Nehemiah 13

The Explanation

Nehemiah had done a huge job. The walls of Jerusalem stood again, the people had heard God's law, and everyone had promised to live as God's people. You would think: now everything is fine. But then Nehemiah has to go back to the king of Persia for a while. And when he returns to Jerusalem, he cannot believe his eyes.

The first thing he discovers is shocking. Eliashib, a priest who was responsible for the temple rooms, had cleared out a large storage room. Not for offerings or grain, but for Tobiah. That was exactly the man who had earlier mocked and opposed Nehemiah. Tobiah, an enemy of God's people, was living in the temple! Nehemiah writes: "It grieved me severely." So he throws all of Tobiah's household stuff out onto the street and has the room cleansed.

Then he finds out that the Levites, who worked in the temple as singers and helpers, had not received their food portions. They had gone back to their fields to survive. The temple was almost empty. Nehemiah gets angry with the leaders and asks, "Why is God's house forsaken?" He puts everything in order again and appoints trustworthy people over the storage rooms.

Then the Sabbath. God had given his people one day a week to rest and to think of him. But Nehemiah sees people pressing wine, loading donkeys, selling fish, right through the Sabbath. He commands that the city gates be closed before the Sabbath begins. When merchants keep camping outside the walls, he warns them sharply: if you come again, I will lay hands on you. It works.

And finally he sees something painful. Many Jewish men have married women from surrounding peoples. Their children speak a mixed language and hardly know the language of Israel anymore. That means they can barely read God's Word. Nehemiah gets furious. He reminds them of King Solomon, the wisest king who ever lived, who yet went astray through foreign wives who worshiped other gods.

Four times in this chapter Nehemiah prays a short prayer: "Remember me, my God."

What Does This Mean?

This chapter is honest. Painfully honest. The people had just promised big things, and a few years later much of it had slipped away again. That is a difficult truth in the Bible: people forget quickly. Even believers do.

Nehemiah is not a gentle character here. He throws furniture out, pulls hair, closes gates. That may sound harsh. But behind that anger is something important: he sees that God is being pushed aside. God's house is being used for an enemy. God's day is being trampled. God's people are losing their own identity. Nehemiah fights back because he loves God.

And notice: the book of Nehemiah does not end with a triumphant "and they lived happily ever after." It ends with a prayer: "Remember me, my God, for good." As if Nehemiah himself already knows: I cannot fix this problem forever.

The Common Thread

The whole Old Testament shows the same pattern. God saves his people, the people promise faithfulness, and after a while it goes wrong again. You almost start to wonder: will there ever come someone who does keep it? Who is completely faithful?

Yes. Jesus. He is the one who did keep God's law perfectly. He cleansed the temple too, just like Nehemiah, when he chased out the merchants (do you remember that story?). But Jesus does more. He does not only clean up the outside, he makes hearts new from the inside. So that we no longer forget God after a few years, but truly become his people.

For You

You know that feeling: on Sunday you promise something to God, and by Wednesday you have already forgotten. That is not strange, that has always been the way with people. The question is not whether you always do it perfectly. The question is: do you dare, like Nehemiah, to come back and say, "God, remember me"?

And there is something else. Nehemiah got angry because things that belonged to God were being treated carelessly. What in your life belongs to God? Your Sunday? Your prayer? Your Bible? Do you also sometimes find it hard to protect those?

Talk About It

Nehemiah acts pretty rough in this chapter. Do you think that was right of him, or did he go too far? Why?

Why do you think people forget God's rules so quickly, even when they have just promised something?

Praying Together

Lord God, thank you that you keep remembering us, even when we forget you. Help us to take you seriously, not just for one day, but really. Thank you for Jesus, who did what we cannot do. Remember us, our God, for good. Amen.