There are just some things that are stupid to even try. Tugging on Superman’s cape. Skipping through the lion cage wearing a pork chop necklace. Challenging LeBron to a game of one-on-one. But those are a piece of cake compared to trying to outfox God. Let’s be frank. Anytime you get cocky enough to think you can pull a fast one on Almighty God, you’re gonna lose. Every. Single. Time. Oh, there may be a brief moment when you actually believe you’ve come out on top. But God wins. Every. Single. Time.
Here in the opening verses of Nehemiah 13, we see God’s people digging into the Old Testament for a group Bible study. To be honest, they didn’t call it the Old Testament back in the day. It was the ONLY testament! They hear how the LORD told the Israelites through Moses to keep certain non-Jews who refused to worship Him out of their assembly. They hear the story of how locals refused to give their Hebrew ancestors supplies on their way to the Promised Land. They hear the story of how a for-profit prophet refused to cash an easy check by cursing God’s people. They hear once again how the LORD continually takes something evil and turns it upside down into blessing. Once they’re reminded of God’s ridiculous and unrelenting grace toward His chosen people, the Israelites immediately apply what they’ve heard and break up with their pagan lovers. They hear God’s law. They hear God’s Gospel. They willingly obey.
Before we drill down on this passage, let’s get a few things on the table. There’s disagreement on when the events of this chapter go down. It sure seems that these three verses combine with Nehemiah 13:30-31 to form brackets around the rest of the chapter. In other words, the chronology of the story actually begins in verse 4 with the crazy story of Eliashib the priest turning one temple storage rooms into an apartment for Tobiah the Ammonite, who just happens to be one of the sworn enemies of God’s people. We read of an avalanche of scandals and sin occur once Nehemiah returns to Persia (Neh 13:6). He hightails it back to Judah put out the series of dumpster fires burning in Jerusalem (Neh 13:7). The governor uses a flashback describing how he extinguishes each of them in Nehemiah 13:8-29. So what we read here in verses 1-3 is actually the result of his ultimate reforms.
Smart dudes also believe that Nehemiah 13 is the last chapter of the Old Testament written chronologically. Malachi is the final book of the OT in our Bible. Most of what that prophet describes occurs right here in Nehemiah 13 somewhere between 433-424 BC. Folks a lot smatter than me think Ezra the scribe wrapped up writing the book of Nehemiah no later than 400 BC. When the author put down his pen and rolled up the scroll, the people didn’t hear from God for four centuries. Nothing but crickets from heaven until the Father sent His Son on the most breathtaking rescue mission the universe has ever seen.
As we pick up the action at the beginning of chapter 13, Nehemiah is back in town. He kept his promise of returning to King Artaxerxes of Persia. But he soon got word of Big Trouble in Little Judah (my apologies for anyone who didn’t catch the random Kurt Russell movie reference). The governor returns to Jerusalem and returns the people to God’s Word. Just as they had done right after rebuilding the city walls (Neh 8:1, 2, 8, 13, 18; 9:3), “they read from the Book of Moses in the hearing of the people” (v1). Once again, they hear the law. Once again, they hear of God’s impossible standard of perfect obedience. Once again, they hear the story of God’s amazing goodness to a repeatedly rebellious and ungrateful people. Once again, they hear of how He promises to personally come to their rescue.
As part of this Bible study, the come across Deuteronomy 23:3-6. “And it was found written that no Ammonite or Moabite should ever enter the assembly of God” (v1). These are two of the people groups that went out of their way to get in the way of God’s chosen people and their trip into the Promised Land. Because of their intentional opposition, the LORD made it perfectly clear that they’re on His naughty list. A couple important points. First of all, it doesn’t mean that an Ammonite or Moabite could never, ever turn from their idols and turn to the God of Israel. Don’t believe me? Flip over and read the story of Ruth. She’s an immigrant from Moab who eventually becomes the great-grandmother of King David (Ruth 4:17) and the ancestor of King Jesus (Mt 1:5). This is great news for just about everyone of us. If you’re like me, you’re a Gentile. We were originally on the outside looking in when it comes to God’s Kingdom. But we can thank Jesus for inviting us to His party.
On the other hand, God’s Ammonite/Moabite ban is important to remember because of what we’re about to read in the following section (Neh 13:4-9). It seems that Jerusalem’s arch-enemy Tobiah the Ammonite has weaseled his way into the temple. The author tips us off that a high priest named Eliashib is related to him in someway and has let him move into a room reserved for the supplies for the people serving on the worship team. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
Back at the big Bible study in Jerusalem, the people read the story of how the Moabites and Ammonites once “hired Balaam to curse them” (v2). Moses spends three whole chapters in Numbers going into detail about the time King Balak of Moab feels threatened by the massive posse of Israelites rolling into his country (Num 22-24). Balak throws a boatload of Benjamins at a guy named Balaam to curse the Hebrews. Balaam is a profitable prophet who’s made a reputation for giving you the prophecy you want if you’re willing to pony up the dollars. But a funny thing happens on the cursing. God happens. It’s a CRAZY story that involves a talking jackass (you really should read your Bible!). The next thing you know, Balaam isn’t cursing God’s people but passing along God’s blessing on them. I told you it was whack!
It’s another incredible example of how “our God turned the curse into a blessing” (v2). That’s just about the same thing Joseph said to his brothers who sold him into slavery. “You mean evil against me, but God meant it for good” (Gen 50:20). They thought they were getting rid of their pesky kid brother once and for all. Little did they know that God would use their underhanded scheme to be the vehicle to save them from a famine back in Palestine. Turning curses into blessings is one of God’s specialties.
Over and over we see stories of people who are just goofy enough to think they can outfox God. It didn’t work for Satan. The Pharisees look like morons when they try to fool Jesus. And don’t try to trick yourself into thinking you and I don’t do the same thing. We pretend to worship God but we’re really treating Him like some supernatural vending machine. We don’t really want Him. We really don’t want a relationship. What we’re really after are His blessings. We need to wake up and smell the coffee. Oh, we may have a brief moment when we think we’ve pulled it over on Him. But it’s fool’s gold. You see, God wins. Every. Single. Time.
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