The second law of
thermodynamics states that in a closed system, things move toward the maximum
state of entropy, or disorder.
A)That physical law has a parallel in the spiritual realm:
B)Even among God’s people, unless we are constantly fighting against
it, things tend toward the maximum state of spiritual entropy.
C)We live in a spiritually and morally permissive society.
D)Unless we constantly wage war against the flesh, we tend to become
more and more like the spiritual degeneracy that surrounds us.
Tonight
we come to the final Chapter in the book of Nehemiah.
A) Recall What have we seen
in the last couple of Chapters? –
B) In Chapter 10 we saw the people re-establish their commitments to the Lord
Promised not the
inter marry ! { other nations
They Promised to not do
Business on the Sabbath –
They promised to
give their first fruits to support the
work of God
And they promised
to not Neglect the house of God
C)
That was Chapter 10 – In Chapter 11 – they repopulate the city
1)
And then in Chapter 12 they Dedicate the wall – Huge Celebration with singing
and worship and Rejoicing -
D) I wish the book ended
right there ! Great Climax !
Nice happy ending to a great
story
1)But unfortunately it doesn’t
end there
Been
said – it is not how high you jump – but
rather how straight you walk when you come down – that is what matters
A)What we find in
B)Every Promise that they
made to the Lord they have broken.
C) Now it seems that during
this time that Ezra the Spiritual leader has died v.13 Zadok is called the
Scribe
D)And Nehemiah has returned
to his post there in
1)Commentators argue over
the time gap some say 2yrs have elapsed others say 10 yrs
E)But needless to say that
without the spiritual leadership of Ezra & Neh – the pp don’t do well.
1)
1st
Problem: Tobiah is in the temple!
A) Remember Tobiah – He was
one of Nehemiah’s main enemies –
B) When Nehemiah comes back,
he sees that Eliashib the priest had entered into agreements with Tobiah.
C) This cozy alliance led to an invitation for Tobiah to
actually move into the temple itself.
1) To
make room for him the high priest took the storerooms that was set apart for
the grain, oil and incense & gave them to Tobiah to live in.
D)
So there were two wrongs involved. An Ammonite and his family were actually
living in the
E) And second,
in order to permit that they had deliberately defraud the Levites of their
rights of storage.
This
story is a good illustration of how the enemy works
A) First he wants to form an
alliance – a friendship – he wants you to let down
your guard – get comfortable with him
B) Then he wants to occupy a
place in your life that was intended for God and God alone-
C) The enemy was Living in the temple – Your body is called the
temple of the HS –
1) What
Tobiah has wormed his way into the center of your
life and comfortably sits there enthroned where the Lord Jesus ought to
be ?
D) What
Stuff is cluttering up the temple that the HS ought to fill in your heart –
Notice
how Nehemiah dealt with this! Rd v.8-9
8 And it grieved me bitterly; therefore I threw all the household
goods of Tobiah out of the room.9 Then I commanded them to cleanse the rooms;
and I brought back into them the articles of the house of God, with the grain
offering and the frankincense.
Now picture this scene –
someone says – did you hear Nehemiah is back – no where is he – temple
A)Get to the temple and all
this furniture is flying out of it! Duck
Chair / Silverware – lamp
B) Does this remind you of
anything?
C)Jesus did this twice in
his ministry once at the beginning and again at the end
1)Cleansed the temple –
drove out the money Changers {Whip turning over tables
D)Jesus we don’t often
picture – someone needs to paint this one – enough – lambs & Children
Causes
us to ask the Question is it ever right to get mad? Nehemiah is angry – gets worse
A)But is this ok? – Should
he be so upset – and is it ok to violate someone else’s property?
B)
and do not
sin": do not let the sun go down on your wrath, 27 nor give place to the
devil.”
C) Yes there are times when
it is right to be angry – it is called righteous indignation.
1)Angry
over injustice – innocence taken advantage of
D)Angry over abuse – rape –
child abuse / wife abuse
1)Good anger –
God
gets anger at sin! – If he didn’t – I wouldn’t want to follow Him
A)Rape murder injustice –
genocide – religious manipulation – etc – if those things didn’t anger God He
wouldn’t be worth worshipping
B)Does God ever get angry
with believers? Yes
1)But that doesn’t mean that
He doesn’t love them!
C)You with your kids or
spouse or friend – Still love them.
D)Paul says Be angry – Good
response! Godly response – but don’t sin – don’t let sun go down
1)Nor give place to the
devil
Here
is what that is telling us – there is a line that we have to be careful not to
cross –
A)Anger becomes sin – Start
re-acting in the flesh instead of responding in the spirit.
B)And Paul exhorts don’t let
anger linger – don’t let the sun go down with you still angry
1)In other words don’t let
anger linger and turn to bitterness – that gives the devil a foothold
C)So there is a place for
anger – there is a place for taking appropriate action
1)Someone being abused –
step in –
D)But don’t turn it into a
vendetta –
Now
we are going to see Nehemiah do some radical things in this chapter – things
that were appropriate for him to do.
A)But they are not
appropriate for us to do at least not to others – might be ok to do to yourself
B)But here is what you have
to remember –
C)Godly nation – set apart –
different from the world and nations around them
1)Higher standards –
expectations – Nehemiah acted as God’s judge – Responding to sin
D)Now
all the same things were happening in
1)Why – Pagan culture –
God’s pp called to be in the world but not of it.
E)We might say that Nehemiah
didn’t have jurisdiction to act this way in Bab or
The
same thing is true of us. –Even though
A)It is not a nation that
has been uniquely called by God – to be His – like
B)So we are in the world –
but not to be of the world
1)Our place is not to go
assaulting pp who are sinning – Flat Screens – pp watching porn
2)Cutting cable lines
blowing up Sat dishes
C)Or blowing up – Abortion
Clinics -
1)Against the law – don’t
have jurisdiction
D)Told in the NT to obey the
laws – unless they contradict the Bible – Not bowing to the image
1)Shad/ Mesh / Abednego
We
live in a world of Unbelievers who are simply acting like unbelievers –
A)Jesus saw the crowds –
compassion – sheep w/out a shepherd – blind leading the blind
B)Our reaction! Our response
So
keep that in mind as we work thru the rest of this Chapter – See Nehemiah do
some things –
A)So the first thing Neh
does is get rid of Tobiah
B)what was the 2nd Problem? -
Well They had neglected the house of
10 I also realized that the portions
for the Levites had not been given them; for each of the Levites and the
singers who did the work had gone back to his field.11 So I contended with the rulers,
and said,” Why is the house of God forsaken?"
D)
This was the very thing they had promised not to do – Neglect God’s house but
that is exactly what they did.
v.11b And I gathered them together and set them in their place.12 Then all Judah brought the tithe
of the grain and the new wine and the oil to the storehouse.13 And I appointed
as treasurers over the storehouse Shelemiah the priest and Zadok the scribe,
and of the Levites, Pedaiah; and next to them was Hanan the son of Zaccur, the
son of Mattaniah; for they were considered faithful, and their task was to
distribute to their brethren.
14 Remember me, O my God, concerning this, and do not wipe out my
good deeds that I have done for the house of my God, and for its services!
When
Nehemiah comes back he finds that the people have done the very thing that they
promised not to – they neglected – the house of God
A)
The Levites are out working in the fields because they were not being supported
– So they were out there harvesting their food
B)Nehemiah contended with
the RULERS – See were the leaders
1) Contended = to struggle / to battle : Nehemiah
went to battle – over this –
Learn
from this that in correcting problems it is good to face problems head on
A) But it is also good to
work toward a permanent correction –
B) Anyone can point out what
is wrong – But give me someone who has an idea of how to make it right
C)
Nehemiah comes up with a plan to get the people back on track – giving again !
Part
of the solution was appointing faithful men to watch over this task
A)Note there is a priest
{Pastor} , a scribe {teacher} , a Levite {deacon} and a layman
B)All 4 represent the
various aspects of the life of
1)They were trustworthy men
C)Faithfulness
is a quality that God admires – Paul said of those who minister in the church
in
I look for 4 qualities in
potential leaders
1.Teachable: – Love Jesus - desire to learn – read study –
apply practically.
2.Humble: Servants heart –
not an ego not above doing the little things.
3. An Evident gift –
Administration / compassion / helps
4. Faithfulness.
So Nehemiah successfully
deals with problem #2
3rd Problem:
Neglected the Sabbath! RD V.15-22
Nehemiah
again gets radical here – Close the gates on the Sabbath – set guards –
A) Not even going to let the
merchants in here
B) Profaning
God’s day !
C) Imagine the merchants who
were fisherman – show up with all their fish
1) Smell – going to spoil –
D)
These guys decide to wait it out – temptation by the wall
1) Nehemiah says – Don’t
leave I am going to lay hands on you – not talking
to pray for HS baptism.
Nehemiah
was getting aggressive – He was saying look – if you are going to stay here and
tempt God’s people to sin – I will Knock
your block off
A) I will deal with you
physically.
B) Sometimes that is what is
needed/ be that strong !
C) Nehemiah is a type of the
HS – Sometimes the HS has to get aggressive with us –
1) Get our attention -
D)I have had to get in pp’s
faces at times to get their attention- Look your being a jerk! Knock it off.
4th
Problem really sets Nehemiah off!
Inter
marriage v. 23-24
23 In those days I also saw Jews who had married women of
How does he deal
with this one – RD v. 25-31
A) This once again
show the seriousness of the Lord’s dealing with sin
B) Nehemiah is pulling out his hair-
1)Ezra pulled out his own – not Nehemiah
C)Now this is crazy but totally appropriate for pp living in
1)God’s pp serious confrontation
D)You say it wasn’t very loving – Well if you were about to drink a
glass of coke laced with poison
1)Would you expect me to nicely say – Hey bro – you really want to
drink that –
E)You know I love you right –I am telling you don’t drink that – might
kill you
1)NO you would expect me to knock it out of your hands
This sin was serious { Pagan women
A)Down fall of many a man – Samson{ Blinded
Smart guy – riddle
B) Neh’s example: Solomon is well taken (Did not
Solomon king of
C)
If Solomon, one of the wisest and most blessed men ever, sinned with unwise and
ungodly romance, do we think we are invulnerable to it?
Don’t be so stupid – Don’t marry someone who doesn’t love Jesus –
thinking – Change them
A)Rarely happens
B) This was totally appropriate for Nehemiah
and totally inappropriate for us.
C)Never taught by Jesus – pull out their
hair
What is appropriate ?
A)Personally – Maybe you need to be so angry
with yourself over your sin that you pull out your hair
B)Break that computer
Listen to the
words of Jesus in Remember what
Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount:
.29 If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it
from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish,
than for your whole body to be cast into hell.30 And if your right hand causes
you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you
that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.
A)
Was Jesus being serious – Really cut off my hand and pluck out my eye! – Yes
and no –
1)Yes
in the sense that – if a guy can’t stop looking at pornography it would be
better for him to be blind than – to go to hell
B) What Jesus is saying is there are times when we
have to take radical measures in dealing with sin !
-
C) Take action.
Do not allow these evil things to remain. Even if it takes painful effort to do
so, end it!
1) If
you have allowed your heart to be involved with something that is evil and it
is painful to give it up -- you must give it up.
D)
That is what Jesus is saying. Bear the pain and stand firm.
1)
That is what Nehemiah does here – He runs the risk of being hated by the people
– But he does what is right in the eyes of the Lord
What is appropriate corporately?
A)Confront – If really love someone you will.
B)Not tolerate but be honest – Blatant sin – not your opinion – your
convictions
C)