Roanoke Rapids herald. [volume] (Roanoke Rapids, N.C.) 1914-192?, 1917-12-14
LESSON FOR DECEMBER 16
NEHEMIAH ENFoRcEs THE LAW
OF THE SABBATH.


LESSON TEXT-Nehemiah i3i5-22.
GOLDEN TEXT Remember the Sab
bath Day to keep II holy.-Exod. 2o;S.
Nehemiah remained In Jerusalem
twelve years, from Il. G. 444 to Is. e.
432. He was then recalled and wns
In Persia some years, perhaps five or
seven, but returned about d. G. 40,
the year Arlaxerxes died, for we know
that he returned by permission OF that
king. Therefore. the date OF this les
son would be sometime l., the summer
or early autumn of 426 or 427 y. CO.
10 or IS years following last Sundays
lesson.
In the section, w. lola, We see that
the gifts for the house Of God ANA
the Levltes, who led In worship, had
been neglected. Whenever the house
Of God and It's service OF worship Is
neglected we may expect that the Sab
bath day and the worship Of God VIII
also soon full into contempt. Ezra has
dropped out Of orr history without
hint MS to his end. lie may have re-
turned TO Babylon. seeing that his
work was completed or have been re-
called by the king. Perhaps he brought
back information to Nehemiah at the
Persian court. Of the declension which
had already started in the city Of Jeru-
salem. Three times In this chapter
the word remember" is emphasized.
Perhaps that offers suggestion as to
our outline.
|. "Remerber' ". 14) the Neglect
Of Gods House. wv. lid. The neg
lect of Gods house grew up out OF the
IncursIOn of heathenlsm into Jewish
life. Nehemiah realized that the pur-
ity Of the race depended upon absolute
separation from the mixed multitude.
". 81. Nehemiah also confronted the
difficulty Of having priest ,(vv. 4. 81.
who had defiled himself and also desc
Grated the temple. and finally the por-
tIon for the support Of the priest and
the temple worship had been withheld.
". 10). This was the state Of things
with which Nehemiah had to contend.
u. "Remember" ". 12) the Sab
bath Day. wv. 15-22). Nehemiah's
next and most difficult reform was re-
gardng the fourth commandment He
Mt once set about to learn the facts;
then relates what he saw ". 15). The
record also tells how he testified
against them In that they were selling
merchandise on the Sabbath day. He
contended with the mobiles that they
had done evil on the Sabbath day. ".
~. He testified against them that
the merchants and sellers Of ware had
lodged about and within Jerusalem.
(vv. 20. Ply. The root of the trouble
with Judah was that they forgot Gods
word and followed the devices and de-
slres of their own hearts. The Jewish
Sabbath In its outward form on the
exact day of the week Is not binding
upon Gentle Christians (C0l. 2:16, ~.
It was given 10 Israel ms n people,
(Deut. 81, p. rs memorial Of their
deliyerance out OF the land OF Egypt
and the house Of bondage. (Deut. 5:6).
The Christian, by the death OF Christ,
is made dead to the letter Of the law
of Noses (Deut. 7:4), but the prln-
cIple of the Sabbath is older than even
the law Of Moses and Is rs binding
upon the Christian believer ms are the
many other principles which underiie
the Mosaic law. In Its exact form. the
seventh day, the observance Of the
Sabbath belongs to the old order and
not to the Christian order. Christ, who
rose from the dead Qtom. 7:4), rose
on the first day Of the week, and we,
as Joined to Christ, are not under OBJ
legations to the Mosaic law, but to
Christ. Therefore, the Lords day, the
resurrection day. the first day OF the
week. (Rev. / 10; John 81 20; 10
%; Acts 27), is the day Of privilege,
not of obligation and Is more sacred
to us than the Sabbath day OF these
Jews, The Jews In Nehemlah's time
showed their contempt of the Lords
day by making II a dry Of profit. hence
this exhortati0n which we see set forth
In this section. This should be warn
ing and an exhOrtatlon to us In these
days of n secularized Sabbath.
~. "Remember" ". 29) the Holy
Priesthood. wv. 23-3D. In this section
we see that the priesthood had even
def,led themselves with women, and
again this Nehemiah entered upon .
cleansing process, wv. 3oSD. The use
of this word remember" In verses IA,
% and % gives strong emphasis 20 the
three cardinal sins against which Ne
hemlah was battling.
~. Summary: AS In Nehemlah's ,
time, so now, Sabbath dissertation Is
the surest road 10 national ruin, and 4
large proportion Of our present calam'
Ity can be trnced to growing irrever-
ence for the Lords day. Jesus swept .
=
away the cobwebs of Sabbath irrever-
epce. but did not tear down the house.
He kept the principle, but removed the
barnacles with which the Pharlsees
and Jews had encountered 1t. Jesus
tnught that the Sabbath was made FOR
man and not man for the Sabbath.
mark 2:27 2S), and he set himself rs
an example In this regard, for he Is
Lord Of that day MS well as the other
days Of the week.
The Sabbath Is n day Of rest and II
observed, workmen without exception
will produce more than Is possible IL It
Is not observed. Recent confirmation
Of this principle can be found In the
report Of the British ministry of NUM-
,t,a thn 0ahha |