Nehemiah 13:10-14

3. Support for the Levites is renewed.

TEXT, Nehemiah 13:10-14

10

I also discovered that the portions of the Levites had not been given them, so that the Levites and the singers who performed the service had gone away, each to his own field.

11

So I reprimanded the officials and said, Why is the house of God forsaken? Then I gathered them together and restored them to their posts.

12

All Judah then brought the tithe of the grain, wine, and oil into the storehouses.

13

And in charge of the storehouses I appointed Shelemiah the priest, Zadok the scribe, and Pedaiah of the Levites, and in addition to them was Hanan the son of Zaccur, the son of Mattaniah; for they were considered reliable, and it was their task to distribute to their kinsmen.

14

Remember me for this, O my God, and do not blot out my loyal deeds which I have performed for the house of my God and its services.

COMMENT

In Nehemiah 13:10, Nehemiah's discovery of the Levites-' predicament may have stemmed from the events of the previous paragraph, from seeing the shortage of supplies in the storage rooms. The service of the Levites and singers may have involved more than that at the dedication of the wall. Now they had been driven by financial necessity to agricultural pursuits, to the detriment of the Temple services. It was a waste to fail to employ such talents in praising and serving God. This was evidently a chronic problem throughout Israel's history.

Nehemiah 13:11-13 show Nehemiah's effectiveness in dealing with the problem: first a reprimand, pointing subtly to their obligation before God; then a searching out and restoration of the abused; then the contributions from the community of Judah followed; and then an organization of reliable, faithful people was set up to get all the contributions into the right hands.

Nehemiah 13:14 is another of Nehemiah's trademark prayers.

WORD STUDIES

EVER (Nehemiah 13:1: Olam): for ever, everlasting. Basically it means hidden (as in the secret sins of Psalms 90:8): where the beginning or end is obscure or uncertain or indefinite. It is applied to (1) the past, or antiquity, time long past or even only a lifetime, the days of old, Micah 7:14; or of a long time, Isaiah 42:14; (2) the future, i.e., of the end of one-' life, Deuteronomy 15:17; (3) end of an age or race or dynasty, limited by the length of their obedience, 1 Samuel 2:30. (4) The laws are for ever (Passover, Exodus 12:14), yet they are superseded now. (5) The earth and universe are forever (Psalms 104:5), though we know they will pass away. (6) Only when the term is used of God does it have the idea of absolute eternality (Psalms 90:2).

The people of the O.T. did not have an everlasting promise; they found no need to coin a word for an idea which they didn-'t have, or barely had, in their mind. Only Jesus could complete that picture for them (2 Timothy 1:10).

LOVED (Nehemiah 13:26: Aheb): to breathe after, long for, desire; the meaning is akin to Agape in the N.T. Israel loved Joseph, Genesis 37:3 f; Jacob loved Rachel, Genesis 29:18; Hosea was told to love his wife in spite of her unworthiness, Hosea 3:1; God loved His people, Deuteronomy 23:5; and we must love God, Deuteronomy 6:5.