Speaker 1: Life Audio. Hello there, friends and faithful listeners, Welcome to
Speaker 1: the Bible Explained Podcast. We are finishing up the Book
Speaker 1: of Nehemiah today and this week we will be ending
Speaker 1: season eleven of the podcast, and actually not next week,
Speaker 1: but the week after we'll be moving into season twelve.
Speaker 1: I decided that I'm going to take next week off,
Speaker 1: if that is okay with all of you guys. There's
Speaker 1: been a lot going on recently and I'm a little
Speaker 1: bit burned out. I'm not gonna lie, and so I
Speaker 1: could use a week off if you guys would be
Speaker 1: so kind to allow that for me. But I'll be
Speaker 1: back in two Mondays, not this coming Monday, but the
Speaker 1: next one with Bells on to discuss the Book of
Speaker 1: Esther with all of you and to move into season
Speaker 1: twelve of the podcast. And I am very much looking
Speaker 1: forward to the Book of Esther, and I'm even looking
Speaker 1: ahead to the Book of Job which is right after Esther,
Speaker 1: and very very excited to talk about that book with
Speaker 1: all of you guys as well. So there are great
Speaker 1: things happening on the Bible Explain Podcast because the Bible
Speaker 1: is a fantastic book. There's a lot of amazing things
Speaker 1: in it. However, today we're going to be talking about
Speaker 1: the last portion of Namiyah thirteen. But before we get
Speaker 1: into this, please listen to this quick message from a sponsor.
Speaker 1: Thank you for listening to that, faithful listeners, and let's
Speaker 1: go ahead and read Niamiah thirteen fifteen through thirty one.
Speaker 1: I'll be reading this from the web. In those days,
Speaker 1: I saw some men treading wine presses on the Sabbath
Speaker 1: in Judah, bringing in sheaves and loading donkeys with wine, grapes, figs,
Speaker 1: and all kinds of burdens, which they brought into Jerusalem
Speaker 1: on the Sabbath day. And I testified against them in
Speaker 1: the day in which they sold food. Some men of
Speaker 1: tire also lived there, who brought in fish and all
Speaker 1: kinds of wares and sold on the Sabbath to the
Speaker 1: children of Judah and in Jerusalem. Then I can tell
Speaker 1: with the nobles of Judah, and said to them, what
Speaker 1: evil thing is this that you do and profane the
Speaker 1: Sabbath day. Didn't your fathers do this, and didn't our
Speaker 1: God bring all this evil on us and on the city.
Speaker 1: Yet you bring more wrath on Israel by profaning the Sabbath.
Speaker 1: It came to pass that. When the gates of Jerusalem
Speaker 1: began to be dark before the Sabbath, I commanded that
Speaker 1: the doors should be shut, and commanded that they should
Speaker 1: not be opened until after the Sabbath. I set some
Speaker 1: of my servants over the gates, so that no burden
Speaker 1: should be brought in on the Sabbath day. So the
Speaker 1: merchants and sellers of all kinds of wares camped outside
Speaker 1: of Jerusalem once or twice. Then I testified against them,
Speaker 1: and I said to them, why do you stay around
Speaker 1: the wall? If you do so again, I will lay
Speaker 1: hands on you. From that time on, they didn't come
Speaker 1: on the Sabbath. I commanded the Levites that they should
Speaker 1: purify themselves, and they should come and to keep the
Speaker 1: gates to sanctify the Sabbath day. Remember me for this also,
Speaker 1: my God, and spare me according to the greatness of
Speaker 1: your loving kindness. In those days I also saw the
Speaker 1: Jews who had married women of Ashdod, of Ammin and
Speaker 1: of Moab, and their children spoke half in the speech
Speaker 1: of Ashdod, and could not speak in the Jews language.
Speaker 1: But according to the language of each people. I contended
Speaker 1: with them, cursed them struck certain of them, plucked off
Speaker 1: their hair, and made them swear by God, you shall
Speaker 1: not give your daughters to their sons, nor take their
Speaker 1: daughters for your sons or for yourselves. Didn't Solomon, King
Speaker 1: of Israel sin by these things? Yet among many nations
Speaker 1: there was no king like him, and he was loved
Speaker 1: by his God, and God made him king over all Israel. Nevertheless,
Speaker 1: foreign women caused even him to sin. Shall we then
Speaker 1: listen to you to do all this great evil, to
Speaker 1: trespass against our God in marrying foreign women. One of
Speaker 1: the sons of Joida, the son of Eliashib, the high Priest,
Speaker 1: was son in law to sand Ballad, to the Hornite.
Speaker 1: Therefore I chased him from me. Remember them, my God,
Speaker 1: because they have defiled the priesthood and the covenant of
Speaker 1: the priesthood and of the Levites. Thus I cleansed them
Speaker 1: from all foreigners, and appointed duties for the priests and
Speaker 1: for the Levites everyone in his work, and for the
Speaker 1: wood offering at appointed times, and for the first fruits.
Speaker 1: Remember me, my God for good. So in part one
Speaker 1: we talked about how Niamiyah unfortunately had to go back
Speaker 1: home after thirteen years. He worked for King art Exerxes,
Speaker 1: so he was required to be in Persia as the
Speaker 1: king's cup bearer once again. So as Niamiah travels back home,
Speaker 1: Jerusalem that we know of is without a governor until
Speaker 1: Niamiyah gets the chance to come back again for his
Speaker 1: second term as governor. And when he comes back again,
Speaker 1: he finds a lot of problems, mainly that the Levites
Speaker 1: weren't getting paid, that the temple was in disarray, that
Speaker 1: the storage units in the temple were being used as
Speaker 1: private little apartments for people like Tobiah, who was an
Speaker 1: insane nut case. So Niamiah had to fix all of
Speaker 1: And so now in the passage we read today Meiamiah
Speaker 1: seeing some other problems that has been happening since he's
Speaker 1: been gone. In verse fifteen, it says, in those days,
Speaker 1: I saw some men treading wine presses on the Sabbath
Speaker 1: in Judah, bringing in sheaves and loading donkeys with wine, grapes, figs,
Speaker 1: and all kinds of burdens which they brought into Jerusalem
Speaker 1: on the Sabbath day. And I testified against them in
Speaker 1: the day in which they sold food. Now this is
Speaker 1: a big problem, because two chapters ago or three chapters ago. Rather,
Speaker 1: in Niamiah ten, the people had promised they actually signed
Speaker 1: this document, or rather put their stamp on this document,
Speaker 1: saying that they would follow the laws of God. And
Speaker 1: one of the laws that they promised to follow was
Speaker 1: the Sabbath day. So let's go back to Niamiah ten
Speaker 1: and read verses twenty eight through thirty one. It says
Speaker 1: the rest of the people, the priests, the levites, the gatekeepers,
Speaker 1: the singers, and the temple servants, and all those who
Speaker 1: had separated themselves from the peoples of the land to
Speaker 1: the law of God, their wives, their sons, and their daughters.
Speaker 1: Everyone who had knowledge and understanding, joined with their brothers
Speaker 1: their nobles, and entered into a curse and into an
Speaker 1: oath to walk in God's law which was given by Moses,
Speaker 1: the servant of God, and to observe and do all
Speaker 1: the commandments of Yahweh, our Lord, and his ordinances and
Speaker 1: his statutes. And that we would not give our daughters
Speaker 1: to the peoples of the land, nor take their daughters
Speaker 1: for our sons. And if the peoples of the land
Speaker 1: bring whares or any grain on the Sabbath day to sell,
Speaker 1: that we would not buy from them on the Sabbath
Speaker 1: or on a holy day, and that we would forego
Speaker 1: the seventh year crops and the exaction of every debt.
Speaker 1: So the people made this solemn promise that they would
Speaker 1: not work on the Sabbath day and they would not
Speaker 1: purchase things on the Sabbath day. It specifically mentions purchasing
Speaker 1: from foreigners on the Sabbath because the foreigners didn't celebrate
Speaker 1: the Sabbath day. They didn't care what day of the
Speaker 1: week it was, and so they'd come into Jerusalem any
Speaker 1: day of the week to sell their goods. They didn't care.
Speaker 1: The Israelites said, we're not going to purchase anything from
Speaker 1: the foreigners, which, by the way, okay, I did say
Speaker 1: something incorrect when I talked about Niamiah ten last because
Speaker 1: I said it seemed like the Israelites were unfairly targeting
Speaker 1: the foreigners. But as we see from Niamiah thirteen here
Speaker 1: we get a little bit more of the story where
Speaker 1: the Israelites weren't going to purchase any goods from anybody
Speaker 1: on the Sabbath day. It didn't matter if they're a
Speaker 1: foreigner or their own countrymen. They promised, we are not
Speaker 1: going to purchase anything on the Sabbath day. But that
Speaker 1: is exactly what Niamiah finds here. He finds all these
Speaker 1: men working on the Sabbath, specifically to bring their goods
Speaker 1: into Jerusalem to trade on the Sabbath day. Now, whether
Speaker 1: or not it was biblically wrong to purchase something on
Speaker 1: the Sabbath day, there's no specific command in the Old
Speaker 1: Testament law against purchasing anything. But there is Old Testament
Speaker 1: laws against working as normal on the Sabbath day. It
Speaker 1: was supposed to be a day of rest where you
Speaker 1: just relax and remember God and take a load off
Speaker 1: so that you don't have to constantly be working. God
Speaker 1: commanded the Sabbath day to be done, and God did
Speaker 1: get angry whenever the Sabbath was not followed correctly. In
Speaker 1: Ezekiel twenty two six through eight, here's what God says
Speaker 1: about his people. He said, behold, the princes of Israel,
Speaker 1: everyone according to his power, have been in you to
Speaker 1: shed blood in you. They have treated father and mother
Speaker 1: with contempt among you. They have oppressed the foreigner in you.
Speaker 1: They have wronged the fatherless in the widow. You have
Speaker 1: despised my holy things and have profaned my Sabbaths, and
Speaker 1: then a couple chapters before this. In Ezekiel twenty eight
Speaker 1: through twenty God is furious how the Sabbath day is
Speaker 1: being profaned. He says in verse eight, they rebelled against
Speaker 1: me and wouldn't listen to me. They didn't throw away
Speaker 1: all the abominations of their eyes. They also didn't forsake
Speaker 1: the idols of Egypt. Then I said I would pour
Speaker 1: out my wrath on them to accomplish my anger against
Speaker 1: them in the middle of the land of Egypt. But
Speaker 1: I worked for my name's sake that it should not
Speaker 1: be profaned in the sight of the nations among which
Speaker 1: they were, in whose sight I made myself known to
Speaker 1: them in bringing them out of the land of Egypt.
Speaker 1: So I caused them to go out of the land
Speaker 1: of Egypt and brought them into the wilderness. I gave
Speaker 1: them my statutes and showed them my ordinances, which if
Speaker 1: a man does, he will live in them. Moreover, I
Speaker 1: also gave them my sabbaths to be a sign between
Speaker 1: me and them, that they might know that I am Yahweh,
Speaker 1: who sanctifies them. But the House of Israel rebelled against
Speaker 1: me in the wilderness. They didn't walk in my statutes,
Speaker 1: and they rejected my ordinances, which if a man keeps,
Speaker 1: he shall live in them. They greatly profaned my sabbaths.
Speaker 1: Then I said I would pour out my wrath on
Speaker 1: them in the wilderness to consume them. But I worked
Speaker 1: for my name's sake that it should not be profaned
Speaker 1: in the sight of the nations, in whose sight I
Speaker 1: brought them out. Moreover, also I swore to them in
Speaker 1: the wilderness that I would not bring them into the
Speaker 1: land which I had given them flowing with milk and honey,
Speaker 1: which is it's a glory of all the lands. Because
Speaker 1: they rejected my ordinances and didn't walk in my statutes,
Speaker 1: and profaned my sabbaths for their hearts went after their idols. Nevertheless,
Speaker 1: my eye spared them, and I didn't destroy them. I
Speaker 1: didn't make a full end of them in the wilderness.
Speaker 1: I said to their children in the wilderness, don't walk
Speaker 1: in the statutes of your fathers. Don't observe their ordinances
Speaker 1: or defile yourselves with their idols. I am Yahweh or God.
Speaker 1: Walk in my statutes, keep my ordinances, and do them
Speaker 1: make my sabbaths holy. They shall be a sign between
Speaker 1: me and you, that you may know that I am
Speaker 1: Yahweh your God. So reading through that, that's pretty clear.
Speaker 1: I mean God mentions multiple times that he is upset
Speaker 1: with his people for profaning the Sabbath day. And apparently
Speaker 1: they were doing this all the way back in Egypt
Speaker 1: because they were constantly doing whatever they wanted to do
Speaker 1: on the Sabbath day. They were not taking the rest
Speaker 1: that they needed. And by the way, Sabbath was made
Speaker 1: for man, not man. For the Sabbath. The Sabbath day,
Speaker 1: I believe to this day is important. I've never quite
Speaker 1: subscribed to the idea that Christians shouldn't celebrate a Sabbath.
Speaker 1: Even though there is no mention of a command in
Speaker 1: the New Testament about celebrating the Sabbath day, there's a
Speaker 1: command in the Old Testament, and we can see God's
Speaker 1: heart in the Old Testament. So the Sabbath day there
Speaker 1: is something to it. It was made for us and
Speaker 1: we need it. God himself took a Sabbath day of
Speaker 1: rest after he created the earth to show us that
Speaker 1: we need a Sabbath rest. Now, in the Book of Hebrews,
Speaker 1: specifically Hebrews chapter four, it talks about the true Sabbath.
Speaker 1: Back in the Old Testament days, the Sabbath was a sign.
Speaker 1: That's actually what God calls it. In Ezekie Old twenty
Speaker 1: he calls it a sign between himself and his people.
Speaker 1: So the Sabbath day was a sign. And Hebrews four
Speaker 1: describes what that sign actually is, that the Sabbath day
Speaker 1: looks toward eternity and the eternal Sabbath rest that we
Speaker 1: are going to experience forever in God's presence. And actually
Speaker 1: I'll link those two episodes that I did about the
Speaker 1: Sabbath in Hebrews four so you guys can hear it,
Speaker 1: because I talk all about what the Sabbath is, how
Speaker 1: it's a sign, whether or not Christians should celebrate the
Speaker 1: Sabbath day right now, I talk about all of that,
Speaker 1: and I'm going to link those two episodes in the
Speaker 1: description of this episode. But the Sabbath day, there is
Speaker 1: something to it, hence why God commanded it in the
Speaker 1: Old Testament law. We need it. We need to rest,
Speaker 1: We need to take a day off from work, We
Speaker 1: need to take time for our families. Even our pets
Speaker 1: enjoy a Sabbath day of rest. And we need to
Speaker 1: take time especially to reorient our hearts toward God. And
Speaker 1: that is what the Sabbath day meant in the Old
Speaker 1: Testament days. So God wanted his people to keep the Sabbath,
Speaker 1: and actually in Isaiah chapter fifty eight, thirteen and fourteen,
Speaker 1: here's what God says about the Sabbath day. He says,
Speaker 1: if you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, from
Speaker 1: doing your pleasure on my holy day, and call the
Speaker 1: Sabbath a delight and the holy of Yahweh honorable and
Speaker 1: honor it, not doing your own ways, nor finding your
Speaker 1: own pleasure, nor speaking your own words, then you will
Speaker 1: delight yourself in Yahweh. And I will make you to
Speaker 1: ride on the high places of the earth. And I
Speaker 1: will feed you with the heritage of Jacob, your father,
Speaker 1: for Yahweh's mouth has spoken it. So there you go.
Speaker 1: God tells his people, if you celebrate the Sabbath day
Speaker 1: the way I tell you to celebrate it, then you
Speaker 1: will be blessed. I will give you blessings. You will
Speaker 1: delight yourself in Me. And yet the people were never
Speaker 1: celebrating the Sabbath the way that God commanded them to
Speaker 1: celebrate it, not in the wilderness, and even in the
Speaker 1: days of Jesus. The Sabbath was not being celebrated correctly
Speaker 1: because it turned into such a legalism that people were
Speaker 1: miserable on the Sabbathbbath day. You couldn't do anything on
Speaker 1: the Sabbath day. You couldn't walk a certain amount of steps,
Speaker 1: or you'd get excommunicated from the temple. It was crazy
Speaker 1: what the Pharisees were doing in the days of Jesus.
Speaker 1: It got so legalistic that it became unbearable. So that's
Speaker 1: not how the Sabbath day should be celebrated either. The
Speaker 1: Sabbath should be a delight, is what God says. It
Speaker 1: should be a day that you are looking forward to
Speaker 1: and think about it. If the Sabbath is a picture
Speaker 1: of the eternal rest that we are someday going to experience,
Speaker 1: and we look forward to that Sabbath rest, then certainly
Speaker 1: we should look forward to the temporary Sabbath that God
Speaker 1: gives us on a week to week basis. But in
Speaker 1: Niemiah thirteen, the people were not celebrating the Sabbath the
Speaker 1: correct way. Once again, they were working on the Sabbath day,
Speaker 1: specifically bearing themselves down with these burdens, and Niamiah was
Speaker 1: furious because he's like, you guys made a promise that
Speaker 1: you would not do any work on the Sabbath day,
Speaker 1: and that you would not buy or sell anything on
Speaker 1: the Sabbath day, but that you would take a day
Speaker 1: of rest. You can get back to your normal work tomorrow.
Speaker 1: It is only twenty four hours that you are missing,
Speaker 1: twenty four hours of rest and relaxation. Why will you
Speaker 1: not take it? So, it says he contended with the
Speaker 1: nobles of Judah in verse seventeen, and he said to them,
Speaker 1: what evil thing is this that you do and profane
Speaker 1: the Sabbath day. Didn't your fathers do this? And didn't
Speaker 1: our God bring all this evil on us and on
Speaker 1: this city. Yet you bring more wrath on Israel by
Speaker 1: profaning the Sabbath. So it came to pass verse nineteen
Speaker 1: that when the gates of Jerusalem began to be dark
Speaker 1: before the Sabbath, I commanded that the doors should be shut,
Speaker 1: and commanded that they should not be opened until after
Speaker 1: the Sabbath. And that was specifically so that traders could
Speaker 1: not come in to Jerusalem and trade all their wares
Speaker 1: on the Sabbath day. He says, I set some of
Speaker 1: my servants over the gates, so that no burden should
Speaker 1: be brought in. On the Sabbath day, the merchants and
Speaker 1: sellers of all kinds of wares camped outside of Jerusalem
Speaker 1: once or twice, And yet the merchants were still coming.
Speaker 1: And it doesn't say that these merchants here were foreigners.
Speaker 1: By the way, these could have been Israelite merchants camping
Speaker 1: outside the city gates waiting to sell their wares. They
Speaker 1: were doing exactly what Amos chapter eight four through eight
Speaker 1: says not to do. And I talked about this verse
Speaker 1: actually a couple chapters ago, but let's go back and
Speaker 1: read it once again. Starting in verse four, it says,
Speaker 1: hear this, you who desire to swallow up the needy
Speaker 1: and cause the poor of the land to fail, saying,
Speaker 1: when will the new moon be gone? That we may
Speaker 1: sell grain and the sabbath, that we may market wheat,
Speaker 1: making the epha small and the shekel large, and dealing
Speaker 1: falsely with balances of deceit, that we may buy the
Speaker 1: poor for silver, and the needy for a pair of sandals,
Speaker 1: and sell the sweepings with the wheat. Yahweh has sworn
Speaker 1: by the pride of Jacob surely, I will I ever
Speaker 1: forget any of their works? Won't the land tremble for this?
Speaker 1: And everyone mourn who dwells in it? That is God speaking,
Speaker 1: and he is specifically angry over the fact that the
Speaker 1: people couldn't wait to get back to their normal day
Speaker 1: to day job and start selling again on the Sabbath day.
Speaker 1: Even if they weren't necessarily selling on the Sabbath day,
Speaker 1: their hearts were so far away from God that all
Speaker 1: they could think about was selling on the Sabbath. They're like, oh,
Speaker 1: my gosh, when is this miserable Sabbath day going to
Speaker 1: be over? So that I can get back to my work,
Speaker 1: so that I can get back to being corrupt and
Speaker 1: selling the poor, so that I can get some silver
Speaker 1: from them, inflating all of my prices, and just being
Speaker 1: a grifter. When can I get back to doing all that?
Speaker 1: And God was furious obviously over this kind of behavior,
Speaker 1: And that's exactly what these merchants were doing in Niamiah thirteen.
Speaker 1: They're just waiting outside of Jerusalem. When is the Sabbath
Speaker 1: day going to be over? So we can get back
Speaker 1: to selling all of our goods? Meamiah is furious and
Speaker 1: so it says in verse twenty one that I testified
Speaker 1: against them and said to them, why do you stay
Speaker 1: around the wall. If you do so again, I will
Speaker 1: lay my hands on you. From that time on, they
Speaker 1: didn't come on the Sabbath, and I commanded the Levites
Speaker 1: that they should purify themselves, and that they should come
Speaker 1: and keep the gates to sanctify the Sabbath day. Remember
Speaker 1: me for this also, my God, and spare me according
Speaker 1: to the greatness of your loving kindness. Niamiyah is asking
Speaker 1: God to remember him for basically having zeal for God.
Speaker 1: And Niamiah did certainly have zeal for God. You can
Speaker 1: see that. So he asks God to remember him. And
Speaker 1: now in verses twenty three through thirty one, Neamiyah also
Speaker 1: finds out that some men are going back to their
Speaker 1: old ways of marrying women from Amin and Moab and
Speaker 1: Ashdod and all of these other places. And so it
Speaker 1: says in verse twenty three and twenty four, in those days,
Speaker 1: I also saw the Jews who had married women of Ashdod,
Speaker 1: of Ammon, of Moabb, and their children spoke half in
Speaker 1: the speech of Ashdod and could not speak in the
Speaker 1: Jews language. But according to the language of each people. Now,
Speaker 1: this is actually a problem. This is a big problem
Speaker 1: because the Israelites were supposed to be holy to God.
Speaker 1: And if you guys remember what I talked about in
Speaker 1: Part one, the people of Moab and Ammin specifically were
Speaker 1: never supposed to get married to the Israelites because of
Speaker 1: how corrupt these societies were with their idolatry, and because
Speaker 1: they were enemies of Israel like through and through from
Speaker 1: the very beginning, the Ammonites and the Moabites hated the
Speaker 1: Israelites and tried to destroy them right off the bat.
Speaker 1: But God, of course did not allow these two nations
Speaker 1: to succeed. But now, in spite of the promise that
Speaker 1: all the Israelites made in Neemiah ten, the men of
Speaker 1: Israel are once again marrying women from Amin and Moab.
Speaker 1: And on top of this, their children can't even speak Hebrew.
Speaker 1: They're speaking the language of the Moabites and the Ashtodites
Speaker 1: and the Ammonites. So their families are not even being
Speaker 1: integrated well into Israelite society, showing that the mother has
Speaker 1: a lot of control over how the family is raised.
Speaker 1: Niamiah sees all of this, and he is very angry,
Speaker 1: and he says, you guys made a promise that you
Speaker 1: would not be unequally yoked, that you would not marry
Speaker 1: women that worshiped idols other than Yahweh. And now look,
Speaker 1: the children are growing up in the Moabite and Ammonite cult.
Speaker 1: So here's what Neiamiah does. In verse twenty five. He
Speaker 1: contended with them, cursed them and struck certain of them,
Speaker 1: plucked off their hair, and made them swear by God,
Speaker 1: you shall not give your daughters to their sons, nor
Speaker 1: take their daughters for your sons or for yourselves. So
Speaker 1: basically he forces them to make another promise to God
Speaker 1: that these children will be integrated into Israelite society and
Speaker 1: that they will not marry people who don't work ship Yahweh.
Speaker 1: Now this was not supposed to be a race thing.
Speaker 1: It probably did become that over time, where the Israelites
Speaker 1: in Jesus's day only believed that Israelites were essentially saved
Speaker 1: and that every other culture was cursed. Jesus came to
Speaker 1: destroy that thinking. But that was not what this was
Speaker 1: supposed to be. Again, this had everything to do with
Speaker 1: spiritual health, at least when God made that law in
Speaker 1: the Old Testament, the spiritual health of the people comes
Speaker 1: before anything else, because where your soul is going is
Speaker 1: the most important thing. When we're reading through the New Testament,
Speaker 1: you can see how important it is. In fact, we're
Speaker 1: going through the book of James in the New Testament
Speaker 1: side of stuff, and James is talking so much about
Speaker 1: how worldly pleasures and wealth and money just doesn't matter.
Speaker 1: Our lives are so much more than what we have
Speaker 1: here on earth. We have to look toward the eternal,
Speaker 1: because the eternal is what actually matters. Hence why Jesus
Speaker 1: tells us to put our treasures in heaven, not store
Speaker 1: treasures up for ourselves right now, because on earth we're
Speaker 1: gonna die and our treasures are going to deteriorate over time.
Speaker 1: Because everything on earth is temporary, we have to look
Speaker 1: toward the eternal. And when you have an idol in
Speaker 1: your heart, you are looking toward the temporary. You are
Speaker 1: looking toward what can I gain right here and right now.
Speaker 1: In fact, idolatry always leads to selfishness because of that
Speaker 1: if I worship this little idol, what can I gain?
Speaker 1: What kind of things can I achieve? What kind of
Speaker 1: success can I have? If I worship this thing idolatry
Speaker 1: only looks at the here and now. Worshiping Yahweh, now
Speaker 1: that looks toward eternity. And God cares about our souls.
Speaker 1: Hence why he made the law in the Old Testament
Speaker 1: that the Israelites needed to marry people who worshiped him,
Speaker 1: also so that there were not factions in the household,
Speaker 1: so that the children would grow up learning about Yahweh
Speaker 1: and worshiping Yahweh fully. And that was what the people
Speaker 1: promised to do. In Niemiah ten, they said, not only
Speaker 1: are we going to obey the Sabbath day of rest,
Speaker 1: but we're also going to obey the law that says
Speaker 1: we should not marry the foreigners that worship these other idols.
Speaker 1: And Niamiah finds that these people did not do it.
Speaker 1: He says to them in verse twenty six. Didn't Solomon,
Speaker 1: king of Israel, sin by these things? Yet among many
Speaker 1: nations there was no king like him, and he was
Speaker 1: loved by his God, and God made him king over
Speaker 1: all Israel. Nevertheless, foreign women caused even him to sin.
Speaker 1: Shall we then listen to you to do all this
Speaker 1: great evil to trespass against our God? In marrying foreign women.
Speaker 1: So he brings it back to Solomon. You know, the
Speaker 1: greatest king in Israelite history other than David. Solomon caused
Speaker 1: so much success in Israel. He was the wisest king
Speaker 1: to ever exist. He would host these ted talks. He
Speaker 1: was so knowledgeable about everything. He was loved by God.
Speaker 1: But Solomon did not have a genuine heart toward God.
Speaker 1: And so when Solomon started marrying all of these foreign women,
Speaker 1: seven hundred of them to be exact, he started worshiping
Speaker 1: all of their gods. He started turning away from Yahweh,
Speaker 1: and his life ended in misery and shame. Just read
Speaker 1: through the book of Ecclesiastes, you can see how miserable
Speaker 1: Solomon was toward the end of his life. Niamiah says
Speaker 1: to these men, if this caused even Solomon, the wisest man,
Speaker 1: to sin, who are you to think that you're not
Speaker 1: going to sin if you marry these Moabite women. And
Speaker 1: now Niamiah mentioned somebody specifically who did this. It was
Speaker 1: one of the sons of Joida, the son of el Yashib,
Speaker 1: the high priest, who was son in law to Sanballat
Speaker 1: the Horonite. Therefore, I chased him from me. Remember them,
Speaker 1: my li Loord, because they defiled the priesthood and the
Speaker 1: covenant of the priesthood and of the Levites. Now, this
Speaker 1: was Elisheb's grandson, and this man ended up marrying one
Speaker 1: of the daughters of san Ballet, the Hornite. I don't
Speaker 1: know if you guys remember san Ballet, but he was
Speaker 1: a really nasty guy throughout all of Nehemiah. He was
Speaker 1: trying to kill Nehemiah on several different occasions. He hated
Speaker 1: the Israelites through and through. He was trying to stop
Speaker 1: the wall from being built. Just a really, really nasty guy.
Speaker 1: And yet Joida, who became the next high priest after
Speaker 1: ali A Sheeb, allowed one of his sons to marry
Speaker 1: the daughter of san Ballet the Hornite. So Niamayah got
Speaker 1: this man out of the office of priest. That's what
Speaker 1: it says. And this was biblical, by the way, that
Speaker 1: is an Old Testament law that the Levites specifically were
Speaker 1: not to marry anybody who was not a woman of God.
Speaker 1: So now to conclude in verse twenty nine through thirty one,
Speaker 1: he says, remember them, my God, because they defiled the
Speaker 1: priesthood and the Covenant of the priesthood and of the Levites.
Speaker 1: Thus I cleanse them from all foreigners, and appointed duties
Speaker 1: for the priests and for the Levites everyone in his work,
Speaker 1: and for the wood offering at appointed times, and for
Speaker 1: the first fruits. Remember me, my God for good. So
Speaker 1: Neamiyah towards the end of his life, he did his best,
Speaker 1: and he asks God to remember him for this good
Speaker 1: that he did. However, there's one caveat with all of this.
Speaker 1: It says right here that he cleansed them from all
Speaker 1: the foreigners and appointed duties for the priests and for
Speaker 1: the Levites. Now, if that cleansing from the foreigners includes
Speaker 1: having the men divorce their foreign wives, I already talked
Speaker 1: about this in the Book of Ezra. But I do
Speaker 1: believe that that is antibiblical because Malachi was prophesying during
Speaker 1: this time. Malachi was the last book of prophecy before
Speaker 1: the New Testament. And so here's what Malachi two thirteen
Speaker 1: through fifteen says about divorce. This again, you do you
Speaker 1: cover Yahweh's alter with tears, with weeping, and with sign,
Speaker 1: because he doesn't regard the offering anymore, neither receives it
Speaker 1: with good will at your hand. Yet you say why,
Speaker 1: because Yahweh has been witnessed between you and the wife
Speaker 1: of your youth, against whom you've dealt treacherously, though she
Speaker 1: is your companion and the wife of your covenant. Did
Speaker 1: he not make you one although he had the residue
Speaker 1: of the spirit. Why one? Because he sought godly offspring. Therefore,
Speaker 1: take heed to your spirit, and let no one deal
Speaker 1: treacherously against the wife of his youth. One who hates
Speaker 1: in divorces, says Yahweh. The God of Israel covers his
Speaker 1: garments with violence, says Yahweh. Of armies. Therefore, pay attention
Speaker 1: to your spirit that you don't be unfaithful. That's pretty
Speaker 1: clear that God does not like divorce. Now, granted, you
Speaker 1: should not be unequally yoked in your marriage, meaning you
Speaker 1: shouldn't be marrying somebody who doesn't have the same faith
Speaker 1: as you. But that doesn't mean that you should just
Speaker 1: divorce that person because you made the mistake of marrying
Speaker 1: them when they don't have the same faith as you.
Speaker 1: That's what the New Testament says. Even Paul says, remain
Speaker 1: in the situation that you are in, being unequally yoked
Speaker 1: is not in and of itself the recipe for divorce. Now,
Speaker 1: if there's other problems going on, infidelity and your spouse
Speaker 1: is not saved, then that's a conversation for another day.
Speaker 1: But being unequally yoked and that's all that's going on
Speaker 1: in your marriage, that is not a reason for divorce.
Speaker 1: But whether or not Neamiah forced these men to divorce
Speaker 1: their foreign wives, it is unclear. I believe that Neamiah
Speaker 1: did his best to finish strong, and I think that
Speaker 1: he did finish very strong, because Israel is in a
Speaker 1: better place than it's been in a very very long time.
Speaker 1: So I hope you guys enjoyed the Book of Nehemiah.
Speaker 1: Thank you for going through this book with me, and
Speaker 1: also remaining to the end of the episode. Before I
Speaker 1: close out today's episode with a couple things, please listen
Speaker 1: to one last sponsored advertisement today. So technically, if you're
Speaker 1: looking at it chronologically, the Book of niamah Yah closes
Speaker 1: up the Old Testament. It's the last series of events
Speaker 1: that take place before Jesus is born, which is really
Speaker 1: interesting to me. So, faithful listeners, I hope you enjoyed
Speaker 1: going through this book with me, and also finishing up
Speaker 1: season eleven. Well, technically season eleven finishes up tomorrow with
Speaker 1: the Book of James, so after that I will be
Speaker 1: taking a week long break. Next week there is not
Speaker 1: going to be an episode, so thank you for giving
Speaker 1: me that time off. Faithful listeners. I will hopefully see
Speaker 1: you guys tomorrow for another episode from the Book of
Speaker 1: James and also the end of season eleven. Happy listening
Speaker 1: and God bless. I just want to take a second
Speaker 1: to thank the team at Life Audio for their partnership
Speaker 1: with me on the Bible Explain podcast. In fact, if
Speaker 1: you go to lifeaudio dot com you will find dozens
Speaker 1: of other faith centered podcasts in their network. They've got
Speaker 1: shows about prayer, Bible study, parenting, and more.