Nehemiah 13

“Why is the house of God forsaken?” (v11).  Nehemiah’s passion was to see proper worship restored in Jerusalem and life thriving as people honored God’s covenant.  Returning from a trip to Babylon, however, Nehemiah saw areas of serious weakness in community life: treating holy things casually (v5), withholding tithes and offerings (v10), doing business on the Sabbath (v15), and mixed-religion marriages (v23).  Nehemiah rebuked these systemic sins which threatened the whole group and called people to repentance.

Nehemiah warned against “great evil” (v27) in worship and family life because both were part of the covenant.Family, friends, work, worship, rest – God desires our entire lives to reflect His heart and His ways.