That was a lot to read, so I want to briefly give you an overview of what’s going on here. Sometime, either before the chapter, or after verse 3, Nehemiah leaves town to fulfill the promise he made to the king back in chapter 2. We don’t really know exactly how long Nehemiah was gone. It could have been 8 or nine years, but that’s just an educated guess. But things did not go well while Nehemiah was gone. While the cat was away, the mice played. The question is—how in the world can the remnant go from the grand celebrations that we have just seen in chapter 12 to where we are in chapter 13? How can this great book on leadership end this way? There is one word that is repeated throughout this passage. That is the word “remember.” This chapter is a reflection on everything that has gone on up until this point. But it’s not a rose-colored reflection on what’s happened. If it was, the book would have ended in chapter 12. We could have called Nehemiah a hero, built him a statue and moved on. But this last word to us is not a hero-summary. It is an honest look at how quickly the remnant fell away and and it demands an honest look at what got them to that point. As we look at this passage, there are four things we need to remember. We need to remember the people’s failure. We need to remember the preacher’s frustration. We need to remember the leader’s flaws. And we need to remember the Father’s forgiveness. First, let’s remember the people’s failure.
The people’s failure is really obvious, isn’t it? I mean, as soon as Nehemiah left town, they went wild. When you look back to chapter 10, you remember that the people had just finished that great time of listening to God’s Word preached by Ezra. And immediately after they heard God’s Word preached, they applied it to their lives. They applied it by gathering together and celebrating the Feast of the Tabernacles. And then they applied it by making a public commitment to obey the Law. They actually went beyond that and wrote out a covenant. And in that covenant there were certain things that they called attention to. They said that they would separate themselves from the other nations. They would keep their sons and daughters pure and separate from the other nations. They also specifically said that they would be extra-faithful to keep the Sabbath day. Another thing that they wrote in their covenant was that they would be sure and pay their tithes and offerings. Can’t you just picture that document? #1. We promise that we will be separate. #2. We promise that we will keep the Sabbath. #3. We promise that we will pay our tithes and offerings. And then by the time we get over to chapter 13, they broke every one of their vows. In reverse order. Verse 10—broke vow #3. Verse 15—broke vow #2. Verse 23—broke vow #1. They broke them all. And not just in a small way—they went big! How did that happen? How did they go from the penthouse to the outhouse in such a short time? I mean, verses 1-3 tells us that they were still studying the Bible. So, how could that happen? The answer is back in 10:29. 10:29 says, “They clave to their brethren, their nobles, and entered into a curse, and into an oath, to walk in God’s law, which was given by Moses the servant of God, and to observe and do all the commandments of the LORD our Lord, and his judgments and his statutes.” What I want you to notice is the last part. They swore with everything that they had. And what did they swear to? They swore to keep ALL the commandments of God. ALL of His law. ALL of His judgments. ALL of His statutes. Does that sound familiar? That’s exactly what the Israelites said when they first stood at the foot of Mount Sinai. As Moses was going up to meet with God, they said, “Give us the Law. Give us everything that God requires for us to be holy like He is. And when you give it to us, we can do it. We have the ability within ourselves to live with all of the holiness and righteousness of God.” Do you know what that is? It’s pride. It’s the same pride that Adam and Eve showed in the Garden of Eden when they took the fruit in order that they might be like God. And that pride led the remnant down the downward spiral of sin. To the point where they were doing things that were completely unimaginable to them just a few years before. What was the people’s failure? They pridefully thought that they could achieve righteousness on their own. They thought that they could work for it. They thought it was within their grasp. But it wasn’t. Because righteousness is not something to be grasped or achieved or obtained. Righteousness is only as a result of God’s grace. We will never be able to accomplish anything on our own. We can work and work and work. We can even accomplish some “good” things. We can grow. We can preach. We can witness. But if we do those things in our own strength, it’s not going to last long. We will miserably fail, specifically at every point where we thought we were accomplishing something. We need to remember the people’s failure. We also need to remember the preacher’s frustration.
Now, I have to be careful with this point. Because it is a point that doesn’t come directly from the text. But sometimes Scripture makes points from silence. And it think that this is one of those cases. Throughout Ezra and Nehemiah, Ezra is presented as the preacher. His mission was to study the Word, to live the Word and to teach the Word. And from chapter 8, we can tell that he was faithful to do that. There is nothing in the book that indicates that he failed to do that faithfully. Just the fact that he finished writing this book the way that he did indicates that he faithfully plugged along. Day in and day out, he was faithful to do his studies. Day in and day out, he was faithful to live what he preached. And day in and day out, he was faithful to preach and teach God’s Word to the remnant. But I want you to notice what the people did with the teaching they received. At first, they were all over it. They heard the Word and they were changed. They were excited. They began to do what it said. But then, something happened to them. And this can be a danger anytime someone begins to get truly excited about the Bible. They began to scour its pages. They tore into it. That should be a good thing, right? It is if you begin to devour the Bible for the right thing. It’s a good thing if you begin to devour the Bible in order to know the God of the Bible. But that wasn’t what the remnant did. They began to tear into the Bible to find things that THEY could DO to become more righteous. That’s what verses 1-3 are about. Was it a good thing to be reading the Law? Of course it was. But notice what they were discovering. They were discovering more and more minute ways to be legalistic. They found a passage in Deuteronomy 23:3-6 about Ammonites and Moabites not being allowed in the temple. Now, when you read that passage, you’ll notice a couple of things. First, Ammonites and Moabites were only forbidden from community worship. When you look in other parts of the Old Testament law, they were not forbidden from being in their midst. They were only forbidden from congregational worship in the temple. Another thing that you’ll notice is that this restriction was to apply specifically for 10 generations. 10 generations is a long time, but it’s not forever. And 10 generations had long past, by the time the remnant dug out this obscure law. But in the remnant’s quest to obtain their own righteousness, they implemented the law anyway. And they made it far stricter than it had ever been in the first place. They became legalists. And if Ezra was truly preaching God’s Word as the text implies, that’s not what he preached. He didn’t preach legalism. His desire couldn’t have been for his preaching to result in the people signing a rash, extreme, unkeepable, legalistic vow. It couldn’t have been. Ezra preached God’s Word. And preaching God’s Word can only point people to the need for His grace. But they quit listening. Even though they originally saw their need for grace, they quickly turned to their works. They quit listening. And by the time we get to chapter 13, they had completely quit listening. Back in chapter 8, the whole congregation prepared and planned and pleaded with Ezra to bring out the book and preach to them. But by the time we get to chapter 13, there is no mention of anyone listening to his preaching. As I said, I don’t see the change in Ezra. I have to tell you that my biggest frustration is just that. My life’s desire is to pour my guts out to preach and teach God’s Word in such a way that it’s understandable and relevant and beneficial. And then I look around and the people who need it most are attending irregularly at best. It is frustrating to finish a 6-week Faith and Family series and have someone who has missed the whole thing come to me with marriage problems. And I can guarantee you that many of those who desperately need this upcoming series on suffering will not be there. No matter how much they are asked or begged. I’m sure that’s the frustration that Ezra must have felt as the remnant moved from obedience to legalism to outright sinful disregard of God’s Word. Remember the preacher’s frustration. Also, remember the leader’s flaws.
Leader’s flaws? I thought that Nehemiah was supposed to be the perfect example of a leader? No—Nehemiah was just a man. And it’s always important to remember that the best of men are just men at best. So the question is, was Nehemiah a success or a failure? Well, he was a success who failed. He failed, but he was covered by God’s grace. His success is well-documented. It’s the thing we always think about when we think about Nehemiah. He received a burden from God and he proactively did something about it. God gave him the burden of rebuilding Jerusalem and he did it. He stood strong against the enemies of the Lord. He motivated and organized and sometimes even disciplined God’s people. He led them to accomplish an impossible task. He overcame obstacles. He encouraged the people when they were discouraged. He corrected them when they were wrong and he always pointed them in the right direction. There are 12 chapters that detail the success of Nehemiah’s leadership. But remember that I said that he was a success who failed. So what was Nehemiah’s failure? Nehemiah’s greatest strength led to his people’s greatest weakness. He was a larger than life leader. He wasn’t a dictator. He wasn’t mean about it. He did the right things as a leader. But the point is that everything was focused on his leadership. If something was going to be done, he was going to have to organize it and lead it. He was the one to always get it done. And when that is the case, do you know what happens? Larger than life leaders create good followers. But they never create good leaders. And when a larger than life leader leaves the scene for whatever reason, the followers don’t have anyone to turn to for leadership. And when followers have no one to turn to for leadership, they will turn to anyone for leadership. Even Tobiah. We see that all over the place in churches today, don’t we? Some of the greatest churches of our age have been wrecked because of the same flaw Nehemiah had. Look at what happened to Belleview Baptist Church when the great Adrian Rogers died. They were in chaos for years. Look at First Baptist Church of Dallas, known for years as the flagship church of the SBC. After W.A. Criswell died, they brought in an immoral pastor who almost completely destroyed that church. Because when followers don’t have anyone to turn to for leadership, they’ll turn to anybody. And look at what’s happening right now at Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church. D. James Kennedy died a few years ago, they called a new pastor earlier this year and they have split right down the middle. Why? Because he won’t wear a robe when he preaches. And he changed the pew Bibles from RSV to ESV. Now how could those things happen? Adrian Rogers, W.A. Criswell and D. James Kennedy were all good, godly pastors. They faithfully preached the Word and led their congregations with integrity. Just like Nehemiah led the remnant very effectively and with integrity. So what was the problem? I believe that Nehemiah’s greatest, and maybe only flaw, was that he did not create a plurality of leadership. He was “the man” and if anything was going to get done, it was going to go through him. That’s evidenced by what happened when he left town. And I believe that was the flaw of those great preachers. And it has been evidenced by what has happened to their churches since they died. You can see the same thing in churches in our area that have had strong, singularly focused pastoral leadership for years. When something happens to that pastor, they fall apart to the point that it takes many years for them to recover—if they ever do. Nehemiah’s flaw was that he was a larger than life leader. He did not insure that the people had a plurality of leadership who could function even after he was gone. We need to remember the leader’s flaws. Chapter 13 is not the way that I would have chosen to end this book. Because it could be depressing to look at the people’s failure, the preacher’s frustration and the leader’s flaws. That’s not really ending on a high note, is it? Well, it wouldn’t be, if it wasn’t for the Father’s forgiveness. And that’s the fourth and final thing we need to remember.
Remember the Father’s forgiveness. Remember that I said that Nehemiah uses the word “remember” three times in this passage. Each time, he uses it after he has just harshly corrected the people from their waywardness. The first time is in verse 14 when he says, “Remember me, O my God, concerning this, and wipe not out my good deeds that I have done for the house of my God, and for the offices thereof.” The second time is in verse 22 when he says, “Remember me, O my God, concerning this also, and spare me according to the greatness of thy mercy.” And the third time is in verse 31 when all he says is “Remember me, O my God, for good.” Some people have said that Nehemiah is asking God to remember the good that he has done by correcting the people in this chapter. I don’t think so. Think about how he must have felt when he came back to Jerusalem after having been gone for those years. He knew that when he left town, everything was going well. And when he got back, he saw this mess. I think that each time he forcefully corrected the situation, he was asking God for forgiveness. He said, Lord, don’t remember me for what these things have become. Lord, instead, remember the good things that I did. Don’t remember my faults as these people’s leader. Don’t remember how the people frustrated Ezra when they didn’t listen to him. And Lord, please don’t remember the people’s failure. Instead, remember the good. And how did Nehemiah ask God to do that? Did he ask Him to remember the good because all of his good things surely outweighed the bad? No, look back at the last part of verse 22. Nehemiah asked God to remember him and to spare him. Not because he somehow deserved it. But because of the greatness of His mercy. We need to remember the people’s failures and the preacher’s frustration and the leader’s flaws. We need to learn from those things and try not repeat their failures. We need to heed the preaching and teaching of God’s Word and not take it to legalistic extremes. We need to learn from the leader’s flaws and protect ourselves from them by implementing and maintaining a plurality of leadership. We need to do those things. But, you know what? We will still mess up. And when we do, we need to remember the Father’s forgiveness. Because it’s not about our righteousness at all, is it? We can build the largest and best-run organization the world has ever known and be a complete failure in God’s eyes. Because it’s not about us and our righteousness. It’s about a righteousness that has been given to us. If we forget everything else, that’s what we need to remember most. 1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” We have a job to do. We have a church to build. We have a mission to accomplish. We will fail along the way. But, by the grace of God, through the shed blood of Jesus and in the power of His Spirit, we will accomplish it. In spite of our failures. In spite of our frustrations. In spite of our flaws. But all because of the forgiveness that comes from a dynamic, growing relationship with Jesus Christ. So, let’s get to building, shall we?
