Read Nehemiah 13:1-14. At the beginning of this passage, Nehemiah has left Jerusalem (verse 6) to fulfill the promise he made to return to the Persian court (Nehemiah 2:6) when he was originally allowed to go to Jerusalem by Artaxerxes. What happened during his absence? Try to be specific. You may have to read ahead in the story a little bit.
1 Corinthians 10:12 says, "Let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall." When you read this verse, what comes to mind? Has there ever been a time in your life when you felt like you were standing strong against sin, but then you suddenly fell? What happened?
When people fall in significant ways, it is often preceded by failing privately in many other smaller ways. Because they're done in private or in the privacy of our own hearts, they often go unconfessed. But when we do this, we deceive ourselves. Living at peace with any sin will slowly harden our hearts toward God. We don't know how Eliashib got to the point where he thought his actions were ok, but his heart must have been hard toward God. If you're honest, what are some of the "respectable sins" in your own life? What are the things you know are sinful but you often live at relative peace with?
Read Nehemiah 13:23-31. Perhaps, the book of Nehemiah does not end the way you were expecting. But as we close out our study, let's notice the actions and posture of Nehemiah again. He prays. Over and over again, he prays. This is how the book begins. This is how the book ends. So, let us also pray to the sovereign God of heaven. Spend some unhurried time praying through the following prompts: 1) Who is God? Give Him glory and praise for every one of His attributes you can think of. Tell God who He is! 2) Confession. Where has your heart been hard towards God? Where have you sinned, in big and seemingly small ways? 3) Petitions and Supplication. What do you need? What do you fear? Where do you feel weak? Ask God for the grace to continue on in all that lies before you. 4) Who is God? End with praise. Give God glory for who He is.
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Greg Breazeale looks at Nehemiah 13 where we see that things aren’t as they should be, that we must take action, and that there’s a greater Nehemiah coming.
