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FORGETTING AND REMEMBERING (13 OF 13)

by Keith Krell

Scripture: Nehemiah 13:1-31
This content is part of a series.


Sermon Title: "Forgetting and Remembering"
Sermon Series: Rebuild and Renew (13 of 13)
Scripture: Nehemiah 13:1-31
Contributor: Keith Krell

Most of us like happy endings. I, for one, am a sucker for happy endings. I love it when the guy finally wins the girl, or when the father rescues his daughter from kidnappers. I love it in when the underdog wins the game. I love it when good triumphs over evil. I love any and all happy endings.

So, as we conclude the book of Nehemiah, we're all ready for the happy ending, right? And last week, we got it! Nehemiah 12 ended with God's people worshipping Him and triumphantly marching around on top of the wall! It was like the ultimate Thanksgiving Day parade! If the book of Nehemiah was a movie, it would have ended after ch. 12. It even had the credits with people's names! But Nehemiah doesn't have twelve chapters, it has thirteen. And it turns out that our hope for a happy ending is about to be thrown against the wall. Nehemiah isn't a Hallmark movie. There will be NO happily ever after.

Now, while this is disappointing, we know that life doesn't often lead to happy endings. So, I'm glad that the Bible is truthful enough to show that we don't live on top of the walls all the time.1 In Nehemiah 13, we discover there isn't a happy ending due to the faithlessness of God's people. The question is: How can God's people go from worshipping on the walls to reneging on their promises? To put it another way, how can a book on rebuilding and renewing end in regression. The answer is simple: By making small compromises. In Nehemiah 13, we're challenged to beware of three areas of compromise.2

1. Beware of Compromising Relationships (13:1-9). The account opens in 13:1 with: "On that day."3 This phrase doesn't refer back to the triumphant day in 12:44-47. Rather, 13:6-7 reveals that the events in 13:1-5 occur later.4 Verses 1-3 read: "On that day they read aloud from the book of Moses in the hearing of the people; and there ...

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