November 15, 2026
Nehemiah 13:1–14
“When We Drift”
Service Overview: After everything Israel has experienced, Nehemiah returns to Jerusalem and discovers compromise already taking root. Tobiah has been given space in the very temple from which he once opposed God’s work, while the Levites have been neglected. Spiritual renewal cannot simply be remembered. God’s people must continually guard what God has entrusted to them because drift happens quietly when vigilance disappears.
Memory Verse for the Week:
Hebrews 2:1 – We must pay the most careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.
Background & Miscellaneous Insights:
- We must remember that after spending twelve years as governor, Nehemiah returned to serve King Artaxerxes in the palace at Susa. Verse 6 tells us that in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes’s reign, Nehemiah went back to Babylon. He had come in the twentieth year, so he spent twelve years on this complex project of building the wall, repopulating the city, and restoring stability and covenantal fidelity. (D. A. Carson, Learning from the Book of Nehemiah, 160)
- How many years was this? There is no way of knowing, since Nehemiah is vague. Presumably a considerable period of time elapsed, since the problems of the final chapter are major ones and would not have happened overnight. Guesses for the year of Nehemiah’s return to Jerusalem run from 425 BC’ to 420 BC,’ dates near the end of the reign of King Artaxerxes. (James Montgomery Boice, Nehemiah-An Expositional Commentary, 135)
- You recall that the people had met in a great convention to worship God. They had made a covenant with the Lord, and the stage seemed set for abiding blessing. But no, the same sins which had ruined their national life before their captivity had attacked again and overcome them. (Alan Redpath, Victorious Christian Service, 181–182)
- The people’s first offence was one from which all the others derived: they ignored God’s commands (1-3). Each of the sins exposed in this concluding chapter stems from a common source: disobedience to God’s Word. In the events here described, Nehemiah tackles the same issues which figured prominently in the public covenant renewal described in 10:28-39. (Raymond Brown, The Message of Nehemiah, 219)
How does spiritual drift take hold among God’s people?
- When God’s Word loses its authority.
(vv. 1–3 cf. 2 Kgs 17:13–15; Prov 14:12; Isa 5:20–21; Matt 15:6–9; 2 Tim 4:3–4)
The people’s first offence was one from which all the others derived: they ignored God’s commands (1-3). Each of the sins exposed in this concluding chapter stems from a common source: disobedience to God’s Word. (Raymond Brown, The Message of Nehemiah, 219)
When God’s people cease to be on watch against the world, they are already in its grip, and continuous weakening is all that can be expected as long as this negligence lasts. (J. I. Packer, A Passion for Faithfulness, 178)
- When compromise is allowed to take root.
(vv. 4–9 cf. 1 Kgs 11:1–4; Prov 4:23; Matt 6:24; 21:12–13; Rom 12:2; 1 Cor 5:6–7; Eph 4:27; Jas 4:4)
How easily the people had settled down to a comfortable compromise after Nehemiah’s departure. His arch-enemy Tobiah (an Ammonite!) had taken up lodgings in the Temple (verses 4-5). (Dave Cave, Ezra & Nehemiah, 238)
Where God has sent reformation, Satan will work, behind the scenes if not overtly, for deformation of all that was made new. (J. I. Packer, A Passion for Faithfulness, 170)
- When spiritual responsibilities are neglected.
(vv. 10–14 cf. Deut 12:19; Neh 10:37–39; Mal 3:8–10; Matt 6:33; 1 Cor 9:13–14; Gal 6:6–10; 1 Tim 5:17–18; 3 Jn 5–8)
What a change from chapter 12:44-47 when the people were so willing to give. Now they have moved from thanks-giving to grudge-giving. The financial crisis at the Temple was so great that many of the Temple staff have been forced to go home in order to have enough to eat (verse 11). (Dave Cave, Ezra & Nehemiah, 241)
The payment of tithes for the Levites’ support was crucial for the continuance of their work. The priests could exist on the allotted portions of the sacrifices which were brought to the temple, but the Levites had nothing but the tithe money. If that was withheld, God’s voice through their ministry was virtually silenced. (Raymond Brown, The Message of Nehemiah, 234)
What should we do when we discover we’ve drifted?
- Return to God’s Word and allow it to examine our lives.
(Ps 119:9–11; 139:23–24; Luke 8:15; John 17:17; Heb 4:12–13; Jas 1:22–25)
There is an absorbing realism about Scripture. It refuses to present us with a romantic portrait of life; things do not always develop as we hope. ‘Good beginnings are no guarantee of happy endings’. (Raymond Brown, The Message of Nehemiah, 218)
Repentance, therefore, is fundamentally a humble expression of a desire for a renewed relationship with God. (Bryan Chapell, Holiness by Grace, 83–84)
- Remove the compromises we’ve allowed to take root.
(Gen 35:2–4; Prov 28:13; Matt 5:29–30; Rom 13:12–14; 2 Cor 7:1; Eph 4:22–24)
Here is the great evangelical disaster – the failure of the evangelical world to stand for truth as truth. There is only one word for this – namely accommodation. The evangelical church has accommodated to the world spirit of the age. First, there has been accommodation on Scripture, so that many who call themselves evangelicals hold a weakened view of the Bible and no longer affirm the truth of all the Bible teaches – truth not only in religious matters but in the areas of science and history and morality… This accommodation has been costly, first in destroying the power of the Scriptures to confront the spirit of our age; second, in allowing the further slide of our culture. Thus we must say with tears that it is the evangelical accommodation to the world spirit around us, to the wisdom of this age, which removes the evangelical church from standing against the breakdown of our culture. (Francis Schaeffer, The Great Evangelical Disaster, 37-38)
- Restore the spiritual priorities we’ve neglected.
(Deut 6:5–9; Ps 51:10–12; Rom 12:11–13; Col 3:1–4; Heb 10:24–25; Rev 2:4–5)
We don’t drift into spiritual life; we do not drift into disciplined prayer. We do not grow in prayer unless we plan to pray. That means we must set aside time to do nothing but pray. What we actually do reflects our highest priorities. That means that we can proclaim our commitment to prayer until the cows come home, but unless we actually pray, our actions disown our words. (D.A. Carson, A Call to Spiritual Reformation, 19)
Gospel Connection:
The good news of Jesus is that He does what outward reform can’t: He transforms our hearts, giving us the desire and power to live for God.
(Jer 31:31–34; Ezek 36:26–27; John 3:3–8; Rom 6:4–6; 8:3–4; Phil 2:12–13)
The Old Testament was full of promises made by men, promises which were broken. Jesus Christ came that the New Testament might be full of promises made by God which would be kept. He came that the Holy Spirit might dwell in us to give us victory, and to make us pure channels through whom He can reach the lost. (Alan Redpath, Victorious Christian Service, 183)
Spiritual Challenge Questions…
Reflect on these questions during your time with the Lord this week, or discuss with your friends, family, or Life Group.
- What does spiritual drift look like, and why is it often difficult to recognize when it’s happening?
- What are some ways we can gradually begin relying on our own judgment rather than the authority of God’s Word?
- Eliashib allowed Tobiah to occupy a room in God’s temple (vv. 4–9). What does this teach us about the danger of allowing compromise into our lives?
- What are some seemingly small compromises that can eventually lead us away from God?
- In Nehemiah 13:10–14, the people had neglected their responsibility to support the temple ministry. What spiritual responsibilities are Christians most likely to neglect today?
- Of the three responses to spiritual drift (return to God’s Word, remove compromise, and restore spiritual priorities), which do you find most challenging, and why?
- Why are good intentions, personal resolutions, and outward religious activities insufficient to bring about lasting spiritual transformation?
- How does the good news that Jesus transforms our hearts through the Holy Spirit give us hope when we recognize areas of spiritual drift in our lives?