Day 308 Nehemiah 12:27 – Chapter 13

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.

Second reform
Day 308, Sunday, June 15
Neh. 12:27 – Chapter 13
Today’s reading begins with celebration of the dedication of the wall, with two great choirs leading the people on a parade around the top of the wall, ending at the temple where sacrifices were offered.
As usual, though, people drifted into disobedience—with intermarriage with foreigners again to blame.
While the presentation of the timeline in the text is kind of confusing, what happened was that Nehemiah, the governor, returned back to service of the king. When he was away, all the good intentions of the people to stay faithful to God’s law stopped being observed consistently.
When Nehemiah returned to Jerusalem he found that work was being done on the Sabbath, including goods being sold by foreign tradesmen who came into the city.
Also, the taxes and tithes due them were not being paid to the Levites, leading many of them and the musicians to return home to their own fields in order to make a living. While in happier times Nehemiah had emphasized that the temple was to be cared for, he now asks in despair, “Why is the house of God neglected?”
But the most infuriating thing to Nehemiah is that the high priest has rented storerooms in the temple (which were empty because of offerings being neglected) to a man named Tobiah to conduct his own business.
We have met Tobiah before—he was an Ammonite official and one of the vocal leaders of the opposition to building the wall. When Nehemiah returns to Jerusalem to find him actually leasing space in the temple itself he becomes angry and casts all of Tobiah’s belongings out and has the rooms purified and returned to their intended use.
He then prays that God will take note: “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.”
In this second round of reformation, Nehemiah also demands an end to the practice of intermarriage with foreigners.