I was driving down the road today, I had an epiphany. Whenever telling the story of a SMASHER, one must start with the SMASHING! I realized I had failed to do that with Nehemiah. Therefore, today I am going to correct this oversight in the story of Nehemiah.
Most people would argue about Nehemiah being put into this particular category, and before a few weeks ago, I would have as well. However, a friend asked to do a bible study and this is the book he mentioned, and thus we went through it. We poured over the story most know of the rebuilding of the wall in Jerusalem, but I was shocked (and elated) when I reached the final chapter (13).
I would really hope you would take a moment and read that chapter for yourself in its entirety. I can in no way give you the full story on here (as you would probably tire of my recounting the whole thing), however, I will hit the highlights for you.
After Nehemiah had finished the task of rebuilding, he returned to his job as cupbearer before the king (as he had promised in Chapter 2). But 12 years after he had first returned, he came back for a visit to Jerusalem only to find things that broke his heart. After all the rebuilding, after all the purifying of the people, returning to the law of God, he returned to find they had turned again to their old ways. Here are just a few things he saw:
1. The High priest had turned the storehouse room in the Temple into a house for a close friend of his. (v4-5)
2. The portion due to the Levites so they could attend to the Temple had been withheld from them and they were forced to return to work in the fields to provide for their family's needs. (v10)
3. They were working again on the Sabbath and the merchants were busy buying and selling on the Sabbath. (v 15-16)
4. The men of the city were once again marrying women from Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab (see v1-3 as to why this was a problem).
5. The son of the high priest had married the daughter of Sanballat the Horonite. (more on this coming)
So what is the big deal you may say? Well, here it is in a nutshell in Nehemiah's own words,
“Why is the house of God neglected?” - We learn from previous encounters with God that it was a sin to "take care of your own house and ignore His house! (v11)
“What is this wicked thing you are doing—desecrating the Sabbath day? 18 Didn’t your ancestors do the same things, so that our God brought all this calamity on us and on this city? Now you are stirring up more wrath against Israel by desecrating the Sabbath.” - (v17-18)
“You are not to give your daughters in marriage to their sons, nor are you to take their daughters in marriage for your sons or for yourselves. 26 Was it not because of marriages like these that Solomon king of Israel sinned? Among the many nations there was no king like him. He was loved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel, but even he was led into sin by foreign women. 27 Must we hear now that you too are doing all this terrible wickedness and are being unfaithful to our God by marrying foreign women?” v(25-27)
So now we know why this was a big issue to Nehemiah, and we can understand his transformation from the "rebuilder" to the SMASHER!!! Look at how he responded!
In response to the storehouse in the temple being used for a home: "I was greatly displeased and threw all Tobiah’s household goods out of the room. 9 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." Close your eyes and imagine that scene! You are disgusted by what you see so you go in and start grabbing stuff and throwing it out on the street. There is no neat nice pile of things, but rather, a tossed pile of items in a heap and as you are going through your heart is pounding in fury because what has happened. Imagine the same scene from a movie when a woman has discovered her man has been cheating on her and all his items have been tossed out in the street. If you can picture that, then you have what our SMASHER did here.
In response to the Levites not attending to their duties in the Temple: "So I rebuked the officials and asked them, “Why is the house of God neglected?”Then I called them together and stationed them at their posts." You ever been properly rebuked? Imagine a drill sergeant screaming in the ear of his cadet who has not properly attended to his bunk or rifle. Spit is rolling in your ear as you listen to him grind you down for neglecting your duty. That is the tactic the SMASHER is using! This isn't no simple slap on the back of the hand. This is a hard core situation which meant "shape up or ELSE!"
In response to working on the Sabbath: I rebuked the nobles of Judah (v17) and I warned them and said, “Why do you spend the night by the wall? If you do this again, I will arrest you.” This rebuke for desecrating the Sabbath (God's Holy Day) was met with the same fierce rebuke, but also with a warning that if he caught them doing it again, they were going to spend some hard time!
In response to marrying foreign women: (this is my personal favorite) "I rebuked them and called curses down on them. I beat some of the men and pulled out their hair." Oh, I wish I could have been there. My inner child who always wanted to turn green would have wanted to join in! The drill sergeant is no longer stopping at the verbal abuse and rebukes, oh no, he is now on to the all out physical assault! Nehemiah released the "Hulk" and started beating these men for their stupidity and even pulling out their hair! The offense was so great, that a simple word of rebuke would no longer do. They had to know God meant business, so he sent a SMASHER to get his point across.
Finally, in response to the high priest son marrying the daughter of Sanballat the Horonite: "I drove him away from me." If you read this and study the nature of the culture and the times, what this picture would resemble is that of Jesus in the Temple with his whip driving out the merchants. Nehemiah literally drove this boy out of the city with force and prejudice! He was so furious about this situation, that he simply picked this boy up and DROVE him out by force. He SMASHED this boy out of town! (if you do not know why, it is because Sanballat was the #1 enemy Nehemiah had to deal with during the rebuilding process. Go read first few chapters and you will get the picture. The very enemy Nehemiah had built the wall to keep out was now free to come and go because the High Priest allowed his son to marry his daughter. The one who wanted to destroy Jerusalem was now free to enter its walls again and start destroying from the inside out! I think I would have HULKED up too!)
What I love the most is how this SMASHER turned to God after everyone of these smashing events and said : "Remember me for this, my God, and do not blot out what I have so faithfully done for the house of my God and its services." (v14) and "Remember me for this also, my God, and show mercy to me according to your great love." (v22) and finally "Remember me with favor, my God." (v30)
The point being this, sometimes, it takes a SMASHER to purify the house of God in order for God to be glorified!
Therefore I dub Nehemiah one of God's Agents of SMASH!!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment