Remembering God: Lessons from Nehemiah on Spiritual Forgetfulness and Faithfulness

Summary

This passage from Nehemiah 13 warns against spiritual forgetfulness and compromise. While Nehemiah was absent, God’s people neglected worship, giving, Sabbath observance, and godly marriage. Upon returning, Nehemiah confronted sin and restored obedience. The lesson urges believers to reclaim surrendered areas, support God’s work, honor His lordship, and remember Christ’s sacrifice daily, recognizing that one generation’s forgetfulness can undo centuries of faithfulness.

The Danger of Spiritual Forgetfulness

Do you ever go to a room and forget why? Far more seriously, do you frequently forget your spiritual responsibilities?

Nehemiah was the governor but was not in Jerusalem (Nehemiah 13:6). He was with King Artaxerxes in Persia.

While he was away, the spiritual life of the Jews deteriorated. They had promised faithfulness to God (Nehemiah 10:29ff). They forgot their promise.

Compromise in God’s House

Eliashib gave Tobiah, an enemy of God, a room in the temple. Tobiah’s belongings filled it instead of offerings for God and His ministers. Tobiah had slithered into Jerusalem’s nerve center.

Reclaiming What the Enemy Controls

When Nehemiah returned and heard about this situation, he became angry. He threw Tobiah’s belongings out of the room and purified the temple. Tobiah’s presence as God’s enemy had defiled the whole place.

Nehemiah called an enemy an enemy. We must do the same. We must reclaim the rooms of our lives that the devil controls by confessing and turning from our sins. The next step is to rededicate them to glorify God. Forgetfulness stings us in other areas as well.

Forgetting to Support God’s Work

We must not forget to support God’s work. The Jews did. They had promised to bring corn, new wine & oil for the storage rooms of God’s house. The Levites depended on these for their daily food.

Nehemiah rebuked their forgetfulness and restored the flow of the tithes. Let us not forget we are still on earth to use all our resources to support God’s work. But there is more to remember.

Forgetting God’s Day

We must not forget God’s Day. The Jews forgot to observe the Sabbath properly. Nehemiah told them they were repeating what their ancestors had done to cause the Babylonian captivity. Nehemiah enforced no buying or selling on the Sabbath to keep the Sabbath holy.

The Sabbath is not the Lord’s Day. Both set aside one day in seven as special. Both celebrate God’s redemptive activity. Both prefigure the future rest in heaven, but not in the same way.

Both are related to the idea of lordship. However, there are differences. The Old Testament Sabbath is the seventh day. The Lord’s Day is the first.

The primary focus of the Sabbath is abstaining from work, while that of the Lord’s Day is worshiping the risen Lord. The Scriptures do not demand rest on Sunday. The entire Sabbath was a special holy day. No evidence supports treating the Lord’s Day similarly.

Forgetting God’s Design for Marriage

There is one more thing to keep in mind. We must not forget to marry a believer (Nehemiah 13:23-27). The Old and New Testaments warn God’s people not to marry unbelievers (2 Corinthians 6:14-16). Nehemiah envisioned this spiritual compromise corrupting the next generation.

Remembering God

Through forgetfulness, one generation can destroy the work of centuries. Let us live all of life remembering Jesus’ ultimate sacrifice for us. Do this in remembrance of me applies to all of life. Let us live all of life remembering Jesus’ ultimate sacrifice for us as our reference point. See additional free spiritual growth resources for Christians.   #freediscipleshipresources #freeevangelismresources #freechristianleadershipresources 

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