Who is Eliashib? Eliashib is one of the last high priests who will teach us much about ourselves but also about what can happen when we are neglecting the work of God. My brother, my sister, do not be the one who allows Eliashib to work in the house of God. First, look at what the Word tells us: “I answered them by saying, “The God of heaven will give us success. We his servants will start rebuilding, but as for you, you have no share in Jerusalem or any claim or historic right to it” (Nehemiah 2:20).
Having heard this, “Eliashib the high priest and his fellow priests went to work and rebuilt the Sheep Gate. They dedicated it and set its doors in place, building as far as the Tower of the Hundred, which they dedicated, and as far as the Tower of Hananel” (Nehemiah 3:1). Eliashib looks like a great man, doesn’t he? He heard that people must stand up and he did. Yes, actions must follow good resolutions. Often many people want to act but end up doing nothing. Eliashib heard that there was work to do for God… He stood up. This is a man who surely loves God we may think. But read a little further: let us look at what is happening later, between verses 1 and 14 to understand that, despite his position and his popularity in the construction of the wall, Eliashib served his own interests. Yes, the valiant Eliashib had forgotten to put the locks and bars on the doors like the other builders for very specific reasons (Nehemiah 13:7) and (Nehemiah 13:4): to allow the enemy to enter. Yes, Tobiah was an enemy (Nehemiah 2:10), but also he was an ammonite, and the ammonites and the Moabites were not allowed to enter the house of God up to the tenth generation because he was a friend of Eliashib, the latter kept him a place in the house of God. My friends, the enemy will always infiltrate his agents in the midst of the children of God, to build the work of God when we refuse to take our responsibilities. The house of God is a sacred place. When we neglect it, satan will get in through his agents to defile it. Since Nehemiah had discernment, he was able to chase out Tobijah: “I learned about the evil thing Eliashib had done in providing Tobiah a room in the courts of the house of God. I was greatly displeased and threw all Tobiah’s household goods out of the room. I gave orders to purify the rooms” (Nehemiah 13:7-9).
People of God, God does not act in a house that is defiled. Let’s build Him a holy place without allowing access to the devil within our lives and in our churches. The House of God is a place of prayers not a place of gossip; it is a where collective action should serve the individual; it is a place where peace and unity must prevail and not the divisions. Stay blessed in Jesus’ name.