Nehemiah Not at Jerusalem - Nehemiah 13:6

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 before this, Eliashib the priest, having the oversight of the chamber of the house of our God, was allied unto Tobiah. And he had prepared for him a great chamber, where aforetime they laid the meat offerings, the frankincense, and the vessels, and the tithes of the corn, the new wine, and the oil, which was commanded to be given to the Levites, and the singers, and the porters; and the offerings of the priests”, and in chapter thirteen and verse six of Nehemiah, Nehemiah said, “in all this time was not I at Jerusalem” where we read,

But in all this time was not I at Jerusalem: for in the two and thirtieth year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon came I unto the king, and after certain days obtained I leave of the king:

The verse reads, “But in all this time was not I at Jerusalem:” Nehemiah began with the words, “but in all this time”which means “however, notwithstanding and moreover within every moment of this season or time period” “was not I at Jerusalem” or “I, Nehemiah, was not within the city of Jerusalem whose name means teaching of peace and is the chief city of Palestine and capital of the united kingdom and the nation of Judah after the split”. Nehemiah shared how he was not in the city of “Jerusalem” when “Eliashib” prepared a large room for “Tobiah”.

The verse goes on to say, “for in the two and thirtieth year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon came I unto the king, and after certain days obtained I leave of the king:” Nehemiah continued with the words, “for in the two and thirtieth year” or “because, since and on account that within the thirty second annual set of days” “of Artaxerxes” which means “belonging to Artaxerxes whose name means 'I will make the spoiled to boil or I will stir myself in winter' and was the son and successor of Xerxes as emperor of Persia from 465-424 BC” “king of Babylon” or “the royal ruler and leader belonging to Babylon whose name means confusion (by mixing) and was the ancient site and/or capital of Babylonia (modern Hillah) situated on the Euphrates River” “came I unto the king” which means “entered and came forth I, Nehemiah, to the royal ruler and leader”, “and after certain days” or “and following a particular number of sunrises to sunset” “obtained I leave of the king” which means “I, Nehemiah, asked, inquired of and sought to go forth and depart from the royal ruler”. Nehemiah said in the thirty-second year when “Artaxerxes” was the royal ruler of “Babylon” he went to the “king” and after a number of “days”, he asked the “king” to allow him to depart from him. 

When we think through words in this verse, we learn through Nehemiah that he was not in the city of “Jerusalem” which “Eliashib” prepared a large room for “Tobiah”. He returned to “Artaxerxes” who ruled over “Babylon” and stayed with him for a while. Finally, Nehemiah asked to depart from the king to go back to check on Jerusalem. (We shall see that in our next verse.) Nehemiah was not only faithful to God and the people of Israel, but he also continued to be faithful to serve “king Artaxerxes”. For some time Nehemiah stayed with the king, but he eventually asked to go back to check on his home. God wants us to be faithful where He has placed us, and although He sometimes moves us to other places, when we receive His Son Jesus who died on the cross for our sins and was resurrected from the grave three days later as our personal “Savior and Lord”, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and give us His Holy Spirit to guide and empower us to be faithful to Him all the days of our lives wherever we are located. (See Luke 18:8) 

Next time Nehemiah says, “I came to Jerusalem, and understood of the evil”, 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".