Video Sermons Nehemiah

Radical Obedience Nehemiah 13:18-31

Mar 05, 2023

Summary of Sermon

Nehemiah was sent back with the last wave of Jews returning from captivity in Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar was long dead and now the Persian Empire rules in the place of Babylon. Nehemiah came back under the orders of the king of Persia and he led the people to rebuild the city wall, then to rebuild the Temple and in this chapter, he will enforce some important laws:

The Sabbath, people were not observing the Sabbath; this was the day of rest established by God in Genesis 2, reinforced as the 4th of the Ten Commandments. All of Israel was to observe a day of rest from sundown Friday night until sundown Saturday night; the Sabbath. But the people ha589im, d merchants coming into the city and selling their wares on the Sabbath, but this was not allowed. So, Nehemiah closed the gates on Friday nights and told the merchants to stop coming. The principle here is that God wants us to rest; there are several reasons one is first of all to acknowledge that we need God to supply our needs. God supplied the Manna in the wilderness but supplied twice the amount on Fridays as no food came on Saturdays. The other is that we need rest. Rest is almost frowned upon in our modern world, but it is as needed as food and oxygen. Proper rest helps us to be healthier and more ready to face life.

The second issue Nehemiah dealt with here is intermarriage with pagan people. People who did not worship the God of Israel. This was not allowed. These pagan women would lead the men astray to serve idols and they did with Solomon. We are told by the Apostle Paul to marry in our faith. Marry people who believe in God and Jesus as Savior. This is important for peace and consistency in our homes. Find godly men and women to marry; don’t ever let your guard down no matter how ‘in love’ you are, it is not enough to get you through the pain that is coming.

With proper rest and with the proper spouse we are then more able and ready to serve God and answer his call when He calls