THE DAILY

The Hearing of the Word Convicts, by Kim [ Nehemiah 13:23-24 ]

23 In those days also I saw the Jews who had married women of Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab. 24 And half of their children spoke the language of Ashdod, and they could not speak the language of Judah, but only the language of each people.

The context of this passage begins in Nehemiah 13:1. God’s Word is proclaimed in God’s land in the hearing of God’s people. 

God‘s word never returns void. (Isaiah 55:11)

God‘s word convicted God’s people.

They heard that God’s law forbids any Ammonite or Moabite from entering the Assembly of God. This might not be a problem, except, as we see in today’s passage, God’s own people had married women from these people groups. So, their chosen wives excluded the family from God’s prescribed worship.

Not only had the men of Judah married these “forbidden” foreigners, but also they failed to teach their children the Hebrew language in the home. God‘s children would no longer be able to read His words of instruction to them, nor would they be able to worship in the community of the Lord’s people. 

This passage infers that neither God nor His ways were taught or revered in the home in complete opposition to God’s command in Deuteronomy 6:1-7. One may also infer that  these intermarried families worshipped, Solomon-like, the idols of their wives. 

So the issue was more than the fact they had intermarried, but that they had walked away from the very way God had prescribed for the people to live faithfully in the land. 

Nehemiah ensured that the people heard God’s law and instruction. Now God’s Word, in the presence of God’s people, could do its work. 

Hebrews 4:11-13 tells us, “Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. [12] For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. [13] And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.”

As you and I have “heard” this Word proclaimed, how might God be convicting each of us of our own disobedience? Is there a place where we have allowed the culture of forbidden foreigners to invade our hearts, our homes, our thoughts, customs and language, which then exclude us (voluntarily, or involuntarily) from true worship and find us pursuing the idols of this world? 

- Kim Williams

[ WHAT ] is this passage saying and what is a key truth or thought that we learn? (write in your journal or discuss in your group break-outs )

+ Who had the Jews married according to verse 23?

+ What had these people groups done to God’s people in the past? See Nehemiah 13:1-2 and Deut 23:3-5.

+ What had God forbidden in his law?

+ How many of the intermarried children exclusively spoke the language of Ashdod? Does this surprise you? 

+ Verse 24 specifically tells us that “ they could not speak the language of Judah, but only the language of each people. Why is this such a big issue in God‘s design?

[ HOW ] is the Lord calling me to a personal step of action/obedience fueled by the gospel? (write in your journal or discuss in your group break-outs)

+ Is there sin to confess or a next step to take? How has it gone since last time?

+ How might you or I be allowing (consciously or unconsciously) forbidden foreign culture into our homes and places of worship? What are we modeling for our children who are watching and learning?

+ How might the proclamation of God’s Word shape our future and the future of our churches and families?

[ WHO ] am I walking with and praying for to discover Jesus and what is my next step? (e.g., your family around the dinner table, a friend, co-worker or neighbor- for help join Go! www.estuarygo.org)

+ What truths about God and His Word are we learning first and then helping others remember on our journey. How can we be more intentional about doing so?

+ Who am I discipling as I live and grow and learn to obey Jesus? If this hasn’t been a priority, pray today about who God wants you to reach out to in His Name.

+ Who and where do I look to find truth, direction, and hope? Who do I trust to hold me accountable to living out this truth? 

Taking Holiness Seriously, by Monica [ Nehemiah 13:25-27 ]

25 And I confronted them and cursed them and beat some of them and pulled out their hair. And I made them take an oath in the name of God, saying, “You shall not give your daughters to their sons, or take their daughters for your sons or for yourselves. 26 Did not Solomon king of Israel sin on account of such women? Among the many nations there was no king like him, and he was beloved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel. Nevertheless, foreign women made even him to sin. 27 Shall we then listen to you and do all this great evil and act treacherously against our God by marrying foreign women?”

The problem of intermarriage with foreigners has been a recurring issue since the Israelites took Canaan as the Promised Land and has been addressed multiple times in Ezra and Nehemiah. Why does it matter?

When God establishes the covenant with Moses and gives Israel the Law, he specifies why the Israelites should not intermarry the nearby people: 

“You shall not intermarry with them, giving your daughters to their sons or taking their daughters for your sons,  for they would turn away your sons from following me, to serve other gods.” (Deut. 7:3)

The Lord desires the separateness of His people because He desires their hearts to be holy, set apart from the things of the world for Him and His sake. The Lord desires our full devotion and worship: We cannot split our worship and love between God and lesser things. He desires and rightly deserves all of our hearts.

The people of God are to be fully devoted to God and His work. Even Solomon, considered as one of the wisest of men, strayed from God because he chose to marry foreign women who brought their worship of foreign gods with them to Israel. Nehemiah’s rebuke of the remnant is so forceful because our hearts are weak and often turn aside to other lesser loves. 

When we find ourselves pursuing false gods and lesser loves, the right response is to turn from them and run to Jesus. His love acted for us in a most powerful way; on the cross, he paid the cost of our faithlessness and He restored our relationship with our first and great Lover. After all, the last day is called the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, where Christ will be united with His bride, the Church, His holy people.

 - Monica Godfrey

[ WHAT ] is this passage saying and what is a key truth or thought that we learn?(write in your journal or discuss in your group break-outs)

+ What do you notice about Nehemiah’s response to the people? What is he doing and saying?

+ Why does Nehemiah bring up Solomon? How is his example relevant? (1 Kings 11)

+ What do we learn about God’s design and desire for His people? 

+ I’m amazed in moments like this where the continuity between the Old and New Testament is so clear. Read and consider the following passages to see how this passage connects to God’s master plan for the world: Deuteronomy 7:1-11, Hosea 2:16-3,  Ephesians 5:25-33, 1 Peter 2:9-11, Revelation 21:9-22:6, 

[ HOW ] is the Lord calling me to a personal step of action/obedience fueled by the gospel? (write in your journal or discuss in your group break-outs or share with a friend over coffee)

+ Is there sin to confess or a next step to take? How has it gone since last time?

+ Evaluate your loves. Is there an area of your life where you are serving a false god, a lesser love, or elevating something to the place of God (making an idol)? Are you willing to let it go, turn away from it, and run to Jesus?

[ WHO ] am I walking with and praying for to discover Jesus and what is my next step?(e.g., your family around the dinner table, a friend, co-worker or neighbor- for help join Go! www.estuarygo.org)

+ Is there someone you know who needs to hear of Christ’s innocence and sacrificial love?

Longing for a Better Priest, by David [ Nehemiah 13:28-29 ]

28 Even one of the sons of Jehoiada, son of the high priest Eliashib, had become a son-in-law to Sanballat the Horonite. So I drove him away from me. 29 Remember them, my God, for defiling the priesthood as well as the covenant of the priesthood and the Levites.

This is a tough way for Nehemiah’s story to end. Even the priest’s own family had gotten tangled up with Sanballat, the same man who had tried to stop the rebuilding. Nehemiah prays and asks God to see what’s happening.

It’s not the clean, happy ending we might want. Nehemiah reminds us that no matter how hard we try, human leaders, systems, and families will fall short. What we really need is a Priest who won’t compromise and who won’t fail us. That’s exactly who Jesus is. He is our faithful High Priest who brings real cleansing and lasting hope.

- David Bempong

[ WHAT ] is this passage saying and what is a key truth or thought that we learn? (write in your journal or discuss in your group break-outs)

+ What was the problem with the priest’s family connecting to Sanballat?

+ What do we see in Nehemiah’s raw prayer: “My God, remember them”?

+ How does this ending stir up our need for Jesus?

[ HOW ] is the Lord calling me to a personal step of action/obedience fueled by the gospel? (write in your journal or discuss in your group break-outs)

+ Is there sin to confess or a next step to take? How has it gone since last time?

[ WHO ] am I walking with and praying for to discover Jesus and what is my next step? (e.g., your family around the dinner table, a friend, co-worker or neighbor- for help join Go! www.estuarygo.org) 

+ What is my next step?

Can Nehemiah Cleanse Israel? by John B [ Nehemiah 13:30 ]

30 Thus I cleansed them from everything foreign, and I established the duties of the priests and Levites, each in his work;

In the context of Nehemiah, this verse rings with a hopeless irony. Although the people appeared to turn to the Lord in full repentance and faithfulness, the changes did not stick. The people married foreign women, the priests and Levites neglected their work, and the Sabbath was profaned. In Nehemiah’s zeal, he turns to try to purify the people once again, but there is an overwhelming sense that it is in vain. When the people initially repented, it was not Nehemiah who cleansed them; rather, it was the people who cleansed themselves and repented. What hope is there if the people’s hearts are wayward and not desiring God? The irony is that Nehemiah is powerless to cleanse the people. He is also unable to establish the priests and Levites. It must be God who gives the gift of repentance to the people.

This verse reminds us that we are not God. We cannot give the gift of repentance to others, nor can we save anyone. God alone grants a soft and receptive heart to people, and it is people’s responsibility to maintain that heart and connection to God. In Nehemiah’s time, this receptivity and faithfulness to God were demonstrated through observance of the Torah. Now, it is demonstrated by patterning our lives after Jesus as his disciple. We are his apprentice, and he is the Master. He is the King, and we are his loyal subjects. He is the First of many brothers, and we are his siblings.

Grace and Pace

–John Barzal

[ WHAT ] is this passage saying and what is a key truth or thought that we learn? (write in your journal or discuss in your group break-outs)

+ Why are Nehemiah’s words so hopeless in this verse?

+ Is it likely that Nehemiah will be successful in purifying the people again? Why or why not?

[ HOW ] is the Lord calling me to a personal step of action/obedience fueled by the gospel? (write in your journal or discuss in your group break-outs)

+ Is there sin to confess or a next step to take? How has it gone since last time?

+ We all want to see people saved and brought near to God. How can we help people draw close to God while recognizing that it is only God who can give the gift of repentance? How may God be calling you to be his representative in his mission to be reconciled with people?

+ How can we keep our own hearts sensitive and receptive to God so that we continue to follow God faithfully? Are there any practices that God may be calling you to adopt?

[ WHO ] am I walking with and praying for to discover Jesus and what is my next step? (e.g., your family around the dinner table, a friend, co-worker or neighbor- for help join Go! www.estuarygo.org)

+ What is my next step?

Guarding the Gates, by Chris [ Nehemiah 13:19-22 ]

19 As soon as it began to grow dark at the gates of Jerusalem before the Sabbath, I commanded that the doors should be shut and gave orders that they should not be opened until after the Sabbath. And I stationed some of my servants at the gates, that no load might be brought in on the Sabbath day. 20 Then the merchants and sellers of all kinds of wares lodged outside Jerusalem once or twice. 21 But I warned them and said to them, “Why do you lodge outside the wall? If you do so again, I will lay hands on you.” From that time on they did not come on the Sabbath. 22 Then I commanded the Levites that they should purify themselves and come and guard the gates, to keep the Sabbath day holy. Remember this also in my favor, O my God, and spare me according to the greatness of your steadfast love.

[ WHAT ] is this passage saying and what is a key truth or thought that I/we learn ? (Write in your journal or discuss in your group breakouts)

+ Tough love!!!  It’s something you must do sometimes when you are in charge; be it a boss, a parent, a teacher, a pastor, etc…Or maybe, you are just a good friend, and you deeply care for someone’s wellbeing.  In these verses, Nehemiah, in his role as overseer for those living in Jerusalem, takes some drastic actions to ensure the people live up to their vow to keep the Sabbath day holy as instructed in the Book of the Law (see Nehemiah 10:28-39).  Israel had a history of following the Lord for a time, then backsliding into sin.  Can’t the same thing be said about of all of us???

1 let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith (From Hebrews 12:1-2)

[ HOW ] is the Lord calling me to a personal step of action/obedience fueled by the gospel?  (Write in your journal or discuss in your group breakouts)

+ The fourth commandment in full reads:

Exodus 20:8-11:  8 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

+ However, we have this from the Gospel of Mark:

Mark 2:23-28:  23 One Sabbath he was going through the grainfields, and as they made their way, his disciples began to pluck heads of grain. 24 And the Pharisees were saying to him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?” 25 And he said to them, “Have you never read what David did, when he was in need and was hungry, he and those who were with him: 26 how he entered the house of God, in the time of[d] Abiathar the high priest, and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those who were with him?” 27 And he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. 28 So the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.”

+ Do you see any discrepancy in these two verses?  In practical terms, what does “remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy” mean to you?

[WHO] am I walking with and praying for to discover Jesus and what is my next step?  (For example, your family around the dinner table, co-worker or neighbor; for help, join Go! www.estuarygo.org)

+ Who in your circles of influence is “backsliding” in their obedience to God’s stated commands and may need to receive some “tough love” from you?