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Nehemiah
Chapter Thirteen
Nehemiah 13
Chapter Contents
Nehemiah turns out the mixed multitude. (1-9) Nehemiah's
reform in the house of God. (10-14) Sabbath-breaking restrained. (15-22) The
dismissal of strange wives. (23-31)
Commentary on Nehemiah 13:1-9
(Read Nehemiah 13:1-9)
Israel was a peculiar people, and not to mingle with the
nations. See the benefit of publicly reading the word of God; when it is duly
attended to, it discovers to us sin and duty, good and evil, and shows wherein
we have erred. We profit, when we are thus wrought upon to separate from evil.
Those that would drive sin out of their hearts, the living temples, must throw
out its household stuff, and all the provision made for it; and take away all
the things that are the food and fuel of lust; this is really to mortify it.
When sin is cast out of the heart by repentance, let the blood of Christ be
applied to it by faith, then let it be furnished with the graces of God's
Spirit, for every good work.
Commentary on Nehemiah 13:10-14
(Read Nehemiah 13:10-14)
If a sacred character will not keep men from setting an
evil example, it must not shelter any one from deserved blame and punishment.
The Levites had been wronged; their portions had not been given them. They were
gone to get livelihoods for themselves and their families, for their profession
would not maintain them. A maintenance not sufficient, makes a poor ministry.
The work is neglected, because the workmen are. Nehemiah laid the fault upon
the rulers. Both ministers and people, who forsake religion and the services of
it, and magistrates, who do not what they can to keep them to it, will have
much to answer for. He delayed not to bring the Levites to their places again,
and that just payment should be made. Nehemiah on every occasion looked up to
God, and committed himself and all his affairs to Him. It pleased him to think
that he had been of use to revive and support religion in his country. He here
refers to God, not in pride, but with a humble appeal concerning his honest intention
in what he had done. He prays, "Remember me;" not, Reward me.
"Wipe not out my good deeds;" not, Publish them, or record them. Yet
he was rewarded, and his good deeds recorded. God does more than we are able to
ask.
Commentary on Nehemiah 13:15-22
(Read Nehemiah 13:15-22)
The keeping holy the Lord's day forms an important object
for their attention who would promote true godliness. Religion never prospers
while sabbaths are trodden under foot. No wonder there was a general decay of
religion, and corruption of manners among the Jews, when they forsook the
sanctuary and profaned the sabbath. Those little consider what an evil they do,
who profane the sabbath. We must answer for the sins others are led to commit
by our example. Nehemiah charges it on them as an evil thing, for so it is,
proceeding from contempt of God and our own souls. He shows that
sabbath-breaking was one of the sins for which God had brought judgments upon
them; and if they did not take warning, but returned to the same sins again,
they had to expect further judgments. The courage, zeal, and prudence of
Nehemiah in this matter, are recorded for us to do likewise; and we have reason
to think, that the cure he wrought was lasting. He felt and confessed himself a
sinner, who could demand nothing from God as justice, when he thus cried unto
him for mercy.
Commentary on Nehemiah 13:23-31
(Read Nehemiah 13:23-31)
If either parent be ungodly, corrupt nature will incline
the children to take after that one; which is a strong reason why Christians
should not be unequally yoked. In the education of children, great care should
be taken about the government of their tongues; that they learn not the
language of Ashdod, no impious or impure talk, no corrupt communication.
Nehemiah showed the evil of these marriages. Some, more obstinate than the
rest, he smote, that is, ordered them to be beaten by the officers according to
the law, Deuteronomy 25:2,3. Here are Nehemiah's prayers
on this occasion He prays, "Remember them, O my God." Lord, convince
and convert them; put them in mind of what they should be and do. The best
services to the public have been forgotten by those for whom they were done,
therefore Nehemiah refers himself to God, to recompense him. This may well be
the summary of our petitions; we need no more to make us happy than this;
Remember me, O my God, for good. We may humbly hope that the Lord will remember
us and our services, although, after lives of unwearied activity and
usefulness, we shall still see cause to abhor ourselves and repent in dust and
ashes, and to cry out with Nehemiah, Spare me, O my God, according to the
greatness of they mercy.
── Matthew Henry《Concise Commentary on
Nehemiah》
Nehemiah 13
Verse 1
[1] On
that day they read in the book of Moses in the audience of the people; and
therein was found written, that the Ammonite and the Moabite should not come
into the congregation of God for ever;
That day —
Not presently after the dedication of the wall and city, but upon a certain
day, when Nehemiah was returned from the Persian court to Jerusalem, from which
he had been absent for some considerable time, in which some errors and abuses
had crept in.
Not come —
Not be incorporated into the common-wealth of Israel, nor be joined with any
Israelite in marriage.
Verse 3
[3] Now it came to pass, when they had heard the law, that they separated from
Israel all the mixed multitude.
Multitude —
All the heathenish people with whom they had contracted alliance.
Verse 4
[4] And
before this, Eliashib the priest, having the oversight of the chamber of the house
of our God, was allied unto Tobiah:
Eliashib —
The high-priest.
Chamber — Of
the chambers, the high-priest having the chief power over the house of God, and
all the chambers belonging to it.
Tobiah —
The Ammonite, and a violent enemy to God's people.
Verse 5
[5] And
he had prepared for him a great chamber, where aforetime they laid the meat
offerings, the frankincense, and the vessels, and the tithes of the corn, the
new wine, and the oil, which was commanded to be given to the Levites, and the
singers, and the porters; and the offerings of the priests.
Prepared — By
removing the things out of it, uniting divers small chambers into one, and
furnishing it for the use of Tobiah when he came to Jerusalem: whom he seems to
have lodged there, that he might have more free communication with him.
Verse 6
[6] But in all this time was not I at Jerusalem: for in the two and thirtieth
year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon came I unto the king, and after certain days
obtained I leave of the king:
But, … —
Eliashib took the occasion of my absence to do these things.
Came I —
From Jerusalem; where he had been once and again.
Verse 8
[8] And
it grieved me sore: therefore I cast forth all the household stuff of Tobiah
out of the chamber.
Grieved me —
That so sacred a place should be polluted by one who in many respects ought not
to come there, being no priest, a stranger, an Ammonite, and one of the worst
of that people; and that all this should be done by the permission and order of
the high-priest.
Verse 10
[10] And
I perceived that the portions of the Levites had not been given them: for the
Levites and the singers, that did the work, were fled every one to his field.
Not given —
Which might be either, 1. from this corrupt high-priest Eliashib, who took
their portions, as he did the sacred chambers, to his own use, or employed them
for the entertainment of Tobiah, and his other great allies. Or, 2. from the
people, who either out of covetousness reserved them to themselves, contrary to
their own solemn agreement, or were so offended at Eliashib's horrid abuse of
sacred things, that they abhorred the offering and service of God, and
therefore neglected to bring in their tithes, which they knew would be
perverted to bad uses.
Fled — To
his possession in the country, being forced to do so for a livelihood.
Verse 11
[11] Then
contended I with the rulers, and said, Why is the house of God forsaken? And I
gathered them together, and set them in their place.
Contended — I
sharply reproved those priests to whom the management of those things was
committed, for neglect of their duty, and breach of their late solemn promise.
Why, … —
You have not only injured men in with-holding their dues, but you have
occasioned the neglect of God's house and service.
Gathered — To
Jerusalem from their several country possessions.
Set —
Restored them to the exercise of their office.
Verse 12
[12] Then
brought all Judah the tithe of the corn and the new wine and the oil unto the
treasuries.
Bought —
Out of the respect which they had to Nehemiah, and because they saw they would
now be applied to their proper uses.
Verse 13
[13] And
I made treasurers over the treasuries, 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 counted faithful, and their office
was to distribute unto their brethren.
Faithful — By
the consent of those who knew them. Such he now sought out the more diligently,
because he had experience of the perfidiousness of the former trustees.
Verse 16
[16]
There dwelt men of Tyre also therein, which brought fish, and all manner of
ware, and sold on the sabbath unto the children of Judah, and in Jerusalem.
Jerusalem —
The holy city, where God's house was; and where the great judicatories of the
nation were. So this is added as an aggravation of their sin, that it was done
with manifest contempt of God and man.
Verse 17
[17] Then
I contended with the nobles of Judah, and said unto them, What evil thing is
this that ye do, and profane the sabbath day?
Nobles —
Their chief men and rulers; whom he charges with this sin, because though
others did it, it was by their countenance or connivance: probably too by their
example. If the nobles allowed themselves in recreations, in idle visits and
idle talk on the sabbath day, the men of business would profane it by their
worldly employments, as the more justifiable of the two.
Verse 19
[19] And
it came to pass, that when the gates of Jerusalem began to be dark before the
sabbath, I commanded that the gates should be shut, and charged that they
should not be opened till after the sabbath: and some of my servants set I at
the gates, that there should no burden be brought in on the sabbath day.
At the gates —
Out of a diffidence in those, to whom the keeping of the gates was committed.
Verse 22
[22] And
I commanded the Levites that they should cleanse themselves, and that they
should come and keep the gates, to sanctify the sabbath day. Remember me, O my
God, concerning this also, and spare me according to the greatness of thy
mercy.
Cleanse —
Because the work they now were set upon, though common in its nature, yet was
holy in design of it, and had respect unto the sabbath: and, because the day in
which they were to do this was the sabbath-day, for the observation whereof
they were obliged to purify themselves.
Gates —
The gates of the city; not daring to trust the common porters, he commits the
charge of them upon the sabbath-days, to the Levites, to whom the care of
sanctifying the sabbath did properly belong.
Mercy —
Whereby he intimates, that though he mentioned his good-works, as things
wherewith God was well-pleased, and which he had promised to reward, yet he
neither did, nor durst trust to their merit, or his own worthiness, but, when
he had done all, he judged himself an unprofitable servant, and one that needed
God's infinite mercy to pardon all his sins, and particularly those infirmities
and corruptions which adhered to his good deeds.
Verse 25
[25] And
I contended with them, and cursed them, and smote certain of them, and plucked
off their hair, and made them swear by God, saying, Ye shall not give your
daughters unto their sons, nor take their daughters unto your sons, or for
yourselves.
Cursed —
Caused them to be excommunicated and cast out of the society of God's people.
This and the following punishments were justly inflicted upon them, because
this transgression was contrary both to a plain law of God, and to their own
late solemn covenants.
Smote — I
caused to be beaten with stripes, according to the law, Deuteronomy 25:2, such whose faults were most
aggravated; to whom he added this punishment over and above the former.
Plucked off —
Or, shaved them. The hair was an ensign of liberty among the eastern nations;
and baldness was a disgrace, and token of slavery and sorrow.
Verse 28
[28] And
one of the sons of Joiada, the son of Eliashib the high priest, was son in law
to Sanballat the Horonite: therefore I chased him from me.
And one, … —
Said by Josephus to be that Manasses, who by Sanballat's interest procured
liberty to build the Samaritan temple in mount Gerizim; to which those priests
who had married strange wives, or been otherwise criminal, betook themselves,
and with, or after them, others of the people in the same or like
circumstances.
Chased —
From my presence and court, from the city and temple, and from the congregation
and church of Israel.
Verse 31
[31] And
for the wood offering, at times appointed, and for the firstfruits. Remember
me, O my God, for good.
For good —
This may well be the summary of our petitions. We need no more to make us happy
but this.
── John Wesley《Explanatory Notes on Nehemiah》
13 Chapter 13
Verses 1-31
Verse 2
Howbeit our God turned the curse into a blessing.
The curse turned into a blessing
This was just like God, whose name and nature are love.
1. The devil turns the blessing into a curse. When God created man He
endowed him with the power of choice, made his will free, so that he might
choose good and evil. The creature was thus endowed with an inestimable
blessing. The devil, by the subtlety and force of temptation, turned man’s
dignity against himself and effected his ruin, and through successive
generations he has sought to turn the blessing into a curse.
2. Man often turns the blessing into a curse. Physical strength,
intellectual endowments, social position, wealth, opportunities for
usefulness--things good in themselves--are often transformed by man’s depraved
nature into instruments and occasions of evil. Of all the plots and assaults of
the devil, all the mischievous purposes of wicked men, all the disasters of
life, all the forms of evil we may have to encounter we may say, “Howbeit our
God turned the curse into a blessing.”
I. God has turned
the curse of sin into a blessing. The existence of sin is an awful and
mysterious fact, permitted by God for wise and gracious issues. We can conceive
of no greater curse. It separated man from God. It destroyed his original
righteousness. It cut him off from happiness. It brought upon him condemnation
and death. God comes to man in this state with the blessings of His grace.
1. The fall of man furnished an occasion for the exercise of the
restoring grace of God. Sin prepared the way for salvation. “Paradise Regained”
is more than “Paradise Lost.”
2. The curse of sin has supplied an opportunity for such an
exhibition of the character and glory of God as we nowhere else behold. God’s
brightest glory shines in the method of man’s salvation. God in Christ is more
glorious far than God in creation. In the Saviour of the world we have the most
perfect manifestation of God.
3. Throughout the earth, following in the track of the destroyer, God
bestows the blessings of His great salvation. God is still “in Christ
reconciling the world unto Himself.”
II. God turns
sorrow into a blessing.
1. Sorrow is a teacher. Sorrow seems sent for our instruction as we
darken the cages of birds when we would teach them to sing. As the night brings
out the stars, so trouble reveals to us many truths that would otherwise remain
unseen. It clears our visions, so that we get new views of God and ourselves,
of truths and duty, of this world and the next.
2. It awakens thoughtfulness.
3. Under this gracious ministry and discipline the noblest characters
have been perfected. Poets, it is said, “learn in suffering what they teach in
song.” Sorrow is one of the best nurses of godliness. Some plants thrive better
in a poor than in a rich soil; so some virtues come to speedier and fuller
perfection in grief than in gladness. When spices are crushed, then they emit
their odours. After the diamond is ground and polished On the wheel, its facets
flash with lustre. It is said that when growers of roses want to develop the
bloom of a favourite tree in special richness and beauty they sometimes deprive
it for a season of light and moisture. In this condition its leaves fall off.
But while this process is going on, and the tree is almost leafless, a new life
is springing, from which come in due season a tenderer foliage and a choicer
and more abundant bloom. This suggests some of the sweet uses of sorrow,
4. In the gracious arrangements of God sorrow is often succeeded by
joy,
5. God is preparing the way for the extinction of sorrow on the
earth.
III. God turns the
curse of death into a blessing. To the Christian man death ceases to be the
king of terrors, and becomes a friend to call him home, He delivers him from
the infirmities of the flesh, the corruptions of sin, the temptations of Satan,
and the sufferings and troubles of life. Death is the gate of life. In
conclusion--
1. The subject teaches us the benevolence of God.
2. Learn the loving confidence you may cherish in God. Let us learn
to imitate God. Let us endeavour through life to turn the curse into a
blessing. (William Walters.)
Sorrows turned to blessings
We might tell of the blessed effects of the captivity of
Joseph--the means of preserving his father’s household and the lives of the
thousands of Egypt. We might speak of the happy results of Israel’s national
calamities; how they were led to seek the Lord in their sorrow, and the Lord
hearkened and heard them. We might tell of Paul’s imprisonment issuing in the
conversion of his jailor and his household; or we might speak of John’s
banishment to the lonely Isle of Patmos, where his spirit was refreshed with
those wondrous discoveries of God’s doings and purposes that form the last book
in the Canon of Sacred Writ. In these instances sorrow is not to be denominated
a cures, but a blessing--not a punishment, but a medicine. True it is that
sorrow has been Styled the winter of the soul, because it freezes up the
streams of comfort, and ices the soul over with the frosts of sadness; but,
like as that season, rough and stormy and bleak as it is, is conducive to the ultimate
fertility of the earth, so the moral Winter at once prepares for the fuller
enjoyment of the coming spring of peace, and is productive of a richer harvest
of righteousness to the praise and glory of our God. Affliction has been styled
the storm of life; but, like as those tempests that agitate the bosom of the
ocean serve alike to overpower the shattered bark, and to urge forward others
more speedily to their desired haven, so these moral tempests, while they may
overwhelm the wicked and impenitent, are ever conducive in speeding forward the
journey of the children of the kingdom to heaven and to God. (J.
Macnaughton, A. M.)
Curses and blessings
Nehemiah sees God at work in this transformation, and openly,
gladly, gratefully acknowledge that the transformation of the curse was not the
work of human good-will or of human genius, but a direct operation of the
Divine almightiness itself. We lose so much by not seeing God immediately. Why
do we allow God to go so far sway from our consciousness and appreciation and
love? Why do we not cry for Him, and bid Him come to us, and give Him no rest
until He draws near? This is the true religion; this is the noble piety.
I. To be cursed of
man is really no proof of God’s disapprobation.
II. He ought to be
a very great man, and a very pure, lofty, and godly soul, who under takes to
curse anybody else.
III. To be blessed
of man is no proof of God’s favour iv. The vanity of trusting in anything which
can be turned into a curse. Application of these truths to your personal
experience:
1. The frowns of society.
2. Wronged in business.
3. The seeming opposition of nature, God is willing and able to turn
all curses into blessings.
But the blessing will not be given without action on our part. Art
thou suffering? Go to thy knees; tell God thy sin; then the film shall be taken
from thine eyes--thou shall see the great, mighty, redeeming Cross of Christ,
and He shall say, “Thy sins, which are many, are all forgiven thee” The curse
will be turned into a blessing, and thou shalt be the better for the abasement.
(Joseph Parker, D. D.)
Sorrows keeping front worldliness
An evangelist tells of a young lad who left his father’s home to
be a sailor. He was absent for three years, and on the return voyage, just as
he was thinking of how soon he should see all the dear ones at home, his ship
was wrecked off the coast of Norway. Many were lost, but he and some others
managed to get into a boat. They tried to row for the shore, but the men being
wet, and the cold so intense, many of them were frozen to death. The first mate
had command of the boat, and the lad being a favourite of his, he was afraid
that he should fall a victim to the cold, and whenever he saw him dozing, or
showing any signs of sleeping, he thrashed him with a rope’s-end. In vain the
lad expostulated, the thrashing continued until all drowsiness was gone. At
length they reached land, and were hospitably entertained by the natives, and
in time were forwarded home. That young man often says he owes his life to the
mate who administered to him that timely discipline. The sufferings and sorrows
which God puts upon His people are like that thrashing. Only to keep them from
falling into the sleep of worldliness that leads to death, to keep them alive
in grace, looking unto Him, does He afflict them.
God’s Providences not to be feared
We ought never to be afraid of God’s providences when they seem to
break up our lives and crush our hopes, and even to turn us away from our
chosen paths usefulness and service. God knows what He wants to do with us, how
He san boot use us, and where and in what lines of ministry He would have us
serve. When He shuts one door it is because He has another standing open for
our feet. Whoa He breaks our lives to pieces it is because they will do more
for His glory and the world’s good broken and shattered than whole.
Verses 7-31
And I came to Jerusalem, and understood of the evil that Elashib
did.
The religious reformer
Remark--
I. The state of
Jerusalem during Nehemiah’s absence.
II. The reforms he
achieved.
1. His purification of the temple.
2. His renewal of the observance of Divine ordinances.
3. His promoting the sanctification of the Sabbath.
4. His setting apart Judah from mingling with the heathen. (W.
Ritchie.)
Personal purification of the believer
We must never forget that the Christian is now what the temple was
of old, the dwelling-place of the Most High (1 Corinthians 6:19). Luther observes: “A Christian may be
compared with the tripartite temple of Solomon. His spirit is the holy of
holies, God’s dwelling amid the darkness of faith (he believes what he neither
sees, nor feels, nor grasps); his soul is the holy place, where are the seven
lights of the golden candlesticks; his body is the fore-court exposed to
general view, where every one can observe how he lives and what he does; in the
fore-court stands the altar of burnt-offerings, whereon we are to lay our
bodies as living sacrifices unto God. How sad when the temple in any part of it
is desecrated! When the heart in which Christ should dwell is occupied by the
world, many things must be cast forth, in order that it may become the abode of
the King. (W. P. Lockhart.)
The devoted patriot
The story commences with the return of Nehemiah to Babylon. Either
through the reports that his enemies had sent to the court, or the leave of
absence having expired (Nehemiah 2:6), Nehemiah returns to the
king to report himself, and to seek permission for a further sojourn in
Jerusalem. The fact that Ezra is absent at the same time strengthens the
opinion that the misrepresentations of those about them moved the jealousy of
the king and led to their recall. It is scarcely possible to think of the swift
and complete destruction of the religious life of the city apart from a
deeply-laid plot on the part of the foes who saw in the recall of Nehemiah
their own Opportunity, and whose plans were carefully laid and boldly carried
out as soon as he had left. The building of the walls and gateways of the city
had been followed by a yet bolder effort for the security of Jerusalem. Taking
advantage of the fervour of the new religious life which had sprung up amongst
them, Nehemiah had gathered the people together and got them to enter into a
very solemn covenant, which they had signed and sealed. The list of those who
signed this covenant is given--in itself a suggestion that it was not signed by
all. The first name is that of Nehemiah: and next to his we should naturally look
for that of Eliashib, the high priest, and of Jehoiada his son. But these two
are conspicuously absent. So then it is plain that before the departure of
Nehemiah there were two parties whose antagonism could only be fierce and
bitter; a party which had surrendered itself to the strictest observance and
enforcement of the law, and another party which had entangled itself by heathen
relationships; and of this latter party the first and foremost was Eliashib,
the high priest. As soon as Nehemiah has gone this Eliashib at once becomes the
head and ruler of the city. Now comes the collision of the two parties; on the
one side a people like the Puritans of old--stern, resolute, exclusive, hateful
of everything that swerved a hair’s breadth from the letter of the law. On the
other side was the party of the court--hand in glove with the wealthy “people
of the land”; eager for their own advancement and position. Eliashib, the
leader of the courtiers, had nothing to expect from the covenanters but a stem
and bitter opposition. To strengthen his position, and perhaps for his own
personal security, he gathers about him these from the outside, intending
doubtless to draw the line sharply as soon as they had served his purpose, but
finding, as such men always do, that he has to yield step by step, until everything
that the law held sacred was broken down before the influx of “the people of the
land.” A swift and terrible reaction followed the high-pitched fervour of the
great revival. First to be swept away were the reforms that Nehemiah had
introduced in the matter of mixed marriages. That which the high priest himself
had sanctioned by the example of his own family was speedily imitated, until it
seems to have become a rage amongst the people, many of the Jews putting away
their own wives for these women of Ammon and Moab and Ashdod. The Book of
Malachi throws a lurid light upon the condition of things in this as in other
respects (Malachi 2:11; Malachi 2:14; Malachi 2:16). Eliashib seeks further to
strengthen his position and to weaken his opponent’s by a concession to the
greed of the people, as he had previously indulged their lust. The tithes and
offerings which were claimed by the priests and Levites were withheld from
them, or the people brought only that which was diseased or torn by the wild
beasts; the people robbed God, as Malachi says. Thus the female came to be
neglected, as the priests had to go “every one to his own field.” With this
must have fallen every barrier for the protection of Jerusalem. When thin us
had reached such a pass it was evident that the heathen had everything their
own way. The occupations of the people went on as if there were no Sabbath day.
The wine presses were trodden; the corn was carried; the asses were laden;
through the city gates same the men of Tyre with their fruit and fish for sale;
foreigners filled the streets with their cries, and the place rang with the
noisy chaffering of those who stood to sell and those who came to buy. With
them these strangers brought their evil ways, and their foul idolatries--the
sorceries of which Malachi speaks (Malachi 3:5). Such is the state of things
which Nehemiah finds on his return to Jerusalem. Perhaps his coming was
unlooked for, the enemy hoping to keep him still at the court of the king. We
have thought perhaps of Nehemiah as the graceful courtier, the stately
cupbearer, whose appearance would have much to do with his high position. But
here is a very different man. He seems to stand before us with knitted brows
and flashing eyes--a man who does not hesitate to lay hands upon the offenders,
and whose words terrify the city. Nehemiah’s indignation is kindled first by
the tidings of the desecration of the House of God; and hastening thither he
faces Eliashib on his own ground, and with his own hands he flings out the
“household stuff” of the intruding Tobiah, and has the chambers cleansed from
the defilement, and the holy vessels set again in them. That Eliashib and his
party should have submitted to such a high-handed proceeding may seem
surprising; but the conscience of the people was with Nehemiah, and they felt
that it was useless to resist one of such resoluteness, backed by such
authority as he possessed. Then he priests and Levites were again set in their
places, and the provisions were duly delivered, treasurers being appointed to
receive and distribute the offerings of corn and oil and wine. Meanwhile the
rulers had gathered themselves together, as they did when Christ came to the
temple. The interference with the hope of their gains stirred their resentment;
for to those nobles a working day was not to be lightly parted with, since
others did the Work of which they reaped the advantage. Nehemiah orders the
gates to be shut at sunset on the Sabbath eve, and that none shall enter
bearing burdens until the day is done. Yet more difficult and involved was the
matter of the mixed marriages. But in this as in everything else Nehemiah would
tolerate no half measures. When the people gathered to protest, he tells us
that “I contended with them, and cursed them, and plucked off their hair, and
made them swear by God, saying, Ye shall not give your daughters unto their
sons, nor take their daughters unto your sons, or for yourselves.” Jehoiada,
the son of the high priest, and the son-in-law of Sanballat, thought doubtless
to screen himself behind these high relationships. But instead of defence it
added to the wrong, and the indignant governor chased him out of the city, and
forbade him to return. Taking refuge-in Samaria with others who resented the
action of Nehemiah, he set up there a rival temple and service, and thus
cleared the way for the reforms which were established in Jerusalem. Looking
back over the chapter, we see a lesson for all time and for us: that we can never
loosen the law of God in one particular without loosening it in all. The law of
God is one, and to break it in any point is to endanger it in all. The
thickening of the ills about Eliashib one by one until everything is lost, is
the story of the destruction of the individual and the nation. (M. G.
Pearse.)
Verse 11
Then contended I with the rulers.
Work and worship
Then the topic is not new. It is a question which propounds itself
in every age. The particular aspect of the question we have to deal with at
present is this, Why does the working man forsake the house of God? Many of the
reasons given arise out of the industrial conditions of the working classes.
1. One of the reasons given by working men is that the conditions of
their industrial existence afford them no leisure time. Is this a reason or an
excuse? It is true that there is a considerable number of working men who are
doomed to drag on a weary, dreary, grinding, rayless life. They have no
leisure. The only rest they have is the unconscious rest of sleep. The system
that perpetuates this state of things is unrighteous, inhuman, and hostile to
the teachings of the Bible. But this is not true of the majority of working
men; their absence arises not from want of leisure, but from want of
inclination.
2. Another reason assigned is that the Christian ministry is in
league with the employers. I am not here to hold a brief for the ministry, but
I am here to defend the interests of truth, and I wish to ask where this weak
and effeminate ministry is to be found? I venture to believe that there never
was a time when the pulpits were ringing with a clearer and more unambiguous
note, when there was more straight and wholesome teaching on the obligations of
power and the responsibilities of wealth. I believe that to-day there is far more
preaching to the rich than there is to the poor, and this charge of sinful
silence and sinful flattery cannot be sustained.
3. Another reason advanced is that ministers do not take their
rightful position as leaders of secular progress, and that they are not to be
found in the van of social and political reform. This is a more reasonable
objection. I wish to confess candidly and frankly that in my opinion the pulpit
has been too speculative, too abstract, too unpractical, too other-worldly. But
this reproach is now being rapidly rolled away, and the ministry are giving
both hands to the neglected work of social reform.
4. Working men further complain that when they do come to church they
meet with a cold and unfriendly reception. In the church there is “respect unto
persons.” It is charged against us that our profession of brotherhood is a mere
pretence. It is said that men will sit by their fellows in the house of God for
years, will pray and sing of their brotherliness and love, and then outside the
church will ignore and pass them by without so much as recognition. Against
such conduct no word can be too outspoken or too severe.
5. Another reason is that the church is not democratic, and that the
workman has no voice or influence in its affairs. This reason has been
confirmed and emphasised by the editors of our daffy press. But it is a statement
altogether too sweeping. If the working man wants democratic churches he need
not seek far to find them.
6. One speaker at a meeting convened to consider this question,
declaimed against the pulpit because it treats of such topics as the
restoration of man and the forgiveness of sins. He declared that there is no
practical value in such teaching, and that the working man does not hold to it
or believe in it. Here there is no room for compromise. Oh! fellow-men, the
Nazarene wears many crowns, and among His crowns is that of Social Reformer.
But there is another crown brighter by far than that of Reformer, the crown of
Redeemer. The gospel we have to preach is not a mere uprooter of social wrongs,
an equaliser of men’s estates; it is a regenerator of the human heart. The
supreme aim of the gospel is not to beautify man’s circumstances, but to
beautify man’s life. The Master Himself told us how useless it is to reform a
man’s house unless you redeem the man. The gospel is preached, then, that man
may be rectified, and that rectified man may transform the world. The work of
the Redeemer includes the work of the Reformer, but redemption is the first and
dominant note in the Church’s song. On the other hand, if we are truly Christ’s
we are genuine reformers, The Church of Christ should be the centre of all the
reforming agencies of our time. All true reformers get their weapons from
Christ. (J. A. Jowett, M. A.)
Verses 14-22
Remember me, O my God, concerning this
The mercy of God Chin origin of the reward of good works
Learn--
I.
That
to make provision for maintenance of God’s worship and the ministers thereof is
a worthy work, and of high esteem and favour with God (1 Chronicles 29:17-18; Deuteronomy 12:19; 2 Kings 4:1-44.; Luke 7:3-5; Matthew 10:41; Philippians 4:18; 2 Timothy 1:16-18).
II. That God
rewardeth these and all our other good deeds and works not for any merit or
worthiness that is in them, but of His free mercy and goodness.
1. The Scriptures encourage us to work in hope of reward (Psalms 19:11; Proverbs 11:18; Matthew 5:11-12; Matthew 10:41-42; Luke 6:35; 2 John 1:8).
2. Whence this reward cometh. “According to Thy great mercy” (Hosea 10:12; Romans 6:23; Psalms 62:12).
III. That it is
lawful to do good works with respect to the recompense of reward. It is plain
Nehemiah here did so. So did Moses Hebrews 11:25-26). (Joseph Mede, B. D.)
The law of reward
Nehemiah’s prayer occurs thrice in this chapter, at the close of
each section recounting his reforming acts. In the first instance (verse 14) it
is most full, and puts very plainly the merit of good deeds as a plea with God.
The same thing is implied in its form in verse 22. But while, no doubt, the
tone of the prayer is startling to us, and is not such as should be offered now
by Christians, it but echoes the principle of retribution which underlies the
law. “This do, and thou shalt live,” was the very foundation of Nehemiah’s form
of God’s revelation. We do not plead our own merits, because we are not under
the law, but under grace, and the principle underlying the gospel is life by
impartation of unmerited mercy and Divine life. But the law of retribution
still remains valid for Christians in so far as that God will never forget any
of their works, and will give them full recompense for their work of faith and
labour of love. Eternal life here and hereafter is wholly the gift of God; but
that fact does not exclude the notion of “the recompense of reward” from the
Christian conception of the future. It becomes not us to present our good deeds
before the Judge, since they are stained and imperfect, and the goodness in
them is His gift. But it becomes Him to crown them with His gracious
approbation and to proportion the cities ruled in that future world to the
talents faithfully used here. We need not be afraid of obscuring the truth that
we are saved “not of works, lest any man should boast,” though we insist that a
Christian man is rewarded according to his works. (A. Maclaren, D. D.)
Nehemiah’s sincerity
Paul assures the believing Hebrews that God will not forget “their
work of faith and labour of love,” and this prayer of Nehemiah’s is nothing more
than a petition that God will be pleased to fulfil Hie own promise regarding
him. It was not the dictate of a self-righteous spirit. There is no
self-righteousness in the humble prayer that God would look upon him in love;
that He would deign to accept of his feeble services as proof and evidences of
a religious spirit; that He would be pleased to verify His promise, that “it
shall be well with them that fear the Lord,” and that “godliness is profitable
unto all things, having the promise of the life that now is, as well as of that
which is to come.” Consider--
I. A sketch of
Nehemiah’s history.
II. Nehemiah’s
character.
1. His steady religious principle. Dwelling amid scenes very
uncongenial to the progress of piety in the heart, he displayed a firmness of
principle and an ardour of religious feeling truly admirable. Amidst the
enticements of a splendid and licentious court he sought the glory of God and
not the gratification of vanity, ambition, or worldly desire. Surrounded by the
ensigns of a gross and impious superstition, he reared a standard for the true
God, and stood forth as a witness for Him, in the midst of His enemies.
Confidence in God kept him steady in the scene of danger; and the lofty aims of
a devoted spirit raised him above the grovelling pursuits Of sense.
2. His self-denial. This is one of the best evidences of sound
religious principle. When the will is subjugated to the will of God; when the
mind feels itself completely satisfied with the wisdom and goodness of the
Divine economy; when self is thrown into the background, and a noble
disinterestedness gives its tone to the character, then we have some good proof
that our religion is sincere. Nehemiah improved his advantages at the
Persian court not for his individual good, but for the good of his countrymen.
He lost sight of selfish considerations, and feeling for the humblest of the
people, he gave them the full value of his labours, without the slightest
remuneration. That which he asked not from man he knew God would bestow; hence
the prayer of the text.
3. His zeal for the worship and ordinances of God. This is specially
displayed in his anxiety to vindicate God’s ordinances from abuse, and to
enforce their punctual observance. The public reading and expounding the law,
for the edification of the people, testified his regard for God’s Holy Word.
The exactness with which the appointed rites in the feasts of trumpets end
tabernacles were gone about, under his superintendence, testified his reverence
for the law, in all the minuteness of its requisitions. His zeal for the
sanctification of the Sabbath proved the high sense he entertained of its
value.
4. His enlightened and consistent perseverance in the discharge of
personal and official duty. (Robert Burns, D. D.)
Verses 15-22
In those days I saw in Judah some treading wine presses on the
Sabbath.
Keeping the Sabbath
In reforming the evil of Sabbath desecration Nehemiah--
I. Contended with
the nobles, or Jewish aristocracy. It was their trade that kept the marts open.
Were they to hold aloof, the Sabbath-breakers would fail for want of patronage.
II. He enforced the
law.
III. He dealt
particularly with those who sought to evade the law.
IV. He took
measures to perpetuate the reform. Conclusion: Reflect on the considerations which
underlie the duty of Sabbath rest.
1. The institution of the Sabbath is coeval with the race. Adam in
paradise kept the holy day. This is evidenced by the primitive division of time
into weeks. The word “remember “ in the fourth commandment shows that this
injunction was but the revival and re-emphasising of one which had all along
been binding upon them.
2. It is based upon a ground which in the nature of the case makes it
perpetual. The Lord “rested on the seventh day; wherefore the Lord blessed the
Sabbath day, and hallowed it.”
3. The Sabbath law was interwoven with the nerves and sinews of the
human constitution before it was inscribed on the tables of stone.
4. The injunction, “Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy,” when
placed in the Decalogue, received the formal sanction of Jehovah as an
essential part of the moral law.
5. Christ came to fulfil the ceremonial law; at His coming it
vanished as shadows do before the sun. But as to the moral law, He came to
fasten it more and more permanently on the hearts and consciences of men.
6. The change from the seventh to the first day was in no wise a
violation of the original injunction, but rather in pursuance of it. It commemorates
the resurrection of Christ, and thus a new and living branch of joy was
engrafted upon it. (D. J. Burrell, D. D.)
Keeping the Sabbath
The several points suggested by this narrative are specially
suited to times like our own.
I. It reminds us of
the blinding and, hardening power of worldliness. It blunts conscience, deadens
spirituality, and estranges from God.
II. It reminds us
of the risks of association with careless and irreligious neighbours.
III. It reminds us
of the responsibility of men in high position for prevailing evils.
IV. It reminds us
that neglect to keep the sabbath is an evil with which God can never be
otherwise than sorely displeased.
V. It reminds us
of the resolute fidelity required to save this day from general profanation. (Monday
Club Sermons.)
Keeping the Sabbath--
I. Sabbath
observance has to contend with the greed of men with wealth.
II. Sabbath
observance secures the community and nation from peril. Divine requirements
have always a wise and loving purpose in them. A God-fearing nation is strong
because it has learned, in its several elements, to exalt those things which
have abiding power in them. Charity and integrity, reverence, purity,
intelligence, and self-control are mighty forces. Against these immorality, intemperance,
extortion, ignorance, surge like a desolating flood. The Sabbath is a
protecting dyke raised across their path, so clear and effective that they each
hate and would abolish it. A million soldiers under arms cannot defend us as
sixty million citizens without other weapon than recognition of God’s claims
and their fellows’ rights will do. The former may be defeated as Rome’s
numerous legions were. The latter are invincible.
III. Sabbath
observance may be decreed by public statute and enforced by the civil
magistrate. The State may, and must maintain itself. It may, and should, forbid
those practices which threaten its life. It must respect the religious nature
and requirements of its citizens. Its province is, not to say how any shall
observe the hours of rest, but simply to guarantee that they shall have them. (De
Witt S. Clarke.)
The benefit of the Sabbath
Consider it--
I. As an
acceptable rest from the toils and labours of life.
II. As highly
useful and civil institution.
III. As a necessary
religious ordinance.
IV. As a sign
between God and man. (J. Venn, M. A.)
Sabbath desecration
The last page of many a reformer’s history has been, like
Nehemiah’s, a sad account of efforts to stem the ebbing tide of enthusiasm and
the flowing tide of worldliness. The heavy stone is rolled a little way up
hill, and, as soon as one strong hand is withdrawn, down it tumbles again to
its old place. The evanescence of great men’s work makes much of the tragedy of
history. Our lesson is particularly concerned with Nehemiah’s efforts to
enforce Sabbath observance.
I. The abuse
consisted in sabbath work and trading. It is easy to ridicule the Jewish
Sabbath and “the Puritan Sunday.” No doubt there have been and are well-meant
but mistaken efforts to insist on too rigid observance. No doubt it has been
often forgotten by good people that the Christian Lord’s Day is not the Jewish
Sabbath. Of course, the religious observance of the day is not a fit subject
for legislation. But the need for a seventh day of rest is impressed on our
physical and intellectual nature; and devout hearts will joyfully find their
best rest in Christian worship and service. The vigour of religious life
demands special seasons set apart for worship. Unless there be such reservoirs
along the road, there will be but a thin trickle of a brook by the way. It is
all very well to talk about religion diffused through the life, but it will not be so
diffused unless it is concentrated at certain times. They are no benefactors to
the community who seek to break down and relax the stringency of the
prohibition of labour. If once the idea that Sunday is a day of amusement takes
root, the amusement of some will require the hard work of others, and the
custom of work will tend to extend, till rest becomes the exception and work
the rule. There never was a time when men lived so furiously fast as now. The
pace of modern life demands Sunday rest more than ever. If a railway-car is run
continually, it will wear out sooner than if it were laid aside for a day or
two occasionally; and if it is run at express speed, it will need the rest
more. We are all going at top speed; and there would be more breakdowns if it
were not for that blessed institution which some people think they are
promoting the public good by destroying--a seventh day of rest.
II. The vigorous
remedies applied by Nehemiah were administered first to the rulers. He sent for
the nobles, and laid the blame at their doors. “Ye profane the day,” said he.
Men in authority are responsible for crimes which they could check but prefer
to wink at. Nehemiah was governor for the Persian king, and so had a right to
rate these nobles. In this day the people have the same right, and there are
many social sins for which they should arraign civic and other authorities.
Christian principles unflinchingly insisted on by Christian people, and brought
to bear, by ballot-boxes and other persuasive ways, on what stands for
conscience in some high places, would make a wonderful difference on many of
the abominations of our cities. Go to the “nobles” first, and lay the burden on
the backs that ought to carry it.
III. Then Nehemiah
took practical measures by shutting the city gates on the eve of the sabbath,
and putting some of his own servants as a watch. The methods adopted may yield
suggestions for all who would aim at reforming abuses or public immoralities.
1. One most necessary step is to cut off, as far as possible,
opportunities for the sin. There will be no trade if you shut the gates the
night before. There will be little drunkenness if there are no liquor-shops. It
is quite true that people cannot be made virtuous by legislation, but it is
also true that they may be saved temptations to become vicious by it.
2. Once more, the guard of Levites may suggest that the execution of
measures for the reformation of manners or morals is best entrusted to those
who are in sympathy with them. Levites made faithful watchmen, Many a promising
measure for reformation has come to nothing because committed to the hands of
functionaries who did not care for its success. The instruments are almost as
important as the means which they carry out. (A. Maclaren, D. D.)
An argument for Sabbath-keeping
“I tell our directors that if they compel conductors to break the
fourth commandment they have no right to expect them to keep the eighth.” That
was the Hon. William E. Dodge’s business way of putting to railroad companies
the argument for Sabbath-keeping.
Loyalty to the Sabbath
A ferry company, with a fine prospect of a lucrative
business, desired the late Governor Gamble to make an investment in their
stock, which he declined, because they ran their boats on the Sabbath. “We are
obliged by law to do so,” was the excuse offered. “Yes,” he replied; “I know
that the law requires your company to run its boats on the Sabbath, but the law
does not require me to invest my money in your stock.”
Profanation of the Sabbath
Consider--
I. We also have a
sabbath which ought to be observed.
II. Some of the
prevalent abuses of the sabbath.
III. Practical
remedies. Nehemiah is here our pattern.
1. He took no part in the sin himself.
2. He made a public protest.
3. He promoted active measures for the suppression of Sabbath
profanation. (J. Hambleton.)
Sabbath observance
This passage contains a detailed statement of the transgressions
of the Israelites in this particular, as well as of the testimony of God
through Nehemiah against them; and as it distinctly indicates certain
transactions on the Sabbath as grossly sinful, the guilt of which is by some
considered as at least questionable, it will be profitable to closely examine
the sacred writer’s words, in order to evince the iniquity of such practices.
I. Is what
consisted the abuses themselves.
1. Agricultural work on the Sabbath. “In those days saw I in Judah
some treading wine-presses, and bringing in sheaves,” etc. The feeding of
cattle and similar labours on the Sabbath are clearly permitted, because the
life or health of the beast depends on its nourishment; but all other sorts of
work are plainly evil, and as much just subject of rebuke from the Christian
minister as the labours of the Jews were from the Jewish.
2. Sabbath traffic (verse 16). The pleas of opposition, convenience,
and such-like, cannot be allowed even in palliation; for the law of God must
not be bent or modified to suit the will and caprices of man. Here no
subterfuge, or sophistry, or excuse, is permitted.
II. The prophet’s
proceedings consequent upon these practices.
1. He testified against them. It is the duty of ministers on any
symptoms of irreligion in their respective districts to rebuke and raise their
voices against it. For that purpose they are appointed as sentinels and
guardians. Now this word “testify” is a comprehensive term, and will signify,
first, that he indicated the evil--that he expressed his dislike of the
practice--that he showed them its sinfulness, and the punishment surely
consequent upon it. He then charged them with it. “Ye do it.” “What evil thing
is this that ye do?” The better sort were not sellers, but buyers; they
connived at the practice, and encouraged it. The prophet accordingly accuses
them with being accessories, over on the ground of bad example. The people
naturally took their tone from them, and when they saw the Sabbath traffic of
the nobles, they, also, profaned the Sabbath day. He rebukes them, too, for
contempt of God and want of patriotism. “What evil thing is this that ye do,”
etc. Now this instance of the destiny of Israel proves the fact, that God does
not reserve His wrath against the Sabbath-breaking nation for the next world,
but here inflicts at least a part of the retribution.
2. He exerted his authority to prevent the entrance of the traders
into me city. “I commanded that the gates should be shut, and charged that they
should not be opened till after the Sabbath,” etc. The authority he exercised
was exclusively secular. Therefore, though the state should be cautious of
interfering in matters purely ecclesiastical, yet with this case before us it
is evident that the magistrate may interpose to carry out the Divine
ordinances. The authority, then, vested in magistrates or others by the state
for this purpose is a legal authority, according to Divine law; and the conduct
of Nehemiah in this case sets a proud example to officials of every time and
place, with equal zeal and prudence to execute their functions. (John
Budgen, M.A.)
Verse 22
Spare me according to the greatness of Thy mercy.
Nehemiah’s appeal to God’s mercy
The bird which soars the highest builds the lowest nest.
The more a man is lifted up in communion with Heaven the deeper is his
abasement in his own eyes. The holiest are the humblest. Those who bear most
fruit have least “confidence in the flesh.” How interesting to observe that,
though the conceptions of believers under the old dispensation respecting the
exact mode of salvation were dim, yet they themselves clung as earnestly to the
mercy of the Lord as more privileged believers do now! (Hugh Stowell, M. A.)
Increasing holiness means increasing sensitiveness to the need of
mercy
The more holy a man’s spirit becomes, the more sensitive will it
become; and the more sensitive his spirit, the deeper and livelier will be his
sense of sinfulness. Shut up an individual in a dark room, hung round with
cobwebs and defiled with dust, and he will be insensible to its condition; then
admit a little light, and he will begin to suspect its state, and the more
clearly the fight shines, the more clearly will he discern the impurities which
were hidden before. (Hugh Stowell, M. A.)
Nehemiah
Here is--
I. An appeal to
God’s approbation. Nehemiah often makes appeals of this kind. This was an
appeal to God--
1. From man’s judgment. He had engaged in an undertaking which was
likely enough to appear contemptible in the eyes of his Persian acquaintance.
But what then? It was for God’s honour, and therefore he despises this shame,
casting himself upon the approbation of God. This principle it was that
influenced Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, Paul. It is the principle of faith
rendering an unseen God visible. Such men look for a future “ recompense of
reward” promised by Him who cannot lie.
2. From man’s enmity. While one party satisfied themselves with
despising, there was another party in Jerusalem itself who hated and opposed
his proceedings. It is in reference to their enmity that the appeal of the text
is made. Modern enmity.
3. From man’s ingratitude. It was here that he found his greatest
trial. How painful, when the very persons whom in God’s name he sought to
benefit were cold, reluctant, unfeeling! Nehemiah’s was no solitary ease. You
find in connection with this appeal--
II. A contrite
prayer for god’s forgiveness.
1. After all he has done for God’s service, Nehemiah cannot forget
that there is a load of original and actual sin, recorded against him for which
no subsequent obedience can make satisfaction.
2. He finds even his religious actions so stained with sin that
though he may appeal from man, he cannot make them a plea for merit before God.
3. He casts himself, with a steadfast faith, on the free grace and
covenanted mercies of the Lord. Application: If the despised believer may thus appeal
from man to God, what hope can there be for those who compel him so to do? (Joseph
Jowett, M. A.)
Verse 26
Did not Solomon king of Israel sin by these things?
Solomon
1. It may appear remarkable that one who fell so grievously should
contribute at all to the Book of God, nor is there any other instance of the
kind; but his sad history adds a peculiar weight of warning to his words; nor
are there any books more strongly marked by the finger of God.
2. Solomon was chosen of God, and afterwards rejected as Saul had
been; he was full of wisdom and understanding, and what is far more, of
holiness and goodness. There is perhaps no one of whom the early promise of good seemed so
decisive.
3. It has been said, as by St. Augustine, that Solomon was more
injured by prosperity than profited by wisdom. Yet we may observe that his
falling away is not attributed in Scripture to his wealth, his power and
honour.
4. We cannot conclude that Solomon himself did not at last repent,
but this has always been considered by the Church as very doubtful, to say the
least. All we know is that Scripture has fully made known to us his falling
away from God, but has said nothing of his repentance. The very silence is
awful and impressive.
5. What more melancholy than the fall of one so great--so wise! What
words could have been spoken to him more powerful than his own! What eloquence
could describe his fall with more feeling and beauty than his own words! What
could more powerfully paint the loveliness of that holiness from which he fell?
what the overpowering sweetness of that Divine love which he has consented to
give up to feed on ashes! Who can describe the temptations to those very sins
by which he was ensnared in a more searching manner than he has done? It is
very awful to think how God may use men as instruments of good that His Spirit
may teach them, and through them teach others, and guide them to the fountain
of living waters, yet they themselves at last fail of the prize of their high
calling. What a warning for fear! (Isaac Williams.)
Solomon’s restoration
I. The wanderings
of an erring spirit. “Did not Solomon king of Israel sin by these things?”
1. That which lay at the bottom of all Solomon’s transgressions was
his intimate partnership with foreigners. “Did not Solomon sin by these
things?”--that is, if we look to the context, marriage with foreign wives. The
history of the text is this--Nehemiah discovered that the nobles of Judah,
during the captivity, when law and religious customs had been relaxed, had
married wives of Ashdod, of Ammon, and of Moab; and then, in his passionate
expostulation with them, he reminds them that it was this very transgression
which led to the fall of the monarch who had been most distinguished for God’s
favour. Exclusiveness was the principle on which Judaism was built. Everything
was to be distinct--as distinct as God’s service and the world’s. And it was
this principle which Solomon transgressed. The Jewish law, shadowed out an
everlasting truth. God’s people are an exclusive nation; God’s Church is for
ever separated from the world. This is her charter, “Come out from among them,
and be ye separate,” etc. We are to be separate from the world. Mistake not the
meaning of that word. The world changes its complexion in every age. Solomon’s
world was the nations of idolatry lying round Israel. Our world is not that.
The world is that collection of men in every age who live only according to the
maxims of their time. The world may be a profligate world, or it may be a moral
world. All that is a matter of accident. Our world is a moral world. The sons
of our world are not idolaters, they are not profligate; they are, it may be,
among the most fascinating of mankind. No marvel if a young and ardent heart
feels the spell of the fascination. No wonder if it feels a relief in turning
away from the dulness and the monotony of home life to the sparkling brilliancy
of the world’s society. The brilliant, dazzling, accomplished world--what
Christian with a mind polished like Solomon’s does not own its charms? And yet
now, pause. Is it in wise Egypt that our highest blessedness lies? Is it in
busy, restless Sidon? Is it in luxurious Moab? No. The Christian must leave the
world alone. His blessedness lies in quiet work with the Israel of God.
2. The second step of Solomon’s wandering was the unrestrained
pursuit of pleasure. And a men like Solomon cannot do anything by helves. No
man ever more heartily and systematically gave himself up to the pursuit. There
are some men who are prudent in their epicuresnism. They put gaiety aside when
they begin to get palled with it, and then return to it moderately again. Mere
like Solomon cannot do that. No earnest man can. No! if blessedness lies in
pleasure, he will drink the cup to the dregs. But let us mark the wanderings of
an immortal soul infinite in its vastness. There is a moral to be learnt from
the wildest worldliness. When we look on the madness of life, and are
marvelling at the terrible career of dissipation, let there be no contempt
felt. It is an immortal spirit marring itself. It is an infinite soul, which
nothing short of the Infinite can satisfy, plunging down to ruin and
disappointment. That unquenched impetuosity within you might have led you up to
God. You have chosen instead that your heart shall try to satisfy itself upon
husks. There was another form of Solomon’s worldliness.
3. It was not worldliness in pleasure, but worldliness in occupation.
He had entered deeply into commercial speculations. He had alternate fears and
hopes about the return of his merchant ships on their perilous three-years’
voyage to India end to Spain. He had his mind occupied with plans for building.
The architecture of the temple, his own palace, the forts and towns of his now
magnificent empire, all this filled for a time his soul. He had begun a system
of national debt end ruinous taxation. Much of this was not wrong; but all of
it was dangerous. It is a strange thing how business dulls the sharpness of the
spiritual affections. It is strange how the harass of perpetual occupation shuts
God out. There are writers who have said that in this matter Solomon was in
advance of his age enlightened beyond the narrowness of Judaism, and that this
permission of idolatry was the earliest exhibition of that spirit which in
modern times we call religious toleration. But Solomon went far beyond
toleration. The truth seems to be, Solomon was getting indifferent about
religion. He had got into light and worldly society, and the libertinism of his
associations was beginning to make its impression upon him. He was beginning to
ask, “Is not one religion as good as another, so long as each man believes his
own in earnest?” There are few signs in a soul’s state more alarming than that
of religious indifference; that is, the spirit of thinking ell religions
equally true, the real meaning of which is, that all religions are equally
false.
II. God’s loving
guidance of Solomon in the midst of all his apostasy. In the darkest, wildest
wanderings a man to whom God has shown His love in Christ is conscious still of
the better way. In the very gloom of his remorse, there is an instinctive
turning back to God. It is enumerated among the gifts that God bestowed upon
Solomon that He granted to him “largeness of heart.” Now that largeness of
heart which we call thoughtfulness and sensibility, generosity, high feeling,
marks out for the man who has it a peculiar life. You look to the life of
Solomon, and there are no outward reverses there to speak of. His reign was a
type of a reign of the power of peace. No war, no national disaster,
interrupted the even flow of the current of his days. No loss of a child, like
David’s, pouring cold desolation into his soul--no pestilences nor famines.
Prosperity and riches, and the internal development of the nation’s life--that
was the reign of Solomon. And yet, with all this, was Solomon happy? Is there
no way that God has of making the heart grey and old before its time without
sending bereavement, or loss, or sickness? Has the Eternal Justice no mode of
withering and drying up the inner springs of happiness while all is green, and
wild, and fresh outwardly? We look to the history of Solomon for the answer.
The first way in which his aberration from God treasured up for him
chastisement was by that weariness of existence which breathes through the
whole Book of Ecclesiastes. Another part of Solomon’s chastisement was doubt.
Once more turn to the Book of Ecclesiastes. “All things come alike to all: there is one event to
the righteous, and to the wicked; to the good and to the clean, and to the
unclean; to him that sacrificeth, and to him that sacrificeth not.” In this you
will observe the querulous complaint of a man who has ceased to feel that God
is the ruler of this world. A blind chance, or a dark destiny, seems to rule
all earthly things. And that is the penalty of leaving God’s narrow path for
sin’s wider and more flowery one. But the love of God brought Solomon through
all this to spiritual manhood. “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep
His commandments:
for this is the whole duty of man.” In this we have the evidence of his
victory. Doubt, and imprisonment, and worldliness have passed away, and clear
activity, belief, freedom, have taken their place. It was terrible discipline,
but God had made that discipline successful. I speak to those who know
something about what the world is worth, who have tasted its fruits, and found
them like the Dead Sea apples--hollowness and ashes. By those foretastes of
coming misery which God has already given you, those lonely feelings of utter
wretchedness and disappointment when you have returned home palled and satiated
from the gaudy entertainment, and the truth has pressed itself icy cold upon
your heart, “Vanity of vanities--is this worth living for? By all that, be warned.
Be true to your convictions. Be honest with yourselves. Learn from the very
greatness of your souls, which have a capacity for infinite agony, that you m
in this world for a grander destiny than that of frittering away life in
usefulness. Lastly, let us learn from this subject the covenant love of God.
There is such a thing as love which rebellion cannot weary, which ingratitude
cannot cool (W. F. Robertson, M. A.)
Verse 31
Remember me, O my God, for good.
Simplicity and power
Consciousness of religion cannot be of necessity wrong, and it is
only a false estimate of human nature with regard to God which enables men to
take another view with regard to such sets. With boldness and without
hesitation Paul says he has run good course and fought a good fight; and he
based upon this declaration that there was laid up for him a crown of
righteousness. In the same way we find constant recognition by David of his own
good conduct throughout the Psalms; And Samuel protests his innocence in the
sight of the congregation. Hezekiah upon his sick-bed narrates the better sets
of his life as a reason for God to prolong his term of years; while more than
one of the apostles reminds our Lord of their self-denying adherence to His
cause. While Nehemiah’s consciousness of certain acts that he knew he had done
to please God shines with a soft and mellowed lustre on his figure whenever he
comes into notice, the evident simplicity of his purpose and sincerity of his
mind, and the utter absence of anything like censoriousness or boastfulness,
prevent him from being in the least degree shadowed by vanity or presumption. A
view like Nehemiah’s of those sets which are performed with a pure intention of
pleasing God is justified, because--
1. The doing so involves truthfulness in our estimate of moral
action.
2. Of the very direct encouragement that we receive from the
consciousness that we have done what is pleasing to God. In our intercourse with
our fellow-creatures nothing so encourages in the effort to please as the fact
of having pleased; nothing so discourages as the consciousness of not having
given satisfaction, or what is worse, the impression that we have dissatisfied.
(E. Monro.)
Prayer for God’s blessing
The Rev. Dr. Brock, of Bloomsbury, when about twenty-one years old
(1828), and just out of his apprenticeship, left Devonshire for London. “He had
not gone far from his home before he stopped, and sat down under a hedge, in a
lane, and opening his Bible at the 13th chapter of Nehemiah, his eye fell upon
the 31st verse:
‘Remember me, O my God, for good.’ Kneeling down upon his knees under that
hedge, with his hand upon the passage, ha put up a fervent prayer that God
would befriend him by remembering him for good in his metropolitan life. How
strikingly was that prayer answered! Dr. Brock himself used to say, ‘Who can
tell how much of the success of my after-life may be traced back to that
prayer?’”
──《The Biblical Illustrator》