Pastor Bell's Words To Live By

One of the most difficult things that every believer faces is maintenance of their faith. Once our private life is ordered, that is, we are spending time with the Lord, reading his words and meditating on them, we can be tricked by the enemy. We must remember that from the creation narrative the most subtle of creatures was the serpent. It is still his job to subvert what God intended for us in the first place. In Nehemiah’s case, he went back to Susa to attend to the king’s business (13:6), since he was on a Sabbatical in Jerusalem bringing order to the house and to the city of God. In those days all travelling was done on horseback. So when he eventually got back to Jerusalem from Susa he found out that the person who was appointed to oversee the chambers was related to Tobiah and had moved out the vessels and provisions used to offer up sacrifices to God and rented the room to him. Having done all this work whilst fighting against the diabolical trinity of Sanballat, Tobaih and Geshem, it was being undone by an unsuspecting priest who was probably just helping out a cousin. It is evident that Eliashib the priest was just trying to help out his relative, however by not seeking advice from the man of God he brought one of the chief antagonists right into the centre of the house of God. Today as we build up our faith, it is imperative that we maintain it. Before we do anything, let us ask God about it first. Sometimes we may invite our families to stay with us and if we are ignorant of what they are involved in our ‘wells’ may be blocked up.

So what did Nehemiah do? He found out that the priests and singers had gone back ‘on the tools’, that is, they were in the field working instead of worshipping and interceding in the house of the Lord. So he ‘chucked’ out all of Tobaih’s things, cleansed the chambers and brought back the things of God into it (v.9).  Is there anything or anyone you have brought into your house that is blocking up your well? Enquire from the Lord and when he gives you the answer, cleanse the house! Read 13:4-14.