Nehemiah 13:15-31
Jews against the Lord for these three matters:
1.No Tithe to the temple of the Lord and the Levites. "Why is the house of God neglected?"
2.Desecrating the Sabbath. "Didn't your forefathers do the same things, so that our God brought all this calamity upon us and upon this city?"
3.Marriage to foreign women or men. "Was it not because of marriages like these that Solomon king of Israel sinned?" Nehemiah asked them
Remember me for 1) do not blot out what I have done for the house of my God. 2)show mercy to me according to your great love 3) because they defiled the priestly office and the covenant of the priesthood and of the Levites 4)with favor.
Nehemiah purified the priests and the Levites of everything foreign, and assigned them duties, each to his own task. He also made provision for contributions of wood at designated times and for the first fruits.
Why?
Pointed out their sins against the Lord and rebuke the nobles and priests. purify the servants of the Lord, assign them duties, each to his own task, made provision for the regular ceremony and devote the first fruits for the God. These are the necessary steps to purify the church also.
Marriage to foreign means to marriage to unbelievers today.
Sabbath is the Holy Sunday worship in today. Remember the Lord.
Devote tithe and devote the first fruit of each day to the Lord to witness what is our life's first priority.
The achievements of Ezra and Nehemiah in the crucial years following the return of their decimated nation from exile are notable. Without the teaching of the law, without the invincible faith and fearless action of these two leaders, it is doubtful if a distinctive Jewish religion and community - with all that means for the wider word- could have survived.
The objection to foreign women was not on the grounds of race, but because of their debased religions.(The Old Testament makes no objection to interracial marriage if both partners worship the God is Israel: the marriage of Moabite Ruth to Boaz is just one of many examples of 'foreigners' brought right in to the heart of God;s family.)
How?
Interpret the real meaning of the Bible and make actions to this day. The steps of Nehemiah are the good example for me to serve the Lord, 1) clean myself first, 2)have company with same faith to the Lord 3) put the Lord in first priority in my life.
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