Have you heard the fable of the Arab and the Camel?

Like the camel, the spirit of evil may approach us initially with little attraction. When we start accommodating temptation to live in our spiritual tents, the tempter can become our master. Sooner or later, unfortunately, our human willpower can be controlled by the evil spirit. That is why the Lord our Christ did not allow any spiritual adversary to be in His presence even for a short period of time. He immediately told the devil, “Away from me or Get out of my sight, Satan,” when He was tested in the wilderness (Matthew 4:10). Then, the demon left Jesus. Angels came and attended Him (Matthew 4:11). The example of Jesus’ fight against temptation can be best for us as Christ’s disciples to follow when we keep the camel’s nose out of our sacred hearts.

Today, we have arrived at the final section of the Nehemiah series “Rebuild our Broken Walls/Lives and Others.” The destructive walls and gates of the temple of Jerusalem had been completed with the oneness of the people of Israel. The spiritually damaged hearts of the people had been restored through repentance and rededication. In the second last chapter of this book, which is chapter 12, all the people of Israel celebrated the temple dedication service joyfully at the House of God. So, the ending part of this study would be done with God’s special benediction or blessing upon the people of Israel due to all their heartfelt teamwork on the tabernacle recovery project. Interestingly, the last content in the book of Nehemiah was very similar to the one in chapter 10. We have learned the three typical covenants the people of Israel made with the Lord their God in the past. They wanted to use their resources to support God’s Temple Ministry at that time. They longed to spend their precious time for the sake of the Lord. They also desired to have spiritually pure hearts in a marital relationship before God. All the people made holy vows regarding those essential life matters in the name of the Awesome and Great God.

Regrettably, after 12 years of the completion of God’s dwelling place and the reformation of the people of Israel, in our Old Testament for today, we can find that all the previous unholy activities took place in Jerusalem again. After Nehemiah’s visit to King Artaxerxes and his extended stay in Persia, he discovered those ruined situations in the House of God and in the lives of the people. Once again, Nehemiah “was greatly displeased” with the brokenness or damage in the holy city (Nehemiah 13:7). This morning, I want us to explore how Nehemiah accomplished final reforms with the people of Israel in Jerusalem.

Firstly, Nehemiah rebuked the Israelite officials and asked them, “Why is the house of God neglected?” (Nehemiah 13:11). For some reason, the offerings assigned to the Levites and musicians responsible for the sacred service were not properly given to them when Nehemiah was away. Due to a lack of collections, they returned to their farms and worked to support themselves. Nehemiah purified ungodly items placed inside the storerooms and appointed a couple of trustworthy leaders in charge of those stations. He also made them account for distributing the supplies to the temple workers. In the meantime, the people of Israel started bringing back their contributions to the Kingdom business. This lesson can be applied to the use of our possession. Giving expresses our faith in the Lord. He wants us as His steward over our God-inherited blessings to do God’s will. Whether we bring the first of everything or some portion of our wealth to the Lord, God wants us to present them with a thankful spirit and a bright mind.

Secondly, Nehemiah rebuked the people of Israel for marrying their children to neighbouring nations’ descendants (Nehemiah 13:23). He made them take an oath before God with the statement something like: “I am not to give my children in marriage to the gentiles'” (Nehemiah 13:25). Please understand this. Nehemiah’s intention was not to underestimate other ethnic groups in those days. Since King Solomon, one of the greatest kings in Israel, failed to follow God’s teachings after having marital relationships with foreign women. Due to their influences, the people of Israel had consequently served other gods instead of loving the Lord their one God with all their hearts and spirits. In his day, Nehemiah also noticed that half of the Israelite children did not speak their mother tongue even though they knew foreign languages. When a life-committed relationship is made, we as children of God need to consider finding those believing in the same Creator God. Having the same faith is crucial in the harmonized journey with God.

Thirdly, Nehemiah rebuked the nobles of Judah one more time and said to them, “What is this wicked thing you are doing – desecrating the Sabbath day?” (Nehemiah 13:17). He saw the people of Israel violating the sacred day again. When we heard today’s scripture from Jane and Garry, we might be a bit scared by some Sabbatical regulations. Nehemiah ordered temple doors to be shut and kept them closed until Sabbath was over (Nehemiah 13:19). He deployed guards at the gates and made sure that no merchandised materials would be brought into the temple on the rest day (Nehemiah 13:19). He did not even allow the people to stay near the temple gates and walls that day off day. Furthermore, Nehemiah declared the people of Israel a warning of being arrested if they did not comply with any Sabbatical restrictions.

While reflecting on this part, I was reminded of Covid mandatory isolation rules. More than three years ago, we heard that the City of Wuhan in China was locked down due to Covid outbreaks. At first, most of us never expected to see those emergency situations in our country. Eventually, many governments adopted strict quarantine principles and closed their national borders for a long time. During the global pandemic era, my family and I have been isolated for 14 days three times. When Caleb Jr. tested positive for the virus, he and the rest of our whole family had been separated even under the same roof. We only saw him for a brief period through the side entrance door when we provided him with food. When we travelled to Korea and returned to Canada, we had to be isolated inside the house on each occasion. Those times were challenging due to limited freedom; however, the social distancing mandate was vital to keeping our community safe. Those quarantine policies relate to the Sabbatical rules in this scripture. Please do not get me wrong with this comparison. I am not saying that we need to enforce those Old Testament laws in our faith journey. I am only sharing this illustration to look at the motivation Nehemiah had with the forbidden rules on the Sabbath in those days. As the Covid guidelines were designed for the people to prevent from spreading of the virus, the Sabbatical regulations were made for the people of Israel to keep the Sabbath day holy.

When we read the Old Testament, we may frequently discover the importance of honouring God’s designated day in sacred ways. One main test the people of Israel had taken during the 40 years of the wilderness was observing Sabbath. They were advised to collect their God-provided food called manna every day, except for the rest day. They were allowed to keep a two-day portion of food before the Sabbath day. This was to help the people of Israel to trust in God’s provision. Every day they went out and received daily living items. The reserved materials spoiled the following day if they kept more than their daily amount. Think about God’s satisfied protection during the long adventure in the wilderness. Collecting everyday manna and respecting the Sabbath day helped the people of Israel become God’s people and make their journey of faith confidently and courageously.

Regarding the Sabbath subject, we may want to discuss what we should or should not do on the Sabbath day. Since our Lord Christ rose from the dead on the following Sabbath day, Sunday, we now celebrate the Lord’s Day. This topic would be excellent for us to develop in another message and/or sermon series. This morning, I want us to focus on God’s purposes for the Lord’s Day. According to the Bible, on the seventh day, God rested from all the six-day work of creation (Genesis 2:2-3). In the Ten Commandments, God wanted the people of Israel to remember the Sabbath by keeping it holy. Since the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord their God, they were supposed not to do any work (Exodus 20:8-11). Not only themselves but also their whole households and their animals were included in that category. God told them that He blessed the Sabbath day and made it sanctified. One meaning of holy in this context is to separate from other days. In other words, we, as God’s children, are supposed to keep the Lord’s Day in special ways. Of course, coming to church and worshipping the Lord with our brothers and sisters in God is one primary standard of keeping the Lord’s Day consecrated.

Have we ever wondered about some connection between genuine rest and authentic faith in the Lord? If we rely on God with complete confidence, we can rest entirely in the Lord. The more I have followed the Lord, the more I have found the truth. God is in control of every matter in my faith journey. God wants me to do my own best during the six days. God also wants me to relax fully during the Lord’s Day. In a spiritual manner, worshipping God not only takes place on Sundays while attending church services, but it is also supposed to happen every day while offering our bodies as a living sacrifice for the Lord. In that divine manner, we need to ask whether we use our God-given precious present time for the Lord. Of course, once again, we can express our pure love toward God by praising Him, listening to His Word, and praying to the Lord in our weekly religious assemblies. On top of that, we need to question whether we contribute our God-blessed opportunities to love God and love our neighbours. Giving 10 percent of our incomes to God if we respect that offering method can also be applied to the use of our God-blessed moments in a similar manner. One in ten in terms of the length of our time can be attributed to the people in our communities without expecting anything from those volunteering duties.

I’ve noticed many stressful things come from lacking trust in God. Sometimes I feel pressured by various challenging situations. How do you handle your unique circumstances? I often try to stop doing anything and count to ten in silence or pray. In recent years, I’ve learned that there are things only God can do. While being alone with God, I make a petition to God to take over any items that I am limited to do. I put my trust in God’s mighty hand and ask Him to guide and lead me in His way. This is one practical definition of observing the Sabbath or any God-presented precious time in a blessed way.

Today, Christ calls each of us to accept the following holy invitation: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). On the Lord’s Day, God wants us to entirely merge all our beings in God’s presence and ultimately rest in God’s protection and provision. Remember, the Lord our God is the Provider and Protector over all the wealth, health, possession, fame, talents, time, and whatever we have been given. The Lord is the One who provides us with the ability and wisdom to manage all our God-given blessings.

This morning, Nehemiah encouraged his readers to pray to the Lord as he did three times after making the holy agreement between God and the people of Israel regarding the resources, relationship, and time. Nehemiah knelt before the Lord and repeatedly pleaded with the next proclamation: “Remember me for this and that with favor, my God” (Nehemiah 13:14, 22, 31).

In our kids’ lesson, we witnessed the people of Israel’s two different responses toward the Messiah, Jesus. One day they welcomed Jesus and shouted at Him, “Hosanna – Save us” (Matthew 21:9) A few days later, they changed their minds and yelled at Pilate, “Crucify Jesus, Crucify Him” (Matthew 27:22-23). Once again, in the book of Nehemiah, the people of Israel completed the broken temple project and made their godly binding agreements with God. Some time later, they again broke all the vows and regulations and went back to living with their former lifestyle. Whether we realize it or not, we could be the people of Israel in the Bible making the same mistakes again and again.

That is why the Lord our Christ shared with us the importance of cleansing the temple of God in our Gospel reading for today. After the triumphant entry to Jerusalem, one crucial thing Jesus did was to purify God’s House. As Nehemiah did, Jesus did not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple court. The center of God’s House was designed for His sanctification. Jesus taught those who sold and bought materials inside the tabernacle the authentic purposes of God’s dwelling place. One major reason is to give a prayer place for all nations (Mark 11:17). Due to this invitation, everyone can come to Christ’s church as they are. They can take off their old nature in repentance and put on new attributes in faith.

Again, we need to recall that God wants us to work hard for the things He has entrusted us to do for the six days. Friends, have we lost our God-blessed shouting joy and our God-given unique visions and dreams that were once ours? On the seventh day, the Lord’s Day, God wants us to examine our lives through the spiritual mirror, the Word of God, and cleanse our hearts by kicking the camel out of our spiritual tents and inviting Christ into our divine hearts. One more time, we need to place in the Lord the things that only God can do for us. We cannot control those things, no matter how hard we work. Remember that we are not God, but the Lord is. God wants us to rest on His indiscernible peace while relying on His tremendous power, not only on Sunday but every day and every moment.

As reformed Christians, we are motivated to renew our spiritual hearts with the guidance of the Holy Spirit continuously. During the ongoing reformation, we may face ups and downs due to our sinfulness and the influences of our broken world. Friends, we serve the Lord our God who is mighty and merciful. When one of the criminals beside Christ asked Him to remember when Jesus would come into His Kingdom, Jesus answered, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:42-43). When we humbly and honestly ask God to remember us as Nehemiah and the criminal did, the Lord will remember us and help us fulfill our final spiritual recovery in our faith journey.

Again, according to the Bible, “There is no one righteous, not even one… Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law…” (Romans 3:9-20). Please keep in mind that all the recovery projects we have planned and want to accomplish need to begin with the Awesome and Great God. Like Nehemiah and the people of Israel, we need God’s wonderful guidance and supernatural strength every day.

That is why I emphasize the importance of the honest and humble prayer we need to make to the Lord: “Remember me with favor, my God” (Nehemiah 13:31).