Evicting Evil

Picture yourself walking down the street when suddenly you hear CRASH! What in the wide world of sports was that? You come around the corner and you see a pile of broken furniture in somebody’s yard. And here comes some more! Some dude flings another chair out the front door! This is what happens landlord evicts a tenant that doesn’t belong. Maybe they’re behind on their rent. Maybe they’ve made themselves at home without paying a dime. One way or the other, they and their stuff is out. Kicked to the curb. 

We see a very similar scene in Nehemiah 13:4-9 when the governor gets wind of one of Israel’s sworn enemies using a holy storeroom as his apartment in the city. Nehemiah doesn’t waste a New York minute in giving Tobiah and his furniture the old heave-ho from God’s temple. The LORD has reserved His temple for His glory. Anything that doesn’t meet that criteria gets tossed. So when Nehemiah finds this enemy of God kicking back in the house of God, he takes things into his own hands. He takes Tobiah’s stuff into his own hands and throws it out. Nehemiah evicts evil. It’s also sneak preview of the coming attraction starring Jesus.

After giving us a quick look at some of the eventual repentance of the people when confronted with God’s Word (Neh 13:1-3), Nehemiah flashes back to something that happened setting the stage for Tobiah’s eviction. The author raises the curtain by writing, “Now before this” (v4). “This” would be the day when God’s people cut ties with those non-Jews who don’t worship Yahweh. For centuries, the LORD warns His chosen people against hooking up with folks who reject Him (Ex 34:16; Dt 7:3). It’s what brought down Solomon’s kingdom (1Ki 11:4-8). It’s what eventually led to God shipping the Hebrews into 70-year time out in Babylonian captivity. Despite the hot mess of their own sin still fresh in their minds, the Jews do it all over again once He brings them back from exile to Jerusalem (Ez 9-10). Believe it or not, Nehemiah has to deal with it during his term as governor (Neh 10:28-30). 

It seems a dude by the name of Eliashib is up to no good. Does his name sound familiar? Well, it should. He’s the third of six high priests who served after the return from captivity (Neh 12:10). Chances are he’s a very old man at this point. Nehemiah has given Eliashib the job of supervising some of the temple storage rooms (Neh 12:44). These are used like pantries for those serving at the temple. That’s when this particular priest decides to go rogue and rent one of the rooms under the table. It’s a painful reminder of the impact of integrity failure in leadership. I know this sounds super simple but leaders lead. They set the standard with their choices. Despite knowing better, Eliashib makes a horrible choice, allowing evil into the holy place. God has made it blatantly clear that when it comes to Ammonites and Moabites, His temple is a no-fly zone (Neh 13:1). In case you’ve missed it, our boy Tobiah is an Ammonite (Neh 2:10, 19; 4:3).

This is probably a good time to look back at Tobiah’s rap sheet. He’s a buddy of Sanballat the Horonite and Geshem the Arab (Neh 2:19). These three thugs do everything they can to taunt and terrorize God’s people (Neh 2:10; 4:1-3, 7-8). He’s one of the masterminds of the plot to assassinate Nehemiah when it becomes clear the walls of Jerusalem are just about rebuilt (Neh 6:1-9). Tobiah and Sanballat go so far as to grease the palm of prophet in an attempt to trash the governor’s rep (Neh 6:10-14). 

Why in the world would someone with Eliashib’s resume make such a bonehead decision? He is “related to Tobiah” (v4). Let’s take a little closer look at the original language and see what’s going on here. The author uses the Hebrew adjective qarob, which can mean near, neighbor, next to, kinsmen, or some sort of close personal relationship (Dt 30:14; 32:35; Ps 75:1). It describes coming into the most intimate proximity of someone or something. No surprise that it can even describe intimate sexual relations (Gen 20:4; Is 8:3). Moses drops this term drawing near to God in worship (Ex 3:5; Lev 4:11; Dt 5:23; Num 16:9; 18:4). 

So are Eliashib and Tobiah cousins? In-laws? Do they attend the same family reunions? Some translators believe they’re related (NASB, NRS, NLT, YLT, AMP). Others simply point to a very close friendship (KJV, NKJV, NIV, BBE, The Message). Apparently this out-law is an in-law. Check back and see what happened when the wall was finished. Some of the top Jewish families are actually passing notes with this thug like kids in study hall. “The nobles of Judah sent many letters to Tobiah, and Tobiah’s letters came to them. For many in Judah were bound by oath to him, because he was the son-in-law of Schecaniah the son of Arah; and his son Jehohanan had take the daughter of Meshullam the son of Berechiah as his wife” (Neh 6:17-19). Tobiah’s tentacles reach deep into the Jewish people. Is it any surprise he leverages his influence for a penthouse in God’s house? 

You might wonder where Nehemiah was when Tobiah was backing up his U-Haul and moving into the temple. “While this was taking place, I was not in Jerusalem” (v6). Nehemiah had gone back to work as the wine steward for the king of Persia (Neh 1:11). “In the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon, I went to the king” (v6). He served as governor of Judah for 12 years, from 446-434 BC (Neh 5:14). He told his boss that he would return once the job was done (Neh 2:6). The cupbearer made good on that promise. We don’t know if someone tipped off Nehemiah about Eliashib’s shenanigans or he simply had the urge to check in on the situation in Judah. One way or the other, he “asked leave of the king and came to Jerusalem” (v6-7). You don’t invest a dozen years of your life leading, caring, and serving folks without giving them a special place in your heart. Nehemiah cared deeply about Jerusalem before (Neh 1:1-11). He cares even more now.

Once Nehemiah hits town, he hits the roof. That’s when he “discovered the evil that Eliashib had done for Tobiah, preparing him a chamber in the courts of the house of God. And I was very angry ” (v7-8). The governor blows his stack when he finds out about the Ammonite’s apartment. How mad is he? Nehemiah uses the Hebrew verb yara’, which literally means to tremble, shake, or quiver. Ever been so furious about something that you shake? That’s how hot Nehemiah is. He can’t believe what’s going on in God’s house! He’s fuming over the evil that Eliashib has allowed inside! It’s at this point Nehemiah begins personally handling the eviction process. “I threw all the household furniture of Tobiah out of the chamber” (v8). Chairs. Tables. Beds. Lamps. Clothes. The governor sends it all flying out the door.

It’s a preview of what Jesus would do 500 years later! When He arrives at the temple, Christ cleans house of everything that has nothing to do with His Father’s glory (Jn 2:13-17). He has such a passion for the temple that He does it not once, but twice! In the days just before His crucifixion, Jesus turns over tables again (Mt 21:12-13). This does NOT belong in His Father’s house! Our Savior evicts evil. He gets rid of the stuff that doesn’t belong. 

Would you believe me if I told you that Jesus is still cleaning house? The temple in Jerusalem doesn’t exist anymore. The Romans bulldozed it in AD 70. But there’s another temple that Christ has a passion for. You and me. Once God saves us, He sends His Holy Spirit to live inside each one of us (Jn 16:13; Rom 8:11; Gal 4:6; 2Tim 1:14). The Apostle Paul told his friends in Corinth that we are now each temples of God’s Spirit (1Cor 3:16-17; 6:19-20). Jesus wants to clean house of the sin we still hide in the closet. He knows the damage that having this crap around does to the ones He loves. We need to let Him evict the evil from inside His temple.