Contending with the Nobles of Judah - Nehemiah 13:17

In the book of Nehemiah, Nehemiah said, “There dwelt men of Tyre also therein, which brought fish, and all manner of ware, and sold on the sabbath unto the children of Judah, and in Jerusalem”, and in chapter thirteen and verse seventeen of Nehemiah, Nehemiah said, “I contended with the nobles of Judah” where we read,

Then I contended with the nobles of Judah, and said unto them, 

What evil thing is this that you do, and profane the sabbath day?

The verse reads, “Then I contended with the nobles of Judah, and said unto them, ...” Nehemiah began with the words, “then I contended with the nobles” which means “at that time I, Nehemiah, strove, quarreled and made a complaint with the rulers, leaders and officials” “of Judah” or “belonging to Judah whose name means praised and was the kingdom comprised of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin which occupied the southern part of Canaan after the nation split upon the death of Solomon”, “and said unto them” which means “and uttered, declared, proclaimed and asked the nobles of Judah” the following words. Nehemiah shared how he lodged a complaint with the leaders within “Judah” and asked them the following question.

The verse continues, “... what evil thing is this that you do, and profane the sabbath day?” Nehemiah added the words, “what evil thing” or “whatsoever kind of bad, disagreeable, malignant, unpleasant and wicked act” “is this that you do”which means “exist within that which you fashion, accomplish, perform and produce”, “and profane the sabbath day” or “and defile, pollute and desecrate the day of intermission and rest”? Nehemiah asked the “rulers” what kind of wickedness were they performing in that they defiled and polluted the day of rest. 

When we meditate upon the words in this verse, we discover through Nehemiah that he strove with the people of “Judah”who were allowing the buying and selling of merchandise upon the “Sabbath day”. This violated the law of God, (See Exodus 20:8-11) and thereby desecrated God's holy day of rest. God wants us to keep His law because He knows what is best for us. He also knows that we violate His law which is sin, and we “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” (See Romans 3:23) The wages or pay for those sins is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through His Son Jesus who died on the cross for the sins of the world and was raised from the dead three days later. (See Romans 6:23) When we receive Jesus as our “Lord and Savior”, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and put His Holy Spirit within us to help us know His truth and to keep it according to His ability working in us. (See John 16:13; Acts 1:8)

Next time Nehemiah asks, “did not your fathers thus, and did not our God bring all this evil upon us”, 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".