for the reading of the law of Moses in the hearing of the people. A
pulpit of wood, large enough to hold Ezra the Scribe and thirteen
others, was built. The people wept when they heard the words of the
law, but Nehemiah said:
"Mourn not, nor weep. Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet,
and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this
day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the
Lord is your strength."
He did not forget the poor. Reading the Bible and remembering the
poor--a combination of faith and works--will always bring joy.
Nehemiah then began to govern the city, and correct the abuses he
found existing. He gathered about fifty priests and scribes together
and made them sign and seal a written covenant. There were five
things in that covenant I want to call attention to.
First, _they were not to give their daughters to the heathen_.
They had been violating the law of God, and had been marrying their
daughters to the ungodly. God had forbidden them to intermarry with
the heathen nations in the land of Canaan; "for they will turn away
thy son from following me, that they may serve other gods: so will
the anger of the Lord be kindled against you and _destroy thee
suddenly_." I have known many a man who has lost his power by being
identified with the ungodly. If you want to have the blessing of God
rest upon you, you must be very careful about your alliances. The
Jews always got into trouble when they married with the nations
round about. The houses of Ahab and of Solomon lost their kingdom by
that sin. That was the cause of the overthrow of David's kingdom.
Families who marry for wealth, and marry the godly to the ungodly,
always bring distress into the family.
Then he made them sign a covenant that they would _keep the
Sabbath_, that they would not buy upon the Sabbath.
Think of a man going from a heathen court where they had no Sabbath,
a man brought up in that atmosphere, coming up to Jerusalem and
enforcing the law of Moses! It is recorded that they brought up
fish, and he would not let them into the city on the Sabbath, and
the fish spoiled. After they had tried that a few times, they gave
it up. If you will take your stand for God, even if you stand alone,
it will not be very long before you will get other men to stand with
you. God stood with this man, and he carried everything before him.
I don't believe we shall have the right atmosphere in this country
until we can get men who have backbone enough to stand up against
the thing they believe is wrong. If it is a custom rooted and
grounded for a hundred years, never mind; you take your stand
against it if you believe it is wrong. If you have gatherings, and
it is fashionable to have wine and champagne, and you are a
teetotaler; if they ask you anywhere and you know that they are to
have drink, tell them you are not going. A man said to me some years
ago:
"Mr. Moody, now that I am converted, must I give up the world?"
I said: "No, you haven't got to give up the world. If you give a
good ringing testimony for the Son of God, the world will give you
up pretty quick; they won't want you around."
They were going to have a great celebration at the opening of a
saloon and billiard hall in Chicago, in the northern part of the
city, where I lived. It was to be a gateway to death and to hell,
one of the worst places in Chicago. As a joke they sent me an
invitation to go to the opening. I took the invitation and went down
and saw the two men who had the saloon, and I said:
"Is that a genuine invitation?"
They said it was.
"Thank you," I said, "I will be around; if there is anything here I
don't like I may have something to say about it."