Nehemiah 13:1 On that day they read from the Book of Moses in the hearing of the people. And in it was found written that no Ammonite or Moabite should ever enter the assembly of God, for they did not meet the people of Israel with bread and water, but hired Balaam against them to curse them—yet our God turned the curse into a blessing. As soon as the people heard the law, they separated from Israel all those of foreign descent.
Psalms 119:9 How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word.
Psalms 119:11 I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.
Proverbs 6:23 For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching a light, and the reproofs of discipline are the way of life,
James 1:27 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.
“As soon as the people heard the law, they separated from Israel all those of foreign descent.” Do you ever wonder what the state of mind is in those who hear and act on God’s word? We know from earlier in Nehemiah the people were floundering in their walk with God. A small number (40,000 – 50,000) had been allowed to return to their homeland. Jerusalem was in ruin and the people were spread out in other towns and villages of Judah. They all did what seemed right to them at the time. They were harassed by the surrounding people, they had to establish new fields for grain, pastures for flocks, homes to live in. They had to repopulate. In all of this activity, they seemed to have gotten caught up in, this led to them forgetting about serving, honoring, glorifying, following, and obeying God. Then Ezra the scribe and priest was sent and what he saw and heard about, he called out the sin of the people. He read the Book of the Law to them and had it explained so that the people had an understanding of what it meant to honor, follow, and obey. Their heart, mind, and soul were open to hearing the word and they confessed their sin and committed to retiring to honoring, serving, following, and obeying God’s Law. We must remember that there had been 70 years of captivity so many of these people returning were second and third generation from those who initially rejected God’s Law. In captivity there would have been no temple worship, no reading from God’s word, and much exposure to foreign gods and practices. It can be understood why they did what seemed right in their own eyes because they were void of God’s Word.
What is our excuse? What possible reason do we have? We have not been forced into captivity or had the Word of God removed from us. We have not been forced to live apart from God’s temple or forced to stop worshiping God. And yet, we choose to live as we have been. We neglect God’s Word, we are complacent at best in our service, and our heart, mind, and soul are deaf to the leading His Word would give us. When our heart, mind, and soul, has chosen to be in captivity of the influence of the world we will only be able to do what seems right in our own eyes. We will only be doing what seems right by the standards and expectations of the culture we live in. To break the chains of captivity our heart, soul, and mind must change. An intentional choice must be made in our hearts to seek and desire God’s word with the single purpose of honoring, serving, glorifying, following, trusting, and obeying Jesus Christ. We must want to hear God’s Word speak into our life for this single purpose above all of the things this world has to offer. In this heart, mind, and soul-deep commitment we will find that when we hear God’s Word leading us we will immediately act on it accordingly.
