Nehemiah 13:4a-5

Eliashib the priest had been put in charge of the storerooms of the house of our God. He was closely associated with Tobiah, and he had provided him with a large room formerly used to store the grain offerings and incense and temple articles, and also the tithes of grain, new wine and olive oil prescribed for the Levites, musicians and gatekeepers, as well as the contributions for the priests.

Over the years I have listened to the heartbreak of men and women who once were on fire for the Lord. Little by little the flame began to flicker and their walk with the Lord took a nose dive. They wanted me to tell them what went wrong.

Almost without exception it was because they had allowed questionable things to slip into their life. After a time these people, places or things took control of what had been reserved for the Lord. Chaos followed. It always has and always will!

In the book of Nehemiah we are introduced to an evil man by the name of Tobiah. He was one of the men who opposed Nehemiah when he returned from exile and began to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. At first Tobiah and his cohorts just mocked Nehemiah’s building project, but later they plotted violence to stop it. Nehemiah used his reliance on the Lord to overcome the detractors and the wall was finished, and Nehemiah once again returned to serve as cupbearer to the king.

He finally came back to Jerusalem and to his shock the high priest had gone so far as to make a special room for this evil man, Tobiah. Nehemiah threw him out and established purity once again.

Read this story in Nehemiah 13 and then examine your own life. Have you allowed a Tobiah to take up residence somewhere in your life? Throw him or it out! That is the only way to find purity with God once again.

Blessings dear hearts! Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!

—Pastor Cecil