At that time the book of Moses was read publicly to the people. The command was found written in it that no Ammonite or Moabite should ever enter the assembly of God, because they did not meet the Israelites with food and water. Instead, they hired Balaam against them to curse them, but our God turned the curse into a blessing. When they heard the law, they separated all those of mixed descent from Israel.
Nehemiah 13:1-3
Last time we finished up with our messenger prophet, Malachi, remembering the coming Elijah and Messiah will turn people’s hearts to Him, then to each other. Today we pick back up with Nehemiah after a 5 1/2 month break from the book.
But perhaps we should back up a bit? The last time we were in Nehemiah (this past August), we read:
“So in the days of Zerubbabel and of Nehemiah, all Israel contributed the daily portions
for the musicians and the gatekeepers.
They also set aside the portion for the other Levites,
and the Levites set aside the portion for the descendants of Aaron.”
Nehemiah 12:47
The people were consecrating as holy a portion of all their produce, herds, and flocks for the Levites. And the Levites, in turn, were consecrating a portion for the sons of Aaron, the priests. Basically? They were doing what they were supposed to. Let’s dig into what goes on next (including quite a bit of historical background).
“On the day that they read the book of Moses in the hearing of the people…”
Read is qara – to call, proclaim, read; that are bidden, call for, forth, self, upon, cry unto, be famous, to call out to, invite, mention, preach, pronounce. Book is sepher – missive, document, writing; and in the hearing – ozen – ear, advertise, audience, displease, ear, hearing, show; from ‘azan; broadness. And people is am, folk.
With a broad audience of all the folk, the writing of Moses was proclaimed.
“It was found that no Ammonite or Moabite should come into the assembly of God forever…”
Here it was found is matsa – to find, befall, happen, hit, meet, overtake, possess, present, reach, spread, strike. Ammonite is from Ammon, a son of Lot; also his posterity and their country; a people living East of the Jordan. And Moabite is also a son of Lot, and his descendants. Assembly is qahal – assembly, congregation; God is Elohim; for is ad – as far as, even to, up to, until, while; and ever is olam – antiquity, always, forevermore.
It suddenly struck them no descendant of Ammon or Moab (Lot’s sons and their descendants) should come into he congregation of Elohim forever.
Since the Moabites and Ammonites are both descendants of Lot, we should probably start there.
Beginning in Genesis 13, we see Lot joining Abram to leave their people and go to the land God would show them. He was Abram’s nephew, and after a few years, both had too many possessions and herds to stay together…
“So Abram said to Lot, ‘Let’s not have any quarreling between you and me, or between your herders and mine, for we are close relatives. Is not the whole land before you? Let’s part company. If you go to the left, I’ll go to the right; if you go to the right, I’ll go to the left.’
Lot looked around and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan toward Zoar was well watered, like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt. (This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) So Lot chose for himself the whole plain of the Jordan and set out toward the east.
The two men parted company: Abram lived in the land of Canaan, while Lot lived among the cities of the plain and pitched his tents near Sodom. Now the people of Sodom were wicked and were sinning greatly against the Lord. (Gen 13:8-13)
Unfortunately, Sodom was about to be destroyed. But because of Abram’s intervening with God on behalf of Lot and his family, they were able to escape the devastation. However, after fleeing to a new town, one of his daughters had a….not good idea:
“One day the older daughter said to the younger, ‘Our father is old, and there is no man around here to give us children—as is the custom all over the earth. Let’s get our father to drink wine and then sleep with him and preserve our family line through our father.'” (Get 19:31-32)
I know, right? So…
“So both of Lot’s daughters became pregnant by their father. The older daughter had a son, and she named him Moab; he is the father of the Moabites of today. The younger daughter also had a son, and she named him Ben-Ammi; he is the father of the Ammonites of today.” (Gen 19:36-37)
So we have these two people groups from an incestuous relationship that grow mighty after the Israelites go to Egypt (with God using Joseph’s position to rescue them from famine) then come out of Egypt 400 years later (with God using Moses to lead them in the exodus and through the wilderness).
“Because they had not met the sons of Israel with bread and water…”
Here not met is qadam – to come or be in front, meet, anticipate, confront, receive, rise; flee before, disappoint, prevent; to project (one self)…to anticipate, hasten, meet – usually for help).
Because they had not met to help the sons of Israel [during their time in the wilderness] with bread and water.
“But hired Balaam against them to curse them…”
Against them is al (hover over). Balaam is Bil’am – a Mesopotamian prophet; and curse is qalal – to be slight, swift, trifling, abate, make bright, bring into contempt, accurse, despise, be easy.
But hired Balaam to have contempt hover over them.
Not only did these people groups not allow the Israelites pass through unharmed on their way to the Promised Land, they hired someone to curse them so they would not lose to them in battle.
“However, our God turned the curse into a blessing…”
Here turned is haphak – to turn, overturn, change, come, be converted, overthrow, perverse; curse is qelalah – curse, villification. And blessing is berakah – benefit, generous, gift, peace.
But God overturned the curse into a generous gift of peace.
How, you ask? You may have noticed Balaam is a Mesopotamian prophet. And here are some of the messages his man hired to curse God’s people gave:
Then Balaam spoke his message…
“How can I curse
those whom God has not cursed?”
From the rocky peaks I see them,
from the heights I view them.
I see a people who live apart
and do not consider themselves one of the nations.
(Numbers 23:7-10)
In case you’re curious what the guy who hired him had to say about this:
…Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? I brought you to curse my enemies, but you have done nothing but bless them!”
He answered, “Must I not speak what the Lord puts in my mouth?” (Numbers 23:11-12)
Then he spoke his message:
“Arise, Balak, and listen;
hear me, son of Zippor.
God is not human, that he should lie,
not a human being, that he should change his mind.
Does he speak and then not act?
Does he promise and not fulfill?
I have received a command to bless;
he has blessed, and I cannot change it.
“No misfortune is seen in Jacob,
no misery observed in Israel.
The Lord their God is with them;
the shout of the King is among them…
There is no divination against Jacob,
no evil omens against Israel.
It will now be said of Jacob
and of Israel, ‘See what God has done!’”
(17b-23)
When Balaam looked out and saw Israel encamped tribe by tribe, the Spirit of God came on him and he spoke his message:
“The prophecy of Balaam son of Beor…
“How beautiful are your tents, Jacob,
your dwelling places, Israel…
“May those who bless you be blessed
and those who curse you be cursed!” (numbers 24:2-4,9)
So, yeah, I’d say Yahweh turned what was meant for evil into a generous gift of peace for His people.
Anything this stirs in you? Has Yahweh ever taken something you know others meant for evil and turned it into a blessing in your life? We all probably have situations in which this is true, because we all have a genuine enemy of our souls and live in a broken world. May we hunt for the blessing in even the most difficult situations, knowing God has promised He is for us.
Now back to the Moabites and Ammonites not being in the congregation forever:
“So when they heard the Law, they separated the mixed multitude from Israel.”
Heard is shama – listen with intent to obey; Law is torah; separated is badal – to divide, exclude, make distinct, set apart, sever, make separate, distinguish; and mixed multitude is ereb – mixture, mixed company, Arabia; from arab; the web, or transverse threads of cloth; mingled people.
When they listened to Torah with intent to obey, they separated the mixed multitude from Israel.
We have seen the returned exiles separating from the surrounding nations before in our journey through Ezra and Nehemiah. This is always tricky for me, as God regularly, throughout the Hebrew Bible, is reaching the nations. And even Ruth, a woman in Jesus’ lineage, was herself a Moabitess.
I found this commentary helpful in instructing my thoughts:
“The meaning of which phrase is, not that they were prohibited from attending divine worship in the court of the Gentiles, and in their synagogues, but from being admitted to the privileges of Jews, and becoming one body with them by intermarriages. ‘None of the house of Israel, of either sex, were to enter into marriage with any Gentile, of what nation soever, unless they were first converted to their religion; and even in that case, some were debarred from it for ever, others only in part, and others again only for a limited time...'” (Source)
So, once again, we see God’s protection for His people to not be pulled away to the idols of the surrounding nations. If someone who was raised to worship such idols, and merely had an interest in the God of Israel, were to marry a follower of Yahweh, the lure of idolatry would inevitably (and historically) be heeded.
But I especially appreciate this does not mean Gentiles could not worship in Temple. Forever and always, those who seek Him will find Him. And He so loved the whole world.
All this makes me think of the walls of hostility Paul mentions with Jews an Gentile converts to Christ:
“But don’t take any of this for granted. It was only yesterday that you outsiders to God’s ways had no idea of any of this, didn’t know the first thing about the way God works, hadn’t the faintest idea of Christ. You knew nothing of that rich history of God’s covenants and promises in Israel, hadn’t a clue about what God was doing in the world at large. Now because of Christ—dying that death, shedding that blood—you who were once out of it altogether are in on everything.
The Messiah has made things up between us so that we’re now together on this, both non-Jewish outsiders and Jewish insiders. He tore down the wall we used to keep each other at a distance. He repealed the law code that had become so clogged with fine print and footnotes that it hindered more than it helped. Then he started over. Instead of continuing with two groups of people separated by centuries of animosity and suspicion, he created a new kind of human being, a fresh start for everybody.
Christ brought us together through his death on the cross. The Cross got us to embrace, and that was the end of the hostility. Christ came and preached peace to you outsiders and peace to us insiders. He treated us as equals, and so made us equals. Through him we both share the same Spirit and have equal access to the Father.”
Ephesians 2:13-18 (MSG)
It is all even more poignant as this week is Ash Wednesday and the beginning of the Lenten season. A time when we remember Christ’s sacrifice on all our behalf, leading up to His conquering of death.
Indeed, and praise God, He Himself is our peace.