With Nehemiah Having To Return To Report To Artaxerxes, Unholiness Again Began To Infiltrate The Holy City, A Situation Which Had To Be Dealt With On Nehemiah's Return (Nehemiah 13:1-14).
It should be noted here that Nehemiah was not satisfied with having established Jerusalem as a fortified city in its own right, but was equally concerned that it be established as the holy city. He had in mind the eschatological hopes which depended on such holiness. He never asks God to remember him for achieving the building of the wall, (the thing for which he is best remembered), but rather that He will remember the contribution that he has made towards the holiness of Israel and of the holy city.
This subsection, opening with ‘at that time, on that day' (Nehemiah 13:1) and closing with ‘remember me --' (Nehemiah 13:14), divides up as follows:
· The separation out of Israel of those who had mingled among them, on the basis of Deuteronomy 23 which describes who may be accepted into the assembly of YHWH and excludes Moabites and Ammonites (Nehemiah 13:1-3).
· The infiltration into the Temple area of Tobiah the Ammonite as a consequence of his being provided with a chamber there by Eliashib the priest who oversaw the chambers in the Temple (Nehemiah 13:4-5).
· The fact that this occurred in the period between when Nehemiah returned to Artaxerxes to report to him, and the time of his return (Nehemiah 13:6-7).
· Nehemiah's expulsion of Tobiah's household stuff from the chamber (Nehemiah 13:8).
· The necessary purifying of the chamber and its return to its proper use (Nehemiah 13:9).
· The restoration of the collection of the tithes (Nehemiah 13:10-12).
· The replacement of Eliashib by new authorities over the Temple chambers (Nehemiah 13:13).
· Nehemiah's prayer that he be remembered by God for what he has done (Nehemiah 13:14).
‘On that day/at that time (beyom) they read in the book of Moses in the audience of the people, and in it was found written, that an Ammonite and a Moabite should not enter into the assembly of God for ever,'
The time note connects this passage with what has gone before. It is always possible that Deuteronomy 23 was read out at the end of the celebrations over the completion of the wall, on that very day, but yom regularly indicates a period of time. Thus we should probably translate with the more vague ‘at that time'. Regular readings of the Scriptures took place before the people at the feasts, and no doubt also regularly on the Sabbath to all who gathered at the Temple, so that we do not know exactly when this took place. But it was the day on which the people had drawn to their attention the exclusion for ever from the assembly of Israel of Moabites and Ammonites.
Deuteronomy 23:3 literally reads, ‘an Ammonite or a Moabite shall not enter into the assembly of YHWH, even to the tenth generation shall none belonging to them enter into the assembly of YHWH for ever'. This was clearly interpreted at this time as indicating permanent exclusion. It did not exclude them from worshipping YHWH or approaching the Temple if they were converted to Yahwism. What it excluded them from was becoming full members of God's people Israel. ‘The assembly of YHWH' was the full gathering of all the adult males of Israel. The case of Ruth who was a Moabitess does not come into the reckoning for she was a woman who married a true-born Israelite and converted to Yahwism. As a woman she could never be a member of the assembly of YHWH, but officially her husband was.
It should be noted that the original intent of the Law was to prevent an Ammonite or Moabite from becoming true Israelites for sufficient period of time (the tenth generation) to ‘purge their contempt'. Edomite and Egyptian converts to Yahwism could become true Israelites after three generations. The word translated ‘for ever' means ‘into the distant future'. But it was by Nehemiah's time seen as signifying that they could not become true Israelites forever.
‘Because they did not meet the children of Israel with bread and with water, but hired Balaam against them, to curse them: however our God turned the curse into a blessing.'
And the reason for this exclusion, as taken from Deuteronomy 23:4, was that it arose because of the failure of the Ammonites and Moabites, who were related tribes, to welcome them with food and water when Israel under Moses initially approached the land of Canaan. Rather they had hired Balaam the sorcerer so that he would curse them. It had, however, been unavailing, for YHWH had turned his curse into a blessing.
The passage in Deuteronomy then goes on to deal with other less permanent exclusions, but this part was no doubt cited because it explained Nehemiah's reaction against the residence of Tobiah the Ammonite within the Temple precincts.
‘And it came about when they had heard the law, that they separated from Israel all the mixed multitude (or ‘those who mingled among them').'
And the consequence of hearing this from the Law was that ‘they separated from Israel all the minglers among them'. Whilst the same word (translated ‘mixed multitude') is found in Exodus 12:36 it had there a somewhat different meaning. There it referred to foreign slaves who fled with the Israelites from Egypt and mingled among them in their flight. The vast majority of them became true Israelites through subscribing to the covenant at Sinai, and through their subsequent circumcision on entering the land. Here in Nehemiah 13:3 it probably refers to those who worshipped YHWH on a syncretistic basis, in the same way as Tobiah did, who had somehow ingratiated themselves into Israel in such a way as to be treated as ‘Israel', or at least in such a was as to be able to worship YHWH along with them. We are not told how they were separated. It may have been by exclusion from dwelling in Jerusalem. Or it may have been by excluding them from gatherings of the assembly of Israel. Or it may have been by exclusion from worship in the Temple because of their syncretism. We can compare how the syncretistic YHWH worshippers of Samaria were not allowed any official part in the Temple (Ezra 4:1-3). But the point that lies behind the words is that Israel excluded from among themselves all who were not pure worshippers of YHWH. It was all a part of the purifying of the holy city and ensuring within it only the true worship of YHWH. That this took place after Nehemiah's return from seeing Artaxerxes as described in Nehemiah 13:6, is apparent from the ‘now before this' of Nehemiah 13:4.
‘Now before this, Eliashib the priest, who was appointed over the chambers of the house of our God, being allied to Tobiah, had prepared for him a great chamber, where previously they laid the meal-offerings, the frankincense, and the vessels, and the tithes of the grain, the new wine, and the oil, which were given by commandment to the Levites, and the singers, and the gatekeepers; and the heave-offerings for the priests.'
‘Now before this.' If taken specifically this suggests that what happened in Nehemiah 13:1-3 occurred after this date, so that Tobiah the Ammonite had a chamber in the precincts of the Temple when that occurred. That would mean, either that what happened in Nehemiah 13:1-3 occurred after the return of Nehemiah, or that because of his powerful influence, Tobiah was not included in the general purging of Israel from idolatrous elements which took place in the interim, until after the return of Nehemiah.
And the reason for Tobiah's great influence was that he was ‘allied' to Eliashib, a priest who was responsible for the chambers in the Temple precincts. This may have been due to a trade alliance, or even a marriage alliance (Tobiah was son-in-law to a prominent Jew named Shechaniah the son of Arah, and his son Johanan had married the daughter of Meshullam the son of Berechiah (Nehemiah 6:18), a prominent wallbuilder (Nehemiah 3:4; Nehemiah 3:30) and priest (Nehemiah 3:28; Nehemiah 3:30). Both Shechaniah and Meshullam were presumably of the Jewish aristocracy). But if so we are not given details. Or alternately it may indicate a close friendship between the two which enabled Tobiah to pressurise Eliashib into providing him with a chamber in the Temple precincts.
We read in Ezra 8:33 of a fourfold responsibility for the Temple treasures, at that time consisting of two priests, Meremoth, the son of Uriah, and Eleazar the son of Phinehas, and two Levites, Jozabad the son of Jeshua, and Noadiah the son of Binnui. Furthermore in Nehemiah 13:13 we learn of four who were appointed for the same purpose in the time of Nehemiah, namely Shelemiah the priest and Zadok the scribe, together with two Levites, Pedaiah and Hanan. Their responsibility was for the Temple treasures, and this would include the safety and distribution of the tithes, and these would all be stored in the Temple chambers. We also know that in the time of Ezra's initial arrival one of the Temple chambers was occupied by ‘Johanan the son of Eliashib' (Ezra 10:6). This last would tie in well with an Eliashib ‘who was over the chamber', and it is doubtful if Ezra was there speaking of Eliashib the High priest because, although he mentions four Eliashibs, he nowhere mentions an Eliashib as the High Priest (see Ezra 10:6; Ezra 10:24; Ezra 10:27; Ezra 10:36). When speaking of Eliashib the High Priest Nehemiah always uses the full title ‘high priest' (Nehemiah 3:1; Nehemiah 3:20; Nehemiah 13:28). Thus this ‘Eliashib the priest' would appear to have been a kind of priestly caretaker of the Temple chambers, undoubtedly almost a full time job, and one given only to a high level priest, with one responsibility among others being that he could allocate the chambers, many of which would have been available to prominent priests, enabling them to perform their functions more efficiently. That he allocated one to his son may cause us to frown. That he allocated one to an Ammonite, who was a syncretistic worshipper of YHWH, eventually caused everyone to frown. It may well be that the appointments in Nehemiah 13:13 resulted in his replacement.
The ‘great chamber' allocated to Tobiah by Eliashib must have been very large for it was one of those previously used to store meal offerings, and frankincense, and the vessels of the house of God (Nehemiah 13:9), the latter vessels possibly containing the tithes of corn, wine and oil, or they may have been Temple vessels, and therefore costly. It also seemingly contained the heave-offerings of the priests. This usage for other purposes had been made possible because there had been a failure to gather in the tithes, so that the other storage chambers (compare 2 Chronicles 31:11-12) were sufficient for the storage now required. That the High Priest and the priests turned a blind eye to it ties in with the fact that earlier we have been informed that many influential Jews were in sympathy with Tobiah (Nehemiah 4:12; Nehemiah 6:17-19), who may well previously have been deputy-governor with responsibility over Judah. As long as their own chambers were not affected (and each priestly clan presumably had a chamber for its patriarch) they were not averse to the presence of Tobiah in the Temple courts. As a consequence he was now presumably seeking to increase his influence in Jewish society, and infiltrate into Temple worship, no doubt with a view to making both compatible with the views of surrounding nations. It was a sign of how close true Yahwism was coming to being debased.
‘But in all this I was not at Jerusalem, for in the thirty second year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon I went to the king.'
Nehemiah now explains that all this was none of his doing. Had he been in Jerusalem it would not have been allowed. But he had been called on to report to Artaxerxes. It was common practise for such kings to recall prominent men so that they could report, and renew their oaths of loyalty. This is the second indication that we have of the fact that Nehemiah's initial governorship was restricted to about twelve years (compare Nehemiah 5:14). It may well be that he was not expected to return.
The title of Artaxerxes as King of Babylon is unexpected, although it was a title Artaxerxes would have claimed when dealing with affairs in Babylon (compare Cyrus king of Babylon in Ezra 5:13). It may suggest that at this time Artaxerxes was in Babylon and that Nehemiah had reported to him there.
-7 ‘And after certain days I asked leave of the king, and I came to Jerusalem, and understood the evil that Eliashib had done for Tobiah, in preparing him a chamber in the courts of the house of God.'
We have no information as to the length of the ‘certain days', but we need not doubt that they were long enough to have enabled problems to have arisen in Judea. It had been long enough for Tobiah to worm his way into the Temple precincts, and for the gathering of tithes to become dilatory to such an extent that Temple worship had been affected, and both of these factors suggest a period of some years.
But it appears that Nehemiah was aware of the possible failures of the people whom he had left behind in charge of Judah and its worship, and was deeply concerned, for he asked the king's permission to return to Judah, presumably in an official capacity, although not necessarily as Governor. He was concerned that unholiness may have begun to mar the holy city. And he was proved to be correct. For on arrival in Jerusalem he learned of what Eliashib had done for Tobiah the Ammonite, in providing for him a chamber in the Temple precincts, ‘in the courts of the house of God'. For any syncretistic worshipper of YHWH to have been introduced into such close proximity with the Temple would have marred the holiness of the Temple, and for it to be in the person of an Ammonite rendered it doubly so. With him present Jerusalem was no longer the holy city, and the Temple was no longer pure.
We have in this a reminder of how easy it is to slip from being dedicated to God as described in chapter 10, and from being willing to make sacrifices for God as described in chapter 11, to being willing to compromise with those who might seem to be able to benefit us politically and materially. With Nehemiah gone it clearly seemed expedient to those remaining in Jerusalem to cosy up to those in the area with political power, and one means of doing this was through Tobiah who in a sense had a foot in both camps. He was sympathetic to Jews who were willing to compromise, being closely related to them, and he was in a position of authority in Samaria. Had Nehemiah not returned, and had Malachi not prophesied, Israel might well once again have become syncretistic and, humanly speaking, have disappeared from history.
‘And it grieved me sorely, therefore I cast forth all the household stuff of Tobiah out of the chamber.'
The expression here is strong. Nehemiah was ‘sorely grieved'. As a godly man concerned about God's will and God's Law, and about the purity of God's Temple his heart was smitten. It must have seemed to him as though even the Temple authorities, whose major concern should have been the holiness of the Temple, were prepared to stand back and see it defiled. He saw in it the same dangerous downward path that had previously led to the destruction of Jerusalem.
But Nehemiah was a man of action, and he was also in a position to act, and he therefore arranged for all Tobiah's household stuff to be forcibly removed from the chamber, and ‘cast forth', making it quite clear that Tobiah had no right to be there. There could be no place for those connected with idolatry in the Temple of YHWH.
‘Then I commanded, and they cleansed the chambers: and I again brought there the vessels of the house of God, with the meal-offerings and the frankincense.'
Then he gave command that ‘the chambers' be ritually purified, for he saw the whole building as having been ritually defiled by Tobiah's presence within it. Once again we see the emphasis on ritual purification already expressed earlier in Nehemiah 12:30; Nehemiah 12:45; Nehemiah 12:47. He was concerned to preserve Jerusalem as a holy city.
And once the chambers had been purified he again brought into them the vessels of the house of God, along with the meal-offerings and the frankincense, all of which were supremely holy to God (‘most holy' - Exodus 30:36; Leviticus 2:1-3). The non-mention of the tithes is a reminder that at this point in time the tithes had mainly ceased to be gathered. And in view of the fact that those who gathered them would also be the ones who benefited from them we must assume that the problem arose from an unwillingness by the people to pay the tithes, although in saying this we must remember that many of them would have been finding it hard to survive (compare Nehemiah 5:1-5). It was in the light of such a situation that the prophet Malachi prophesied in Malachi 3:8-12, reminding the people that if they were faithful to God in such matters, He would be faithful to them.
‘And I perceived that the portions of the Levites had not been given them; so that the Levites and the singers, who did the work, were fled every one to his field.'
The ‘portions of the Levites' came from the tithes, and as these had not been gathered the Levites received no portion. Note that ‘the Levites' in the first clause are ‘the Levites and singers' in the second clause. This is a reminder that the term ‘the Levites' was used in two ways, firstly of the Levites as a whole, including the singers and gatekeepers, and secondly of the group of general Levites who were not singers and gatekeepers, but served God in other ways, including the gathering of tithes. It is noteworthy that although they would not receive their due portions (Nehemiah 12:47) the gatekeepers remained in Jerusalem in order to fulfil their duties of watching over the affairs of the Temple.
As a consequence of the lack of tithes the Levites and the singers had returned to the task of obtaining a living by returning to their own fields which they had occupied on their return from Babylonia. They had occupied this land because the Levitical cities had ceased to be such. And besides the Levitical cities within the province of Judah had been for the benefit of the priests. The Levites had thus had to find land to occupy on their return, and they had found it within a circle around Jerusalem (Nehemiah 12:27-28). It was to this that they returned. It went without saying that the worship in the Temple had been greatly affected.
‘Then I contended with the rulers, and said, “Why is the house of God forsaken?” And I gathered them together, and set them in their place.'
Once Nehemiah had perceived what had happened he had a set to with the rulers as to why they had allowed the house of God to be forsaken by the servants of YHWH. That his words were effective comes out in that the rulers clearly arranged for the recommencement of the collection of the tithes (Nehemiah 13:12). At the same time he arranged for the Levites and singers to be brought together and set in their place so that they could perform their holy functions. This would include participation in the daily worship of the Temple, and the gathering of the tithes. It should be noted that there was no thought that the Levites and singers might refuse. They were seen as being servants of God, duly appointed by God, and therefor as much responsible to serve as the people were to pay tithes.
‘Then all Judah brought the tithe of the grain and the new wine and the oil unto the treasuries.'
From then on the system of tithes was officially restored, and ‘all Judah' brought their tithes of grain new wine and oil to the treasuries, that is to the Temple storerooms, including the chamber from which Tobiah had been expelled.
‘And I made treasurers over the treasuries, Shelemiah the priest, and Zadok the scribe, and of the Levites, Pedaiah: and next to them was Hanan the son of Zaccur, the son of Mattaniah; for they were counted faithful, and their business was to distribute to their brothers.'
Then he set over the storerooms, which contained the Temple's wealth, competent men whom he considered to be reliable and honest (‘faithful'), here called ‘treasurers'. These consisted of Shelemiah the Priest, Zadok the Scribe (i.e. secretary/accountant, who was probably also a priest), together with two leading Levites, Pedaiah and Hanan. And their main business was to see to the distribution of the tithes. Hanan would appear to have been slightly subordinate to the main three.
This followed the pattern of Ezra 8:33. But if such a committee had had permanent status, it had clearly failed in its responsibilities with regard to the tithes and the wrong use of the store-chambers. It would be inevitable therefore that it would be replaced. It is quite possible, however, that with the cessation of tithing Eliashib alone had been responsible for what was in the storehouses. And certainly it is unlikely that Eliashib would have been allowed to retain his position after what he had done.
‘Remember me, O my God, concerning this, and do not wipe out my good deeds (covenant deeds) that I have done for the house of my God, and for its observances.'
This is the first of four ‘remember' prayers which close off the book. See also Nehemiah 13:22; Nehemiah 13:29; Nehemiah 13:31, and compare Nehemiah 5:19; Nehemiah 6:14. As he would before the king, so does he also call the attention of God to the faithfulness with which he has performed his duties and had fulfilled His commands (in every positive case it follows examples of what he has done in ensuring the carrying out of specific instructions in God's Law). Here he wants God to note how he has preserved the purity of His house, and the purity and continuation of its observances, in the manner prescribed by the Law, through God's prescribed servants. He has faithfully fulfilled his responsibilities to the covenant.
The plea that God would not wipe out his good deeds (his chesed) may well have reflected the fact that he did rejoice in the idea that God had wiped out his sins (a regular use of the verb - Psalms 51:1; Psalms 51:9; Isaiah 43:25; Isaiah 44:22). He does not want God to wipe out everything. He wants at least something to be remembered in his favour. He wants to hear God say, ‘well done, My good and faithful servant'. We might indeed translate chesed (covenant love) as ‘covenant deeds' (note the use of chesed in the next remembrance statement in Nehemiah 13:22, and often elsewhere, to indicate God's covenant love). This is not the prayer of a self-seeker, but of a dedicated man who, aware of his own unworthiness (Nehemiah 13:22 b) and of how little he has done, loves his God and wants it to be remembered that he has at least sought to fulfil His covenant. This should be the prayer of us all.