Nehemiah 13:15-22

4. Labor and merchandising is forbidden on the Sabbath.

TEXT, Nehemiah 13:15-22

15

In those days I saw in Judah some who were treading wine presses on the sabbath, and bringing in sacks of grain and loading them on donkeys, as well as wine, grapes, figs, and all kinds of loads, and they brought them into Jerusalem on the sabbath day. So I admonished them on the day they sold food.

16

Also men of Tyre were living there who imported fish and all kinds of merchandise, and sold them to the sons of Judah on the sabbath, even in Jerusalem.

17

Then I reprimanded the nobles of Judah and said to them, What is this evil thing you are doing, by profaning the sabbath day?

18

Did not your fathers do the same so that our God brought on us, and on this city, all this trouble? Yet you are adding to the wrath on Israel by profaning the sabbath.

19

And it came about that just as it grew dark at the gates of Jerusalem before the sabbath, I commanded that the doors should be shut and that they should not open them until after the sabbath. Then I stationed some of my servants at the gates that no load should enter on the sabbath day.

20

Once or twice the traders and merchants of every kind of merchandise spent the night outside Jerusalem.

21

Then I warned them and said to them, Why do you spend the night in front of the wall? If you do so again, I will use force against you. From that time on they did not come on the sabbath.

22

And I commanded the Levites that they should purify themselves and come as gatekeepers to sanctify the sabbath day. For this also remember me, O my God, and have compassion on me according to the greatness of Thy lovingkindness.

COMMENT

Note that what is described here is in direct violation of the vow which the people had signed in Nehemiah 10:31. Also, when the day of rest is violated, it is the poor and the laborer who suffer the most (Amos 8:4-6).

In Nehemiah 13:15, emphasis is put on Judah's Sabbath violations: treading out grapes, loading and transporting sacks of produce, bringing them into the holy city, and selling them: the full route, from producer to consumer. The products were not all in season at the same time, so Nehemiah may have observed over a period of time until his patience was broken. His one corrective measure was jaw-boning.

Nehemiah 13:16 emphasizes similar activities of Tyrian merchants. Tyre was renowned in the ancient world for its commerce (Ezekiel 27:3 ff), and its position on the seacoast made it a source of fish. This illustrates another problem arising from intermarriage and other forms of involvement with foreigners. By their standards they were doing nothing wrong, though the Jews were buying from them. Israel's law, on the other hand, required that it be a day of rest for the stranger or foreigner, and even for the animals (Exodus 20:10).

In Nehemiah 13:17, Nehemiah first approached his own countrymen to correct this evil; the word translated reprimand usually indicates quarreling and contention, but does not rule out physical violence.

Nehemiah 13:18 recalls the connection between Israel's violation of the Sabbath and their suffering captivity and humiliation (Leviticus 26:35; 2 Chronicles 36:21). It was possible that God's wrath might be increased or repeated because of their actions.

Next, in Nehemiah 13:19, Nehemiah took more direct action. At sundown, when the Sabbath began, he ordered that not only the huge gates that barred the entrance of carts, but the doors in the gates that prevented entrance of individuals, be closed and left closed for at least twenty-four hours. The social and business activity of the community took place at the gates. If the foreigners would do business in Israel, they must live by Israel's laws.

Then some of Nehemiah's own bodyguards, loyal personally to him, were stationed at the gates to prevent entry.

Nehemiah 13:20 indicates that he did not retract these policies under pressure. Though commerce meant prosperity and profits and taxes, still he risked offending the tradesmen.

In Nehemiah 13:21 he threatened the use of force. Until then the tradesmen were not convinced.

In Nehemiah 13:22 Nehemiah made this not only a religious issue but an act of service and worship to God. The Levites, who alone were allowed to labor on the Sabbath in the performance of sacred duties, were recruited as keepers of the gates. Then we have Nehemiah's second prayer in this chapter.

WORD STUDIES

EVER (Nehemiah 13:1: Olam): for ever, everlasting. Basically it means hidden (as in the secret sins of Psalms 90:8): where the beginning or end is obscure or uncertain or indefinite. It is applied to (1) the past, or antiquity, time long past or even only a lifetime, the days of old, Micah 7:14; or of a long time, Isaiah 42:14; (2) the future, i.e., of the end of one-' life, Deuteronomy 15:17; (3) end of an age or race or dynasty, limited by the length of their obedience, 1 Samuel 2:30. (4) The laws are for ever (Passover, Exodus 12:14), yet they are superseded now. (5) The earth and universe are forever (Psalms 104:5), though we know they will pass away. (6) Only when the term is used of God does it have the idea of absolute eternality (Psalms 90:2).

The people of the O.T. did not have an everlasting promise; they found no need to coin a word for an idea which they didn-'t have, or barely had, in their mind. Only Jesus could complete that picture for them (2 Timothy 1:10).

LOVED (Nehemiah 13:26: Aheb): to breathe after, long for, desire; the meaning is akin to Agape in the N.T. Israel loved Joseph, Genesis 37:3 f; Jacob loved Rachel, Genesis 29:18; Hosea was told to love his wife in spite of her unworthiness, Hosea 3:1; God loved His people, Deuteronomy 23:5; and we must love God, Deuteronomy 6:5.