Purifying Israel

     Read Nehemiah13:1-14. The book of Moses was read before the Jewish people. They found in the written word, the Ammonites and Moabites were to be separated from the congregation of God, forever.  For hiring Balaam to curse the Israelites, instead of giving them bread and water, in their wilderness journey with Moses. Israel obeyed the law of God and separated from the mixed mutitude. 

     The importance of this separation was seen, as Eliashib, the high priest, allied himself beforehand with Tobiah, the Ammonite. (Tobiah made fun of them when they were rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem.) Eliashib, prepared a great chamber for Tobiah, in an offering storage chamber in the Temple.

     Nehemiah returned from being with the king. It grieved him to hear of Tobiah living in the Temple.  Nehemiah casts out all of Tobiah's household stuff from the chamber and had the chamber cleansed. He returned the vessels, meat offering,and the frankincense to their proper place in the house of God.  

     Nehemiah realized the workers of the Temple had not gotten paid.  They had fled and was working in their fields.  He questioned the rulers why the house of God was forsaken? He gathered the workers together and put them back into their positions.

     All of Judah brought their tithes of corn, new wine, and oil into the treasury.  Nehemiah sat faithful treasurers over the offerings to rightfully distribute them.