Nehemiah 13:1-14

1 On that day the Book of Moses was read aloud in the hearing of the people and there it was found written that no Ammonite or Moabite should ever be admitted into the assembly of God, 2 because they had not met the Israelites with food and water but had hired Balaam to call a curse down on them. (Our God, however, turned the curse into a blessing.) 3 When the people heard this law, they excluded from Israel all who were of foreign descent.
4 Before this, Eliashib the priest had been put in charge of the storerooms of the house of our God. He was closely associated with Tobiah, 5 and he had provided him with a large room formerly used to store the grain offerings and incense and temple articles, and also the tithes of grain, new wine and olive oil prescribed for the Levites, musicians and gatekeepers, as well as the contributions for the priests.
6 But while all this was going on, I was not in Jerusalem, for in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon I had returned to the king. Some time later I asked his permission 7 and came back to Jerusalem. Here I learned about the evil thing Eliashib had done in providing Tobiah a room in the courts of the house of God. 8 I was greatly displeased and threw all Tobiah's household goods out of the room. 9 I gave orders to purify the rooms, and then I put back into them the equipment of the house of God, with the grain offerings and the incense.
10 I also learned that the portions assigned to the Levites had not been given to them, and that all the Levites and musicians responsible for the service had gone back to their own fields. 11 So I rebuked the officials and asked them, "Why is the house of God neglected?" Then I called them together and stationed them at their posts.
12 All Judah brought the tithes of grain, new wine and olive oil into the storerooms. 13 I put Shelemiah the priest, Zadok the scribe, and a Levite named Pedaiah in charge of the storerooms and made Hanan son of Zakkur, the son of Mattaniah, their assistant, because they were considered trustworthy. They were made responsible for distributing the supplies to their fellow Levites.
14 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.

Questions to consider:

• What indicates that the Israelites continue to abide by their written covenant?
• Are you immediately obedient when you become conscious of sin?
• What does Nehemiah find when he returns?
• What further neglect has come upon the house of God? How?
• Who does Nehemiah hold responsible?
• What precaution does he take against future neglect?

Possibilities for prayer:

Humans are so fallible. If we somehow manage to miss that in our everyday lives, the Israelites are here to remind us of it. Just as we’ve praised the people for rallying around the gatekeepers, musicians, and priests, we find out in the next chapter that these commitments were not well kept. It takes Nehemiah re-entering the scene and reminding them what they were supposed to do to get things back on track.

We often need reminders ourselves. We make commitments to others, or even to God, but then fall off the path we’ve set for ourselves and go about other things in our lives. Today, let’s ask God to place people in our lives to keep us accountable, to remind us of the commitments we’ve made and to help us keep to them. Let’s also ask God for the diligence we need to keep pressing into our promises, especially to God.