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NEHEMIAH 13:1-31 A. Introduction 1. Nehemiah Is a Great Book for Us To

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NEHEMIAH 13:1-31 A. Introduction 1. Nehemiah Is a Great Book for Us To NEHEMIAH 13:1-31 A. Introduction 1. Nehemiah is a great book for us to be looking at together in our elder’s meetings. It is a book about building a community of God’s people. It is a book about God’s provision for His people as they wait for King Jesus to come. It is a book that will be helpful for us as we plan for the next 10 years of Banstead Community Church. 2. Nehemiah has now finished the specific work that God had given him to do. The walls of Jerusalem have been rebuilt (chapters 1-6). The city of Jerusalem has been repopulated with a restored community of God’s people who worship God and are living His way (chapters 7-12). Nehemiah then leads the people of Jerusalem in praising God for all that He had done for them in the past and by making plans to serve God in the future. 3. At some point Nehemiah returns to King Artaxerxes and resumes his work as cupbearer. While he is away, the people in Jerusalem go back on their word. They enter into mixed marriages. “Moreover, in those days I saw men of Judah who had married women from Ashdod, Ammon and Moab. Half of their children spoke the language of Ashdod or the language of one of the other peoples, and did not know how to speak the language of Judah.” (Nehemiah 13:23-24) They fail to keep the Sabbath. “In those days I saw men in Judah treading winepresses on the Sabbath and bringing in grain and loading it on donkeys, together with wine, grapes, figs and all other kinds of loads. And they were bringing all this into Jerusalem on the Sabbath. Therefore I warned them against selling food on that day. Men from Tyre who lived in Jerusalem were bringing in fish and all kinds of merchandise and selling them in Jerusalem on the Sabbath to the people of Judah.” (Nehemiah 13:15-16) They neglect the house of their God. “But while all this was going on, I was not in Jerusalem, for in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon I had returned to the king. Some time later I asked his permission and came back to Jerusalem. Here I learned about the evil thing Eliashib had done in providing Tobiah a room in the courts of the house of God.” (Nehemiah 13:6-7) “I also learned that the portions assigned to the Levites had not been given to them, and that all the Levites and singers responsible for the service had gone back to their own fields.” (Nehemiah 13:10) 4. Nehemiah’s response when he returns to Jerusalem reminds us of two important things we need to be doing as elders. B. Keep watch over the flock 1. The leaders Nehemiah left in Jerusalem had failed to keep watch over the people living there. Nehemiah on arriving back in Jerusalem got to work exposing and expelling the people’s sin. “So I rebuked the officials.” (Nehemiah 13:11) “I gave orders to purify the rooms, and then I put back into them the equipment of the house of God, with the grain offerings and the incense.” (Nehemiah 13:9) “I rebuked the nobles of Judah.” (Nehemiah 13:17) “Then I commanded the Levites to purify themselves and go and guard the gates in order to keep the Sabbath day holy.” (Nehemiah 13:22) “I rebuked them and called curses down on them.” (Nehemiah 13:25) Nehemiah ensured that the ministry of the temple resumed. “So I purified the priests and the Levites of everything foreign, and assigned them duties, each to his own task. I also made provision for contributions of wood at designated times, and for the firstfruits.” (Nehemiah 13:30-31) 2. A vital responsibility we have as elders is keeping watch over the flock. “Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood.” (Acts 20:28) “Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, serving as overseers.” (1 Peter 5:2) This will mean ensuring that each member of the church is thriving spiritually – by teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training them with God’s Word. This will also mean ensuring that as a local church we get on with the work Jesus has given us to do of making disciples of all nations – that this is not neglected. C. Keep watch over yourselves 1. Before we keep watch over the flock we must keep watch over ourselves. While the people of Jerusalem were going back on their word, what were their leaders doing? Joining in. “Before this, Eliashib the priest had been put in charge of the storerooms of the house of our God. He was closely associated with Tobiah, and he had provided him with a large room formerly used to store the grain offerings and incense and temple articles, and also the tithes of grain, new wine and oil prescribed for the Levites, singers and gatekeepers, as well as the contributions for the priests.” (Nehemiah 13:4-5) “Here I learned about the evil thing Eliashib had done in providing Tobiah a room in the courts of the house of God.” (Nehemiah 13:7) The leaders in Jerusalem had failed to keep watch over themselves while Nehemiah was gone, and this led to them failing to keep watch over the flock. The result was that not only had the people gone astray, but also that the ministry of the temple was being neglected. “So I rebuked the officials and asked them, “Why is the house of God neglected?” (Nehemiah 13:11) 2. If we as elders are going to keep watch over the flock, we must be keeping watch over ourselves. “Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock.” (Acts 20:28) “Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.” (1 Timothy 4:16) We do this by being careful about our own lives – our conduct, our walk before the Lord. We do this by being careful about our beliefs – remaining faithful to Scripture. Only then will we be able to keep watch over the flock. D. Application 1. How might we do this? Through our elders’ meetings. Elders’ meetings are a time when together we keep watch over our lives as we listen together to God’s Word and pray for one another. Elders’ meetings are a time when together we keep watch over the flock as we consider the members and pray for them. Elders’ meetings are a time when together we evaluate what we do as a church and organise what needs doing, as well as planning for the future. 2. Practically, this might be more effectively done by having two kinds of elders’ meetings. We still meet twice a month on a Tuesday evening. One meeting is devoted to the Word and Prayer. At this meeting: We read and study God’s Word together. We share about our lives (joys and struggles and concerns) and pray for one another. We pray for the members of the church. We recognise those needing special attention and pray for them (the care list). The other meeting is devoted to Ministry Management. At this meeting: We read God’s Word and pray together. We evaluate what we are doing as a church and organise what needs to be done. We address practical issues. We pray for the ministries of the church. We set aside time to study a particular subject where we need to be clear what the Bible teaches about this. We make plans for future ministry. .
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