Join us as we journey through the dramatic events of Nehemiah’s leadership upon his return to Jerusalem. In this compelling discussion, Nehemiah confronts the sinful actions of the people and uses his authority to restore order, uphold God’s statutes, and reinstate dedicated service to God. The episode is a powerful reminder of the enduring importance of prayer, steadfastness, and the pursuit of God’s glory.
Welcome to Expository Truths, where we exalt Christ by bringing clarity of truth through the scriptures with Dr. John Kyle, pastor of Faith Community Church in Vacaville. As Christians, we are called to know the truth and be able to proclaim it. We can know the truth when we know the word of God, which is precise, without error, powerful, and effective for both salvation and spiritual growth. Let’s join Pastor Kyle as he takes us verse by verse through the book of Nehemiah, an incredible book showing us how God sovereignly used the faithfulness of Nehemiah to lead the people to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem in the midst of many mighty and powerful enemies.
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Please turn with me in your Bibles to Nehemiah chapter 13, verses 23 through 30. Nehemiah chapter 13, verses 23 through 30. Now remember, God led Nehemiah to go to Jerusalem and not only be the catalyst in rebuilding the ruined walls of the city, but to also bring the people back to a repentant and passionate faith in the living God, which did indeed happen. And we saw that in chapters 1 through 12. At this point here in chapter 13, many years have now gone by, perhaps even 25 years since the wall has been completed. Remember, Nehemiah left Babylon and came to Jerusalem, and he was the governor there in Jerusalem for 12 years. Chapters 1 through 12 covered less than one year. So there are 11 more years in which Nehemiah continued to be the governor in Jerusalem that we know nothing about. After that time, Nehemiah then went back to Persia and Nehemiah was there for perhaps 12 more years before coming back again to Jerusalem. So Nehemiah at this point has been gone for over a decade, but now Nehemiah has returned and look, he’s found some issues. Like what? Well, as we have seen, the people have reverted in their faith. They have given way to compromise. No good leader stepped up and led the people in Nehemiah’s absence. And the people weren’t convicted enough on their own to take a stand, a godly stand for the glory of God. And so spiritual mediocrity and blatant sin has won the day. And we have seen this a number of times already here in chapter 13. Nehemiah’s response to all this sin and to all this compromise, he contends against the sin and he contends against those who are promoting the sin and he does his best to make things right for the glory of God like any true man or woman of God would do. Today we find yet another problem that Nehemiah has to contend against. Let’s look, verse 23. In those days, I also saw Jews who had married women of Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab, and half of their children spoke the language of Ashdod and could not speak the language of Judah. but spoke according to the language of one or the other people. So I contended with them and cursed them, struck some of them and pulled out their hair, and made them swear by God, saying, You shall not give your daughters as wives to their sons, nor take their daughters for your sons or yourselves. Did not Solomon the king of Israel sin by these things? Yet among many nations there was no king like him, who was beloved of his God, and God made him king over all Israel. Nevertheless… Pagan women caused even him to sin. Should we then hear of your doing all this great evil, transgressing against our God by marrying pagan women? And one of the sons of Joida, the son of Eliashib, the high priest, was a son-in-law of Sanballat the Horonite. Therefore, I drove him from me. So, the solution for Nehemiah was to contend with them, right? He contended with them. The word contend here means to strive against, to dispute with, and to even file a lawsuit against someone. And that shows us how serious and passionate Nehemiah is about this. I mean, as usual, Nehemiah can’t sit back and watch sin happen. No, Nehemiah loves God too much, and he loves these people too much. Now remember, Nehemiah is a man with authority. Previously, he was a governor of Jerusalem for 12 years. He then went back to Babylon for a decade, it seems. But now he’s back and he still has authority and he still has the full backing of the king of the empire. And so he contended with these people. He contended with these offenders. How so? Five ways. First, he cursed them, struck them, and pulled their hair. That doesn’t mean that he cussed and swore at them. That’s ungodly. It means that he called them out on their sin. He dressed them down. He rebuked them. He made them feel small. Like they should have felt because of their sin. This could also mean that he called down curses on them from God, which is a way for him to point out their grave sin against the Lord and for God to judge them in light of this sin. So he’s calling their sin out for what it is and he’s not going to let them lie to themselves about it. This is an offense to God and God will judge you for this sin unless you repent. Don’t brush this off as if it’s no big deal. No, it’s a big deal to God. And you are in serious spiritual danger. That’s very good. Nehemiah also struck them. This action had the full weight of His authority behind it. Many believe that this is talking about the legal punishment that some of these people received for so blatantly breaking the law of God. How these punishments were justly inflicted upon these people because they transgressed God’s clear law, and as a result, some of them were beaten with stripes, with whips, according to the law of God. Nehemiah also pulled out their hair. How can you justify that kind of behavior? Well, the pulling out of hair was probably the beard. And it seems that pulling out the hair from the beard of men was a regular form of punishment. See, the loss of a beard was seen as a disgrace, and having this as a form of punishment was a way to embarrass the offender so that they don’t do the offense again. And so it seems that Nehemiah isn’t losing his temper here. He’s not, no, not at all. He’s passionate about God. He’s passionate about the glory of God, and he’s using his authority to punish these lawbreakers appropriately for that culture, and he’s also trying to keep others from doing the same sin. And while this should apply differently today, but look, his passion for God and his hatred of sin is something to be exalted. He’s an example for us today when it comes to how we would apply his passion. for the glory of God. Second, Nehemiah made them swear, don’t give your daughters as wives to their sons, nor take their daughters for your sons to yourself or yourself. It seems that it was Jewish men who had married these Philistine women, non-believing pagan Philistine women. And so Nehemiah makes the men take an oath that it’s never going to happen again. It’s very serious business because an oath like this was done before the Lord. Now an oath was a solemn promise, a pledge that was made before God himself. And woe to you if you made a pledge like this and broke it. I kind of picture it that after Nehemiah calls them out and dresses them down, he then says, promise me that this is never, ever, ever going to happen again. Promise God that taking foreign and unbelieving women will never, ever, ever happen again. See, those were solemn declarations made under divine sanction that called God himself to be witness to the truth of this statement. Breaking an oath like this was very serious, for when you made an oath, you were in essence saying this, May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if I don’t keep this oath. The people then made that very serious oath. Third, Nehemiah warned them, verse 26. Did not Solomon, king of Israel, sin by these things? Yet among many nations there was no king like him who was beloved of his God, and God made him king over all Israel. Nevertheless, pagan women caused even him to sin. Should we then hear you doing all this great evil, transgressing against our God by marrying pagan women? See what Nehemiah’s doing? He now warns the people of their sin by giving them a living example that they all would have known Solomon. Solomon’s sin, the same one that these people had committed, had adversely affected their history in the worst possible way. It had led directly to the division of the kingdom. And so the tragic consequences of one man’s sin has written one of the darkest chapters in the nation’s history. Now remember, Solomon was the wisest man who ever lived, but Solomon didn’t heed his own wisdom. That’s where compromise and sin sets in, and that’s what it can do. It can make a wise person a spiritually dumb person. So Nehemiah warned the people by reminding them of sad Solomon. Don’t be like Solomon. And if you’re toying around with sin, repent now. Give it to God now. Don’t harbor it. Don’t hold on to it. Fourth, Nehemiah drove one of the sons of Joita away. Verse 28. One of the sons of Joita, the son of Eliashib, the high priest, was son-in-law of, you recognize this guy? Sanballat the Horonite. Therefore, I drove him from me. How bold is Nehemiah? He doesn’t care who he offends or who he calls out. No, he’s so zealous and passionate for God that he will call out people regardless of who they are and regardless of the consequences because right is right and wrong is wrong. And I’m not going to waver in my calling by God just because you’re the grandson of the high priest. Isn’t Nehemiah great? Right? Who here loves Nehemiah? I mean, you’ve got to love Nehemiah. He’s no coward. He is no people pleaser, no. He has one aim, to please and glorify God, and he will do that no matter what it may cost him personally. God comes first to Nehemiah. Oh, for more Nehemiahs today. Talking about the person who’s willing to stand by his convictions, even when other people don’t like it. It’s a preacher who’s willing to preach the truth, even when he knows it might get him into trouble. It’s a church that’s willing to put God first even when it knows that they might lose some people. It’s a person who’s unashamed of God and isn’t willing to compromise in the face of opposition. It’s Joshua who is strong and courageous and who chose to serve God regardless of who the others chose to serve. It’s Daniel who prayed to his God knowing it would mean being thrown to the lions. It’s Elijah who took on 400 prophets of Baal all alone. It’s Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego who stood up when everyone else was bowing down, knowing it meant that they would be thrown into the fiery furnace. It’s hundreds of men and women before us who have lived for Christ at all costs. And whether they lived or whether they died, they put God first above the thoughts and opinions of men. What about you? Are you a Nehemiah? Are you one of these people? We need more Nehemiahs today. Look what’s going on. One of the high priest’s grandsons married the daughter of Sanballat the Horonite. Remember him? Sanballat is one of the chief leaders who opposed Nehemiah and the people as they rebuilt the wall. Sanballat is a wretched God-hater. On top of that, the law prohibits the high priest from marrying a foreigner in Leviticus 21. And as he’s the grandson of the high priest, it’s possible that this priest is in line to be the high priest when his father, Joita, dies. It’s a very serious sin, especially in light of who this guy is. And so Nehemiah expelled him from the community, rightly so. I venture to say that this guy didn’t repent of his sin, and he didn’t make the promise that the others had just made. And as he is a man of spiritual leadership, his sin has greater consequences. And the only option is to purge the sin. Because if not, it’s going to spread like wildfire. I mean, think about it. If the spiritual leadership is compromised, what hope is there? You know, if you have a bunch of hypocrites… Leading your church? You don’t want to go to that church. Spiritual leaders are to set the example in godliness, not in sin. Just as Nehemiah closed the door so sin and compromise couldn’t come into the city, what do you do if there’s sin in the city? You drive it out, right? That’s what he did. Nehemiah is relentless. And we need more relentless Christians these days. Men and women who love God so much that they lift him high and they live for that which truly matters most. Fifth, Nehemiah prayed. Does that surprise anybody? Verses 30 through 31. Remember them, O my God, because they have defiled the priesthood and the covenant of the priesthood and the Levites. This is not a prayer, verse 30. Thus I cleanse them of everything pagan. I also assign duties to the priests and the Levites, each to his service and to bringing the wood offering and the first fruits at appointed times. And then another prayer. Remember me, oh my God, for good. So again, we find Nehemiah praying. Why? Because that’s what God’s people do. Nehemiah believed what God said about prayer, and so he prayed. Nehemiah knew that God hears the prayers of His people and that prayer is powerful. And Nehemiah knew that God sovereignly works through the fervent prayers of His people, and so he prayed, and he prayed a lot. He prayed all the time. Pray, right? That’s the word. Pray more. Pray more fervently, and you’ll see the blessings and power of prayer in your own life. First, he prayed this. Remember them. Matthew Henry says that this prayer can be seen in two ways. First, like this. Lord, convince and convert them. Put them in mind of what they should be and do that they may come to themselves. Sounds really good. Or it could be this. Lord, remember them to reckon with them for their sin. Remember it against them. I think it’s a second. And while Nehemiah certainly wants the people to repent and to turn to the Lord, he’s been dealing with some very sinful people who have opposed him vehemently from the very beginning. They hate him. They want to kill him. They’ve tried to do that. They hate his God. They tried to lead the people away from God. They defile the priesthood. They are enemies of God and they are enemies of the people of God. And so Nehemiah just gives them over to God. Many today see prayers like this as vengeful rather than righteous, but that doesn’t make this kind of prayer wrong. Also note that this isn’t a prayer for personal vengeance, but rather it’s a prayer for God to act. It’s a prayer for God to do something, as one noted. If we have problems with the idea of God taking vengeance on His enemies, we have adopted a view of God that the Bible knows nothing about. Our problem then is with the Bible itself. That’s right. Lord, get justice. It’s not a sinful prayer at all here in the case of Nehemiah. And please note that it’s not just an Old Testament thing to pray like this either. The cry for vengeance that arises from the martyred saints before the throne of God in the book of Revelation is another example for us. O sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth? Revelation 6.10. Nehemiah then shows how he’s been faithful to the Lord in verses 30 and 31. This isn’t part of his prayer, but it’s really the conclusion of the book. Look, Nehemiah cleansed them of everything pagan. That’s good, right? He also assigned duties to the priests and the Levites each to his service and to bringing the wood offering and the firstfruits at appointed times. This shows us that while Nehemiah is known for building the walls of Jerusalem… Nehemiah did so much more than that. Right? So much more. He earnestly sought to glorify God. He earnestly sought to help the people focus their attention on God and on exalting God in all that they do. He got the workers of God to get busy doing their spiritual work. And he made sure that the priority was on God and on God’s glory amongst His people, rightly so. Right? Fight sin. Pursue God. Be brave. Pray much. And be relentless in lifting the Lord high in your life and in the life of His people. It’s all about Him, right? Right? Biblically, that’s true. It’s all about Him. Our chief aim is to glorify Him and to enjoy Him forever. And that’s what we must keep pursuing until the day He calls us to glory. Well done, Nehemiah. Well done. He’s a great example for us today. Finally, Nehemiah ended with a prayer for him. Remember me, oh my God, for good. My God. That’s good, right? It’s very personal. He’s not just God. He’s my God. Remember me. What does that mean? Remember me. It means that Nehemiah is eager for his good deeds done for the glory of God and from a heart of love for God to be seen by God and rewarded accordingly. That’s not selfish. That’s wise. 2 Corinthians 5.9 says this, Therefore, whether present or absent, we make it our aim to be well-pleasing to God. Why? Because we all must appear before the judgment seat of Christ. We’re talking about Christians here. That each one may receive the things done in the body according to what he has done, whether good or bad. What does that mean? It means that as Christians, we are going to answer for how we live. Our Christian faith out. Now please understand that judgment for the Christian and judgment for the non-Christian are radically different. Judgment for the non-Christian, which is called the great white throne judgment, as described in Revelation chapter 20, is that judgment where non-believers will stand before God, where the books of their life will be opened up, and where they will then be held accountable for all their sin and for their rejection of Christ, which will bring condemnation and eternal judgment. That’s not the judgment that Paul is talking about there. But instead, that is a judgment of evaluation for the Christian judgment, for how he or she lived out their faith. It’s a judgment of the works of the Christian, the fruit of the Christian. The word judgment seat is the Greek word bima, which literally means step as in a raised platform or seat. This is where a Roman magistrate sat to act as a judge. The Bema Seat was an object of reverence and fear for all the people, especially those who stood before it. See, a person who stood before this Bema Seat would have his or her deeds examined for the purpose of either indicting them or for rewarding them. And what we find is that in the same manner, we as Christians will stand before God and give an accounting for how we lived out our Christian faith. Now please understand that this isn’t a judgment for sin, because every sin that every believer has ever committed was judged at the cross when God punished Jesus for all our sin in our place. Praise the Lord. And this isn’t a judgment of condemnation, since there is now no condemnation for those of us who are in Christ Jesus. But rather… This is simply a judgment of evaluation and eternal reward. So no, as Christians, we’re already saved by grace through faith in Christ alone. We no longer stand condemned in our sin because of the cross and what Christ did there. Amen. Praise the Lord. But we will still be held accountable. We will still be rewarded. for how we lived out our faith. And so how you live your faith as a Christian does indeed matter. It will be accounted for before the Lord and it will be rewarded accordingly. What’s the reward? I don’t care. Hearing God say, well done is good enough. But think about that. Note that every Christian will appear before this judgment seat and no one will escape it. Everyone’s going to give an accounting. In that day, the full truth about our lives, our character, and our deeds will be made clear. Each will discover the real verdict of his life, of his ministry, of his service, and of his motives. As MacArthur says, all hypocrisy will be stripped away. All temporal matters with no eternal significance will vanish like wood, hay, and stubble. It’s just going to burn away. And only what is to be rewarded as eternally valuable will be left. In other words, your life as a Christian, your fruitfulness as a Christian, your stewardship as a Christian, your works done for God’s glory as a Christian will be accounted for before God and will be rewarded accordingly by God. That’s good to understand, that what we have done as Christians will be evaluated and rewarded. And that reality should be an encouragement in our service to the Lord. And it should remind us of the principle as Hebrews 6.10 says, For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love, which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints and do minister. In other words, God sees all. God knows all. God knows your heart. He sees your Christian works, your sacrifice, your service. And guess what? He will not forget. And when you stand before Him, it’s going to be a great day. And He’s going to reward you accordingly. Nehemiah knows that too. That’s why he prays this prayer. Remember me. What about you? Only one life will soon be passed. Only what’s done for Christ will last. Nehemiah knows that God sees all. And he just gives it all over to the Lord. Remember me, Lord. He will. He will. The book of Nehemiah begins with prayer in verse 5 of chapter 1. The book of Nehemiah is filled with prayer. And then the book of Nehemiah closes with prayer. And that should tell us something. May God speak to our hearts today. Let’s pray. Father, we love You, Lord, so very much. Thank You for this awesome book. Thank You for the example of Nehemiah. A great example for all of us to follow. Help us to figure out how we can apply these truths in a way that truly glorifies and honors Your name. We love you, Lord. I pray that you would have your hand on our church. Bless us. Use us. Convict us. Encourage us. Help us to encourage one another. Bless us as we go out. We love you and we thank you. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
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Thanks for joining us for today’s exposition from the Book of Nehemiah on Expository Truths with Dr. John Kyle. dot org faith community church seeks to exalt christ by bringing clarity of truth through the scriptures with a commitment to glorifying god through the pure deep and reaching message of the gospel pastor john is the preaching pastor at faith community church of vacaville a seminary professor and a trainer of preaching pastors overseas Join for services at Faith Community Church Sundays at 9 and 1045 a.m. 192 Bella Vista Road, Suite A. To learn more, visit vacavillefaith.org or call 707-451-2026. That’s 707-451-2026. Or visit vacavillefaith.org.
