Chapter 57—Reformation
This chapter is based on
Nehemiah 13
.
Solemnly and publicly the people of Judah had pledged themselves
to obey the law of God. But when the influence of Ezra and Nehemiah
was for a time withdrawn, there were many who departed from the
Lord. Nehemiah had returned to Persia. During his absence from
Jerusalem, evils crept in that threatened to pervert the nation. Idol-
aters not only gained a foothold in the city, but contaminated by their
presence the very precincts of the temple. Through intermarriage, a
friendship had been brought about between Eliashib the high priest
and Tobiah the Ammonite, Israel’s bitter enemy. As a result of this
unhallowed alliance, Eliashib had permitted Tobiah to occupy an apart-
ment connected with the temple, which heretofore had been used as a
storeroom for tithes and offerings of the people.
Because of the cruelty and treachery of the Ammonites and
Moabites toward Israel, God had declared through Moses that they
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should be forever shut out from the congregation of His people. See
Deuteronomy 23:3-6
. In defiance of this word, the high priest had
cast out the offerings stored in the chamber of God’s house, to make
a place for this representative of a proscribed race. Greater contempt
for God could not have been shown than to confer such a favor on this
enemy of God and His truth.
On returning from Persia, Nehemiah learned of the bold profana-
tion and took prompt measures to expel the intruder. “It grieved me
sore,” he declares; “therefore I cast forth all the household stuff of
Tobiah out of the chamber. Then I commanded, and they cleansed the
chambers: and thither brought I again the vessels of the house of God,
with the meat offering and the frankincense.”
Not only had the temple been profaned, but the offerings had been
misapplied. This had tended to discourage the liberalities of the people.
They had lost their zeal and fervor, and were reluctant to pay their
tithes. The treasuries of the Lord’s house were poorly supplied; many
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