“But while all this was going on, I was
not in Jerusalem, for in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon I
had returned to the king. Some time later I asked his permission and came back
to Jerusalem. Here I learned about the evil Eliashib had done in providing
Tobiah a room in the courts of the house of God. I was greatly displeased and
threw all Tobiah’s household goods out of the room. I gave orders to purify the
rooms, and then I put back into them the equipment of the house of God, with
the grain offerings and the incense.”
Nehemiah
13:6-9
Eliashib
made room in the House of God for the profane. This is preciously how our
spiritual integrity is undermined; when we allow room inside (that which is
designed to be holy) for things that are profane and contrary to God’s Word and
God’s Will.
Some
may not see the significance or problem with Eliashib supplying Tobiah with one
room in the Temple. Let’s face it, it was only one room! However, this one
seeming isolated offense led Israel into a whole host of spiritual depravity.
Israel
stopped bringing in their tithes and offerings; they desecrated the Sabbath,
and once again began to intermarry with people God had specifically told them
not to marry.
How
did Nehemiah address this very evident “gap” in Israel’s spiritual integrity?
The same way he addressed the gap in their physical integrity on his first trip.
On his first visit, Nehemiah came to Jerusalem concerned about Israel’s
physical well-being. He walked about the wall at night and investigated the
gaps. Then he went about aggressively repairing the breaches. In 52 days the
wall was rebuilt!
In
the same way, Nehemiah, concerned for the spiritual well-being of the people of
Israel returned. This time he examined the spiritual breaches and aggressively took
action.
What
is a breach? A breach is a hole or gap in fortifications that an enemy can
manipulate to their advantage. Nehemiah identified four gaping holes in the spiritual
lives of God’s people and began the work of bringing correction; beginning with
ridding the temple of Tobiah and his belongings.
His
first priority was to cleanse the temple from worldly desecration. He removed
completely that which was defiling the temple, not just the man, but everything
associated with him. However, Nehemiah did not stop there. He, then, purified the
room and put back into the temple the things that belonged there.
This
is an important principle for those of us who claim to be born again
Christians. We, too, should not be making room for worldliness in our lives. We
must rid ourselves of these things, and those things associated with it. We
must purify our hearts through repentance and fill ourselves once again with
the things of God!
Pastor Scott
Burr
http://faithandworshipseries.blogspot.com/
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