Nehemiah 13: Spiritual Decay
"I KNOW THEY are sinning against the Lord, but I love them too much to reprimand them." Sometimes we emphasize loving people and not endangering our relationships with them over challenging them to get right with the Lord. When we think like this, we have accepted the world's values and not kingdom values! If relationship with God is the most important thing in the world, then to help people get back into right relationship with God is the best thing we can do for them. When we don't do this, what we are really saying is that we are more concerned about what that person thinks than what God thinks. We must be freed from this kind of bondage, or we are not of much use to God, others or ourselves. When we are biblically directed, we will be respected and others will hear God's Word through us.
Warming Up to God
Do you need forgiveness from the Lord today? Stop now and tell him about your pride or selfishness today—and let the solid truth of 1 John 1:9 that you are forgiven and cleansed cause you to rejoice and be refreshed.
Read Nehemiah 13. »
Discovering the Word
- Note from 2:1 and 13:6 that Nehemiah spent twelve years in Jerusalem before going back to Artaxerxes. We don't know how long it was before Nehemiah came back to Jerusalem to check up on things, but it was probably several years. List the things in this chapter that indicate the Israelites have backslidden before the Lord.
- Considering the people made such a strong covenant in chapter 10, how do you think they could have gone this far astray in chapter 13?
- What does the passage reveal about how Nehemiah felt when he came back and saw how bad things were spiritually?
- Compare 10:30 with 13:23-28. Do you see anything in the text that shows you why Israel has backslidden?
- Nehemiah's response in verse 25 is very dramatic and physical. What principles does this suggest to you for how we should deal with sin today?
Applying the Word
- Why is it so much harder to confront leaders who are sinning, as in this chapter?
- In what ways do you need to be more direct with others about their sin?
- How would you like others to help you in dealing with your own sin?
Responding in Prayer
Ask the Lord to make you more like Nehemiah, who pursued righteousness and called others to holy living. Pray as he did: "Remember me with favor, O my God."
For Further Study
The Fight by John White