2025 Study of the Book of Nehemiah #10

NEHEMIAH’S FINAL REFORMS

Nehemiah 13:1-31

Key Verse 13:22

1. What motivated the Israelites to exclude those of foreign descent from Israel (1-3)? What might have caused Eliashib, the high priest, to provide Tobiah with a large room in the house of God (4-5)? Why could this be considered a serious spiritual problem?
2. How did Nehemiah address the issue of Tobiah’s room in the temple when he returned to Jerusalem (6-9)? What may have caused the Levites and musicians to abandon their temple duties and return to their fields (10)? What reform did Nehemiah undertake to resolve this issue (11-13)?
3. Why do you think the Israelites failed to keep the law and their promise regarding the Sabbath (15-16, 10:31)? Why was it necessary that Nehemiah rebuke the nobles of Judah specifically (17-18)? What decisive reform did Nehemiah implement to stop business activities on the Sabbath day (19-22a)?
4. Why do you think the Israelites broke their commitments concerning marriage (23-24, 10:30)? Why did Nehemiah take the issue of intermarriage so seriously (25-28)? How can we apply the principles of marriage in God to our lives?
5. What steps did Nehemiah take to restore the priests and the Levites (30-31a)? Why do you think Nehemiah repeatedly prayed, “Remember me/them, my God” (14, 22b, 29, 31b)? In what areas of our own spiritual lives or communities might we also need to pursue renewal and reform?

2025 Nehemiah March 30, 2025

REMEMBER ME, MY GOD

Nehemiah 13:1-31

Key Verse 13:31b

Remember me with favor, my God.

Do you like watching movies? Do you like movies with happy endings, or sad endings? It seems that generally people prefer movies with happy endings. But some people prefer movies with sad endings because they think sad-ending movies are more realistic that happy-ending movies. Real life doesn’t always seem to have a happy ending. Today we’re going to study the last chapter of the book of Nehemiah. After reading this final chapter, do you feel it’s a happy ending or a sad ending? Actually, while studying this last chapter, I felt a bit depressed because, to me, it seemed like a sad ending. From chapters 1 to 12, through Nehemiah’s determination, sacrifice, and leadership, the Israelites successfully rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem. They faced ridicule and attacks from enemies like Sanballat and Tobiah, but they united and completed the wall rebuilding project in just 52 days. This was an amazing victory. Not only that, but they also experienced spiritual rebuilding. Hearing God’s word from Ezra the priest, they recognized their own sins and those of their ancestors, wept, and repented. They received forgiveness from God and experienced great joy. They also celebrated the Feast of Tabernacles, obeying God’s word. They made a binding agreement with God. They promised not to engage in intermarriage. They promised not to do business on the Sabbath but to keep it holy. They promised to give offerings to God and not neglect the house of God. At the dedication of the wall, they purified themselves, marched on top of the wall, praised God, and proclaimed His victory. Through this, God’s glory was revealed to the world.

I thought how great it would be if the Book of Nehemiah ended right here. What a glorious happy ending this would be! But there’s chapter 13. The NIV Bible titled chapter 13 as “Nehemiah’s Final Reforms.” Even though Nehemiah’s reform seemed finished, chapter 13 again addresses reforms. These reforms were necessary because the Israelites had sinned again. Once again, they neglected God’s house, did business on the Sabbath, and intermarried with foreigners. So, to me, Nehemiah felt like a sad ending. My heart was heavy, and I felt depressed. I thought, “No matter how hard we try for spiritual rebuilding, it seems useless.”

But as I meditated again on this passage, I realized I had misunderstood it. I realized Nehemiah doesn’t have a sad ending but a happy ending. Why? Because in these final reforms, God’s grace and faithfulness are revealed. Despite the repeated sins of the Israelites, God didn’t abandon them but gave them another chance to repent. He used Nehemiah to bring them back to God again. Do you know one of the main messages flowing throughout the whole Bible? It is God’s faithful love toward people who repeatedly sin. In today’s passage, God’s faithful love is revealed again. Therefore, the Book of Nehemiah has a happy ending. When we look at sinful human beings, life seems to have a sad ending. But when we look to God, our life has a happy ending. In God, there is no sad ending. Through Jesus, who broke the power of sin and death and rose from the dead to guarantee final victory, our lives have a happy ending—salvation and entry into God’s kingdom. Let’s praise God, who loves us so much and guarantees us ultimate victory through the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Nehemiah chapter 13 is written from a first-person singular perspective. In other words, it’s Nehemiah’s memoir. So, I decided to focus this message on Nehemiah’s faith. The title is “Remember me, my God.” This sentence appears three times in chapter 13: “Remember me for this, my God” (14), “Remember me for this also, my God, and show mercy to me according to your great love” (22b), and “Remember me with favor, my God” (31b).

To understand Nehemiah chapter 13, we first need to understand its historical background. There’s a gap of approximately 12-15 years between the dedication of Jerusalem’s wall and Nehemiah’s final reforms. Nehemiah served as governor of Jerusalem for about 12 years and then returned to the Persian King Artaxerxes. In other words, even after the wall dedication, he governed Jerusalem for about ten more years. However, he had to leave Jerusalem because the king needed him. While serving the king in Persia for about 2-5 years, Nehemiah seems to have heard about problems occurring in Jerusalem. So, with the king’s permission, he returned to Jerusalem again. Then he carried out his final reforms.

Nehemiah’s final reforms took place in three areas. They relate to “the house of God,” “the Sabbath day,” and “the intermarriage.” After each reform, Nehemiah prayed, “Remember me, my God.” Today, let’s deeply learn about the meaning of this prayer.

The first reform was related to the house of God. The people of Israel broke their promise to God that they wouldn’t neglect the house of God. They stopped bringing their tithes and offerings, so the Levites and musicians responsible for the service in the temple went back to their own fields. Even more shocking was the fact that Tobiah had taken over a large storeroom in the temple. Who was Tobiah? He was an Ammonite—an enemy of God’s work who had done everything he could to stop the rebuilding of the wall. He mocked the Israelites while they were building, and he even plotted to kill Nehemiah. And now, that same enemy of God’s work was openly occupying a large room in the house of God. Does that make any sense?

The office on the second floor of our church is for our church members to have Bible studies, meetings, and conversations. Even our children play there. Now imagine this: someone who opposes God’s work takes over that office as if it were his own office. Imagine we had to move everything out of the office just for that person, and put it all into the CBF room downstairs. The CBF room is already small—now it has become even smaller, so there’s barely any space left for the kids and teachers. And then, imagine the church leaders allowing this to happen and just watching it without doing anything. Wouldn’t you be angry if you saw that? But that’s exactly what happened in the temple of Jerusalem.

How could something like this even happen? It was because the priest Eliashib, who was in charge of the storerooms in the house of God, was closely connected with Tobiah. Tobiah was the son-in-law of Shekaniah, a Jewish noble. And Tobiah’s son had also married into another Jewish noble family—he became the son-in-law of Meshullam. So Tobiah was tied to the Jewish people through marriage. When Nehemiah was in Jerusalem, Tobiah couldn’t even enter the city. But once Nehemiah left, Tobiah saw his chance. Through his in-laws, he reconnected with the Jewish community. At first, he came into Jerusalem once or twice, but eventually he started coming and going freely. And finally, through the priest Eliashib, he managed to get his own room inside the house of God.

In the same way, our enemy, Satan, keeps attacking us even after we put our faith in Jesus. If we fall into sin—like lust, lying, or seeking our own glory—once or twice, Satan slowly begins to invade our lives. And in the end, he pushes Jesus out and takes over the center of our hearts. That’s how we fall into spiritual darkness and depression.

When Nehemiah saw what was happening, he was greatly displeased. He got so angry that he threw all Tobiah’s household goods out of the room. Then he purified the storerooms and put the temple equipment back in place. He rebuked the officials and said, “Why is the house of God being neglected?” He restored order in the house of God. The people began bringing their tithes and offerings again. Nehemiah brought the Levites and musicians back to the temple. He confronted the sins of the people and the nobles. It was physically and emotionally exhausting, but he gave it his all—and he successfully carried out the temple reform. Then he prayed to God, saying, “Remember me for this, my God, and do not blot out what I have so faithfully done for the house of my God and its services” (14).

The second reform was related to the Sabbath day. Nehemiah saw another sin among his people—they were not keeping the Sabbath day holy. Merchants were doing business inside the city of Jerusalem on the Sabbath. Even traders from outside the city were coming in to sell goods. The people of Israel had broken their promise to God to keep the Sabbath day holy. Nehemiah became angry and rebuked them. He said, “What is this wicked thing you are doing—desecrating the Sabbath day?” Then he drove the merchants out and warned the outsiders that they would be arrested if they came again. He also had the Levites guard the city gates. In this way, Nehemiah restored the people’s promise to keep the Sabbath holy before God.

Jesus redefined the meaning of the Sabbath. He said, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.” And He declared, “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.” (Mk 2:27-28) We now keep Sunday as the Lord’s Day, because that’s the day Jesus rose from the dead. As believers, we gather on Sundays to worship God. In worship, we come before Jesus to repent of our sins and restore our relationship with God. We also receive strength to live by faith and have victory in the new week ahead. By keeping the Lord’s Day, we place God at the center of our lives. That’s why honoring the Lord’s Day is so important.

After leading the reform to keep the Sabbath holy, Nehemiah once again prayed to God: “Remember me for this also, my God, and show mercy to me according to your great love” (22b).

The third reform was related to intermarriage. Nehemiah saw that the men of Judah had married foreign women. He also saw that their children couldn’t speak Hebrew—they only spoke the languages of those foreign nations. Nehemiah became furious. He rebuked them, called down curses on them, beat some of the men, and even pulled out their hair.

Why did the men of Judah marry foreign women? Probably because those women were attractive. The question of who we marry shows what we truly value. Marriage is choosing someone to live with for the rest of your life, so it’s very hard to marry someone who doesn’t match your values. If a person values physical appearance, they’ll marry someone who fits their ideal look. If they value ability or success, they’ll look at things like wealth, education, or status. If personality is most important to them, they’ll choose someone whose personality matches theirs. If someone is looking for all three—perfect looks, great ability, and a matching personality—there’s a good chance they’ll never get married.

But for those who believe in God, the most important thing to look for in a spouse is their faith. The Apostle Paul warns, “Do not be yoked together with unbelievers.” (2 Cor 6:14) It’s important to find someone who can share in God’s calling together. God’s guidance for each person’s marriage is different. I was deeply moved when I read the biography of Hudson Taylor, the father of modern missions in China. He had a fiancée whom he loved. But she didn’t share his vision for missions in China. She told him plainly that she could never go to China as a missionary. In the end, Hudson Taylor chose to let her go—for the sake of God’s calling. Later, he married Maria Dyer, who was already in China, faithfully serving as a missionary. Together, they were used powerfully by God for missions in China.

God’s command for the Israelites not to marry foreigners was not based on nationalism or racism. God’s concern was that such marriages would lead them away from faith and into idolatry. The fact that the children of Jewish men and foreign women couldn’t speak Hebrew meant that they weren’t receiving proper spiritual education—they weren’t learning or obeying God’s law.

Nehemiah carried out reform with all his strength to protect his people’s faith. He made them take an oath not to marry foreigners. He also drove out the grandson of the high priest Eliashib, who had married the daughter of Sanballat, a known enemy of God. And after carrying out this difficult reform, Nehemiah prayed: “Remember me with favor, my God” (31b).

So then, what did Nehemiah mean when he prayed, “Remember me, my God”? This prayer shows how deeply Nehemiah depended on God. It also shows that he was faithfully serving God’s mission while waiting for God’s reward—not people’s recognition. Nehemiah could have lived a comfortable and luxurious life in the Persian palace. But he gave up that comfort to fulfill the mission God had given him and went to Jerusalem. Rebuilding the broken wall was incredibly difficult. Enemies from outside mocked and attacked him. Some Jews were even secretly working with those enemies. They plotted to kill him. He had to continue the rebuilding project at the risk of his life. He worked day and night without rest, and by God’s help, he completed the rebuilding of the walls in just 52 days. But that wasn’t all—he also poured out his heart to help the Israelites restore their spirituality. As a result, they experienced spiritual revival, and they were able to have a successful dedication ceremony. However, while Nehemiah had returned to Persia, the Israelites once again fell into sin. When Nehemiah heard the news, he could have felt deeply discouraged. He could have thought, “I’ve done my part,” and just ignored the situation. But instead, he went back to Jerusalem and carried out a series of reforms. It was a hard and dangerous task. Still, he gave it everything he had and once again took up God’s mission with all his heart.

When we think about Nehemiah’s life as a spiritual leader, we realize it was full of hardship. Why did he give up a life of comfort and choose such a difficult path as a servant of God? How was he able to overcome all those challenges and carry out God’s mission to the end? Through Nehemiah’s prayers, I learn that he always gained new strength by relying on God. I also see that he was able to let go of a comfortable life in this world because he was seeking the reward that comes from God. Nehemiah was a great man of faith. Hebrews 11:6 says, “Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” Nehemiah served the Lord with all his heart and strength, looking for God’s reward. And God blessed his faith and revealed His glory through Nehemiah.

I pray that many people among us would rise up with that same faith—giving up personal comfort to fully commit themselves to God’s calling and seeking God’s reward, just like Nehemiah did. May God use us to rebuild the broken spiritual walls in this land. I pray that God may pour out the Holy Spirit on each of us—on our families, on our churches, in our cities, and in our nations—so that we may see a great spiritual revival. Amen.