Nehemiah 13, Mark 8:36
This is the final chapter in our journey with Nehemiah. The wall is complete, people are coming back, and now they start the long game of maintaining a rebuilt nation. In a word… this chapter is pretty chaotic. They just completed rebuilding Jerusalem and the movie ending we would picture is that everyone gets along, it all works out great, and they live happily ever after…right? Well, as described by Nehemiah, not right.
Jerusalem struggled with the day to day obedience, just as we struggle with today. Granted, their struggles involved a lot of cultural context. Nehemiah was away from Jerusalem but came back and described what he saw. You really see not only cultures clash but also a lot of tension between nations, who was allowed to be in the temple, and who wasn’t. Nehemiah is disappointed to see that the ammonites who had been put aside are now back in the temple. Tobiah was an enemy of the wall of Jerusalem being rebuilt while also opposing God’s work. They were operating in sin that they vowed to stop 10 years ago. All this to say, Nehemiah is comin’ in hot with conviction and call to repentance from the people who are living in Jerusalem.
What does this situation share with us? As described by a commentary written by David Guzik, “the law - that is, rules, vows, promises, covenants, and the such, are all ultimately powerless to stop sin. Only the grace of God, alive and flowing in our lives, can give us the power to truly overcome sin.” In the eyes of the world, this new nation was set up for success, but it wasn’t enough to satisfy them. How often is that true for us? We are given everything or feel as though we have everything, but we still desire for more? CS Lewis I think describes this theme so eloquently: “If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.”
Jesus speaks to this very desire in Mark 8:36, “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul”. This final chapter of Nehemiah should feel like a reminder to us that the world, people, things, cannot be our savior. We may lose it all if we try to pursue the life we think we should have. This final chapter in Nehemiah can remind us that the promises of God were able to sustain the people of Jerusalem, and that is true for us now.
What things are you trying to gain that you think will satisfy? What are you quick to turn to?
