Nehemiah's Return

Nehemiah 13:6-12 (NLT)

6 I was not in Jerusalem at that time, for I had returned to King Artaxerxes of Babylon in the thirty-second year of his reign, though I later asked his permission to return. 7 When I arrived back in Jerusalem, I learned about Eliashib’s evil deed in providing Tobiah with a room in the courtyards of the Temple of God. 8 I became very upset and threw all of Tobiah’s belongings out of the room. 9 Then I demanded that the rooms be purified, and I brought back the articles for God’s Temple, the grain offerings, and the frankincense.
10 I also discovered that the Levites had not been given their prescribed portions of food, so they and the singers who were to conduct the worship services had all returned to work their fields. 11 I immediately confronted the leaders and demanded, “Why has the Temple of God been neglected?” Then I called all the Levites back again and restored them to their proper duties.12 And once more all the people of Judah began bringing their tithes of grain, new wine, and olive oil to the Temple storerooms.

Once Nehemiah returned to Persia, things began going down hill. The people in Jerusalem fell into sin. It took Nehemiah'r return to get them started again on the right track with their LORD. It makes me think of revival meetings, summer camps, or periods of in-depth Bible Study. When we get away from the accountability or the spiritual high, it is easy for us to fall back into our old ways. As we finish up with the book of Nehemiah, will you be so bold as to ask the Lord what old patterns of behavior you have fallen back into? The Holy Spirit is fully capable of exposing current sins that you had previously confessed and for a time left behind. Expect to be sickened when you realize where you have slipped up. Expect to feel God's love and forgiveness when you repent and turn away from them. Be careful not to fall into a pattern of defending your sins; just go ahead and own up to the weaknesses. Defensiveness and denial will only delay the process. Remember it is God's kindness that leads us to repentance!