In the book of Nehemiah, Nehemiah said, “In those days also saw I Jews that had married wives of Ashdod, of Ammon, and of Moab. And their children spoke half in the speech of Ashdod, and could not speak in the Jews' language, but according to the language of each people. And I contended with them, and cursed them, and smote certain of them, and plucked off their hair, and made them swear by God, saying, You shall not give your daughters unto their sons, nor take their daughters unto your sons, or for yourselves. Did not Solomon king of Israel sin by these things? yet among many nations was there no king like him, who was beloved of his God, and God made him king over all Israel: nevertheless even him did outlandish women cause to sin. Shall we then hearken unto you to do all this great evil, to transgress against our God in marrying strange wives?”, and in chapter thirteen and verse twenty-eight of Nehemiah, Nehemiah shared about the son in law of Sanballat, “I chased him from me” where we read,
And one of the sons of Joiada, the son of Eliashib the high priest, was son in law to Sanballat the Horonite: therefore I chased him from me.
The verse reads, “And one of the sons of Joiada, the son of Eliashib the high priest, was son in law to Sanballat the Horonite:” Nehemiah began with the words, “and one of the sons” which means “and a particular or certain one of the male offspring and progeny” “of Joiada” or “belonging to Joiada whose name means Jehovah knows”, “the son of Eliashib” which means “the male offspring and progeny belonging to Eliashib whose name means God restores” “the high priest” or “the chief, distinguished and great spiritual leader and spokesman”, “was son in law to” which means “was married to the daughter of” “Sanballat” whose name means “strength and was a Moabite of Horonaim and the opponent of Nehemiah and the returned exiles in their goal of rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem” “the Horonite” or “the native of Horanaim in Moab”. Nehemiah referred to a particular male offspring of “Joiada” who was the “high priest Eliashib's male offspring” who was married to the daughter of his opponent named “Sanballat” who was from Horanaim. (See Nehemiah 2:19)
The verse continues, “therefore I chased him from me.” Nehemiah continued with the words, “therefore I chased him” or “wherefore, then and on this account I, Nehemiah, made flee, put to flight and drove away him, the son in law of Sanballat” “from me” which means “separate and apart from me, Nehemiah”. Nehemiah ran off the son in law of “Sanballat” and made him leave.
When we consider the words in this verse, we learn how Nehemiah was a man of aggressive action. “Sanballat” along with “Tobiah” were great opponents to him rebuilding the barrier wall to Jerusalem, and in no way was Nehemiah going to have his grandson near the “high priest” of God. He chased this grandson away, and would not allow him to be anywhere near the things of God. God wants to have a pure, intimate and personal relationship with all of us, and access to a relationship with Him is gained when we humble ourselves before Him, repent of our sins and put our faith and trust in His Son Jesus who died on the cross for our sins and was raised from the grave after three days. When we believe in Him, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and put His Holy Spirit within us to cleanse us from all unrighteousness and separate us from any wrongful influences in the world.
Next time Nehemiah says, “remember them, O my God, because they have defiled the priesthood”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".
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