20070729

“But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Matt. 6:33)
Nehemiah Chapter 12 would have been a good ending to the exciting book. The Jews had a real mountain top experience – confessing their sins to God, praising Him and dedicating themselves to God. After 12 years in Jerusalem, Nehemiah had returned to Susa to fulfil his responsibilities to King Artaxerxes. However, in Chapter 13, when Nehemiah returned to Jerusalem some time later, he found that the Jews had failed to keep their promises.
One of the promises the Jews made was that there would be no inter-marriages. “We promise not to give our daughters in marriage to the peoples around us or take their daughters for our sons” (Neh. 10:30). Upon his return, Nehemiah saw women from the foreign countries of Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab married to Jewish men and he heard their children speaking foreign languages (Neh. 13:23-24). If these children did not know the language of Israel, how could they read the Law or participate in the holy services? If a generation was lost to the faith, what was the future of the nation?
The Apostle Paul also taught Christians in 2 Cor. 6:14: “Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?” If becoming a Christian means one’s whole view of life had changed – different values, different ambitions, different ethical standards, and most importantly, a different authority in life – how can one share one’s life intimately with someone who is outside of God’s family?
Christians do face constant temptations to compromise with the world, to be squeezed into the world’s mould. These can take the forms of relationships, ambitions, business, materialism and lifestyle. During Nehemiah’s time, the Jews had become complacent and learnt to adopt their neighbours’ lifestyles. However, Nehemiah was vigilant and determined to be remembered for obeying God. The reward for obedience may not be in the here and the now, but in the age to come.
“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day – and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing” (2 Tim 4:7-8).