Nehemiah 13:6-7a 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 and came back to Jerusalem….
Nehemiah was gone for 10-12 years, and when he returned, he realized all the progress he made before had been undone. I feel like the problem was that the people were fulfilling Nehemiah’s dream, so when he left, it was easy to let things slide, eventually sliding back near where they were before he started. They weren’t really that personally invested in his dream.
Nehemiah 13:7b …Here I learned about the evil thing Eliashib had done in providing Tobiah a room in the courts of the house of God.
I think that’s a chief reason for God’s focus on free will and relationships. He is the Creator of the universe. He could make us do anything He wanted. But He wants a partnership, not a dictatorship. He wants us to understand our deep need for Him, which can only come through relationship.
Nehemiah 13:10 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.
Lord, Thank You for this day and this scripture. Thank You for the reminder that You need me to partner with You for my own sake, so that I understand my deep need for You, so that Your dreams become my dreams, so I can live the life You planned for me. “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me” (Psalm 51:10). Amen.
Nehemiah 13:23 Moreover, in those days I saw men of Judah who had married women from Ashdod, Ammon and Moab.
Have a blessed day.