Jump Start # 595

Nehemiah 13:7-8 “and I came to Jerusalem and learned about the evil that Eliashib had done for Tobiah, by preparing a room for him in the courts of the house of God. And it was very displeasing to me, so I threw all of Tobiah’s household goods out of the room.”

This week we are looking at the book of Nehemiah. Our emphasis is upon leading the people back to God. That ought to be something that all of us are interested in. Rebuilding the walls around the city of Jerusalem was one thing, but until they had returned their hearts back to God, they would never be what God wanted. Nehemiah led the people back to God.

Our verse today involves three people:

• Nehemiah: the leader, the governor, the spiritual hero, the one trying to do what is right.
• Eliashib: the priest. He was a compromiser. He held the people back.
• Tobiah: the enemy. Earlier he tried to harm Nehemiah. He tried to stop the building project. He’s dishonest, up to something and not a friend of righteousness.

Eliashib and Tobiah were related—what a strange set, the priest and the enemy. Satan will use anyone to get about what he is interested in. The priest, Eliashib, allowed the enemy, Tobiah, not only to live in Jerusalem, he also gave him a room within the temple. The enemy is in the house of God! Worse, the priest invited him in! This is off the charts. Warning lights ought to be flashing and sirens sounding—the enemy is within the temple. Nothing is being done!

It makes a person wonder, doesn’t it. Is the greatest threat to the church not from the outside, but the inside? Have Christians allowed the enemy to move on in? I wonder how many preachers are friends of the enemy. Satan would love that. He’d love to have his name on the church roll book. He’d love to be in fellowship with God’s people. He’d love to get in there, twist things, confuse things, throw a bit of doubt here, some selfishness there, a bit of indifference and a whole lot of “I’m bored,” all around. Get the members complaining about one another. Get them pointing fingers at the leadership. Get them doing anything except what they are supposed to do—be Christ like and save the lost.

Our verse shows Nehemiah’s reaction when he found out that the enemy was in the temple. I love this passage. You can see it with your mind. Nehemiah threw all of Tobiah’s stuff out in the street. He didn’t belong in the temple. He wasn’t one of them. He was up to no good—so out it goes. All of it. Tossed in the street. I expect had Tobiah, himself, been in the room, Nehemiah would have tossed him out as well.

Paul used similar language to the Corinthians when they had allowed an immoral member to dwell among them without any consequences. Paul said, “Clean out the old leaven…” Toss out the wrong.

Folks, sometimes we just have to do that. We have to recognize the enemy and be tough.

• Parents may need to do some tossing: It may be some music that your kids are listening to that is just unfit. It’s not the beat that’s the problem—it’s the words! Cussing and glorifying drug use, fornication and violent behavior. Our sweet teenagers, who are clueless, are singing these songs and from the same lips will sing, “Oh, how I love Jesus.” James said about our tongues that we curse man and bless our Lord—from the same mouth comes curses and blessings. These things ought not to be this way (3:9-11).

Parents may have to toss some friends out—not violently, but firmly tell them it’s time to go home. Our kid’s friends influence one another. When they are influencing for wrong, it’s time for the friends to go. You kids won’t like you doing these things. They may declare that they hate you. But like Nehemiah, you recognize the enemy when you see it, and the enemy needs to go.

There may be some clothing that needs to be tossed. Not that it’s old or outdated, that’s another matter. What needs to be tossed are the things that are immodest. Too tight, too short, too revealing—you know what I mean. Often when one comes to Christ, this is all they have been wearing. It works in the world. The world doesn’t care. The world has it’s mind in the gutter. In Christ, it’s different. We are not talking about what you wear just to church services, but to work, to play, to your friend’s house. Paul said that women need to dress as making a claim to godliness (1 Tim 2:10). Some things need to go. Toss them out. Don’t sell them on ebay. If they are wrong, they are wrong.

Wow! That’s radical. Yes. It can be expensive. Probably. But if you want your heart back on track with God—out goes some stuff. Check the collection of DVD’s. May have to do some tossing there. In Acts, a group of new Christians stacked up their collection of books that were devoted to black magic. Those books were wrong. They burned all of them. The cost was 50,000 pieces of silver. That’s serious tossing! They wanted to stay the course with Jesus.

• The greatest area of tossing that is needed is in our hearts. It’s from our hearts that attitudes and actions are formed. It’s in our hearts that we become selfish and stubborn. It is our hearts that lead us to talk negative about others. It would do well for us to do some spring cleaning in our hearts. Toss out those things that do not belong and will not help me in my walk with Christ. Often we catch ourselves saying something that we shouldn’t. Stop right then. Toss it out. The enemy loves to work on you this way. Jealousy, selfishness, arrogance, indifference somehow all find a room in our hearts. They don’t belong there. They are not supposed to be there. Allowing them to remain, only gives the enemy a greater presence in our lives. Out they go—all of them. Right into the street! Compassion, kindness, love, generosity—those are the things that need to move in.

Nehemiah was a leader and a man of action. He didn’t wait around for the priest to do something. He didn’t form a committee to study the matter. He didn’t wait to see if things would get better. He went in and tossed out all the things that didn’t belong. We could learn from this. We could be too soft with the enemy. We allow things to be said in sermons and classes without any correction or follow up. We allow folks to stir one another up through phone calls and emails, and nothing is done. The enemy is busy, while God’s people are sitting on the sidelines. Not Nehemiah. You’ll not get one past him. He’s at the post. He’s alert. He’s steering the ship back to God. God’s leaders do well to think about this. Many problems would not be problems had leaders moved swiftly and done some tossing. Instead that sat, while the enemy went to work. By the time the leaders decided to do something, there was a major problem. Some churches split. Some folks quit. The enemy is always busy. He doesn’t have a calendar. It doesn’t matter whether it’s the weekend, a holiday or the Super Bowl is on— the enemy never seems to slow down.

Take the clue from Nehemiah—often tossing some stuff out in the street is the best solution of all. It often is necessary, if we are going to continue with God.

Roger