Don't Dabble With Danger

Monday, October 31, 2011

Reading: Nehemiah 13:1-5

Reflection: This is a difficult passage because it seems to the modern mind to be religious racism. Removed from the larger context, it looks like God has asked his people to exclude anyone who comes from a specific ethnic background from the worship of God. However, it needs to be remembered that a fragile people are in the process of reestablishing the foundations upon which their entire society will be built. Proper and pure worship will be critical for the future of the people. However, the Israelite people have proven over and over that they have a hard time preventing their faith from being defiled by surrounding nations. The Israelites tend to worship other gods and adapt impure rituals for their own religious expression. For that reason, God orders them to remove any people who might lead them down the wrong path. In this way, what God is doing has more to do with the weaknesses of the Israelites than it does the wickedness of the nations. We would do well to remember this truth. All of us have certain areas of weakness. In those areas, we need to completely remove those things that can lead us astray. If we dabble with danger, we will end up wandering from God and distorting our worship.