Eliashib and the Nobles of Judah - David Canfield

Admin · 05-09-2009, 02:59 PM

Eliashib and the Nobles of Judah
David Canfield • Chicago, Illinois
7th May 2009

During the recent turmoil many of us were thoroughly disappointed that so many elders and leading ones among us went along with the Blended Brothers’ efforts to subvert the churches’ testimony to Christ. However, the Old Testament book of Nehemiah provides a clear picture that may give us a better understanding of this failure. It is found in the history of a man named Eliashib. As we consider the very negative, even tragic, example of this man, may we keep in mind that it is always and only God’s mercy than enables any of us to be faithful to the Lord.

Eliashib was high priest in Jerusalem during the time of Ezra and Nehemiah (Neh. 3:1, 13:28), when the wall of Jerusalem was rebuilt. In addition, he was “appointed over the chambers of the house of our God” (Neh. 13:4). Clearly he was a man of considerable standing among the people of God at that time. Moreover, it is clear that he was for God and God’s desire not only in terms of his position, but personally as well, since the Bible records that when Nehemiah spoke to the Jews to encourage them to rebuild the wall, the very first one to respond and actually rise up for the rebuilding work was this Eliashib:

Then [Nehemiah] said to them, “You see the bad situation we are in, that Jerusalem is desolate and its gates
burned by fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem so that we will no longer be a reproach.”... (Neh. 2:17).

Then Eliashib the high priest rose up with his brothers the priests and built the Sheep Gate; they consecrated it and
hung its doors. They consecrated the wall to the Tower of the Hundred and the Tower of Hananel (Neh. 3:1).

And yet, the book of Nehemiah goes on to record that Eliashib’s ending was not positive, but rather, quite negative and sad. In fact, it was Eliashib himself who, after the Lord’s servant left Jerusalem, gave place to the enemies of God in the very temple of God:

Eliashib the priest, who was appointed over the chambers of the house of our God, being related to Tobiah, had prepared
a large room for him, where formerly they put the grain offerings, the frankincense, the utensils, and the tithes of grain, wine,
and oil prescribed for the Levites, the singers, and the gatekeepers, and the contributions for the priests (13:4-5).

This is almost unbelievable, and yet it is recorded in the Bible. The high priest—even the very same one who first rose up to begin rebuilding the wall—was the very one to make a place for God’s enemy in the temple! The one who had been “appointed over the chambers of the house of our God” removed “the grain offerings, the frankincense, the utensils and the tithes of grain, wine, and oil” to make room for the enemy of God and of His people!

Eliashib does not appear to have been an evil man himself, but rather, a good man—one who was for God’s testimony and had a good beginning in his service to the Lord. Nevertheless, in the end what he did was remarkably evil and a great shame to God’s testimony. How could such a one have behaved in this way? The answer is, because he was “related” (13:4) to an enemy of God’s people.

It is quite striking that Eliashib’s name is not recorded among those who participated in the dedication of the wall in Nehemiah 12:27-43, which was a joyful time for celebrating the Jew’s victory, even though he was the high priest and the first to start the building work on the wall. Rather, the last mention of Eliashib is at the end of the book of Nehemiah, when Nehemiah was dealing with a number of negative situations among the Jews in Jerusalem:

Even one of the sons of Joiada, the son of Eliashib the high priest, was a son-inlaw
of Sanballat the Horonite, so I drove him away from me (13:28).

Although the one whom Nehemiah drove away appears to have been the grandson of Eliashib, it may indicate that he drove Eliashib away as well. In any event, it is clear how far the high priest had fallen from his first standing by mingling himself and his family with the enemies of God’s people.

Actually, the book of Nehemiah shows that it was not only Eliashib who was related to God’s enemies; to the contrary, many of the leading ones among the Jews at that time were also connected to Tobiah, even at the time Nehemiah was having to deal with the plots of these enemies against the rebuilding work. Nehemiah wrote:

In those days many letters went from the nobles of Judah to Tobiah, and Tobiah’s letters came to them. For many
in Judah were bound by oath to him because he was the son-in-law of Shecaniah the son of Arah, and his son Jehohanan
had married the daughter of Meshullam the son of Berechiah. Moreover, they were speaking about his good deeds in
my presence and reported my words to him. Then Tobiah sent letters to frighten me (6:17-19).

These were not base men, but “the nobles of Judah.” Nor were they the ones who had chosen to remain in Babylon to enjoy the pleasures of life there. Rather, they and their forbears, in faithfulness to God, had paid the price to return to Jerusalem as God desired. Nonetheless, even while in Jerusalem they were still connected to the enemies of God, and this became a great frustration to the building work.

No doubt it is the Lord in His sovereignty who has provided us with this record for our instruction today. We have often referred to ourselves as “the Lord’s recovery,” in part as a reference to the history of the Jew’s return from captivity to build up God’s house and God’s city. We felt that the positive aspect of this picture applied so much to us; now, however, we can see at least one negative aspect that applies to us as well.

In the churches we always sought to stand as the testimony of Christ, with the Lord as our unique center, to be His temple so that He could have His dwelling among us; the Lord blessed us very much for taking such a stand. Eventually, however, the Blended Brothers rose up to turn the churches away from Christ to being, instead, a testimony of their ministry. Beginning with the release of their “Publication Work” statement in the summer of 2005 they made oneness with themselves, rather than oneness with Christ, the practical test of fellowship among us.

The elders and leading ones in the churches should have recognized that evil work to tear down the genuine church life for what it was and stood against it; only such a stand could have avoided the needless divisions that have ensued. Yet instead of taking such a stand, so many of them have “prepared rooms” for the Blended Brothers in God’s building, the church—how the Blended Brothers’ ministry is exalted among the saints today! And so long as such a situation exists, “the grain offerings, the frankincense, the utensils, and the tithes of grain, wine, and oil”—signifying such items as the humanity of Christ, the fragrance of His resurrection life, and the enjoyment of Christ—cannot have their rightful place in the church life (13:5).

As in the case of Eliashib, all of this does not indicate that the ones who stood with the Blended Brothers were themselves evil, or that they did not still have a desire to carry out God’s purpose; we know that many of these were dear brothers with a real heart for the church. The failure was, instead, that they did not maintain a clear separation from those who, in this matter, were performing quite an evil work.

In contrast to Eliashib, both Nehemiah and Ezra maintained a very definite standing apart from the enemies of the Jews. Scofield has a very good statement concerning them:

The lives of Ezra and Nehemiah afford many illustrations of true separation (Ezra 4:2, footnote 1).

In particular, Nehemiah was firm and courageous and was not dissuaded by the enemies of God from fulfilling the work for which he had been commissioned by God. When he returned to Jerusalem he dealt very forcibly and absolutely with the situation regarding Tobiah. He writes:

I came to Jerusalem and learned about the evil that Eliashib had done for Tobiah, by preparing a room for him in the
courts of the house of God. It was very displeasing to me,so I threw all of Tobiah’s household goods out of the room.
Then I gave an order and they cleansed the rooms; and I returned there the utensils of the house of God
with the grain offerings and the frankincense (13:7-9).

There is much for us to learn from Nehemiah’s example! May the Lord in His mercy grant us to follow such a positive example for the carrying out of His building work. And may we be clearly and definitely separated in this work from all who would oppose God’s building, rather than ally ourselves to them as did Eliashib and the nobles of Judah.

05-09-2009, 02:59 PM	#1
Admin He came not to be Served but Serve Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 39	Eliashib and the Nobles of Judah - David Canfield Eliashib and the Nobles of Judah David Canfield • Chicago, Illinois 7th May 2009 During the recent turmoil many of us were thoroughly disappointed that so many elders and leading ones among us went along with the Blended Brothers’ efforts to subvert the churches’ testimony to Christ. However, the Old Testament book of Nehemiah provides a clear picture that may give us a better understanding of this failure. It is found in the history of a man named Eliashib. As we consider the very negative, even tragic, example of this man, may we keep in mind that it is always and only God’s mercy than enables any of us to be faithful to the Lord. Eliashib was high priest in Jerusalem during the time of Ezra and Nehemiah (Neh. 3:1, 13:28), when the wall of Jerusalem was rebuilt. In addition, he was “appointed over the chambers of the house of our God” (Neh. 13:4). Clearly he was a man of considerable standing among the people of God at that time. Moreover, it is clear that he was for God and God’s desire not only in terms of his position, but personally as well, since the Bible records that when Nehemiah spoke to the Jews to encourage them to rebuild the wall, the very first one to respond and actually rise up for the rebuilding work was this Eliashib: Then [Nehemiah] said to them, “You see the bad situation we are in, that Jerusalem is desolate and its gates burned by fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem so that we will no longer be a reproach.”... (Neh. 2:17). Then Eliashib the high priest rose up with his brothers the priests and built the Sheep Gate; they consecrated it and hung its doors. They consecrated the wall to the Tower of the Hundred and the Tower of Hananel (Neh. 3:1). And yet, the book of Nehemiah goes on to record that Eliashib’s ending was not positive, but rather, quite negative and sad. In fact, it was Eliashib himself who, after the Lord’s servant left Jerusalem, gave place to the enemies of God in the very temple of God: Eliashib the priest, who was appointed over the chambers of the house of our God, being related to Tobiah, had prepared a large room for him, where formerly they put the grain offerings, the frankincense, the utensils, and the tithes of grain, wine, and oil prescribed for the Levites, the singers, and the gatekeepers, and the contributions for the priests (13:4-5). This is almost unbelievable, and yet it is recorded in the Bible. The high priest—even the very same one who first rose up to begin rebuilding the wall—was the very one to make a place for God’s enemy in the temple! The one who had been “appointed over the chambers of the house of our God” removed “the grain offerings, the frankincense, the utensils and the tithes of grain, wine, and oil” to make room for the enemy of God and of His people! Eliashib does not appear to have been an evil man himself, but rather, a good man—one who was for God’s testimony and had a good beginning in his service to the Lord. Nevertheless, in the end what he did was remarkably evil and a great shame to God’s testimony. How could such a one have behaved in this way? The answer is, because he was “related” (13:4) to an enemy of God’s people. It is quite striking that Eliashib’s name is not recorded among those who participated in the dedication of the wall in Nehemiah 12:27-43, which was a joyful time for celebrating the Jew’s victory, even though he was the high priest and the first to start the building work on the wall. Rather, the last mention of Eliashib is at the end of the book of Nehemiah, when Nehemiah was dealing with a number of negative situations among the Jews in Jerusalem: Even one of the sons of Joiada, the son of Eliashib the high priest, was a son-inlaw of Sanballat the Horonite, so I drove him away from me (13:28). Although the one whom Nehemiah drove away appears to have been the grandson of Eliashib, it may indicate that he drove Eliashib away as well. In any event, it is clear how far the high priest had fallen from his first standing by mingling himself and his family with the enemies of God’s people. Actually, the book of Nehemiah shows that it was not only Eliashib who was related to God’s enemies; to the contrary, many of the leading ones among the Jews at that time were also connected to Tobiah, even at the time Nehemiah was having to deal with the plots of these enemies against the rebuilding work. Nehemiah wrote: In those days many letters went from the nobles of Judah to Tobiah, and Tobiah’s letters came to them. For many in Judah were bound by oath to him because he was the son-in-law of Shecaniah the son of Arah, and his son Jehohanan had married the daughter of Meshullam the son of Berechiah. Moreover, they were speaking about his good deeds in my presence and reported my words to him. Then Tobiah sent letters to frighten me (6:17-19). These were not base men, but “the nobles of Judah.” Nor were they the ones who had chosen to remain in Babylon to enjoy the pleasures of life there. Rather, they and their forbears, in faithfulness to God, had paid the price to return to Jerusalem as God desired. Nonetheless, even while in Jerusalem they were still connected to the enemies of God, and this became a great frustration to the building work. No doubt it is the Lord in His sovereignty who has provided us with this record for our instruction today. We have often referred to ourselves as “the Lord’s recovery,” in part as a reference to the history of the Jew’s return from captivity to build up God’s house and God’s city. We felt that the positive aspect of this picture applied so much to us; now, however, we can see at least one negative aspect that applies to us as well. In the churches we always sought to stand as the testimony of Christ, with the Lord as our unique center, to be His temple so that He could have His dwelling among us; the Lord blessed us very much for taking such a stand. Eventually, however, the Blended Brothers rose up to turn the churches away from Christ to being, instead, a testimony of their ministry. Beginning with the release of their “Publication Work” statement in the summer of 2005 they made oneness with themselves, rather than oneness with Christ, the practical test of fellowship among us. The elders and leading ones in the churches should have recognized that evil work to tear down the genuine church life for what it was and stood against it; only such a stand could have avoided the needless divisions that have ensued. Yet instead of taking such a stand, so many of them have “prepared rooms” for the Blended Brothers in God’s building, the church—how the Blended Brothers’ ministry is exalted among the saints today! And so long as such a situation exists, “the grain offerings, the frankincense, the utensils, and the tithes of grain, wine, and oil”—signifying such items as the humanity of Christ, the fragrance of His resurrection life, and the enjoyment of Christ—cannot have their rightful place in the church life (13:5). As in the case of Eliashib, all of this does not indicate that the ones who stood with the Blended Brothers were themselves evil, or that they did not still have a desire to carry out God’s purpose; we know that many of these were dear brothers with a real heart for the church. The failure was, instead, that they did not maintain a clear separation from those who, in this matter, were performing quite an evil work. In contrast to Eliashib, both Nehemiah and Ezra maintained a very definite standing apart from the enemies of the Jews. Scofield has a very good statement concerning them: The lives of Ezra and Nehemiah afford many illustrations of true separation (Ezra 4:2, footnote 1). In particular, Nehemiah was firm and courageous and was not dissuaded by the enemies of God from fulfilling the work for which he had been commissioned by God. When he returned to Jerusalem he dealt very forcibly and absolutely with the situation regarding Tobiah. He writes: I came to Jerusalem and learned about the evil that Eliashib had done for Tobiah, by preparing a room for him in the courts of the house of God. It was very displeasing to me,so I threw all of Tobiah’s household goods out of the room. Then I gave an order and they cleansed the rooms; and I returned there the utensils of the house of God with the grain offerings and the frankincense (13:7-9). There is much for us to learn from Nehemiah’s example! May the Lord in His mercy grant us to follow such a positive example for the carrying out of His building work. And may we be clearly and definitely separated in this work from all who would oppose God’s building, rather than ally ourselves to them as did Eliashib and the nobles of Judah.