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photo by Alex-Murphy at flickr.com
“Leave no [such] room or foothold for the devil [give no opportunity to him].” Eph. 4:27 Amplified
Don’t give a place for the enemy to make himself comfortable! In other words, don’t make a spare room available for him to bunk in, like Eliashib did for Tobiah during the time of Nehemiah.

As King Artaxerxes’ cupbearer, Nehemiah was more than just one who guarded against poison in the king’s cup. Being a cupbearer meant he was an officer of the household, a trusted servant, holding rank and importance. Often chosen for personal beauty, a cupbearer held a position of great influence and confidential nature, giving him frequent access to the royal presence.

When Nehemiah learned of the deplorable condition of Israel after their return from exile, he asked King Artaxerxes to allow him to repair the broken down walls and the burned out gates in Jerusalem. So, the king appointed him governor of Jerusalem and he went to rebuild.

At one point during the rebuilding of the wall, Nehemiah left to return to the king, but, while he was gone, something happened.

The high priest, Eliashib, who had authority over the storerooms in the temple and related to Tobiah, “prepared for [Tobiah] a large room, where previously they had stored the grain offerings, the frankincense, the articles, the tithes of grain, the new wine and oil, which were commanded to be given to the Levites and singers and gatekeepers, and the offerings for the priests.” (Neh. 13:5 NKJV)

Just as God’s people made a golden calf while Moses was away, so the substitution of the unholy for the holy took place while Nehemiah was away.

Eliashib (meaning ‘God will restore’) veered from his consecrated position and scooted up close to one who had ties with the enemy. His relationship of being an in-law of Tobiah (Eliashib’s grandson had been allowed to marry Tobiah’s daughter, Neh. 13:28) was enhanced by his willingness to provide a place for evil to reside.

More than just being chummy, Eliashib allowed himself to be allied with the wrong companion.

Upon Nehemiah’s return to Jerusalem, he discovered the evil Eliashib had done, and he said, “I was furious and threw out all of Tobiah’s belongings. I gave orders for the rooms to be ritually purified and for the Temple equipment, grain offerings, and incense to be put back.” (Neh. 13:8-9 GNB)

When the walls of your life start to crumble around you, do you allow, like Eliashib, a comfy spot for the enemy and his spiritual robbers to sneak in and remove all the holy things? Do you align yourself with the wrong companions?

The enemy has no access unless we answer the door when he comes calling. Once he gets his foot in the door, he welcomes all his negative, destructive relatives: Sister Unbelief, Brother Cowardice, Grandpa Doubt, and Aunt Despair.

Or do you do like Nehemiah and throw out the unholiness, purify your temple, put back the holy things, and secure those walls that have broken down?

“Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” (Prov. 4:23 NIV)

Have you ever been asked this question before…

If you were a book, what would your title be?

I have, several times, and my answer has always been…Taking Out the Garbage!

Having junk in my life that displeases the Lord is of great concern to me. I want to take out the garbage!

So, I ask myself…

* Do I recognize all the garbage that I allow in my life?
* Do I know how to rout out the unholiness and get rid of it?

Holiness is not an option, for, without it, the writer of Hebrews says, “Seek to live a clean and holy life, for one who is not holy will not see the Lord.” (Heb. 12:14 TLB) Yikes!

As God fills each of us, as His temple, with His holiness through Christ’s salvation, He cleanses us of our sins. However, the upkeep of holiness depends solely on us.

The book of Hebrews also says, “We Christians are God’s house - He lives in us!” (Heb. 3:6b TLB) So, then, do we give Him a clean place to live, or is it all filled with trash? If we are His temple, we must be diligent in routing out all unholiness in our lives.

Hezekiah knew how to get rid of the unholiness in the temple.

When King Ahaz ruled, his tenacious mission consisted of destroying and removing all things holy. He turned away from his religious heritage and built heathen altars to worship Baal and Molech, which he did by sacrificing his firstborn son by throwing him into the fire.

When it came to the temple in Jerusalem, short of pulverizing it, he rummaged through it, gave away its treasures, removed all the sacred utensils, and bolted its doors.

After his death, his son Hezekiah, obviously not the firstborn, was made king. In the first month of his reign, he called all the Levites and priests back into service and told them, “Our ancestors were unfaithful to the LORD our God and did what was displeasing to Him. They abandoned Him and turned their backs on the place where He dwells. They closed the doors of the temple, let the lamps go out, and failed to burn incense or offer burnt offerings in the temple of the God of Israel.” (2 Chron. 29:7 GNB)

Hezekiah then reopened the temple doors and repaired them. After he commanded the Levites and priests to cleanse themselves, he told them to cleanse and purify the house of Jehovah and to “carry out the filth from the Holy Place.” (2 Chron. 29:5 Amp) The Message version states it this way, “Give this much-defiled place a good housecleaning.”

What did they find when they entered the temple?

* The court permeated with garbage and vermin.
* The altars absent of their aroma of burnt offerings for sin and for worship.
* The sweet smell of the incense of prayers dissipated.
* The laver’s bowl depleted of its last drop of water.
* The table emptied of its fellowship of sacred bread, the crumbs carried off by rats.
* The lamps stood cold and dark, doused by an evil blast of air.
* The vessels of service no longer adorned the veiled recesses.

The house of God had been ransacked, stripped of its illumination, revelation, and glory.

Haven’t we all done the same thing at times to God’s temple within us? We permit looters to ransack and haul off His precious treasures from our hearts; we slam the door shut and bar His presence, allowing the world’s garbage to accumulate and quenching the Holy Spirit by dousing His light.

We disregard the well of Living Water, letting it go unattended and dry up. We acquiesce to the snatching of the Bread-Word right off the sacred table by the rat-enemy. We ignore burning the sweet incense of prayer or offering the sacrifice of praise, leaving our altar empty.

After the Levites and priests made a thorough housecleaning, they took all the debris from the temple to the Brook Kidron to be washed away.

Are our efforts exhaustive enough to rid ourselves of all the unwanted garbage in our lives? Have we taken the debris and dumped it in the stream of God’s forgiveness to be washed away, never to fish it out again?

When all had been cleansed, including the people, Hezekiah told the people to bring their sacrifices and thank offerings into the house of the Lord. So, the house was returned to its holy order.

After taking the garbage out and cleansing our temple, do we return it to its holy order…

* asking for forgiveness through Jesus’ sacrifice,
* refilling the well of Living Water,
* replenishing the table of fellowship with the sacred Bread of Life,
* relighting the lamp of the Lord with the oil of the Spirit,
* and returning to our knees to fill up the heavenly, golden bowl with the incense of our prayers, offering the sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving on God’s holy altar?

May our hearts be so averse to the slightest thought of unholiness that we constantly keep our temples swept clean and in holy order.