Often, when we think of the Jewish people, we think of how well they know their scriptures. In my own conversations with Jews, I’ve heard them refer to themselves as the people of the book, and so they are. However, this wasn’t always so! How can I say this? It is because books and paper weren’t always readily available in ancient times. Therefore, only priests and rich folk had books, like the scriptures available to them, and paper or, rather, papyrus was expensive and also available only to scribes/priests and rich folk. While there may have been exceptions, this was the general rule. This is why we unearth writings on broken pottery etc., during archeological excavations. People don’t write on broken pottery today, as a general rule, because paper is so readily available. Nevertheless, in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah, the Jews, although they may have known that, traditionally, they weren’t to mix with the heathen, probably weren’t aware of how the Law of Moses condemned such behavior as rebellion against the Lord, their God. Therefore, when Ezra read from the Law of Moses in the presence of all the people, they were astonished and wept before the Lord, because their sins against the Mosaic Covenant were exposed to their understanding, as they listened to Ezra read from the Law.
The final chapter of the Book of Nehemiah begins with: “On that day…” (Nehemiah 13:1). What day was that? The day Nehemiah had in mind was the day in which Ezra read from the Law (Nehemiah 8:1-8), and that day was the first day of the seventh month in the Jewish calendar, vis-à-vis the Feast of Trumpets (Nehemiah 8:2). Ezra had just arrived in Jerusalem from Babylon at the beginning of the fifth month in the calendar (Ezra 7:8-9). It was at that time, vis-à-vis the Feast of Trumpets, that the Jews found written in the Law that the Lord had forbidden them to bring the Ammonite and the Moabite into their company. They were to have no dealings with them, because, instead of being kind to Israel, they hired Balaam to curse the nation. Nevertheless, the Lord had changed his curse into a blessing (Nehemiah 13:1-2; cp. Numbers 23:11). When the Jews heard this, they immediately removed all of those who were of mixed ancestry (Nehemiah 13:3).
Nehemiah had come to Jerusalem for the second time, probably only a few months prior to the coming of Ezra and the company of Jews with him (Nehemiah 13:6-7; cp. Ezra 7:8-9). It was at this time that Nehemiah discovered what Eliashib, the priest had done during Nehemiah’s absence (cp. Nehemiah 13:6). Eliashib had oversight of the chamber of the House of God, where the tithes were stored for the priests, and where the offerings for the purpose of supplying a living for the Levites, singers and gatekeepers were kept, while they served in the Temple of the Lord (Nehemiah 13:4). However, Eliashib took that chamber and had it converted into a place for Tobiah, the Ammonite (Nehemiah 2:10, 19; 4:3) to use and store his goods (Nehemiah 13:4-5).
How could this occur? Well, Tobiah was allied with many of the nobility of the Jews, even during Nehemiah’s first tenure in Jerusalem, because Tobiah, the Ammonite, was the son-in-law of Shechaniah, a member of one of Judah’s chief families (Nehemiah 6:18; cp. 7:10) Moreover, Tobiah’s son, Johanan, had married the daughter of Meshullam, the son of Berechiah. For his part, Meshullam appears to be a priest of some rank, because he had oversight of a chamber in the Temple of God (cp. Nehemiah 3:30). Therefore, if this is true, his importance may extend to a marital alliance with one of Eliashib’s sons or daughters (cp. Nehemiah 13:4). Thus, in a roundabout manner, Tobiah, the Ammonite, and Eliashib, the high priest, were allied together, and corruption ensued.
After Nehemiah returned to Jerusalem for the second time (Nehemiah 13:6) and learned what had been done in his absence, he cast out all that pertained to Tobiah from the Temple and had the chamber cleansed and returned it for its proper use of storing the tithes and offerings for the priests and Levites who served at the Temple (Nehemiah 13:6-9). A thought to consider is, when this was done, did Nehemiah do it immediately upon learning what Eliashib had done, or did he delay the event to coincide with Ezra’s reading of the Law in the seventh month of the calendar year? If the event occurred later, to coincide with Ezra’s coming and reading of the Law, the impact of removing the heathen probably would have had a greater and, perhaps, a more solemn impact upon the people (Nehemiah 8:5, 8-9), who then, immediately, separated those of mixed nationality from among themselves (Nehemiah 13:1-3)!
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