Local Pagan Hotties

Shacking up. Sex. Cursing. Fist fights. Hair pulling. It sounds more like a scene out of “Road House” than a passage in the Bible. But that’s exactly what’s going down here in Nehemiah 13:23-29. Despite God’s commands to the contrary, His people are jumping in the sack with local pagan hotties. The result is a boatload of mixed race children who are so confused on their heritage that they can’t even speak Hebrew any longer. Once Nehemiah takes one look at this train wreck, he starts kicking butt and taking names. You may think that Jerusalem is the buckle of the Bible belt but its pants are unzipped. And some people say the Bible is boring. Please.

After making a return trip to Jerusalem to get an update (Neh 13:6-7), Nehemiah’s jaw hits the floor over the hot mess in the holy city. A former high priest has transformed one of the holy storage units in the temple into a deluxe apartment in the sky for one of Israel’s sworn enemies (Neh 13:4-7). The people stop supporting the members of God’s house band who lead worship, so they leave the temple and get a second job (Neh 13:10-11). Instead enjoying God’s gift of a weekly day off to worship, the citizens of Jerusalem spend the day hunting bargains at the mall (Neh 13:15-18). The governor systematically confronts the people in their sin and cleans house (Neh 13:8-9, 15-21). And don’t miss the fact that Nehemiah knows there’s no way he can do this without God. He never forgets to pray along the way (Neh 13:14, 22). 

We pick up the latest crazy scene with God’s chosen people shacking up with local unbelievers. “I saw the Jews who had married foreign women of Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab” (v23). A closer look at the original language gives us a good hint that these aren’t marriages in the normal sense. The Hebrew word here is yashab, which actually means to live with, dwell, or inhabit. Folks are simply living with their boyfriends and girlfriends. If that’s not bad enough, their cohabiting with folks from Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab. A quick check of the Old Testament throws up a HUGE red flag. Ashdod is a key Philistine city. Yeah, the Philistines weren’t exactly chummy neighbors to folks living in the Promised Land. Check out the family trees of the Ammonites and Moabites. Ammon and Moab were the daughters of Lot. These two young ladies don’t think there’s any way they’ll ever find a husband so they get their dad drunk and sleep with him. I’m telling you, the Bible is loaded with wild stories. You ought to read it when you get a chance! The result of this incestuous slumber party are the nations of Ammon and Moab (Gen 19:38-38). They’ll be a pain in the Hebrew backside for centuries. 

It doesn’t take a brain scientist or a rocket surgeon to see these relationships aren’t going to end well. That’s why God gave commandments to avoid such hookups (Ex 34:15-16; Dt 7:3). As so often is the case with His commands, He’s trying to protect us from our own sinful selves. This has been a long-running problem for God’s people. Ezra the scribe had to put his foot down on such goings-on just a few years ago (Ez 9-10). Nehemiah made folks serving at the temple break up with their lovers before he left town the first time (Neh 10:28-31). It didn’t take long for people to forget their promise to never do this again. But these sinful sexual escapades go back even further than that. More on that in a moment.

It’s no surprise that one result of these illicit relationships are children. Apparently, 50% of kids from these mixed marriages can’t speak their native Hebrew (v25). This is less about losing a language than forgetting a rich heritage of faith. And this took just one generation! It’s important to remember your spiritual heritage. What has God done in and through the previous generations of your family? Maybe yours is the first generation He’s gotten ahold of. Discover what God has done in your family and pass it along. As you can see, it doesn’t take long for things to get sideways.

So what does Nehemiah do? How does he deal with the problem? Does he call a meeting? Does he gently suggest that they consider the consequences? Does he write them an email? Shoot them a text? Not exactly. “I confronted them and cursed them and beat some of them and pulled out their hair” (v25). In the words of Ron Burgundy, that escalated quickly. Before you think Nehemiah is some hotheaded bully, remember that these people know they’re in the wrong. God has made it VERY clear in His Word. Both Ezra and Nehemiah called them out on it not long ago. The time for talk is over. The governor becomes a one-man wrecking crew. This is the third of three confrontations Nehemiah has to deliver once he returns (Neh 13:11, 17, 25). There comes a time when talk has to be backed up with action. 

At this point, Nehemiah makes them renew their oath to stop this sinful bed-hopping. Just in case they needed to be reminded, the governor gives them a quick lesson in the history of Israel’s sexual sin. “Did not Solomon king of Israel sin on account of such women?” (v26). An attacking army didn’t take down Solomon. It was his own libido. Solomon had 700 wives plus a personal harem of 300 women (1Ki 11:1-8). If that’s not stupid enough, a large percentage of these lovely ladies didn’t worship the LORD. He allowed his own sexual hunger to steal his heart from the One who had given him everything. “Among the many nations there was no king like him, and he was beloved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel” (v26). God is the only reason that Solomon was such a great king! But before you could watch an episode of “Sister Wives,” Solomon’s kingdom was falling apart at the seams. “Nevertheless, foreign women made even him to sin” (v26). The king threw it all away because of his sexual escapades If the wisest person (other than Jesus!) who ever walked the planet fell to sexual temptation, why should we think we can play with snakes and get away with it?