NEHEMIAH 6-13 Observations

CHAPTER 6

The Enemy’s Plot

· Nehemiah 6:1 - 14 (NASB) ¹Now when it was reported to Sanballat, Tobiah, to Geshem the Arab and to the rest of our enemies that I had rebuilt the wall, and that no breach remained in it, although at that time I had not set up the doors in the gates, ²then Sanballat and Geshem sent a message to me, saying, “Come, let us meet together at ^£Chephirim in the plain of Ono.” But they were planning to harm me.

o NOTE: Nehemiah’s discernment.

· ³So I sent messengers to them, saying, “I am doing a great work and I cannot come down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and come down to you?”

o NOTE: Nehemiah has clear priorities. What he is doing is his highest priority. What Sanballat is asking him to do is a lesser priority.

o OBSERVE: Clear priorities help you make the best clear decisions.

· ⁴They sent messages to me four times in this manner, and I answered them in the same way.

o NOTE: Because Nehemiah had clear objectives, clear priorities and clear direction from God, his story didn’t change over time and under pressure.

· ⁵Then Sanballat sent his servant to me in the same manner a fifth time with an open letter in his hand. ⁶In it was written, “It is reported

o My question is, what is the credibility of this “report” and who is behind it? Find that out and you can discern whether you should listen to this report or not.

· among the nations, and Gashmu says, that you and the Jews are planning to rebel; therefore you are rebuilding the wall. And you are to be their king, according to these reports. ⁷“You have also appointed prophets to proclaim in Jerusalem concerning you, ‘A king is in Judah!’ And now it will be reported to the king according to these reports. So come now, let us take counsel together.”

o So are you above the king? What gives you authority to make deals with me? This again has eerie sounds like Satan whispering in one’s ear.

· ⁸Then I sent a message to him saying, “Such things as you are saying have not been done, but you are inventing them in your own mind.” ⁹For all of them were trying to frighten us, thinking, “They will become discouraged with the work and it will not be done.” But now, O God, strengthen my hands. ¹⁰When I entered the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah, son of Mehetabel, who was confined at home, he said, “Let us meet together in the house of God, within the temple, and let us close the doors of the temple, for they are coming to kill you, and they are coming to kill you at night.” ¹¹But I said, “Should a man like me flee? And could one such as I go into the temple to save his life? I will not go in.” ¹²Then I perceived that surely God had not sent him, but he uttered his prophecy against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him.

o This is real discernment…spiritual perception.

o PRAYER: God give me this kind of perception that I can tell when Satan is coming to deceive me…and give me the strength to stay firm on what job you have given me.

· ¹³He was hired for this reason, that I might become frightened and act accordingly and sin, so that they might have an evil report in order that they could reproach me. ¹⁴Remember, O my God, Tobiah and Sanballat according to these works of theirs, and also Noadiah the prophetess and the rest of the prophets who were trying to frighten me.

The Wall is Finished

· Nehemiah 6:15 - 19 (NASB) ¹⁵So the wall was completed on the twenty-fifth of the month Elul, in fifty-two days.

o 52 days is really short for the apparent amount of work that was accomplished.

· ¹⁶When all our enemies heard of it, and all the nations surrounding us saw it, they lost their confidence; for they recognized that this work had been accomplished with the help of our God. ¹⁷Also in those days many letters went from the nobles of Judah to Tobiah, and Tobiah’s letters came to them. ¹⁸For many in Judah were bound by oath to him because he was the son-in-law of Shecaniah the son of Arah, and his son Jehohanan had married the daughter of Meshullam the son of Berechiah. ¹⁹Moreover, they were speaking about his good deeds in my presence and reported my words to him. Then Tobiah sent letters to frighten me.

CHAPTER 7

Census of First Returned Exiles

· Nehemiah 7:1 - 65 (NASB) ¹Now when the wall was rebuilt and I had set up the doors, and the gatekeepers and the singers and the Levites were appointed, ²then I put Hanani my brother, and Hananiah the commander of the fortress, in charge of Jerusalem, for he was a faithful man and feared God more than many. ³Then I said to them, “Do not let the gates of Jerusalem be opened until the sun is hot, and while they are standing guard, let them shut and bolt the doors. Also appoint guards from the inhabitants of Jerusalem, each at his post, and each in front of his own house.” ⁴Now the city was large and spacious, but the people in it were few and the houses were not built. ⁵Then my God put it into my heart to assemble the nobles, the officials and the people to be enrolled by genealogies. Then I found the book of the genealogy of those who came up first in which I found the following record: ⁶These are the people of the province who came up from the captivity of the exiles whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away, and who returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each to his city, ⁷who came with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Azariah, Raamiah, Nahamani, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispereth, Bigvai, Nehum, Baanah.

· …. ⁶³Of the priests: the sons of Hobaiah, the sons of Hakkoz, the sons of Barzillai, who took a wife of the daughters of Barzillai, the Gileadite, and was named after them. ⁶⁴These searched among their ancestral registration, but it could not be located; therefore they were considered unclean and excluded from the priesthood. ⁶⁵The governor said to them that they should not eat from the most holy things until a priest arose with Urim and Thummim.

Total of Peoples and Gifts

· Nehemiah 7:66 - 73 (NASB) ⁶⁶The whole assembly together was 42,360, ⁶⁷besides their male and their female servants, of whom there were 7,337; and they had 245 male and female singers. ⁶⁸Their horses were 736; their mules, 245; ⁶⁹their camels, 435; their donkeys, 6,720. ⁷⁰Some from among the heads of fathers’ households gave to the work. The governor gave to the treasury 1,000 gold drachmas, 50 basins, 530 priests’ garments. ⁷¹Some of the heads of fathers’ households gave into the treasury of the work 20,000 gold drachmas

o As a rule of thumb, a modern person might think of one drachma as the rough equivalent of a skilled worker's daily pay in the place where they live (which could be as low as $1 USD, or as high as $100 USD, depending on the country). Thus, the idea of a 'handful of money' as used today and by the ancients (see above for etymology of 'drachma') pretty neatly coincide. Perhaps the most appropriate comparison is that with modern-day Athens, where a skilled worker without a university degree earns approximately 40 euro per day, net of taxes.

· and 2,200 silver minas.

· ⁷²That which the rest of the people gave was 20,000 gold drachmas and 2,000 silver minas and 67 priests’ garments. ⁷³Now the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, some of the people, the temple servants and all Israel, lived in their cities. And when the seventh month came, the sons of Israel were in their cities.

CHAPTER 8

Ezra Reads the Law

· Nehemiah 8:1 - 8 (NASB) ¹And all the people gathered as one man

o OBSERVE: Unity was the underlying condition that laid the foundation for God to do great things in His people now.

· at the square which was in front of the Water Gate, and they asked Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses which the LORD had given to Israel. ²Then Ezra the priest brought the law before the assembly of men, women and all who could listen with understanding, on the first day of the seventh month. ³He read from it before the square which was in front of the Water Gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of men and women, those who could understand; and all the people were attentive to the book of the law. ⁴Ezra the scribe stood at a wooden podium which they had made for the purpose. And beside him stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah on his right hand; and Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zechariah and Meshullam on his left hand. ⁵Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people for he was standing above all the people; and when he opened it, all the people stood up.

o Probably standing out of respect for God’s word & law.

· ⁶Then Ezra blessed the LORD the great God. And all the people answered, “Amen, Amen!” while lifting up their hands; then they bowed low and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground. ⁷Also Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, the Levites, explained the law to the people while the people remained in their place. ⁸They read from the book, from the law of God, translating to give the sense so that they understood the reading.

This Day is Holy

· Nehemiah 8:9 - 12 (NASB) ⁹Then Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people

o Nehemiah = governor

o Ezra = priest and scribe

o Levites = teachers

· said to all the people, “This day is holy to the LORD your God; do not mourn or weep.” For all the people were weeping when they heard the words of the law. ¹⁰Then he said to them, “Go, eat of the fat, drink of the sweet, and send portions to him who has nothing prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.” ¹¹So the Levites calmed all the people, saying, “Be still, for the day is holy; do not be grieved.” ¹²All the people went away to eat, to drink, to send portions and to celebrate a great festival, because they understood the words which had been made known to them.

o NOTE: Understanding God’s word precedes joy, celebration, and the good life God intended.

Feast of Booths Restored

· Nehemiah 8:13 - 18 (NASB) ¹³Then on the second day the heads of fathers’ households of all the people, the priests and the Levites were gathered to Ezra the scribe that they might gain insight into the words of the law. ¹⁴They found written in the law how the LORD had commanded through Moses that the sons of Israel should live in booths during the feast of the seventh month. ¹⁵So they proclaimed and circulated a proclamation in all their cities and in Jerusalem, saying, “Go out to the hills, and bring olive branches and wild olive branches, myrtle branches, palm branches and branches of other leafy trees, to make booths, as it is written.” ¹⁶So the people went out and brought them and made booths for themselves, each on his roof, and in their courts and in the courts of the house of God, and in the square at the Water Gate and in the square at the Gate of Ephraim. ¹⁷The entire assembly of those who had returned from the captivity made booths and lived in them.

o NOTE: God in His great plan, instituted camping as one of the primary feasts to be celebrated yearly.

· The sons of Israel had indeed not done so from the days of Joshua the son of Nun to that day.

o NOTE: The Children of Israel had NOT DONE THIS since the time they first came into the Promised Land. THIS IS INCREDIBLE!!

o COMMENT: Besides missing all the good times camping, the children of Israel had missed God’s blessing by disobedience

· And there was great rejoicing. ¹⁸He read from the book of the law of God daily, from the first day to the last day. And they celebrated the feast seven days, and on the eighth day there was a solemn assembly according to the ordinance.

o COMMENT: Notice how the people rejoiced at the lengthy reading of the word of God. Celebrating a feast for 7 days while the primary focus was reading God’s word.

o PRAYER: God give me that kind of hunger for the word that it would be my happiness and center of my life.

CHAPTER 9

The People Confess Their Sin

· Nehemiah 9:1 - 37 (NASB) ¹Now on the twenty-fourth day of this month the sons of Israel assembled with fasting, in sackcloth and with dirt upon them. ²The descendants of Israel separated themselves from all foreigners, and stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers. ³While they stood in their place, they read from the book of the law of the LORD their God for a fourth of the day; and for another fourth they confessed and worshiped the LORD their God. ⁴Now on the Levites’ platform stood …, and they cried with a loud voice to the LORD their God. ⁵Then the Levites, …, said, “Arise, bless the LORD your God forever and ever! O may Your glorious name be blessed And exalted above all blessing and praise! ⁶ “You alone are the LORD. You have made the heavens, The heaven of heavens with all their host, The earth and all that is on it, The seas and all that is in them. You give life to all of them And the heavenly host bows down before You. ⁷ “You are the LORD God, Who chose Abram And brought him out from Ur of the Chaldees, And gave him the name Abraham. ⁸ “You found his heart faithful before You, And made a covenant with him To give him the land of the Canaanite, Of the Hittite and the Amorite, Of the Perizzite, the Jebusite and the Girgashite— To give it to his descendants. And You have fulfilled Your promise, For You are righteous. ⁹ “You saw the affliction of our fathers in Egypt, And heard their cry by the Red Sea. ¹⁰ “Then You performed signs and wonders against Pharaoh, Against all his servants and all the people of his land; For You knew that they acted arrogantly toward them, And made a name for Yourself as it is this day. ¹¹ “You divided the sea before them, So they passed through the midst of the sea on dry ground; And their pursuers You hurled into the depths, Like a stone into raging waters. ¹² “And with a pillar of cloud You led them by day, And with a pillar of fire by night To light for them the way In which they were to go. ¹³ “Then You came down on Mount Sinai, And spoke with them from heaven; You gave them just ordinances and true laws, Good statutes and commandments. ¹⁴ “So You made known to them Your holy sabbath, And laid down for them commandments, statutes and law, Through Your servant Moses. ¹⁵ “You provided bread from heaven for them for their hunger, You brought forth water from a rock for them for their thirst, And You told them to enter in order to possess The land which You swore to give them. ¹⁶ “But they, our fathers, acted arrogantly; They ^£became stubborn and would not listen to Your commandments. ¹⁷ “They refused to listen, And did not remember Your wondrous deeds which You had performed among them; So they became stubborn and appointed a leader to return to their slavery in Egypt. But You are a God of forgiveness, Gracious and compassionate, Slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness; And You did not forsake them. ¹⁸ “Even when they made for themselves A calf of molten metal And said, ‘This is your God Who brought you up from Egypt,’ And committed great ^£blasphemies, ¹⁹ You, in Your great compassion, Did not forsake them in the wilderness; The pillar of cloud did not leave them by day, To guide them on their way, Nor the pillar of fire by night, to light for them the way in which they were to go. ²⁰ “You gave Your good Spirit to instruct them, Your manna You did not withhold from their mouth, And You gave them water for their thirst. ²¹ “Indeed, forty years You provided for them in the wilderness and they were not in want; Their clothes did not wear out, nor did their feet swell. ²² “You also gave them kingdoms and peoples, And allotted them to them as a boundary. They took possession of the land of Sihon the king of Heshbon And the land of Og the king of Bashan. ²³ “You made their sons numerous as the stars of heaven, And You brought them into the land Which You had told their fathers to enter and possess. ²⁴ “So their sons entered and possessed the land. And You subdued before them the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, And You gave them into their hand, with their kings and the peoples of the land, To do with them as they desired. ²⁵ “They captured fortified cities and a fertile land. They took possession of houses full of every good thing, Hewn cisterns, vineyards, olive groves, Fruit trees in abundance. So they ate, were filled and grew fat, And reveled in Your great goodness. ²⁶ “But they became disobedient and rebelled against You, And cast Your law behind their backs And killed Your prophets who had admonished them So that they might return to You, And they committed great ^£blasphemies. ²⁷ “Therefore You delivered them into the hand of their oppressors who oppressed them, But when they cried to You in the time of their distress, You heard from heaven, and according to Your great compassion You gave them deliverers who delivered them from the hand of their oppressors. ²⁸ “But as soon as they had rest, they did evil again before You; Therefore You abandoned them to the hand of their enemies, so that they ruled over them. When they cried again to You, You heard from heaven, And many times You rescued them according to Your compassion, ²⁹ And admonished them in order to turn them back to Your law. Yet they acted arrogantly and did not listen to Your commandments but sinned against Your ordinances, By which if a man observes them he shall live. And they turned a stubborn shoulder and stiffened their neck, and would not listen. ³⁰ “However, You bore with them for many years, And admonished them by Your Spirit through Your prophets, Yet they would not give ear. Therefore You gave them into the hand of the peoples of the lands. ³¹ “Nevertheless, in Your great compassion You did not make an end of them or forsake them, For You are a gracious and compassionate God. ³² “Now therefore, our God, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who keeps covenant and lovingkindness, Do not let all the hardship seem insignificant before You, Which has come upon us, our kings, our princes, our priests, our prophets, our fathers and on all Your people, From the days of the kings of Assyria to this day. ³³ “However, You are just in all that has come upon us; For You have dealt faithfully, but we have acted wickedly. ³⁴ “For our kings, our leaders, our priests and our fathers have not kept Your law Or paid attention to Your commandments and Your admonitions with which You have admonished them. ³⁵ “But they, in their own kingdom, With Your great goodness which You gave them, With the broad and rich land which You set before them, Did not serve You or turn from their evil deeds. ³⁶ “Behold, we are slaves today, And as to the land which You gave to our fathers to eat of its fruit and its bounty, Behold, we are slaves in it. ³⁷ “Its abundant produce is for the kings Whom You have set over us because of our sins; They also rule over our bodies And over our cattle as they please, So we are in great distress.

o NOTE: The emphasis on the Lord. It’s all about Him and what He has done, His compassion, His mercy, His guidance, His care, His protection…it is ALL ABOUT HIM.

A Covenant Results

· Nehemiah 9:38 (NASB) ³⁸ “Now because of all this We are making an agreement in writing; And on the sealed document are the names of our leaders, our Levites and our priests.”

o OBSERVE: The response of the people hearing God’s word, and then deciding to obey it…was to make a covenant with their leaders to bind them to future commitment of obedience.

CHAPTER 10

Signers of the Document

· Nehemiah 10:1 - 27 (NASB) ¹Now on the sealed document were the names of: Nehemiah the governor, the …. These were the priests. ⁹And the Levites: Jeshua the son of Azaniah, …. ¹⁴The leaders of the people: Parosh, …

o COMMENT: This must have looked like the Declaration of Independence..

Obligations of the Document

· Nehemiah 10:28 - 39 (NASB) ²⁸Now the rest of the people, the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, the temple servants and all those who had separated themselves from the peoples of the lands to the law of God, their wives, their sons and their daughters, all those who had knowledge and understanding, ²⁹are joining with their kinsmen, their nobles, and are taking on themselves a curse and an oath to walk in God’s law, which was given through Moses, God’s servant, and to keep and to observe all the commandments of GOD our Lord, and His ordinances and His statutes; ³⁰and that we will not give our daughters to the peoples of the land or take their daughters for our sons. ³¹As for the peoples of the land who bring wares or any grain on the sabbath day to sell, we will not buy from them on the placed ourselves under obligation sabbath or a holy day; and we will forego the crops the seventh year and the exaction of every debt. ³²We also to contribute yearly one third of a shekel for the service of the house of our God: ³³for the showbread, for the continual grain offering, for the continual burnt offering, the sabbaths, the new moon, for the appointed times, for the holy things and for the sin offerings to make atonement for Israel, and all the work of the house of our God. ³⁴Likewise we cast lots for the supply of wood among the priests, the Levites and the people so that they might bring it to the house of our God, according to our fathers’ households, at fixed times annually, to burn on the altar of the LORD our God, as it is written in the law; ³⁵and that they might bring the first fruits of our ground and the first fruits of all the fruit of every tree to the house of the LORD annually, ³⁶and bring to the house of our God the firstborn of our sons and of our cattle, and the firstborn of our herds and our flocks as it is written in the law, for the priests who are ministering in the house of our God. ³⁷We will also bring the first of our dough, our contributions, the fruit of every tree, the new wine and the oil to the priests at the chambers of the house of our God, and the tithe of our ground to the Levites, for the Levites are they who receive the tithes in all the rural towns. ³⁸The priest, the son of Aaron, shall be with the Levites when the Levites receive tithes, and the Levites shall bring up the tenth of the tithes to the house of our God, to the chambers of the storehouse. ³⁹For the sons of Israel and the sons of Levi shall bring the contribution of the grain, the new wine and the oil to the chambers; there are the utensils of the sanctuary, the priests who are ministering, the gatekeepers and the singers. Thus we will not neglect the house of our God.

CHAPTER 11

Time Passes; Heads of Provinces

· Nehemiah 11:1 - 19 (NASB) ¹Now the leaders of the people lived in Jerusalem, but the rest of the people cast lots to bring one out of ten to live in Jerusalem, the holy city, while nine-tenths remained in the other cities. ^…

· ⁴Some of the sons of Judah and some of the sons of Benjamin lived in Jerusalem. …

· ⁶All the sons of Perez who lived in Jerusalem were 468 able men. ⁷Now these are the sons of Benjamin: …, 928. ⁹Joel the son of Zichri was their overseer, and Judah the son of Hassenuah was second in command of the city. ¹⁰From the priests: Jedaiah the son of Joiarib, … the son of Ahitub, the leader of the house of God, ¹²and their ^£kinsmen who performed the work of the temple, 822;

· and Adaiah the son of Jeroham, …, 242; and

· Amashsai the son of Azarel, …, 128.

· And their overseer was Zabdiel, …who was the leader in beginning the thanksgiving at prayer, and Bakbukiah, the second among his brethren; and Abda the son of Shammua, the son of Galal, the son of Jeduthun. ¹⁸All the Levites in the holy city were 284.

· ⁹Also the gatekeepers, … were 172.

Outside of Jerusalem

· Nehemiah 11:20 - 36 (NASB) ²⁰The rest of Israel, of the priests and of the Levites, were in all the cities of Judah, each on his own inheritance…. ²²Now the overseer of the Levites in Jerusalem was Uzzi the son of Bani, …, from the sons of Asaph, who were the singers for the service of the house of God. ²³For there was a commandment from the king concerning them and a firm regulation for the song leaders day by day. ²⁴Pethahiah …, was the king’s representative in all matters concerning the people. ²⁵Now as for the villages with their fields, some of the sons of Judah lived in … its towns. So they encamped from Beersheba as far as the valley of Hinnom. ³¹The sons of Benjamin also lived from Geba onward, …

CHAPTER 12

Priests and Levites Who Returned to Jerusalem with Zerubbabel

· Nehemiah 12:1 - 21 (NASB) ¹Now these are the priests and the Levites who came up with Zerubbabel …, Ezra, ^… and Jedaiah. These were the heads of the priests and their kinsmen in the days of Jeshua. ⁸The Levites were Jeshua, … who was in charge of the songs of thanksgiving, he and his brothers. ⁹Also Bakbukiah and Unni, their brothers, stood opposite them in their service divisions. ^……

The Chief Levites

· ²²As for the Levites, the heads of fathers’ households were registered …; so were the priests …. ²³The sons of Levi, the heads of fathers’ households, were registered in the Book of the Chronicles … ²⁴The heads of the Levites were … to praise and give thanks, as prescribed by David the man of God, division corresponding to division. ^…gatekeepers keeping watch at the storehouses of the gates. ²⁶These served in the days of Joiakim … in the days of Nehemiah the governor and of Ezra the priest and scribe.

Dedication of the Wall

· Nehemiah 12:27 - 30 (NASB) ²⁷Now at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem they sought out the Levites from all their places, to bring them to Jerusalem so that they might celebrate the dedication with gladness, with hymns of thanksgiving and with songs to the accompaniment of cymbals, harps and lyres. ^….

Procedures for the Temple

· Nehemiah 12:31 - 47 (NASB) ³¹Then I had the leaders of Judah come up on top of the wall, and I appointed two great choirs, …with the musical instruments of David the man of God. And Ezra the scribe went before them. ^{… 40}Then the two choirs took their stand in the house of God. So did I and half of the officials with me; ⁴¹and the priests, …And the singers sang, with Jezrahiah their leader, ⁴³and on that day they offered great sacrifices and rejoiced because God had given them great joy, …, so that the joy of Jerusalem was heard from afar. ^…; for Judah rejoiced over the priests and Levites who served. … ⁴⁶For in the days of David and Asaph, in ancient times, there were leaders of the singers, songs of praise and hymns of thanksgiving to God. ⁴⁷So all Israel in the days of Zerubbabel and Nehemiah gave the portions due the singers and the gatekeepers as each day required, and set apart the consecrated portion for the Levites, and the Levites set apart the consecrated portion for the sons of Aaron.

CHAPTER 13

Foreigners Excluded

· Nehemiah 13:1 - 3 (NASB) ¹On that day they read aloud from the book of Moses in the hearing of the people; and there was found written in it that no Ammonite or Moabite should ever enter the assembly of God, ²because they did not meet the sons of Israel with bread and water, but hired Balaam against them to curse them. However, our God turned the curse into a blessing. ³So when they heard the law, they excluded all foreigners from Israel.

Tobiah Expelled and the Temple Cleansed

· Nehemiah 13:4 - 9 (NASB) ⁴Now prior to this, Eliashib the priest, … ⁵had prepared a large room for him, … the tithes of grain, wine and oil prescribed for the Levites, the singers and the gatekeepers, and the contributions for the priests. ⁶But during all this time I was not in Jerusalem, for in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon I had gone to the king. After some time, however, I asked leave from the king, ⁷and I came to Jerusalem and learned about the evil that Eliashib had done for Tobiah, by preparing a room for him in the courts of the house of God. ⁸It was very displeasing to me, so I threw all of Tobiah’s household goods out of the room. ⁹Then I gave an order and they cleansed the rooms; and I returned there the utensils of the house of God with the grain offerings and the frankincense.

Tithes Restored

· Nehemiah 13:10 - 14 (NASB) ¹⁰I also discovered that the portions of the Levites had not been given them, so that the Levites and the singers who performed the service had gone away, each to his own field. ¹¹So I reprimanded the officials and said, “Why is the house of God forsaken?” Then I gathered them together and restored them to their posts. ¹²All Judah then brought the tithe of the grain, wine and oil into the storehouses. ^{… 14}Remember me for this, O my God, and do not blot out my loyal deeds which I have performed for the house of my God and its services.

Sabbath Restored

· Nehemiah 13:15 - 22 (NASB) ¹⁵In those days I saw in Judah some who were treading wine presses on the sabbath, … on the sabbath day. So I admonished them on the day they sold food. ¹⁶Also men of Tyre were living there who imported fish and all kinds of merchandise, and sold them … on the sabbath, even in Jerusalem. ¹⁷Then I reprimanded the nobles of Judah and said to them, “What is this evil thing you are doing, by profaning the sabbath day? ¹⁸“Did not your fathers do the same, so that our God brought on us and on this city all this trouble? Yet you are adding to the wrath on Israel by profaning the sabbath.” ¹⁹It came about that just as it grew dark at the gates of Jerusalem before the sabbath, I commanded that the doors should be shut and that they should not open them until after the sabbath. Then I stationed some of my servants at the gates so that no load would enter on the sabbath day. ²⁰Once or twice the traders and merchants of every kind of merchandise spent the night outside Jerusalem. ²¹Then I warned them and said to them, “Why do you spend the night in front of the wall? If you do so again, I will use force against you.” From that time on they did not come on the sabbath. ²²And I commanded the Levites that they should purify themselves and come as gatekeepers to sanctify the sabbath day. For this also remember me, O my God, and have compassion on me according to the greatness of Your lovingkindness.

Mixed Marriages Forbidden

· Nehemiah 13:23 - Esther 1:1 (NASB) ²³In those days I also saw that the Jews had married women from Ashdod, Ammon and Moab. ²⁴As for their children, half spoke in the language of Ashdod, and none of them was able to speak the language of Judah, but the language of his own people. ²⁵So I contended with them and cursed them and struck some of them and pulled out their hair, and made them swear by God, “You shall not give your daughters to their sons, nor take of their daughters for your sons or for yourselves. ²⁶“Did not Solomon king of Israel sin regarding these things? Yet among the many nations there was no king like him, and he was loved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel; nevertheless the foreign women caused even him to sin. ²⁷“Do we then hear about you that you have committed all this great evil by acting unfaithfully against our God by marrying foreign women?” ²⁸Even one of the sons of Joiada, the son of Eliashib the high priest, was a son-in-law of Sanballat the Horonite, so I drove him away from me. ²⁹Remember them, O my God, because they have defiled the priesthood and the covenant of the priesthood and the Levites. ³⁰Thus I purified them from everything foreign and appointed duties for the priests and the Levites, each in his task, ³¹and I arranged for the supply of wood at appointed times and for the first fruits. Remember me, O my God, for good. ¹Now it took place in the days of Ahasuerus, the Ahasuerus who reigned from India to Ethiopia over 127 provinces,