1On 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, 2for 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. 3As soon as the people heard the law, they separated from Israel all those of foreign descent.
4Now before this, Eliashib the priest, who was appointed over the chambers of the house of our God, and who was related to Tobiah, 5prepared 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. 6While 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 7and 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. 8And I was very angry, and I threw all the household furniture of Tobiah out of the chamber. 9Then 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.
10I 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. 11So I confronted the officials and said, “Why is the house of God forsaken?” And I gathered them together and set them in their stations. 12Then all Judah brought the tithe of the grain, wine, and oil into the storehouses. 13And 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. 14Remember 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.
Was it justifiable for Nehemiah to take drastic action against Tobiah after he returned from Persia. Have you ever take drastic action to get your life back to where you should be?
Share your thoughts with the group
The high priest had allowed his grandson to marry the daughter of Sanballat, the governor of Samaria, who was an ally of Tobiah the Ammonite. Both of these were vitriolic, bitter enemies of Nehemiah. This cozy alliance led to an invitation to Tobiah to actually move into the temple itself. To make room for him, the high priest took over the storeroom that was set apart for the grain, oil, and incense used by the Levites in their purification and ritual ceremonies. So there were two wrongs involved. An Ammonite and his family were actually living in the temple, contrary to the Law of Moses; and, they had deliberately defrauded the Levites of their rights of storage.
When Nehemiah returned he went into prompt and passionate action. He threw the baggage out, fumigated the room, and returned the oil, grain, and incense to their proper place. Many people feel that he overreacted. Today we do not get upset by the presence of evil and think it strange that a man should act like Nehemiah did. We have lost to a great degree our ability to express outrage and public indignation over things that are wrong.
We must remember, however, that this is similar to the incident in the New Testament when Jesus came into the temple and found it filled with moneychangers. Jesus reacted in a way similar to Nehemiah. He made a whip and went around the temple, upsetting tables and driving the moneychangers out. It indicates that there is a time for strong stands against the evils that others have indifferently accepted.
Evil invades us quietly. Before we are aware of it, we have compromised and gone along with standards widely accepted. We find the people of God have often been corrupted by this kind of thing. When it comes down to individuals, this is a picture of our struggle with our flesh. We must be prepared to be drastic and take often painful action to clear up the things that are wrong in our own affairs. Many Christians allow evil to take root in their own lives. This story pictures the way these false forces can invade our lives and take up rooms in the very temple of our spirit, polluting and destroying us in the process. Take action. Do not allow these evil things to remain. Even if it takes painful effort to do so, end it! That is what this great story teaches us.
Do we have the requisite credibility, courage and wisdom for expressing outrage in our decadent culture? Are we blinded by tolerance so as not to see the wrongness?
“Evil invades is quietly” I think Nehemiah’s actions were justified. He was aware and cognizant of the evil that was infiltrating the temple of God and took actions to cleanse and remove the evil.
I believe it was right and justified for Nehemiah to act as he did. I find that in my life evil can invade quietly, and although it is noticeable it’s also easy to be comfortable and ignore it if it feels small. It may be uncomfortable but we must not let any evil take root in our livelihood and it’s okay to act like Nehemiah and make drastic changes or decisions. For Nehemiah, what he saw was clearly against the law they studied so often.. so it was more than understandable to see how he acted.
Ofc Nehemiah’s action is justifiable. I like his personality a lot. He’s an action man and he cares for his ppl and he loves God. I would see myself doing what he did. I did not experience taking any drastic change in my life but I am aware if my own action and sometimes i need to repent or say sorry for what I did.
Today’s passage reminds me of the sermon given by Pastor Bumble when he was talking about how in a church we can be welcoming and have open arms to new comers, but once this new comer does something not according to the word of God do we just become naive to it or just try to work around it? No, we are to also rebuke them and potentially even ask them to leave. We may have a goal of serving God and exposing the truth to as many people as possible, but we are to also recognize that as long as we live on this earth, sin will continue to be persistent and bother us and our flesh. With that being said, I believe the actions of Nehemiah here was valid due to the disrespect and disobedience of Tobiah. Nehemiah did not do anything not according to the law of God, he simply was standing by it and taking action to it. Much like the idea of praying over a plan and also having to put your plan to action. We are to not sit idle because the devil’s goal is to defeat God at all cost. This means we are to protect at all cost, most importantly though, protect our way. We must address sin for what it is.
From brother Don
Concerning today’s passage, it is definitely justifiable for Nehemiah to have taken the drastic action he did against Tobiah. The fact that Tobiah the Ammonite had moved into the house of God was in direct violation of the Lord’s command as given directly in Deuteronomy 23:3-6. Furthermore, the motivations behind the allowance of this breach by the High Priest Eliashib were likely self-serving, and led to an unabashed desecration of the temple. Nehemiah’s actions call to mind Jesus’ response to the money changers that were desecrating the temple in His time.
I have taken drastic actions in my own life to get my life back to where it should be and right with God on more than one occasion. The particular instance which stands out most in my mind would be when I decided to indirectly turn myself, my daughters, and their mother in to Child Protective Services. When I first became a believer, just before my oldest daughter was born, God delivered me out of a 15 year period of bondage to drugs. Two and a half years and three kids later, my daughters mom and I both relapsed. That’s when our lives became a nightmare. We ended up back on the streets, now with 3 kids, our youngest daughter being born within that time. After nearly a year of this, we were at our jumping off point. The whole time, I felt the Lord tugging at my heart, trying to draw me back to Him. Finally, I had a “moment of clarity,” (what I know now to be a gracious gift from God,) and knew I had to take drastic action. I ended up turning us in to CPS. I confessed everything to a mandated reporter, telling her I knew our kids would be taken, but we needed help. So, CPS came and took our daughters, and, through a process of events I don’t have the space to put in this text, I was able to get sober, get my daughters back, raise them in a safe environment, and, most importantly, draw closer to God!
Not a day goes by that I don’t remember how God so graciously saved me and my children from that living hell.