Nehemiah 13:23 - Meaning and Application

Here we have one more example of Nehemiah’s holy zeal to keep his countrymen pure as a people set apart for God. That was his aim in using his authority, not enriching himself. He wanted to reform what was wrong in their lives, and by healing the springs, heal the streams too.

They had again corrupted themselves by marrying foreign wives. This had already been dealt with in Ezra’s time, and much was done to correct it (Ezra 9:1-15; Ezra 10). But when an unclean spirit is cast out, if no watchful eye is kept on him, he will come back in. So it was here. Even after those who had married foreign wives were forced to send them away, many others still would not take warning. We still lean toward what is forbidden.

Nehemiah, like a wise governor, investigated the families under his care so he could fix what was wrong in them. He asked where their wives had come from, and found that many Jews had married women of Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab (Nehemiah 13:23). They may have done this because they wanted what was from far away, or because they hoped these marriages would make them stronger and richer. God had already spoken against this through the prophet: Judah had broken faith, profaned the holiness of the Lord, and married the daughter, that is, the worshiper, of a foreign god (Malachi 2:11).

Nehemiah also spoke with the children, and found that they were children of foreigners, because their speech gave them away. They had been raised with their mothers, nurses, and servants, so they learned their speech from them. As a result, they could not speak the Jews’ language, or could not speak it well, but mixed it with the speech of Ashdod, Ammon, or Moab, depending on their mother’s land. Children learn much from their mothers in childhood, and they tend to imitate them. If either parent is bad, corrupt nature will often pull the child after that side. That is one good reason why Christians should not be unevenly joined with unbelievers. In raising children, great care should be taken over their speech, so they do not learn the language of Ashdod, meaning impure talk and corrupt speech.

When Nehemiah saw how far this evil had spread, he took steps to purge it out. First, he showed them how evil it was, and how bound he was to speak against it. He did not look for trouble, but this was a wrong that the judge had to punish, and he could not excuse it (Nehemiah 13:27). He told them plainly that this was a great evil, a sin against God, and they must do all they could to stop it. They asked that their wives not be divorced from them, but he could not agree, because there was no other way to clear the guilt and stop the harm.

He proved this in two ways. He first appealed to a command, showing that the sin was evil in itself. He made them swear to that command: “You shall not give your daughters to their sons” (Deuteronomy 7:3). If we want to turn people from sin, we must show them how sinful it is in the light of God’s command. He also appealed to an example, to show how harmful it was and why the government had to deal with it (Nehemiah 13:26). Did not Solomon, king of Israel, sin in this way? The falls of great and good men are recorded so we may take warning and avoid the temptations that defeated them. Solomon was famous for wisdom, yet when he married foreign wives, his wisdom did not keep him safe from their traps. In fact, he became foolish. He was loved by God, but these marriages brought him out of God’s favor and nearly put out the holy fire of grace in his soul. He ruled over all Israel, yet this sin led to the loss of ten tribes. They might argue that they could marry foreign wives and still keep the purity of Israelites, but Solomon could not. Even he was led into sin by foreign women. So let anyone who thinks he stands take care lest he fall when he runs toward such a danger.

Nehemiah also showed strong displeasure, so they would feel the seriousness of the evil. He argued with them (Nehemiah 13:25). When they tried to defend themselves, he showed how weak their excuses were and pressed the matter strongly. After he had silenced them, he cursed them, meaning he declared God’s judgment against them and showed them what their sin deserved. Then he singled out some of the more stubborn offenders and had them beaten by the proper officers, according to the law (Deuteronomy 25:2-3). He also marked them with shame by pulling out their hair, or cutting or shaving it off. They may have taken pride in their hair, so this would humble and disgrace them. In effect, it marked them out for a time. Ezra had pulled out his own hair in grief over the sin, while Nehemiah pulled out their hair in righteous anger against the sinners. We see here different temperaments in wise and useful men, and different gifts and graces from the same Spirit.

He also required them not to take such wives again, and he separated those they had already taken. He cleansed them from everything foreign, both men and women (Nehemiah 13:30), and made them swear they would never do it again (Nehemiah 13:25). He used every means he could to stop this evil and keep it from happening again.

Nehemiah paid special attention to the priests’ families so they would not carry this stain and guilt. On inquiry, he found that a grandson of the high priest had married a daughter of Sanballat, the well-known enemy of the Jews (Nehemiah 2:10; Nehemiah 4:1). In effect, he had joined his interests with the Samaritans (Nehemiah 13:28). Such a man showed little love for God or for his country if he could make himself, in duty and in interest, a friend to one who was sworn enemy to both. This young priest would not put away his wife, so Nehemiah drove him away, removed him from office, and made him unfit for the priesthood forever. Josephus says this expelled priest was Manasseh, and that when Nehemiah drove him away, he went to his father-in-law Sanballat, who built him a temple on Mount Gerizim, like the one at Jerusalem, and promised him the high priesthood there. He says this was the beginning of the Samaritans’ claims, which lasted down to our Savior’s time.

After Nehemiah had removed the man who had made himself unfit for the priesthood, he again put the priests and Levites back in their proper work, each one serving in his own duty (Nehemiah 13:30). It was no loss to them to be rid of one who brought shame on their office. In fact, the work would be done better without him. When Judas had gone out, Christ said, “Now the Son of Man is glorified” (John 13:30, John 13:31).

Here are Nehemiah’s prayers in this matter. First, he prays, “Remember them, O my God” (Nehemiah 13:29). He may mean, “Lord, bring them to their senses. Convict them, turn them, and remind them what they ought to be and do.” Or he may mean, “Remember them so that you may call them to account for their sin.” If that is his meaning, then the prayer is also a warning that God would indeed remember it against them.

Those who corrupt the priesthood show contempt for God, and they will be held in low regard. Perhaps the offenders were too many or too powerful for Nehemiah to handle directly. So he leaves the matter with God. “Lord,” he says, “take this work into your own hands.”

Then he prays, “Remember me, O my God” (Nehemiah 13:31). Good service done for the public is often forgotten by the people who received it (Ecclesiastes 9:15). So Nehemiah leaves his reward with God. He makes God his paymaster, and he is sure he will be paid well. This is a fitting summary of our own prayers too. We need nothing more to make us happy than this: “Remember me, O my God, for good.”