Nehemiah was a God-fearing Israelite who lived at the
time when the Jews were returning back to Israel to rebuild the city of
Jerusalem and re-establish the old order of godly administration and
godly life that had existed before. The first 12 chapters of his book
describes how he organised the rebuilding of the city walls of
Jerusalem, and accomplished that feat with God’s help in just 52 days,
despite all kinds of opposition.
In the midst of all these amazing developments, a
great revival and reformation came about among the people through the
preaching efforts of Ezra. Their spiritual lives were built up through
the Word of God. Together with Nehemiah, Ezra was able to institute many
reforms which the people gladly covenanted to perform.
By the time the day came for them to dedicate the
newly-built walls, the city of Jerusalem and its inhabitants had at last
attained their highest point of development. Except for the lack of a
king, they had succeeded in restoring the old order and glory of the
godly administration and life that they had when David ruled as king in
Jerusalem. The city was restored and inhabited once more, since there
was now a wall to protect them. The ordinances of worship at the Temple
were restored and kept faithfully: the needs of the priests and Levites
were met so that they could devote themselves fully to serving God in
the Temple. The final verses of chapter 12 and first few verses of
chapter 13 paint a bright picture of this restored order.
What the Israelites had now become can be likened to
any church today that has succeeded in becoming everything that a church
should be: where the Word of God is preached faithfully and every member
is fully committed to the Lord, and where the various ministries of the
church are growing well and reaping much fruit for God’s Kingdom.
Unfortunately with the passage of time, things often lose their original
lustre and freshness, and signs of corruption begin to appear.
"And before this Eliashib the priest, having the
oversight of the chamber of the house of our God, was allied unto Tobiah:
And he had prepared for him a great chamber, where aforetime they laid
the meat offerings, the frankincense, and the vessels, and the tithes of
corn the new wine, and the oil, which was commanded to be given to the
Levites, and the singers, and the porters; and the offerings of the
priests." (Nehemiah 13:4,5)
All this happened during the time when Nehemiah had
to be away from Jerusalem, to fulfill some official duties he had to the
Persian king. A few years had passed by the time he was able to obtain
permission to return to Jerusalem. When he came back, he was horrified
to find that one of the big halls in the side of the Holy Temple had now
been converted into a warehouse. And worse than that, it was a warehouse
for storing household junk belonging to an idol-worshipping enemy of the
Jews – an Ammonite named Tobiah, who had earlier tried to stop Nehemiah
from rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem!
The Causes of Corruption
Corruption had crept in, and it was all because of a
friendship that had developed between Tobiah and the priest who had been
put in charge of the halls of God’s Temple. Today we find a similar
phenomenon when churches and seminaries are gradually led into
compromising with the world and with unbelief, through those within
their own ranks who develop a friendly and welcome attitude toward them.
What should remain outside the church finds its way into it through
someone who is within it. When corruption creeps in unnoticed because of
a friendly compromise, it begins to eat away the strength and vitality
of the church until it becomes an empty shell. How sad it is to see this
happen to any church.
Besides compromise, there is another way in which
corruption may come to the House of God: Through neglect. This was
another thing that Nehemiah found when he returned to Jerusalem: "And
I perceived that the portions of the Levites had not been given them:
for the Levites and the singers, that did the work, were fled every one
to his field." (Nehemiah 13:10)
After all the initial excitement and fervour had died
down and people had settled into the routine of life, they began to
neglect the support of those who ministered at the Temple. When the
Levites saw that their income was greatly affected, they naturally
sought to find other sources of income by growing their own crops.
Perhaps they adopted a noble attitude, "Well, if the people are not
able to support us to do the Lord’s work, then we will support
ourselves, and continue to do the Lord’s work at the same time." But
the farming work gradually demanded more and more of their time, until
they too began to neglect the Lord’s work. And as the people saw the
Levites becoming less and less involved in the Lord’s work, they gave
even less for their support. The situation became a vicious circle.
Neglect has probably crippled more church ministries,
paralyzed more missions, and closed down more outreaches, than any other
cause. There are two principle causes of neglect, and there are strong
warnings against both of them in God’s Word. The first is plain
forgetfulness, and the second is weariness. As the years of our lives
come and go, we tend to forget the goodness God has shown to us, the
blessings we have received from Him, and the deliverances He has
effected for us. And as we serve the Lord constantly, there is always
the danger of growing weary of service. We get tired of fighting against
sin, because of battle-weariness. We get tired of doing good to others
because we feel drained of strength to love them. Instead of seeing the
need to recharge our strength and resolve to press on by looking to the
Lord, we take the easy way out and just allow weariness to immobilize
us: "How nice it is to rest and do nothing." But the Word of God
says, "...let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we
shall reap, if we faint not." (Galatians 6:9)
The Need for Genuine Concern
Having looked at the corruption of God’s House and
its causes, let us now consider the remedy for it: Develop a concern for
God’s House. We should become as concerned as Nehemiah was when he
returned to Jerusalem and saw what had happened while he was away.
"But in all this time was not I at Jerusalem: for in the two and
thirtieth year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon came I unto the king, and
after certain days obtained I leave of the king: and I came to
Jerusalem, and understood of the evil that Eliashib did for Tobiah, in
preparing him a chamber in the courts of the house of God. And it
grieved me sore: therefore I cast forth all the household stuff of
Tobiah out of the chamber." (Nehemiah 13:6-8)
The first indication of Nehemiah’s concern was his
desire to make the long, arduous trip back to Jerusalem, which took
three months of travel. The second indication was his reaction to the
news that one of the rooms in the Temple had now become Tobiah’s
storeroom. Nehemiah was so disturbed by this news that he went to the
Temple and cleared out the junk from the chamber.
Some of us may feel that Nehemiah’s act was a little
too extreme. Perhaps he should have confronted the priest in charge of
the Temple chambers and made him correct his error. Shouldn’t he have
exercised more diplomacy in handling this situation? After all, why
should one get so upset over some household stuff dumped in the Temple?
Perhaps he should have restrained himself.
All too often, God’s people fail to be moved about
things that should move them to action. What Nehemiah did was in fact
done again in the Temple about 400 years later, but this time by One
whose life and temperament was perfectly without blemish or sin: our
Lord Jesus Christ. When Christ saw the money-changers and animal-sellers
doing business in the Temple courts, he drove them out with a whip (John
2:13-17). Scripture records that He did this because He was consumed
with zeal for God’s House.
Dear Reader, how much concern do you have for God’s
House? Can your concern be described as a consuming zeal? Does it matter
to you if some danger comes along and threatens the life and testimony
of the Church? Does it matter to you if church ministries are suffering
from a lack of members who are willing to serve? Does it matter to you
if the church treasuries are being depleted because the weekly offerings
have dropped? Or are you just content to sit by and watch God’s House
being hurt, damaged and even destroyed?
Unless we have a true and genuine concern for the
welfare of the Church which Christ purchased with His own life-blood, we
would not at all be bothered to take needful steps to maintain its
integrity and life. But if we really love the Lord Jesus Christ and His
church, we would be more than willing to keep on maintaining its work,
its witness, its ministry, and its fellowship with a dedicated spirit.
The Desired Response
The account of Nehemiah’s zeal for God’s house ends
on a happy note, with the things that were done for God’s House. He
caused the people to bring in their tithes so that the Levites would not
need to grow their own crops any more. He also appointed faithful men to
take charge of the treasuries, the Levites, and the distribution of
gifts. All that was needed must be supplied. The House of God and the
Work of God should not be made to suffer because of a lack of resources.
In the same way, the needs of the Church and her
ministries should be adequately supplied. Is there a lack of funds for
the Lord’s work to be done? Those who have the capacity to give, can
give. Those who do not have this capacity can pray for the needs to be
met. Is there a lack of faithful men and women to serve in the
ministries of the Church? Let those who can offer themselves to serve
delay no further.
Brethren, let us do all we can, while we are able, to
maintain the Church and her God-given ministries, by preventing
compromise and neglect from creeping in, and by having a true concern
for God’s House. – CS
