Apartment Anger

"And I was very angry, and I threw all the household furniture of Tobiah out of the room."

(Nehemiah 13:8)

What an interesting story I found today! The priest Eliashib, in charge of the Temple facilities, used his position of authority to set up an "apartment" in the temple for one of his relatives. It used to be an offering room - where grain, wine and oil offerings were kept. Eliashib set up house for Tobiah, like it was no big deal. But when Nehemiah found out about it, he freaked!! (Personally, I thought he was simply being a bit over-zealous.) Then I realized two important facts: 1) Nehemiah 13:1 says the book of Moses (Deuteronomy) forbids any Ammonite or Moabite from entering the Temple. Tobiah was an Ammonite! So he wasn't supposed to be there in the first place. 2) Tobiah was one of the two "out of line" officials that were causing problems for the Jews who returned to Jerusalem (see Neh. 2:10)! So here's a guy who's openly hostile to the Jews, and he camping out in the holiest building in Israel - a place he's forbidden to be in!!! No wonder Nehemiah freaked! He tossed Tobiah & his goods out, then disinfected the whole place.

So what deep spiritual insight surfaces here? How can we apply it to our lives? (pause) I honestly don't really know. Maybe this is about being careful to follow God's rules and not bend them - even for family. Maybe it's about holding people accountable to what's right. Maybe it's about treating God's home with respect & reverence. (I think I'll let you figure out which one of those, or others, fits you today!)

PRAYER: Thank you for people like Nehemiah, who have a passion for Your house & holiness. Help me hold people (including myself) accountable to doing what's right. (And thanks for showing me this cool story, God!) AMEN.