People can’t obey God.
Or at least, not all of the time, or even most of the time. You could say that, ‘People can’t obey God’ is a pretty good summary of the whole Old Testament, certainly its history books. Renewal is only ever temporary, things usually go back to how they were after a while. Nothing new under the sun.
As one commentator put it quite bluntly, the book of Nehemiah ends less with a bang and more with a whimper. After the high point of the dedication of chapter 12, and indeed the reforms which renovated the contributions and tithes to sustain the worshipping life of the people, it’s downhill all the way in chapter 13 – or rather, more of a bumpy ride.
One of the other reforms enacted by Nehemiah starts ch13: the commitment not to intermarry with other races. If this seems unduly separatist – especially remembering that Ruth, King David’s great-grandmother, was from Moab – then what follows underlines why it mattered. The Lord’s prohibition on intermarriage was not some sort of closet racism, it was the pragmatic recognition that intimately sharing other worldviews would undermine the faithfulness of God’s people.
So it proved here: as soon as Nehemiah was called back to Babylon, after 12 years of unstinting service (v6), the new priest in charge of the storerooms gave over much of the space to Nehemiah’s old enemy, Tobiah (vv4-5). The result was corruption on a grand scale: offerings and tithes were diverted (v5); the Levites and musicians weren’t provided for, and therefore went back to working the land (v10); as a result, presumably, the worshipping life of the Jews was also ‘neglected’ (v11).
It’s a sorry tale of how quickly spiritual growth can peter out, if we choose to disobey God’s clearly revealed will. Back we go down the mountain again. Nehemiah returns, however, and once more sets things right: (v8) Tobiah is thrown out (again); (v9) the rooms are purified (again); (v12) the tithes restarted (again); and (v13) new leaders appointed to make sure that this time it’s done properly. It’s a remarkable testimony, once more, to Nehemiah’s resilience, faithfulness and leadership ability.
Chapter 13 reminds us that, great as Nehemiah was, a human leader can only ever effect temporary change. We need Someone who can transform us from the inside out, to make that kind of renewal permanent. That’s never mentioned in these pages – but it’s a powerful lesson we take (implicitly) from this wonderful little book.
As we reflect today, let’s acknowledge that the people in these pages are so like us; let’s give thanks that we have an eternal leader, even greater than Nehemiah – the Lord Jesus Christ – on whom we can fix our eyes every day; and let’s resolve to keep living the life, empowered by the grace of the only One who can truly transform us. Amen.