“When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” Legendary Notre Dame coach Frank Leahy may have said it first but thousands of coaches and leaders have used it to inspire their teams ever since. There’s just one little problem. The tough really aren’t so tough. Too many times, when the going gets tough, the tough get going…in the opposite direction. We walk away. We bail. We punk out. That’s what Nehemiah finds when he makes his return trip to Jerusalem (Nehemiah 13:10-14). Once the governor’s gone, times get tough in Judah. The Jewish people stop providing for the folks serving at the temple. The lead worshipers walk away and head home to feed their families. When the going gets tough, the tough get going…in the opposite direction.
On the other hand, when the going gets tough, God gets going. That’s the big idea behind the books of Ezra and Nehemiah. How tough is the situation when we pick up the story? Pretty stinkin’ rough. The Hebrew people are almost 1,000 miles away in Babylonian exile. And that’s where they’ve been for 70 years. But before and during their captivity, God uses His prophets to remind His chosen people that He not only won’t forget about them but will bring them back home when the time is right. When the curtain rises back at the beginning of Ezra, the LORD taps a pagan king on the shoulder and tells him it’s time to send the Jews back to the Promised Land. If that’s not crazy enough, Yahweh has these unbelieving dictators pick up the tab for everything! God clearly has not bailed on His people.
Zerubbabel leads the first of three expeditions from Babylon. He’s followed by Ezra and then Nehemiah. As governor, Nehemiah leads God’s people to return home in 446 BC (Neh 2:9-11). They rebuild the walls (Neh 3:1-4:23; 6:15-16). They read from God’s Word (Neh 8:1-18). They repent of their sin (Neh 9:1-38). They repopulate the city (Neh 11:1-24). They rejoice at all God has done (Neh 12:1-43). Around 434 BC, Nehemiah heads back to Susa as he had promised his boss (Neh 13:6). At some point, the governor comes back to check on the city and the people he’s poured his life into. While the situation wasn’t perfect when he left, it’s not the dumpster fire he finds when hits town. That’s when God uses Nehemiah to lead a series of reforms. (Neh 13:7-29).
After Nehemiah kicks Tobiah to the curb (Neh 13:8), the governor discovers the temple storage units are empty. “I also found out that the portions of the Levites had not been given to them” (v10). God provides for His house band through the giving of His people (Num 18:8-32). When the going gets tough, the people stop giving. When the pantry is empty, the folks serving at the temple hit the road. The generosity of the Jewish people allows them to work without worrying about where the next meal is coming from. When the fridge is empty, the Levites and singers “fled each to his field” (v10). A dude’s gotta feed his family, right?
The crisis here in Nehemiah 13 is so bad that God actually writes another entire book about it. That’s where Malachi comes in. God uses Malachi to speak some very hard truth to His people at this very same time. Through His spokesman, Yahweh charges the Jews with robbery for failing to bring their tithes and contributions (Mal 3:8-9). But if the people start giving the LORD is not only willing to drop the charges but throw “open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need” (Mal 3:10). The big idea: We can’t out-give God. The way to God’s true abundance is through generosity. Go ahead. Test God. Get into a giving contest with Him and see who wins. Let me know how that goes.
Meanwhile back in Nehemiah, the cupbearer/governor gets up in the grill of those in charge of temple. “So I confronted the officials and said, ‘Why is the house of God forsaken?’” (v11). Nehemiah describes this difficult conversation with the Hebrew term riyb. It means to contend, argue, make a complaint, quarrel, plead, or make a case. The idea is to engage in verbal combat, debate, or fight with words. Nehemiah will confront two other groups of people here in chapter 13. Next up, he wrangles with the best and brightest of Judean society for failing to observe the Sabbath (Neh 13:17). After that, he goes after Jews who’ve hooked up with local pagan hotties (Neh 13:25). Nehemiah uses the same verb when he pokes his finger in chest of the Hebrew bigwigs for their payday lending tactics to their own people. “I brought charges (Heb. riyb) against the nobles and officials” (Neh 5:7).
Before we get the idea that Nehemiah is one of those guys who loves to mix it up, let’s slow our roll just a bit. When you love God and His people, confrontation is never fun or easy. But there are times when it’s necessary. A firm but necessary conversation is actually an act of love. When you want God’s best for somebody, there are situations when you must speak up. It’s been said that hard words make for soft hearts. We see it at key points throughout the Bible. A classic instance is when Paul had an incredibly difficult conversation with Peter in Antioch (Gal 2:11-14). He didn’t do it because he was looking for a fight. Paul wanted God’s best for his buddy. So does Nehemiah.
The governor wants to know “Why is the house of God forsaken?” (v11). And by “house of God,” he means the temple. He uses the Hebrew verb ‘azab, which means to leave, depart from, abandon, or neglect. When times got tough, folks stopped giving. This is not so much about obeying some rule about percentage giving. While that is important, the people have turned their backs on their friends who’ve dedicated their lives to serve at the temple. When God’s people stop dropping off their tithes and offerings, they leave the Levites and singers swinging in the breeze. It wasn’t that long ago that the people spit shook and pinkie swore to make God’s temple and those who serve there a top priority. “We will not neglect (Heb. ‘azab) the house of God” (Neh 10:39). That didn’t last long now, did it?
It’s at this point that Nehemiah gets to work. He gets all of the temple staff and supervisors back on the job in their proper positions (v11). Under his leadership, the people start giving again. “Then all Judah brought the tithe” to the temple again (v12). You might want to step back. God is about to unleash His waterfall of blessing on His people (Mal 3:10). He handpicks treasurers to make sure the storehouses stay stocked (v13). Nehemiah actually did this before he leaving for Persia (Neh 12:44). At least one of his appointments, Eliashib the priest, not only dropped the ball but rented out one of the temple storage units to one of Jerusalem’s biggest enemies (Neh 13:4-7). The governor does some serious background checks on these new hires, “for they were considered reliable” (v13). They could be counted on. They had great reputations. How ‘bout you? Do people turn to you when the chips are down because of your rep?
Nehemiah raps up this first round of reforms with a prayer. “Remember me, O my God, concerning this, and do not wipe out my good deeds that I have done for the house of my God and for His service” (v14). The gov is a man of prayer. We’ve read six prayers prior to this one (Neh 1:4-11; 2:4; 5:19; 6:9, 14; 9:6-38). As a matter of fact, he prays after each of his reforms here in chapter 13 (Neh 13:14, 22, 29). It’s his humble way of relying on God in each crisis. Do you turn to Him and seek His ultimate authority before, during, and after making hard decisions or having hard conversations?
When restoring the situation at the temple, Nehemiah turns to the One who will never turn His back on us. God promises to never ditch us. It wasn’t that long ago that Ezra prayed and thanked the LORD, “Our God has not forsaken (Heb. ‘azab) us in our slavery” (Ez 9:9) despite the fact that “we have forsaken (Heb. ‘azab) Your commandments” (Ez 9:10). It’s never bad to want to do the right thing, but these are often promises that we can’t keep. God is the only one who is truly faithful. God never bails. He never walks away. He never punks out. We see it all throughout Scripture. When the going gets tough, the Tough gets going. And He still does.
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