of the system of foreign marriages which Ezra had so strenuously opposed. It seems to have opened the eyes of the younger reformer to the evil of these marriages, for hitherto we have not found him taking any active part in furthering the action of Ezra with regard to them. Possibly he had not come across an earlier instance. But now it was plain enough that the effect was to bring a pronounced enemy of all he loved and advocated into the heart of the city, with the rights of a tenant, too, to back him up. If "evil communications corrupt good manners," this was most injurious to the cause of the reformation. The time had not arrived when a generous spirit could dare to welcome all comers to Jerusalem. The city was still a fortress in danger of siege. More than that, it was a Church threatened with dissolution by reason of the admission of unfit members. Whatever we may say to the social and political aspects of the case, ecclesiastically regarded, laxity at the present stage would have been fatal to the future of Judaism, and the mere presence of such a man as Tobiah, openly sanctioned by a leading priest, was a glaring instance of laxity; Nehemiah was bound to stop the mischief. The second evil was the neglect of the payments due to the Levites. It is to be observed again that the Levites are most closely associated with the reforming position. Religious laxity and indifference had had an effect on the treasury for which these men were the collectors. The financial thermometer is a very rough test of the spiritual condition of a religious community, and we often read it erroneously, not only because we cannot gauge the amount of sacrifice made by people in very different circumstances, nor just because we are unable to discover the motives that prompt the giving of alms "before men," but also, when every allowance is made for these causes of uncertainty, because the gifts which are usually considered most generous rarely involve enough strain and effort to bring the deepest springs of life into play. And yet it must be allowed that a declining subscription list is usually to be regarded as one sign of waning interest on the part of the supporters of any public movement. When we consider the matter from the other side, we must acknowledge that the best way to improve the pecuniary position of any religious enterprise is not to work the exhausted pump more vigorously, but to drive the well deeper and tap the resources of generosity that lie nearer the heart-not to beg harder, but to awaken a better spirit of devotion. The third indication of backsliding that vexed the soul of Nehemiah was Sabbath profanation. He saw labour and. commerce both proceeding on the day of rest-Jews treading the winepress, carrying their sheaves, lading their asses, and bringing loads of wine, grapes, and figs, and all sorts of wares, into Jerusalem for sale, and fishmongers and pedlars from Tyre - not, of course, themselves to be blamed for failing to respect the festival of a people whose religion they did not share-pouring into the city, and opening their markets as on any weekday. Nehemiah was greatly alarmed. He went at once to the nobles, who seem to have been governing the city, as a sort of oligarchy, during his absence, and expostulated with them on their danger of provoking the wrath of God again, urging that Sabbath-breaking had been one of the offences which had called down the judgment of Heaven on their fathers. Then he took means to prevent the coming of foreign traders on the Sabbath, by ordering the gates to be kept closed from Friday evening till the sacred day was over. Once or twice these people came up as usual and camped just outside the city, but as this was disturbing to the peace of the day, Nehemiah threatened that if they repeated the annoyance he would lay hands on them. ‘Lastly, he charged the Levites, first to cleanse themselves that they might be ready to undertake a work of purification, and then to take charge of the gates on the Sabbath and see that the day was hallowed in the cessation of all labour. Thus both by persuasion and by vigorous active measures Nehemiah put an end to the disorder. The importance attached to this matter is a sign of the prominence given to Sabbath-keeping in Judaism. The same thing was seen earlier in the selection of the law of the Sabbath as one of the two or three rules to be specially noted, and to which the Jews were to particularly pledge themselves in the covenant. { Nehemiah 10:31 } Reference was then made to the very act of the Tyrians now complained of the offering of wares and food for sale in Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. Putting these two passages together, we can see where the Sabbath-breaking came from. It was the invasion of a foreign custom-like the dreaded introduction of the "Continental Sunday" into England. Now to Nehemiah the fact of the foreign origin of the custom would be a heavy condemnation for it. Next to circumcision, Sabbath-keeping was the principal mark of the Jew. In the days of our Lord it was the most highly prized feature of the ancient faith. This was then so obvious that it was laid hold of by Roman satirists, who knew little about the strange traders in the Ghetto except that they "sabbatised." Nehemiah saw that if the sacred day of rest were to be abandoned, one of his bulwarks of separation would be lost. Thus for him, with his fixed policy, and in view of the dangers of his age, there was a very urgent reason for maintaining the Sabbath, a reason which of course does not apply to us in England today. We must pass on to the teaching of Christ to have this question put on a wider and more permanent basis. With that Divine insight of His which penetrated to the root of every matter, our Lord saw through the miserable formalism that made an idol of a day, and in so doing turned a boon into a burden. At the same time He rescued the sublimely simple truth which contains both the justification and the limitation of the Sabbath, when He declared, "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath." In resisting the rigour of legal-minded Sabbatarianism, the modern mind seems to have confined its attention to the second clause of this great utterance, to the neglect of its first clause. Is it nothing, then, that Jesus said, "The Sabbath was made for man"-not for the Jew only, but for man? Although we may feel free from the religion of law in regard to the observance of days as much as in other external matters, is it not foolish for us to minimise a blessing that Jesus Christ expressly declared to be for the good of the human race? If the rest day was needed by the Oriental in the slow-moving life of antiquity, is it any less requisite for the Western in the rush of these later times? But if it is necessary to our welfare, the neglect of it is sinful. Thus not because of the inherent sanctity of seasons, but on our Lord’s own ground of the highest utilitarianism-a utilitarianism which reaches to other people, and even to animals, and affects the soul as well as the body-the reservation of one day in seven for rest is a sacred duty. "The world is too much with us" for the six days. We can ill afford to lose the recurrent escape from its blighting companionship originally provided by the seventh and now enjoyed on our Sunday. Lastly, Nehemiah was confronted by the social effects of foreign marriage alliances. These, alliances had been contracted by Jews resident in the southwestern corner of Judaea, who may not have come under the influence of Ezra’s drastic reformation in Jerusalem, and who probably were not married till after that event. They afford another evidence of the counter-current that was running so strongly against the regulations of the party of rigour while Nehemiah was away. The laxity of the border people may be accounted for without calling in any subtle motives. But their fault was shared by a member of the gens of the high-priest, who had actually wedded the daughter of Nehemiah’s arch-enemy Sanballat! Clearly this was a political alliance, and it indicated a defiant reversal of the policy of the reformers in the very highest circles. The offender, after being expelled from Jerusalem, is said to have been the founder of the Samaritan temple on Mount Gerizim. Then the social mischief of the mixed marriages was showing itself in the corruption of the Hebrew language. The Philistine language was not allied to the Egyptian, as some have thought, nor was it Indo-Germanic, as others have supposed, but it was Semitic, and only a different dialect from the Hebrew, and yet the difficulty persons from the south of England feel in understanding the speech of Yorkshiremen in remote parts of the county will help us to account for a practical loss of mutual intelligence between people of different dialects, when these dialects were still more isolated by having grown up in two separate and hostile nations. For the children of Jewish parents to be talking with the tones and accents of the hereditary enemies of Israel was intolerable. When he heard the hated sounds, Nehemiah simply lost his temper. With a curse on his lips he rushed at the fathers, striking them and tearing their hair. It was the rage of bitter disappointment, but behind it lay the grim set purpose in holding to which with dogged tenacity Ezra and Nehemiah saved Judaism from extinction. Separatism is never gracious, yet it may be right. The reformer is not generally of a mild temperament. We may regret his harshness, but we should remember that the world has only seen one perfectly meek and yet thoroughly effective Revolutionist, only one "Lamb of God" who could be also named "the Lion of the tribe of Judah." The whole situation was disappointing to Nehemiah and his memoir ends in a prayer beneath which we can detect an undertone of melancholy. Three times during this last section he appeals to God to remember him-not to wipe out his good deeds, { Nehemiah 13:14 } to spare him according to the greatness of the Divine mercy, { Nehemiah 13:22 } and finally to remember him for good. { Nehemiah 13:31 } The memories of the Jerusalem covenanters had been brief; during the short interval of their leader’s absence they had forgotten his discipline and fallen back into negligent ways. It was vain to trust to the fickle fancies of men. With a sense of weary loneliness, taught to feel his own insignificance in that great tide of human life that flows on in its own course though the most prominent figures drop out of notice, Nehemiah turned to his God, the one Friend who never forgets. He was learning the vanity of the world’s fame, yet he shrank from the idea of falling into oblivion. Therefore it was his prayer that he might abide in the memory of God. This was by itself a restful thought. It is cheering to think that we may dwell in the memory of those we love. But to be held in the thought of God is to have a place in the heart of infinite love. And yet this was not the conclusion of the whole matter to Nehemiah. It is really nothing better than a frivolous vanity, that can induce any one to be willing to sacrifice the prospect of a real eternal life in exchange for the pallid shadow of immortality ascribed to the "choir invisible" of those who are only thought of as living in the memory of the world they have influenced enough to win "a niche in the temple of fame." What is fame to a dead man mouldering in his coffin? Even the higher thought of being remembered by God is a poor consolation in prospect of blank non-existence. Nehemiah expects something better, for he begs God to remember him in mercy and for good. It is a very narrow, prosaic interpretation of this prayer to say that he only means that he desires a blessing during the remainder of his life in the court at Susa. On the other hand, it may be too much to ascribe the definite hope of a future life to this Old Testament saint. And yet, vague as his thought may be, it is the utterance of a profound yearning of the soul that breaks out in moments of disappointment with an intensity never to be satisfied within the range of our cramped mortal state. In this utterance of Nehemiah we have, at least, a seed thought that should germinate into the great hope of immortality. If God could forget His children, we might expect them to perish, swept aside like the withered leaves of autumn. But if He continues to remember them, it is not just to His Fatherhood to charge Him with permitting such a fate to fall upon His offspring. No human father who is worthy of the name would willingly let go the children whom he cherishes in mind and heart. Is it reasonable to suppose that the perfect Divine Father, who is both almighty and all-loving, would be less constant? But if He remembers His children, and remembers them for good, He will surely preserve them. If His memory is unfading, and if His love and power are eternal, those who have a place in His immortal thought must also have a share in His immortal life. The Expositor's Bible Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com . Used by Permission.