Nehemiah 13:1-3, 23-31 (NRSV)
Israel separates from foreigners
On that day they read from the book of Moses in the hearing of the people; and in it was found written that no Ammonite or Moabite should ever enter the assembly of God, because they did not meet the Israelites with bread and water, but hired Balaam against them to curse them -- yet our God turned the curse into a blessing. When the people heard the law, they separated from Israel all those of foreign descent. ...
In those days also I saw Jews who had married women of Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab; and half of their children spoke the language of Ashdod, and they could not speak the language of Judah, but spoke the language of various peoples. And I contended with them and cursed them and beat some of them and pulled out their hair; and I made them take an oath in the name of God, saying, "You shall not give your daughters to their sons, or take their daughters for your sons or for yourselves. Did not King Solomon of Israel sin on account of such women? Among the many nations there was no king like him, and he was beloved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel; nevertheless, foreign women made even him to sin. Shall we then listen to you and do all this great evil and act treacherously against our God by marrying foreign women?"
And one of the sons of Jehoiada, son of the high priest Eliashib, was the son-in-law of Sanballat the Horonite; I chased him away from me. Remember them, O my God, because they have defiled the priesthood, the covenant of the priests and the Levites.
Thus I cleansed them from everything foreign, and I established the duties of the priests and Levites, each in his work; and I provided for the wood offering, at appointed times, and for the first fruits. Remember me, O my God, for good.
On that day they read from the book of Moses in the hearing of the people; and in it was found written that no Ammonite or Moabite should ever enter the assembly of God, because they did not meet the Israelites with bread and water, but hired Balaam against them to curse them -- yet our God turned the curse into a blessing. When the people heard the law, they separated from Israel all those of foreign descent. ...
In those days also I saw Jews who had married women of Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab; and half of their children spoke the language of Ashdod, and they could not speak the language of Judah, but spoke the language of various peoples. And I contended with them and cursed them and beat some of them and pulled out their hair; and I made them take an oath in the name of God, saying, "You shall not give your daughters to their sons, or take their daughters for your sons or for yourselves. Did not King Solomon of Israel sin on account of such women? Among the many nations there was no king like him, and he was beloved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel; nevertheless, foreign women made even him to sin. Shall we then listen to you and do all this great evil and act treacherously against our God by marrying foreign women?"
And one of the sons of Jehoiada, son of the high priest Eliashib, was the son-in-law of Sanballat the Horonite; I chased him away from me. Remember them, O my God, because they have defiled the priesthood, the covenant of the priests and the Levites.
Thus I cleansed them from everything foreign, and I established the duties of the priests and Levites, each in his work; and I provided for the wood offering, at appointed times, and for the first fruits. Remember me, O my God, for good.
This is one of those readings that my first temptation is to simply dismiss. God is always throughout scripture reminding his people to care for the widows, the orphans, and the "aliens." So reading about separating the foreigners from God's people sounds harsh and doesn't quite jibe with what God is about.
God is indeed a God of relationships, and the first paragraph gives some sense to what's going on for me. The Ammonites and the Moabites didn't greet the Israelites upon their return. Hospitality was not given, but instead, those holding the land cursed the returnees.
There's a lot else that's going on here - all about the Jewish people returning to their home and the rebuilding and re-purification of the temple and repopulating God's chosen people.
But at the heart of it is always this God who is a God of relationship. The Hebrew Bible is all about the love and relationship between God and his people. God had brought them home and their first impulse it seems, as you read Nehemiah, was to go back to many of the foreign ways the pulled them from God to begin with.
Martin Luther famously said that we are people who are "in the world, but not of the world." We are God's people but we live in a world that often has ways of living and being that are separate from God's ways. They are, for God, foreign ways.
Yet time and again, God comes and brings us home. Reminds of God's ways. Forgives our wanderings and calls us to right, solid, and whole relationship. Reminds us that on this side of the cross we live to share the good news with all of God's children. Reminds us that the promise is for all.
We don't keep our churches pure by keeping "foreigners" out. Temple worship is not part of our tradition. Instead now we live into the promise that while we are in this world, the God of relationship calls us to live and love with hospitality with all.
God of relationship, remind us of your ways. Remind us of your love for all people and your desire to bring everyone into relationship. Give us a heart for hospitality so that we continually reach out and share your love, your goodness and your mercy with all we meet. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment