I recently heard a sermon on Nehemiah 13 which is an account of Nehemiah cleaning house upon his return from the Persian capital, Susa.
Before he left, he had everything in order and the Temple worship was taking place according to the Law and he put competent people in charge.
But, while he was gone, Eliashib, the priest in charge of the Hidden Chambers compromised in more ways than one.
He had become close to one of Nehemiah’s nemeses, Tobiah the Ammonite, who by Law was not even allowed to set foot in the assembly of God.
Eliashib gave him his own set of chambers where the things used in worship were supposed to be stored.
This was probably his misplaced effort to make peace with his enemy.
Give land/territory in exchange for peace…never works.
Beloved, our bodies are like the Temple.
The Hidden Chambers correlate with our memory system.
We are supposed to put things in our mind that lead us to worship.
What are we putting into our minds that are not of the Lord?
What movies, books, music, TV shows or other images and conversations are we compromising with and inviting to live in our chambers in the very space meant for God’s Word, worship songs and godly conversation/entertainment?
Ask the Spirit to show you what He wants you to clean out just like Nehemiah did when he tossed Tobiah out on his butt.
Nehemiah also found that they were not contributing to the Temple tithe so the priests were all off trying to make a living elsewhere.
Beloved, what you spend your money on is a good gauge of your walk with the Lord.
If you are not investing in the work of the Kingdom, it’s time to examine your heart, repent and ask the Lord where He wants you to invest your resources in His work.
Next, Nehemiah forced them to get back to honoring the Sabbath day of rest unto the Lord.
They were treating the Sabbath like any other day, buying and selling as usual.
He put an end to that and threatened anyone who would dare violate the Sabbath.
Beloved, are you giving God the time to rest with Him or are all your days spent on worldly concerns and entertainment.
He wants to spend time with us!
How much do you want to spend time with Him?
Lastly, Nehemiah rebuked them for marrying outside the faith because it would inevitably lead them to idolatry.
At the heart of it all was a heart problem.
Their heart was not completely the Lord’s so compromise was inevitable. Beloved, who has your heart?
Are you compromising with the world, the flesh or the devil for the sake of peace?
There will be no peace until you repent and come back to the Prince of Peace, clean out your Hidden Chambers and refill them with God’s Word and praise His name!