#13 “Book of Nehemiah”
Series
"CHOICES: CALAMITY OR CLEANSING!"
TEXT: Nehemiah
13:1-31
INTRO: One of the
greatest gifts outside of salvation that God has given all human beings is the
gift of CHOICE! Unlike the animals
who operate on a level of mostly instinctive behavior humans have very few
instincts outside of some simple basic ones: SURVIVAL, SUCKLING, and NURTURE BY
FOOD & WATER.
Most of the other areas in our lives
involve the need to make CHOICES. Life is really a series of choices ... if
we choose wisely we often find joy and self-respect. If we choose unwisely we often suffer
many sorrows from those poor choices ... some sorrows lasting a
lifetime.
ILLUS: We who
lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts
comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but
they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one
thing: the last of human freedoms -- to choose one's attitude in any given set
of circumstances, to choose one's own way. --
Viktor Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning -- James S. Hewett, Illustrations
Unlimited (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc, 1988) p. 41.
Even when we choose unwisely ... once
we realize it, how we choose to respond to if can mean the difference of
learning from it or becoming bitter over it!
The ability to choose will be with us
the rest of our lives ... it is a powerful and awesome gift ...
with powerful impact upon our lives and those closest to
us.
PROP. SENT: Nehemiah upon his return had
discovered the people had made a series of poor choices that had a cumulative
affect upon the whole population of Israel that had driven them from their
commitment to God! It was time to
call them back to make the right choices NOW ... or suffer the consequences that
time has shown again and again leads to captivity and
bondage!
I. CONDITION OF CALL
13:1-3
A. Criteria
13:1-2
1. This paragraph is not
necessarily a part of the material that follows in verses 4ff on ... but indicates a time when God’s
Word was read to them to let them know what choices they were to make if they
wanted God's best!
2. The very basis of wise
decisions would come from God's Word ... the best source of
information!
a. Knowledge sits within our
intellect.
b. Wisdom sits within our hearts
and will!
c. No wonder Solomon spent so
much time advocating getting WISDOM, even more than
knowledge!
3. Knowledge can give someone a
head full of ideas and impress others with the accumulation and articulation of
that knowledge!
4. BUT, wisdom is the ability to
take knowledge and properly apply it by wise choices!
a. This is why it is possible
for some very intelligent people to be so ignorant.
b. And why some very uneducated
people can be so wise!
c. Godliness and the commitment
of obedience to God's Word is the very HEART OF
WISDOM!
5. The criteria of healthy choices come from acceptance of
God's instructions from His Word ... and the application of those Words to our
life!
6. NOTICE NO ONE WAS INCLUDED IN
THE “ASSEMBLY
OF GOD” unless they were obedient servants of the Word! (See vs. 1!)
a. Was it just the nationality
that was excluded here? I think
not, Ruth was a Moabitess ... she was accepted by God within the Israelite
community...
ILLUS: After a
great gathering of Christian youth, the offering was being counted. At the
bottom of the offering, the counters found a picture of a teenage girl. They all made the same immediate
assumption. Some boy had taken a
girl's wallet, taken out the picture and thrown it in the offering basket as a
practical joke. That's the kind of
thing teenagers sometimes do. Then
someone turned the picture over. There was something written on the back.
"I have nothing to give, but I give
myself." -- Robert C. Shannon, 1000 Windows, (Cincinnati, Ohio:
Standard Publishing Company, 1997).
b. Therefore the rejection of
these people mentioned was because of clear evidence that they had helped Israel
make choices contrary to God's declared Word. GET RID OF THEM was the
command!
c. It was not just strictly
ethnic issues at stake; it was obedience to God’s Word that was at
stake.
B. Commitment!
13:3
1. The only smart choice was to
remove the influence of evil among them!
2. Rather than influencing these
evil people just the opposite had happened as we shall discover later in this
chapter around verses
23-27.
3. It would mean the CHOICE of
breaking off relationships with those who only helped lead them into corruption,
a people who had earlier ignored helping Israel in the desert ... in other words
a type of people who only thought of their own needs.
ILLUS: One of the
ancient fathers, we are told, had lived with a woman before his conversion, and
a short time after she accosted him as usual. Knowing how likely he was to fall into
sin, he ran away with all his might, and she ran after him, crying, "Why do you
run away? It's only
me."
He answered, "I run away because I
am not myself. I am a new
man." -- Charles Haddon Spurgeon, The Quotable Spurgeon, (Wheaton:
Harold Shaw Publishers, Inc, 1990)
4. Israel didn't need help in
becoming more selfish, human nature already is bent this way, they needed to
make a commitment based on the knowledge of God's Word ... in other words: TO CHOOSE
WISELY!
II. CONNECTION TO CORRUPTION
13:4-5; 1 Tim. 6:10
A. Compromise 13:4; 1 Tim.
6:10
1. For the sake of advantage the
high priest had compromised himself and all Israel by allowing Tobiah an ungodly
man to live within the temple structure, something strictly forbidden by God's
Word!
2. This compromise had a
material or monetary aspect to it!
3. Allowing this brought all
kinds of trade and goods into
4. Sometimes however the choices
we make to get so much of the world’s goods can end up compromising our
commitment to be faithful to God ... perhaps even in our
giving!
a. 1
TIM. 6:10 Pastor Timothy was instructed by Paul to warn the rich within
the church ... in fact not just the rich but those who were making the choice to
get rich:
b. …“for the love of
money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have
wandered from the faith and PIERCED THEMSELVES THROUGH WITH MANY
GRIEFS!”
5. Eliashib had not had his
hands twisted behind his back and forced to make this choice ... he chose
personal gratification over personal discipline, and the choice would cost him
... but then all choices in life always do: EITHER FOR GOOD RESULTS OR
EVIL!
ILLUS: Jan
Paderewski was asked by a fellow pianist if he could be ready to play a recital
on short notice. The famous
musician replied, "I am always ready.
I have practiced eight hours daily for forty years." The other pianist
said, "I wish I had been born with such determination." Paderewski replied, "We are all born
with it. I just used
mine." -- James S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited (Wheaton:
Tyndale House Publishers, Inc, 1988) pp. 159-160.
6. This single compromise of the
high priest would have results that spread throughout all of
Jerusalem!
B. Callus
13:5
1. Gradually as they continued
to make the choices to ignore what was right and continue choosing what they
knew to be wrong their hearts got harder and harder until they could rationalize
just about any choice they made that was contrary to God's
Word!
2. This still happens today ...
the more we choose incorrectly, the easier it gets and the reduction of guilt
becomes a very real consequence!
3. Our hearts become more and
more callus toward real righteousness!
4. The callus hearts of the
leaders at this point crept throughout the people of Jerusalem so that they
stopped giving ... and thus the Levites and singers could no longer be paid
their salaries; thus they were forced to choose returning to their plots of land
and growing grain to subsist on, and so there was no time for the temple
services!
5. The choice of one man, a main
leader had now spread throughout the entire city, this was the same people who
had celebrated so mightily the finished walls in chapter 12 and had earlier made fierce commitments
to NEVER NEGLECT THE HOUSE OF GOD! (Neh. 10:39b
"…We will not neglect the house of our
God.")
6. Yet, through compromise which
bred callousness they were doing that very thing ... NEGLECTING THE HOUSE OF GOD
... all because they now were just trying to survive
financially.
a. Their unwise choices for
prosperity had just the opposite effect!
b. Each struggled just to stay
afloat!
c. God's servants the Levites
couldn't be paid due to the lack of giving of tithes by the people so that the
Levites had to make a living off the land!
d. They were too busy
surviving to do any serving.
7. When you're too busy for God
... you are too busy!
8. Business had become more
important than tithes and offerings ... so they cleared the storage room for a
business man to live in, thus desecrating the HOUSE OF
GOD!
ILLUS: It seems
that more people today have a greater desire to live long than they do to live
well. -- Croft M. Pentz, The Complete Book of Zingers (Wheaton:
Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 1990).
9. It is interesting to note
that Nehemiah wasn't in town during this slip back into compromised
living!
III. CALAMITY OR CLEANSING!
13:6-31
A. Correction 13:6-9
1. Nehemiah returns only to be
shocked by what he finds ... a people who had made all the right decisions when
he had left – to a people who now had changed their minds and had made choices
that were bringing calamity upon them!
2. He knew that soon God's
judgment would fall upon them and any hope of being restored would
disappear!
3. The only thing to do ...
bring correction!
4. Since the corruption had
started from the top down ... this is where he begins!
5. We find him going to the
HOUSE OF GOD and throwing out all of the belongings of Tobiah the business
man! There came a time when
Nehemiah and God constituted the majority vote for
action!
ILLUS: At the
board meeting: "So the vote is as follows: Larry, Ruth, Dan, Sid, and Marcia are
for the proposal. God and I are
against." -- Cartoonist Joseph Farris in Leadership, Vol. 9, no.
3.
a. The scene was reminiscent of the picture of Jesus
throwing the money changers out of the temple!
b. There comes a time to
challenge poor choices ... this was it!
6. Correction involved 3
things:
a. CLEANSING THE GARBAGE OUT OF THE HOUSE OF
GOD.
b. PURIFYING AGAIN THE HOUSE OF GOD ...
RECOGNIZING THE SACREDNESS OF THE HOUSE OF GOD.
c. RESTORING THE PROPER EQUIPMENT AND SUPPLIES
SO THAT THE LEVITES COULD RETURN TO MINISTRY FULL
TIME!
7. These were hard choices, but
Nehemiah was prepared to make them and act upon
them! THAT'S THE SECRET TO SUCCESS ... ACT UPON
THEM!
a. It is not enough to want to
make the right choice ... we must DO SO and then ACT ON THOSE
CHOICES!
b. Desire changes very little
... action changes all!
B. Consequences
13:10-11
1. The poor choices of the
leaders after Nehemiah had left town resulted in a domino effect ... the
emphasis upon natural success and the choices toward that goal had the
consequences of pouring all their resources into business and neglecting the
HOUSE OF GOD!
2. This had led to no income for
the Levites who then had to search for a job to stay alive ... farming became
the only means of survival ... this led to NO WORD FROM GOD for the people ...
so they experienced the consequences also!
3. This is the irony of one
person’s poor choices ... they can have a whole string of effects upon others
close to them that bring pain and suffering or
compromise!
4. The choices
we make in life are CRITICAL to both us and those around us!
There are VERY REAL CONSEQUENCES TO
MAKING IMPROPER CHOICES!
ILLUS: One's
philosophy is not best expressed in words; it is expressed in the choices one
makes. ... In the long run, we shape our lives and we shape ourselves. The process never ends until we
die. And the choices we make are
ultimately our responsibility. -- Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962) - Edythe Draper, Draper's
Book of Quotations for the Christian World (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers,
Inc., 1992). Entry 1148.
C. Changes!
13:12-14
1. With just one man making
again the proper choices things begin to reverse themselves, change begins
taking place as the people once again make the RIGHT
CHOICES!
2. Soon the people are bringing
their tithes back knowing that the storeroom is empty and Tobiah is kicked out
of town!
3. This change allows for the
return of the Levites to ministry, a change which would again allow for the
people to be challenged to make the right choices again based on God's
Word!
4. This time however, Nehemiah
has 4 men appointed to make sure the collections are properly handled and this
makes less chance of failure this way!
5. This new concept of mutual
accountability would help reduce the possibility of the effects of just one
person’s poor choices influencing the rest of God's
people!
6. It is interesting what
Nehemiah prays for at the end of restoring these people to proper choices: "REMEMBER ME FOR
THIS, 0 MY GOD!"
ILLUS: Boston
preacher James Freeman Clarke said, "It may make a difference to all eternity
whether we do right or wrong today." -- Robert C. Shannon, 1000 Windows, (Cincinnati, Ohio:
Standard Publishing Company, 1997).
a. NOT "REWARD
ME..."
b. NOT "YOU PEOPLE OWE
ME..."
7. Also notice Nehemiah's words
in the later part of this verse: "I HAVE SO FAITHFULLY
DONE..."
a. This is not a spiritual pride
comment ... literally translated, the idea is this:
b. "A QUALITY WHICH
ACCEPTS OBLIGATION AND HONORS IT, COME WHAT MAY!" The idea: Make the right choices no
matter how they feel, or what others might say or do!
c. They understand the
importance of properly choosing the right, willing to accept any criticism or
mockery ... knowing right choices brings securing God's favor even when that
seems unimportant to others!
D. Consecration 13:15-22
1. The people during his absence
had also neglected the weekly worship time, using instead the Sabbath as just
another day to get richer!
2. This had been a very unwise
choice spiritually, although it seemed to make sense financially! (Many today still think this
way!)
3. Nehemiah takes a firm hand in
shutting down the neglect of GOD'S
4. Nehemiah also reminds the
leaders of Israel that it was this very practice of ignoring God on the Sabbath
that had led to their father’s captivity ... in other words, you guys have made
a very dumb decision ... guess where it will take you if you don't
change!?
5. At first the traders and
business men still come, they think that Nehemiah will give in soon and so they
wait below the gates for a few Sabbaths thinking, “HE CAN'T REALLY
MEAN IT ... OR THE PEOPLE WILL TIRE OF THIS OLD-TIMER AND HIS COMMITMENT TO
GOD!”
6. They picked the wrong guy to
bet on! Nehemiah out waited them!
... Finally he shouts down to them, HEY GUYS, “IF YOU STAY
THERE AGAIN I MYSELF WILL COME DOWN AND LAY HANDS ON YOU!” THEY MADE A WISE CHOICE, they quit
coming!
7. A mad prophet on God's side
can be a scary thing!
8. Again, success by the right
choice ... Nehemiah asks God to remember him for his commitment and stance here!
The only one he is concerned to
have approval from was God!
ILLUS: A true
leader is committed to the cause, and does not become the cause. Staying personally dedicated to the cause
can become extremely difficult, particularly if the cause succeeds. A subtle change in thinking can overtake
the leader of a successful ministry. He or she begins "needing" certain things
to carry on the ministry -- things that were not needed earlier. I admire Mother Teresa, who decided after
winning the Nobel Prize that she would not go to accept any more recognition
because it interfered with her work. She knew she was not in the business of
accepting prizes; she was in the business of serving the poor of Calcutta. She maintained her dedication to the
cause by refusing unrelated honors. -- James S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited (Wheaton:
Tyndale House Publishers, Inc, 1988), p. 311.
9. Making the right choices in
life is much easier when you know that it is God's approval you should seek, and
not man's!
E. Catastrophe! 13:23-29;
Ezra 9:3-4
1. The choice to ignore God's
call not to marry unbelievers had a devastating affect upon the entire nation
and witness of
a. Nehemiah as he travels
through town realizes that the people had chosen once again to ignore God's call
to not marry the unbelievers and he witnesses the large impact already on the
new generation of kids born by hearing them speaking in their mother's native
tongues rather than the Jewish tongue of Hebrew!
b. Why get bent out of shape
over this? It meant that the
identity of
c. The pagan influence was
beating out the godly influence; the evidence was in the kid's
language!
2. Could there be an important
lesson here for us! YES! It is critical that we teach our
children HOW VERY IMPORTANT it is that they identify themselves WITH CHRIST and
not this world, their language should give away what they are most being
influenced by!
3. DADS AND MOMS ... we have
never lived in a day that IS AS IMPORTANT AS OUR COMMITMENT TO GOD IS TODAY.
YOUR KIDS WILL BECOME THE ADULTS OF
THEIR GREATEST INFLUENCES TODAY! WHAT LANGUAGE ARE THEY
SPEAKING!?
4. If we lose our children to
the world it might reflect a series of poor choices on our hands ... not always,
but many times our choices will find their impact in our
children!
a. If we take the HOUSE OF GOD
lightly they are likely to treat it so too!
b. If we take the WORSHIP OF OUR
LORD as something we do when we have extra time then our children will reflect
that attitude.
c. IF WE SPEAK evil of our
brethren, our children will also!
d. IF WE IGNORE OUR GIVING they
will probably do so also!
e. THE CHILDREN ARE OUR GREATEST
GIFT FOR THE CHURCH'S continuation, IT SHOULD DRIVE US to make choices that
reflect our desire to teach them not just the knowledge of God's Word but show
them the wisdom of those choices by practicing that knowledge in our
lifestyle!
f. The results can be
catastrophic otherwise!
ILLUS: Max Jukes
lived in New York. He did not believe in Christ or in Christian training. He refused to take his children to
church, even when they asked to go. He has had 1,026 descendants; 300 were
sent to prison for an average term of thirteen years; 190 were public
prostitutes; 680 were admitted alcoholics. His family, thus far, has cost the state
in excess of $420,000. They made no
contribution to society.
Jonathan Edwards lived in the same
state, at the same time as Jukes. He loved the Lord and saw that his
children were in church every Sunday, as he served the Lord to the best of his
ability. He has had 929
descendants, and of these 430 were ministers; 86 became university professors;
13 became university presidents; 75 authored good books; 7 were elected to the
United States Congress. One was
vice president of his nation. His
family never cost the state one cent but has contributed immeasurably to the
life of plenty in this land today. -- James S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited (Wheaton:
Tyndale House Publishers, Inc, 1988) p. 195.
5. NEHEMIAH DOESN’T BEAT AROUND
THE BUSH ... he takes action.
a. He grabs a few of the men
(they were in authority and should have shown the way!) and beat a few of
them!
b. Then he pulled their hair out! (not the recommended style of discipline
today obviously!)
c. Nehemiah reflects a different
style of ministry from that of Ezra who had the same problem earlier: SEE EZRA 9:3-4 … Here Ezra sat down AND PULLED HIS
OWN HAIR OUT … this had scared the Jews who then turned around, NEHEMIAH
FIGURES THE SECOND TIME A NEW TACTIC SHOULD FRIGHTEN THEM ... HE BEATS THEM AND
TEARS THEIR HAIR OUT INSTEAD OF HIS OWN!
d. Well different prophets with
different styles ... but both were used by God to be effective ... different
styles worked because the choices were both the correct one ... be dramatic to
prevent a catastrophe!
e. Solomon is used as an example
of someone with great knowledge – but his wisdom was corrupted by ungodly bonds,
foreign women; if such a wise man chose wrongly how do they think they could
choose the same wrong and escape catastrophe?
F. Commendable
13:30-31
1. Nehemiah comes now to the
close of his ministry, his only interest during his lifetime: TO CHOOSE
RIGHT:
a. For
himself!
b. And for his brethren who he
had authority over!
2. Nehemiah knew the proper
choices would bring God's blessings upon His people and those they would then
influence in the world as a great people serving a great
God!
3. Their constant ability to
make the wrong choices however led them through cycle after cycle of catastrophe
and pain, bondage to bondage!
4. We will discover the same
truth today!
5. Knowing God's Word is not the
same as the Wisdom of doing God's Word!
ILLUS: Always,
love is a choice. You come up
against scores of opportunities every day to love or not to love. You encounter hundreds of small chances
to please your friends, delight your Lord and encourage your family. That's why love and obedience are
intimately linked -- you can't have one without the other. -- Joni Eareckson Tada, from Diamonds in the Dust
(copyrights 1993 by Joni Eareckson Tada).
Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, Michigan,
Marriage Partnership, Vol. 11, no. 3.
6. Right choices will
reward the soul with satisfaction and joy, and the knowledge that God will take
care of all our needs!
7. THE SIMPLE DYNAMIC OF
CHOICE will make or break your life, CHOOSE WISELY THAT YOU MIGHT
LIVE!
8. NEHEMIAH’S LIFE CAN BE
SUMMED UP IN 3 THINGS OR 3 CHOICES – and these contrast so much to the 3 CHOICES
MADE BY THE GREAT CAESAR who said,
a. "I CAME...
"
b. "I SAW...
"
c. "I
CONQUERED!" (And thus bondage resulted for most
people!)
9. NEHEMIAH'S LIFE
WAS:
a. "I CLEANSED...
"
b. "I
ESTABLISHED... "
c. "I
PROVIDED..." (These are
all found here at the end of the book ... choices he made that brought freedom
and cleansing to God's people!)
10. Nehemiah's life was that of making
the proper choices, first for himself and then for his people ... the result was
a renewal of God's people and the blessings of God upon them until once again
when a new generation grew up who knew not the Lord and the cycle of poor
choices brought in fresh condemnation and bondage!
CONCLUSION: The choices we make have
consequences to them, either good or bad. Those consequences rarely affect only our
own lives; others are often impacted by them also. This is also true of good choices, they
not only bless us, and they impact others by blessing them too! The right choices result in cleansing;
the wrong choices result in calamity! Be wise, not
just smart ... choose correctly and enjoy the fruit of God's blessings
and the joy that comes from honoring
God!