Thought from today’s Bible reading from Nehemiah 11-13; Psalm 126.
“On that day they read aloud from the book of Moses in the hearing of the people; and there was found written in it that no Ammonite or Moabite should ever enter the assembly of God, because they did not meet the sons of Israel with bread and water, but hired Balaam against them to curse them. However, our God turned the curse into a blessing. So when they heard the law, they excluded all foreigners from Israel” (Nehemiah 13:1-3).
This instruction regarding the Ammonites and Moabites is found in Deuteronomy 23:3-5. When the people learned that “none of their descendants…shall ever enter the assembly of the Lord” (Deuteronomy 23:3), they excluded them from being able to enter the assembly.
Unfortunately, Eliashib the priest apparently believed that he and his relatives were exempt from this command.
“Now prior to this, Eliashib the priest, who was appointed over the chambers of the house of God, being related to Tobiah, had prepared a large room for him, where formerly they put the grain offerings, the frankincense, the utensils and the tithes of grain, wine and oil prescribed for the Levites, the singers and the gatekeepers, and the contribution for the priests” (Nehemiah 13:4-5).
Tobiah, besides being an Ammonite, had also previously been allied with Sanballat in opposing the Jews and trying to stop the work in rebuilding the walls (Nehemiah 4:1-3, 7-8). This man was a relative of the priest. While Nehemiah was gone visiting the king (Nehemiah 13:6), Eliashib provided Tobiah with a place to live in the house of God. Nehemiah found out when he returned.
“And I came to Jerusalem and learned about the evil that Eliashib had done for Tobiah, by preparing for him in the courts of the house of God. In was very displeasing to me, so I threw all of Tobiah’s household goods out of the room. Then I gave an order and they cleansed the rooms; and I returned there the utensils of the house of God with the grain offerings and the frankincense” (Nehemiah 13:7-9).
The fact that Eliashib was a priest did not give him the right to ignore the law of God. The fact that Tobiah was his relative did not exempt him from the application of this law. God’s laws apply to all of us, no matter who we are or how they pertain to those closest to us.
Tomorrow’s reading: Malachi 1-4
[I’m using the Chronological reading plan on the Bible Gateway website if you’d like to follow along, too.]
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