Nehemiah 13:1 Commentary and Bible Study

In this chapter we are going to find teaching about the causes of apostasy, or the causes of backsliding. As they continue the practice of reading and expounding to the people from the book of Moses, they come to Deuteronomy 23:3: ‘An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD; even to their tenth generation shall they not enter into the congregation of the LORD for ever:’ and the reason is given: ^‘Because they met you not with bread and with water in the way, when ye came forth out of Egypt; and because they hired against thee Balaam the son of Beor of Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse thee’ (Deuteronomy 23:3-4). It was against the law of God to allow this. The evil that Balaam had done to Israel was not forgotten by the Lord and not to be forgotten by Israel. The extraordinary case of a false prophet by the overruling of God giving true prophecy, and turning a curse into a blessing, was God’s promise that he would allow no harm to come to his people.This is the very last portion of the Old Testament Scripture; really it is the end of the Old Testament, chronologically speaking. It was evidently written well after the rest of Nehemiah and it largely records events taking place on the return of Nehemiah to Jerusalem. He had been away for something like eight or nine years, back in the service of Artaxerxes, king, emperor, of Persia. Now Nehemiah has his king’s consent to return, and probably he is coming because he has heard of the new difficulties. That is implied in this chapter, but not stated. It is implied by the fact that the very first sentence of this appendage to the book begins with the issue of the Ammonite and the Moabite being in the house of God and mingling with the people of God in opposition to the law given in the books of Moses. They have chosen this reading presumably because Nehemiah has asked for this passage to be read. There is some kind of a gathering and a conversation. It isn't regular worship in the temple because that has stopped while Nehemiah has been away. The temple has been closed for worship. The Levites have been laid off and are not being paid; everything has gone to pieces. The wonderful things that were accomplished through Nehemiah’s direction in his previous period in Jerusalem as governor of Jerusalem and Judah, which he had authority to implement, have all gone to rack and ruin. During the eight or nine years that Nehemiah has been away, there has been a prophet who has visited Jerusalem – how often we cannot tell – and that is the prophet Malachi. His words against the Levites and the leaders are in that last book of the Old Testament, but when it comes to something like 424 BC, his ministry appears to have closed, and now Nehemiah returns. Malachi's words did not accomplish change. He was a true prophet of God, and he spoke boldly, but they didn't respond to him. Now Nehemiah has the advantage that he is a political governor and he can enforce things. That doesn’t make improvements necessarily genuine, for Malachi gave directions and he was ignored. But now Nehemiah comes with some final reforms, and he prays, not once but twice to God, that his reforms will be preserved. But his prayers along those lines sound rather pessimistic that the line will be held.This first verse indicates that the people had gone backward, because there had been a separation from the heathen while Nehemiah was there before, and it is recorded in chapter 9. Now there is particular conviction about Ammonites and Moabites, so they are back and there has been mixing again. Many point to references which may suggest alliances formed by marriage; others think it is more likely that it was by business arrangements.