April 28, 2020

BIBLE READING: Nehemiah 12-13

“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. Then I commanded, and they cleansed the chambers: and thither brought I again the vessels of the house of God, with the meat offering and the frankincense.”
‭‭Nehemiah‬ ‭13:7-9‬ ‭‬‬‬‬

I find these chapters so ironic. Here Nehemiah and the people had worked so hard to build the walls and setup the temple for the priest, and then the priest invites one of the enemies, Tobiah, to come and live with the priests. What is wrong with this picture. Yes the wall was great, and Israel worked so hard. Really what’s the point, when the enemy is in the temple! While Nehemiah was gone, the focus was on the wall, while the real enemy was in the temple. Obviously when Nehemiah returned things changed. Do not be too quick to judge. How many times do we set ourselves in the same boat. We set ourselves up “walls” or standards, while our attention is taken off of our heart. While standards are great to have, to help us stay out of temptation, they do not make us spiritual. What keeps us in tune with God is our hearts focus on Him and His Word. Like Nehemiah had to cleanse some internal issues in Jerusalem, we need to keep our heart cleansed to the Lord.

David Fulp II