# Nehemiah 13 📖: Nehemiah's Final Reforms [[📚 Explore the Bible Books]] [[-Nehemiah Overview]] | [[Nehemiah 12]] | [[Esther 01]] > [!info] Table of Contents > [[#📜 Scripture Text (NET)]] > [[#📖 Verse-by-Verse Commentary]] > [[#🤔 Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights]] > [[#🧠 Chapter Summary]] > [[#✝️ Christ in This Chapter]] > [[#🔎 Key Principles / 🛟 Life Application]] > [[#💬 Discussion Questions]] > [[#✍️ Key Verses to Remember]] > [[#🔗 Related Passages/Cross Reference]] > [[#🙏 Devotional Reflection]] > [[#📂 Internal Notes]] ## 📜 Scripture Text (NET) (The NET Bible: New English Translation. Biblical Studies Press, 2005) ### Further Reforms by Nehemiah [[#Verse 01.]] On that day the book of Moses was read aloud in the hearing of the people. They found written in it that no Ammonite or Moabite may ever enter the assembly of God,  [[#Verse 02.]] for they had not met the Israelites with food and water, but instead had hired Balaam to curse them. (Our God, however, turned the curse into blessing.)  [[#Verse 03.]] When they heard the law, they removed from Israel all who were of mixed ancestry. [[#Verse 04.]] But before this time, Eliashib the priest, a relative of Tobiah, had been appointed over the storerooms of the temple of our God.  [[#Verse 05.]] He made for himself a large storeroom where previously they had been keeping the grain offering, the incense, and the vessels, along with the tithes of the grain, the new wine, and the olive oil as commanded for the Levites, the singers, the gatekeepers, and the offering for the priests. [[#Verse 06.]] During all this time I was not in Jerusalem, for in the thirty-second year of King Artaxerxes of Babylon, I had gone back to the king. After some time I had requested leave of the king,  [[#Verse 07.]] and I returned to Jerusalem. Then I discovered the evil that Eliashib had done for Tobiah by supplying him with a storeroom in the courts of the temple of God.  [[#Verse 08.]] I was very upset, and I threw all of Tobiah’s household possessions out of the storeroom. [[#Verse 09.]] Then I gave instructions that the storerooms should be purified, and I brought back the equipment of the temple of God, along with the grain offering and the incense. [[#Verse 10.]] I also discovered that the portions for the Levites had not been provided, and that as a result the Levites and the singers who performed this work had all gone off to their fields.  [[#Verse 11.]] So I registered a complaint with the leaders, asking, “Why is the temple of God neglected?” Then I gathered them and reassigned them to their positions. [[#Verse 12.]] Then all of Judah brought the tithe of the grain, the new wine, and the olive oil to the storerooms.  [[#Verse 13.]] I gave instructions that Shelemiah the priest, Zadok the scribe, and a certain Levite named Pedaiah be put in charge of the storerooms, and that Hanan son of Zaccur, the son of Mattaniah, be their assistant, for they were regarded as trustworthy. It was then their responsibility to oversee the distribution to their colleagues. [[#Verse 14.]] Please remember me for this, O my God, and do not wipe out the kindness that I have done for the temple of my God and for its services! [[#Verse 15.]] In those days I saw people in Judah treading winepresses on the Sabbath, bringing in heaps of grain and loading them onto donkeys, along with wine, grapes, figs, and all kinds of loads, and bringing them to Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. So I warned them on the day that they sold these provisions. [[#Verse 16.]] The people from Tyre who lived there were bringing fish and all kinds of merchandise and were selling it on the Sabbath to the people of Judah—and in Jerusalem, of all places! [[#Verse 17.]] So I registered a complaint with the nobles of Judah, saying to them, “What is this evil thing that you are doing, profaning the Sabbath day?  [[#Verse 18.]] Isn’t this the way your ancestors acted, causing our God to bring on them and on this city all this misfortune? And now you are causing even more wrath on Israel, profaning the Sabbath like this!” [[#Verse 19.]] When the evening shadows began to fall on the gates of Jerusalem before the Sabbath, I ordered the doors to be closed. I further directed that they were not to be opened until after the Sabbath. I positioned some of my young men at the gates so that no load could enter on the Sabbath day.  [[#Verse 20.]] The traders and sellers of all kinds of merchandise spent the night outside Jerusalem once or twice.  [[#Verse 21.]] But I warned them and said, “Why do you spend the night by the wall? If you repeat this, I will forcibly remove you!” From that time on they did not show up on the Sabbath.  [[#Verse 22.]] Then I directed the Levites to purify themselves and come and guard the gates in order to keep the Sabbath day holy. For this please remember me, O my God, and have pity on me in keeping with your great love. [[#Verse 23.]] Also in those days I saw the men of Judah who had married women from Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab.  [[#Verse 24.]]Half their children spoke the language of Ashdod (or the language of one of the other peoples mentioned) and were unable to speak the language of Judah.  [[#Verse 25.]] So I entered a complaint with them. I called down a curse on them, and I struck some of the men and pulled out their hair. I had them swear by God saying, “You will not marry off your daughters to their sons, and you will not take any of their daughters as wives for your sons or for yourselves.  [[#Verse 26.]] Was it not because of things like these that King Solomon of Israel sinned? Among the many nations there was no king like him. He was loved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel. But the foreign wives made even him sin!  [[#Verse 27.]] Should we then in your case hear that you do all this great evil, thereby being unfaithful to our God by marrying foreign wives?” [[#Verse 28.]] Now one of the sons of Joiada son of Eliashib the high priest was a son-in-law of Sanballat the Horonite. So I banished him from my sight. [[#Verse 29.]] Please remember them, O my God, because they have defiled the priesthood, the covenant of the priesthood, and the Levites. [[#Verse 30.]] So I purified them of everything foreign, and I assigned specific duties to the priests and the Levites.  [[#Verse 31.]] I also provided for the wood offering at the appointed times and also for the firstfruits. Please remember me for good, O my God. ## 📖 Verse-by-Verse Commentary ###### Overall. Final words written of the Old Testament. This began the 400 years of silence. [[-Malachi Overview|Malachi]] was written just before the events of this chapter. ###### Verse 01. - Verses 1-4: Many scholars seem to place the first four verses with the previous chapter. ###### Verse 02. ###### Verse 03. ###### Verse 04. - Some believe this is not the same person as the high priest. This was a common name given to priests because it means "God brings back." It is unlikely the high priest would have been in charge of the facilities. ###### Verse 05. - They moved out the things of God for an enemy. ###### Verse 06. ###### Verse 07. - There is no record of how long Nehemiah was gone from Jerusalem or what exactly brought him back. Tradition says his brother Hanani was appointed as his successor during this time. - Since it took about 60 days to travel from Jerusalem to Susa, he may have gone for only 6 months. He was likely gone for at least a year. ###### Verse 08. ###### Verse 09. ###### Verse 10. - The tithes and offerings were intended to support the priests and Levites because they did not receive land. God was their portion. Therefore, the gifts to God were intended to support them. Since the people were not giving, they had to support themselves. ###### Verse 11. - Nehemiah reminds the people that they had sinned against God. ###### Verse 12. ###### Verse 13. ###### Verse 14. - First of four prayers from Nehemiah in this chapter. ###### Verse 15. - The people were neglecting the Sabbath. It was a day intended for rest and worship. God gave it as a strict rule. Not obeying it violated one of the 10 commandments. ###### Verse 16. ###### Verse 17. - Once again, Nehemiah reminds them that this is a sin against the Lord. ###### Verse 18. ###### Verse 19. - Nehemiah helped them "pre-decide" by closing the gates before they had a chance to rebel against the Lord. ###### Verse 20. - Consistency will defeat lingering issues. ###### Verse 21. ###### Verse 22. - The second time Nehemiah prays to God in this chapter. ###### Verse 23. - The people were already guilty of this, and Ezra had to deal with it 30 years ago. They have violated God's statutes again. This is not racism. They were to keep separate to avoid idolatry and to stay close to the practices of worship of Yahweh. It is already seen that the children were losing touch with the language of the Law of God. ###### Verse 24. ###### Verse 25. ###### Verse 26. - Once again, Nehemiah reminds them that they are sinning against the Lord. ###### Verse 27. ###### Verse 28. - He was likely sent to live with his father-in-law. ###### Verse 29. - This is the third time Nehemiah prays in this chapter. This time, he is not praying for blessing but for judgment against his enemies. ###### Verse 30. - Nehemiah's administration shows again. He organizes the people and puts things right again. ###### Verse 31. - The fourth and final time he prays in this chapter. - The chapter and the end of the Old Testament end unceremoniously. It reminds us that these people lived real lives. They likely did not know they were writing sacred scripture or that it would be the last to come until Jesus. They were living their lives and doing the best they could. God was in control. ## 🤔 Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights - [[-Malachi Overview|Malachi]] was written just before this chapter. - The end of the Old Testament. - There is no written record of how long Nehemiah left Jerusalem or what exactly called him back. We are also unsure how long he served as governor the second time. 1. Nehemiah went back to the king in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes (13:6), about 433 BC. 2. The passage read about Ammonites and Moabites (13:1-2) comes from Deuteronomy 23:3-5. 3. Balaam was hired to curse Israel, but God turned the curse into a blessing (13:2; Numbers 22-24). 4. Tobiah had been given a large room in the temple courts once used to store grain offerings, frankincense, and tithes (13:5). 5. Men from Tyre sold fish and other goods in Jerusalem on the Sabbath (13:16). 6. Nehemiah warned the merchants camping outside the wall on the Sabbath that he would lay hands on them (13:21). 7. Half of some families' children spoke the language of Ashdod and could not speak the language of Judah (13:24). 8. Nehemiah pointed to Solomon, who was loved by God, yet was led into sin by foreign wives (13:26; 1 Kings 11:1-4). 9. A grandson of Eliashib the high priest had married a daughter of Sanballat (13:28), and Nehemiah drove him away. 10. The Elephantine papyri, letters from a Jewish community in Egypt around 407 BC, mention Sanballat as governor of Samaria and name his sons Delaiah and Shelemiah. ## 🧠 Chapter Summary - Nehemiah returns to see that many of his changes are being undone. He gets to work and fixes things so they're back on track. He prays four times in this chapter, showing that this book began with prayer and ended with prayer. ## ✝️ Christ in This Chapter Christ is the faithful reformer of God's house. Nehemiah threw Tobiah's belongings out of the temple storeroom (13:8), and Jesus drove out those who turned His Father's house into a marketplace (John 2:13-17). ## 🔎 Key Principles / 🛟 Life Application - 📌 Always make it about God. - 📌 Without constant attention, things fall into ruin. - 📌 People will revert without strong, consistent leadership. #### Today, I can apply this chapter by: - ✅ Be consistent. - ✅ Worship God through giving my tithe to support the kingdom workers. - ✅ Keep the Sabbath day as an act of worship. - ✅ Keep God's Word for the sake of the next generation. ## 💬 Discussion Questions 1. While Nehemiah was away, the people slipped back into old sins (13:6-11). Why do spiritual commitments fade without consistent attention? 2. Nehemiah had the gates shut before the Sabbath so the people would not break it (13:19). What practical boundaries help you keep your commitments to God? 3. Nehemiah prayed four times for God to remember him (13:14, 22, 29, 31). What does it mean to live for God's notice rather than people's? ## ✍️ Key Verses to Remember - 📖 verse 11: Nehemiah confronts the officials for neglecting the house of God. - 📖 verse 22: Nehemiah asks God to remember him and have mercy on him according to His great loyal love. - 📖 verse 31: Nehemiah's final prayer: remember me for good, O my God. ## 🔗 Related Passages/Cross Reference - 🔗 [[John 02#Verse 13.|John 2:13-17]] - Jesus clears the temple. - 🔗 [[Deuteronomy 23#Verse 03.|Deuteronomy 23:3-5]] - Ammonites and Moabites excluded from the assembly. - 🔗 [[Malachi 03#Verse 08.|Malachi 3:8-10]] - Robbing God in tithes and offerings. - 🔗 [[Isaiah 58#Verse 13.|Isaiah 58:13-14]] - Delighting in the Sabbath. - 🔗 [[1 Kings 11#Verse 01.|1 Kings 11:1-4]] - Solomon's foreign wives turn his heart away. ## 🙏 Devotional Reflection 📝 SOAP: [[Nehemiah 13 - SOAP|It’s All For Him]] ## 📂 Internal Notes