'In those days saw I in Judah some treading wine presses on the
sabbath, and bringing in sheaves, and lading asses; as also wine,
grapes, and figs, and all manner of burdens, which they brought into
Jerusalem on the sabbath day: and I testified against them in the day
wherein they sold victuals. 16. There dwelt men of Tyre also therein,
which brought fish, and all manner of ware, and sold on the sabbath
unto the children of Judah, and in Jerusalem. 17. Then I contended
with the nobles of Judah, and said unto them, What evil thing is this
that ye do, and profane the sabbath day? 18. Did not your fathers
thus, and did not our God bring all this evil upon us, and upon this
city? yet ye bring more wrath upon Israel by profaning the sabbath,
19. And it came to pass, that when the gates of Jerusalem began to be
dark before the sabbath, I commanded that the gates should be shut,
and charged that they should not be opened till after the sabbath: and
some of my servants set I at the gates, that there should no burden be
brought in on the sabbath day. 20. So the merchants and sellers of all
kind of ware lodged without Jerusalem once or twice. 21. Then I
testified against them, and said unto them, Why lodge ye about the
wall? if ye do so again, I will lay hands on you. From that time forth
came they no more on the sabbath. 22. And I commanded the Levites that
they should cleanse themselves, and that they should come and keep the
gates, to sanctify the sabbath day. Remember me, O my God, concerning
this also, and spare me according to the greatness of Thy
mercy.'--NEH. xiii. 15-22.
Many religious and moral reformations depend for their vitality on one
man, and droop if his influence be withdrawn. It was so with
Nehemiah's work. He toiled for twelve years in Jerusalem, and then
returned for 'certain days' to the king at Babylon. The length of his
absence is not given; but it was long enough to let much of his work
be undone, and to give him much trouble to restore it to the condition
in which he had left it. This last chapter of his book is but a sad
close for a record which began with such high hope, and tells of such
strenuous, self-sacrificing effort. The last page of many a reformer's
history has been, like Nehemiah's, a sad account of efforts to stem
the ebbing tide of enthusiasm and the flowing tide of worldliness. The
heavy stone is rolled a little way up hill, and, as soon as one strong
hand is withdrawn, down it tumbles again to its old place. The
evanescence of great men's work makes much of the tragedy of history.
Our passage is particularly concerned with Nehemiah's efforts to
enforce Sabbath observance. The rest of the chapter is occupied with
similar efforts to set right other irregularities of a ceremonial
character, such as the exclusion of Gentiles from the Temple, the
exaction of the 'portions of the Levites,' and the like. The passage
falls into three parts--the abuse (vs. 15, 16), the vigorous remedies
(vs. 17-22), and the prayer (v. 22).
I. The abuse consisted in Sabbath work and trading. Nehemiah found, on
his return, that the people 'in Judaea'--that is, in the country
districts--carried on their farm labour and also brought their produce
to market to Jerusalem on the Sabbath. So he 'testified against them
in the day wherein they sold victuals'; that is, probably meaning that
he warned them either in person or by messengers before taking further
steps. Not only did Jews break the sacred day, but they let heathen do
so too. The narrative tells, with a kind of horror, the many
aggravations of this piece of wickedness. 'They'--Gentiles with whom
contact defiled--'sold on the Sabbath'--the day of rest--'to the
children of Judah'--God's people--'in Jerusalem'--the Holy City. It
was a many-barrelled crime. Tyre was far from Jerusalem, and one does
not see how fish could have been brought in good condition. Perhaps
their perishableness was the excuse for allowing their sale on the
Sabbath, as is sometimes the case in fishing-villages even in
Sabbath-keeping Scotland. Such was the abuse with which Nehemiah
struggled.
It is easy to pooh-pooh his crusade against Sabbath labour as mere
scrupulousness about externals. But it is a blunder and an injustice
to a noble character if we forget that the stage of revelation at
which he stood necessarily made him more dependent on externals than
Christians are or should be. But his vindication does not need such
considerations. He had a truer insight into what active men needed for
vigorous working days, and what devout men needed for healthy
religion, than many moderns who smile at his eagerness about 'mere
externalisms.'
It is easy to ridicule the Jewish Sabbath and 'the Puritan Sunday.' No
doubt there have been and are well-meant but mistaken efforts to
insist on too rigid observance. No doubt it has been often forgotten
by good people that the Christian Lord's Day is not the Jewish
Sabbath. Of course the religious observance of the day is not a fit
subject for legislation. But the need for a seventh day of rest is
impressed on our physical and intellectual nature; and devout hearts
will joyfully find their best rest in Christian worship and service.
The vigour of religious life demands special seasons set apart for
worship. Unless there be such reservoirs along the road, there will be
but a thin trickle of a brook by the way. It is all very well to talk
about religion diffused through the life, but it will not be so
diffused unless it is concentrated at certain times.
They are no benefactors to the community who seek to break down and
relax the stringency of the prohibition of labour. If once the idea
that Sunday is a day of amusement take root, the amusement of some
will require the hard work of others, and the custom of work will tend
to extend, till rest becomes the exception, and work the rule. There
never was a time when men lived so furiously fast as now. The pace of
modern life demands Sunday rest more than ever. If a railway car is
run continually it will wear out sooner than if it were laid aside for
a day or two occasionally; and if it is run at express speed it will
need the rest more. We are all going at top speed; and there would be
more breakdowns if it were not for that blessed institution which some
people think they are promoting the public good by destroying--a
seventh day of rest.
Our great trading centres in England have the same foreign element to
complicate matters as Nehemiah had to deal with. The Tyrian
fishmongers knew and cared nothing for Israel's Jehovah or Sabbath,
and their presence would increase the tendency to disregard the day.
So with us, foreigners of many nationalities, but alike in their
disregard of our religious observances, leaven the society, and help
to mould the opinions and practices, of our great cities. That is a
very real source of danger in regard to Sabbath observance and many
other things; and Christian people should be on their guard against
it.
II. The vigorous remedies applied by Nehemiah were administered first
to the rulers. He sent for the nobles, and laid the blame at their
doors. 'Ye profane the day,' said he. Men in authority are responsible
for crimes which they could check, but prefer to wink at. Nehemiah
seems to trace all the national calamities to the breach of the
Sabbath; but of course he is simply laying stress on the sin about
which he is speaking, as any man who sets himself earnestly to work to
fight any form of evil is apt to do. Then the men who are not in
earnest cry out about 'exaggeration.' Many other sins besides
Sabbath-breaking had a share in sending Israel into captivity; and if
Nehemiah had been fighting with idolatrous tendencies he would have
isolated idolatry as the cause of its calamities, just as, when
fighting against Sabbath-breaking, he emphasises that sin.
Nehemiah was governor for the Persian king, and so had a right to rate
these nobles. In this day the people have the same right, and there
are many social sins for which they should arraign civic and other
authorities. Christian principles unflinchingly insisted on by
Christian people, and brought to bear, by ballot-boxes and other
persuasive ways, on what stands for conscience in some high places,
would make a wonderful difference on many of the abominations of our
cities. Go to the 'nobles' first, and lay the burden on the backs that
ought to carry it.
Then Nehemiah took practical measures by shutting the city gates on
the eve of the Sabbath, and putting some of his own servants as a
watch. The thing seems to have been done without any notice; so when
the country folk came in, as usual, on the Sabbath, they could not get
into the city, and camped outside, making a visible temptation to the
citizens, to slip out and do a little business, if they could manage
to elude the guards. Once or twice this happened; and then Nehemiah
himself seems to have taken them in hand, with a very plain and
sufficiently emphatic warning: 'If ye do so again, I will lay hands on
you.'
Of course, 'from that time they came no more on the Sabbath,' as was
natural after such a volley. A man with a good strong will is apt to
get his own way, even when he is not clothed with the authority of a
governor. Then Nehemiah strengthened the guard, or perhaps withdrew
his own servants and substituted for them Levites, whose official
position would put them in full sympathy with his efforts. That
priestly guard would be inflexible, and with its appointment the abuse
appears to have been crushed.
The example of Nehemiah's enforcing Sabbath observance is not to be
taken as a pattern for Christian communities, without many
limitations. But it appears to the present writer that it is perfectly
legitimate for the civil power to insist upon, and if necessary to
enforce, the observance of Sunday as a day of rest; and that, since
legitimate, it is for the well-being of the community that it should
do so. Tyrians might believe anything they chose, and use the day of
rest as they thought proper, so long as they did not sell fish on it.
We do not interfere with religious convictions when we enjoin Sunday
observance. Nehemiah's argument has sometimes to be used, even about
such a matter: 'If ye do so again, I will lay hands on you.'
The methods adopted may yield suggestions for all who would aim at
reforming abuses or public immoralities. One most necessary step is to
cut off, as far as possible, opportunities for the sin. There will be
no trade if you shut the gates the night before. There will be little
drunkenness if there are no liquor shops. It is quite true that people
cannot be made virtuous by legislation, but it is also true that they
may be saved from temptations to become vicious by it.
Another hint comes from Nehemiah's vigorous word to the country folk
outside the wall. There is need for very strong determination and much
sanctified obstinacy in fighting popular abuses. They die hard. It is
permissible to invoke the aid of the lawful authority. But a man with
strong convictions and earnest purpose will be able to impress his
convictions on a mass, even if he have no guards at his back. The one
thing needful for Christian reformers is, not the power to appeal to
force, but the force which they can carry within them. And it is
better when the traders love the Sabbath too well to wish to drive
bargains on it, than when they are hindered from doing as they wish by
Nehemiah's strong will or formidable threats.
Once more, the guard of Levites may suggest that the execution of
measures for the reformation of manners or morals is best entrusted to
those who are in sympathy with them. Levites made faithful watchmen.
Many a promising measure for reformation has come to nothing because
committed to the hands of functionaries who did not care for its
success. The instruments are almost as important as the measures which
they carry out.
III. Nehemiah's prayer occurs thrice in this chapter, at the close of
each section recounting his reforming acts. In the first instance (v.
14) it is most full, and puts very plainly the merit of good deeds as
a plea with God. The same thing is implied in its form in verse 22.
But while, no doubt, the tone of the prayer is startling to us, and is
not such as should be offered now by Christians, it but echoes the
principle of retribution which underlies the law. 'This do, and thou
shalt live,' was the very foundation of Nehemiah's form of God's
revelation. We do not plead our own merits, because we are not under
the law, but under grace, and the principle underlying the gospel is
life by impartation of unmerited mercy and divine life. But the law of
retribution still remains valid for Christians in so far as that God
will never forget any of their works, and will give them full
recompense for their work of faith and labour of love. Eternal life
here and hereafter is wholly the gift of God; but that fact does not
exclude the notion of 'the recompense of reward' from the Christian
conception of the future. It becomes not us to present our good deeds
before the Judge, since they are stained and imperfect, and the
goodness in them is His gift. But it becomes Him to crown them with
His gracious approbation, and to proportion the cities ruled in that
future world to the talents faithfully used here. We need not be
afraid of obscuring the truth that we are saved 'not of works, lest
any man should boast,' though we insist that a Christian man is
rewarded according to his works.
Nehemiah had no false notion of his own goodness; for, while he asked
for recompense for these good deeds of his, he could not but add,
'Spare me according to the greatness of Thy mercy.' He who asks to be
'spared' must know himself in peril of destruction; and he who invokes
'mercy' must think that, if he were dealt with according to justice,
he would be in evil case. So the consciousness of weakness and sin is
an integral part of this prayer, and that takes all the apparent
self-righteousness out of the previous petition. However worthy of and
sure of reward a Christian man's acts of love and efforts for the
spread of God's honour may be, the doer of them must still be 'looking
for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.'