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Bible Study Notes of Rev.Dr.I.J.W.Oakley (12-3-2002 Framsden Baptist Church)
In many ways the story of Nehemiah is one of continuing
triumph. The call of God, favourable circumstances opening up, good organisation,
success in rebuilding the walls, overcoming opposition, a nation reconstituted
and returning to the Lord, and the triumphant joyful procession. But the book
ends on a note of anti-climax. How true this is to life – we rarely get the
fairy tale ending we would wish for. Christian lives and Christian work can end
in disappointment. People and circumstances change, and God’s work does not
always go right. There are ups and downs, and the Devil is always busy. “Very
few ministers keep up to the end the edge that was on their spirit at the
first” (Andrew Bonar).
Nehemiah 13 brings to our attention three general truths which every church needs to be well aware of.
There are many mountaintop experiences in the individual
lives of Christians and in the lives of churches. We remember those times with
gratitude and awe. But they do not last. Christian life and church life is not
all thrills. The disciples on the Mount of Transfiguration had to go back down
into the valley. God is concerned with spiritual maturity and inner toughness
rather than thrills and more thrills.
Then we also cool off and grow slack. On the Day of
Pentecost there were 3000 converts, and over the next two decades the Gospel
spread over the Eastern Mediterranean world. But the New Testament ends with
seven letters to churches in Asia where revival had long gone. Sin,
unfaithfulness, false doctrine, immorality, hard heartedness and
half-heartedness marked these churches. There is a similar picture painted in
the Pastoral Epistles – doctrinal and moral problems were bringing the church
low. Even the glory days in Paul’s life were things of the past when we read
the letters to Timothy and Titus. The churches were going through bad times, and
Paul expected things to get worse.
We see the same thing in church
history. Jonathan Edwards, during the revival in New England in 1735 and 1740,
was greatly used as a preacher, writer and theologian. Soon after, his
congregation dismissed him because he took a Biblical line on a discipline issue
related to admission of the unconverted to the Lord’s Supper. He ended his
days an obscure missionary in the American frontier district. (There was a sharp
decline in his former congregation.)
Nehemiah 13 relates spiritual
decline among God’s people. After the walls were rebuilt, the people made a
binding agreement to follow the Law of Moses, to refrain from intermarriage with
non-Jews, to observe the Sabbath, and maintain the sacrifices in the house of
God, and by gifts to maintain the priests and Levites (Nehemiah 10:29ff). They
must have had short memories, because the situation was in an appalling mess by
ch.13. After 12 years as governor, Nehemiah went back to Susa, the Persian
palace where the story had started. On his return to Jerusalem for a second
spell, he found this appalling situation. The binding agreement had been broken
on every count. The Temple had been desecrated, tithes had dried up, and the
Jews were trading on the Sabbath and intermarrying with foreigners.
To rectify the situation would mean going back to square one. Zeal for the Lord had all but gone. Now, comfortable compromise prevailed. It was such a disappointment after all the hard work of Nehemiah and Ezra. Such a heart-breaking experience is not uncommon in some churches today.
When the New Testament speaks of the “world”, it
normally means society organized apart from God and against God and His will. It
is constantly trying to shape the Christian and the church into its mould,
adopting its standards and life style. When the ship is in the sea, all is well,
but when the sea is in the ship, there is disaster. We, as a church, are to be
in the world, but woe to us if the world is in the church.
There needs to be constant
vigilance on this issue. Worldly mindedness leads to broken vows and broken
lives. It was a constant problem throughout the story of Israel in the Old
Testament, eventually leading to judgement and exile. Now after the exile they
made more promises to do better – and again they failed. Once again the
world’s values, self-interest, materialism, disobedience and compromise
abounded.
Christians are still called to be different people, separated unto God. How often we forget.
Discipline in the context of the church does not mean
insensitive denunciation or a hangman’s rope, but rather, it involves
teaching, correcting, redirecting – and, when all else fails, barring from the
Lord’s Table and then excommunication from the church. The ultimate aim of
church discipline is not of crushing someone but encouraging repentance and
return to the Lord. Therefore discipline has an educational and pastoral aim.
Nehemiah first showed the
negative side of discipline. He threw Tobiah’s furniture out of the Temple,
rebuked the officials and heads of families, in one case coming to blows and
pulling hair out, he threatened the Sabbath traders, and drove away the priest
who was Sanballat’s son-in-law. Then he purified the Temple, the priests and
the Levites.
On the positive side, he started
to promote right thinking and living. Nehemiah realized that not acting against
the disorder would dishonour God and lead the people of God to remain immature
and therefore the cause of God would be very uncertain in the future. The well
being of tomorrow’s church depends on the discipline exercised today.
It is evident that Nehemiah felt
very strongly about the matter. He was angry and very forthright in his
description of evil. He acted decisively against it. He felt compelled to be
faithful. Nehemiah, not unlike Moses, David, Jesus or Paul, would never have
qualified for “Mr Nice Guy”. He was passionate for God’s glory and would
not tolerate anything that would obscure it. He appealed to God four times in
prayer in this passage, asking God to remember him in mercy and to remember
Eliashib’s family for judgement. His prayers expressed the fact that he was
committed to God, relying on God, and had whole-hearted devotion to God’s
cause. He sought God’s approval and support.
He had the sanctuary sanctified.
The layman Tobiah had no business in the Temple, so his possessions were thrown
out. The Temple rooms were put back to their proper use. The tithe collection,
which had been neglected, was restarted to support the Levites. Neglect of
obedience, no proper care of God’s house, no support for God’s servants, no
concern to glorify God are still matters for the church to repent of today.
The Sabbath was the day for
remembering God’s work in creation and redemption. The Jews should have been
delighting to observe this remembrance and worship God, but instead they were
trading. Christians in the New Testament met on the first day of the week, the
day Jesus rose from the dead. It became the “Lord’s Day”, and is God’s
gift for the health of our souls and the souls of others. Therefore we should
use it and honour it accordingly. It is the opportunity for united worship and a
time when God can be specially known. A well-spent Lord’s Day is a necessary
preparation for the next six days. We must take care to value it, prepare for
it, make the most of it, and beware of things encroaching on it. Keep Sunday
special.
Nehemiah said there was to be no
more intermarriage with non-Jews. It had taken place for financial advantage and
personal prestige, and as a result children did not even know their mother
tongue, and could not share in Israel’s worship or learn the Law. Had this
situation carried on, Israel’s faith would have eventually crumbled. Nehemiah
pointed out that intermarriage had been the ruin of Solomon.
Nehemiah did not enjoy doing these things but life is full of unwelcome necessities for leaders of God’s work. They have to combine zeal for God, care for people and dealing with sin. Pastoral care will always focus on families and family care. The family is the most basic form of human community, and when it deteriorates, so does society. There is urgent need to keep family life strong, godly and wholesome. The earliest impressions in the family last through life, and our children pass this way only once.
The outstanding characteristic of Nehemiah was his
persevering faithfulness. He had awesome tasks to perform. Then having achieved
so much, it all collapsed after a few years and he had to start all over again.
He refused to be discouraged, and refused to give up. Sheer faithfulness and
stickability were his trademarks. The lessons from his life are constantly
needed in Christian work and witness.
Triumph and success do not last.
Sooner or later they give way to disappointments, frustrations and grief. When
we care for others in our role as parents, teachers, leaders and pastors, we are
constantly subject to ups and downs. We will never finally “arrive” while on
this earth. Nehemiah’s clear-headed single-minded faithfulness to God was
because he was willing to speak out, take a lead, cross swords, take the heat in
the kitchen, sure that God would see him through. As someone described J.C.Ryle,
the same could be said of Nehemiah: “He was a man of granite with the heart of
a child”.
Behind all the outward action
was the essential character of humility, faith, love, joy and integrity. His
actions were not reactions of an hour but the outflow of a character formed and
moulded over the years. The basis of all was godliness and devotion to God.
Faithfulness is not as prized
and sought after as a supreme virtue in Christian work as it ought to be.
Nowadays, that which is most sought after is success. The success syndrome
pervades the whole of our western world. The constant vying for profit, TV
ratings, and number of newspapers sold, etc has invaded the church. Members want
their church to be the best attended, with the best givers, the most activities
and the most talked about. This puts pressure on pastors, because they get the
blame if there is no “success” in these areas. There is similar pressure on
the secretaries of Christian organizations and college principals. The numbers
game seems all-important to the onlookers, and it is viewed as the sign of
God’s blessing. Those without “success” in the numbers game lose heart,
and may go back to the secular world.
At the root of the problem is
unmartyred pride. Vain glory for some and total despair for others. The end
result is shallowness and superficiality. In the final analysis, God is the only
judge of success, for He knows how real and deep we are.
Did Nehemiah feel a failure at
the end of his life? Did Paul? Certainly Jeremiah must have done. Nehemiah had
seen spectacular revival followed by drastic spiritual relapse. He put things
right on his second visit, but in light of the past, did he wonder how long it
would last? But his concern was not success but faithfulness. Remember me for
this, O my God, and do not blot out what I have so faithfully done for the house
of my God and its services (Nehemiah 13:14). Also Paul’s last recorded
words: I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept
the faith (2 Timothy 4:7). And subsequent history shows their lives,
teaching and example were not a waste of time. We are indebted to them. Success
was not their aim. Their aim was faithfulness.
We are called to that – to be faithful. We are called to keep on keeping on, whether we are encouraged or discouraged. Whether we do keep on or not will depend on our humility before God and our relationship with Him. We are called to abide in His Word, sure of His will, appropriating His resources through prayer, with unflinching obedience, whatever the cost.
