In the book of Nehemiah, Nehemiah said, “Now it came to pass, when they had heard the law, that they separated from Israel all the mixed multitude”, and in chapter thirteen and verse four of Nehemiah, Nehemiah shared how, “Eliashib … was allied unto Tobiah” where we read,
And before this, Eliashib the priest, having the oversight of the chamber of the house of our God,
was allied unto Tobiah:
The verse reads, “And before this, Eliashib the priest, having the oversight of the chamber of the house of our God, ...”Nehemiah began with the words, “and before this” which means “and in advance of this, the people of Israel separating from the mixed multitude”, “Eliashib the priest” or “Eliashib whose name means God restores and was a spiritual leader and spokesman”, “having the oversight” which means “possessing the superintendence and management” “of the chamber of the house” or “pertaining to the hall or room belonging to the habitation, abode and dwelling place” “of our God” which means “belonging to our, Nehemiah and the people of Israel's, Supreme Deity”. Nehemiah referred to“Eliashib” who was the spiritual leader in Israel and who was in charge of the room within the dwelling place of Jehovah God the Supreme Deity.
The verse goes on to say, “... twas allied unto Tobiah:” Nehemiah continued with the words, “twas allied” or “was in a personal relationship and kinship” “unto Tobiah” which means “to Tobiah whose name means Jehovah is good and wasthe head of a family who returned from exile with Zerubbabel but who were unable to prove their connection with Israel and the Ammonite who with Sanballat opposed the rebuilding of Jerusalem”. Nehemiah said “Eliashib” was in a personal relationship with “Tobiah” who opposed the rebuilding of Jerusalem.
When we consider the words in this verse, we learn through Nehemiah how “Eliashib the priest” was in charge of the “room” within the dwelling place of Jehovah God, and he was in a personal relationship with “Tobiah” who was as an enemy to the rebuilding of the city of Jerusalem. We can imagine what a conflict of interest this was. Nehemiah will attend to this situation in our next few verses, but for now let us consider the people with whom we have personal relationships. God wanted the people of Israel to be separated from those who were in opposition to Him, and He wants us to be set apart from those who commit evil in this world. He sent His Son Jesus to die on the cross for the sins of all mankind, and when He raised Him from the dead three days later, He made the way for us to be forgiven of our sins, granted everlasting life and to have wisdom through His Holy Spirit to know with whom we should have personal relationships and also with those we should not.
Next time Nehemiah shares how Eliashib, “prepared for him a great chamber”, 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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