Nehemiah Testified Against Them - Nehemiah 13:21

In the book of Nehemiah, Nehemiah said, “and it came to pass, that when the gates of Jerusalem began to be dark before the sabbath, I commanded that the gates should be shut, and charged that they should not be opened till after the sabbath: and some of my servants set I at the gates, that there should no burden be brought in on the sabbath day. So the merchants and sellers of all kind of ware lodged without Jerusalem once or twice”, and in chapter thirteen and verse twenty-one of Nehemiah, Nehemiah said, “I testified against them” where we read,

Then I testified against them, and said unto them, Why lodge you about the wall? if you do so again, I will lay hands on you. From that time forth came they no more on the sabbath.

The verse reads, “Then I testified against them, and said unto them, Why lodge you about the wall?” Nehemiah began with the words, “then I testified against them” which means “therefore, wherefore and on this account I, Nehemiah, bore witness and spoke out in opposition to them, the sellers and merchandizers”, “and said unto them” or “and uttered, declared, proclaimed and asked them, the merchandizers and sellers”, “why lodge you” which means “for what reason and cause are you, merchandizers and sellers, camping and spending the night” “about the wall” or “around the barrier wall to Jerusalem”? Nehemiah shared how he bore witness in opposition to the merchandizers and asked them what the reason was for camping outside of the barrier wall of “Jerusalem”.

The verse continues, “if you do so again, I will lay hands on you. From that time forth came they no more on the sabbath.” Nehemiah added the words, “if you do so again” or “whether and in case you, merchandizers and sellers, perform and act in this manner another time”, “I will lay hands on you” which means “I, Nehemiah, shall seize, capture and arrest you, merchandizers”. “From that time forth” or “from that time, when Nehemiah threatened the people who were selling items, onward” “came they no more” which means “the merchandizers did not return to the outside of the barrier wall again” “on the sabbath day” or “upon the day of intermission and rest”. Nehemiah threatened the merchandizers outside the barrier wall by telling them he would arrest them if they camped outside the wall of Jerusalem another time on the “Sabbath day, and after that, they did not camp out there again”. 

When we think through the words in this verse, we learn how Nehemiah took action against the people who were camping outside of the city of Jerusalem on the night of the “Sabbath day”. He asked them why they were outside the walls, and he threatened to arrest them if they continued to do so. Nehemiah knew these people were not interested in keeping the ways of God, so He separated them from the people of Judah. God wants us to be separate from the world as well, and when we yield our lives to His Son Jesus who died on the cross for the sins of all mankind and rose from the grave after three days as our “Savior and Lord”, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and give us the wisdom to follow Him through the power of His Holy Spirit and never be a part of those who put themselves in close proximity to violating His ways. 

Next time Nehemiah said, “I commanded the Levites that they should cleanse themselves”, 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".