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NASB | Nehemiah 13:25 So I contended with them and cursed them and struck some of them and pulled out their hair, and made them swear by God, "You shall not give your daughters to their sons, nor take of their daughters for your sons or for yourselves. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Nehemiah 13:25 So I contended with them and cursed them and struck some of them and pulled out their hair, and made them swear by God, saying, "You shall not give your daughters [in marriage] to their sons, nor take [any of] their daughters for your sons or for yourselves. |
Bible Question:
Pulling out their hair: Ouch! What a brutal picture of leadership. I guess this follows from my question from Ezra 10:3 (feel free to look that that thread, too...) Ezra and Nehemiah were originally, I believe, one book. I was excited about looking to these bold leaders as examples of how to rebuild the people of God after a period of dispersion... I keep coming across these scenes of brutality. Any advice on how to understand this text? It is particularly hard when the passage ends with the refrain, "Remember me, O my God, for good." (v.489) |
Bible Answer: I can only quote from the NT as follows: Matt 18:2 And He called a child to Himself and set him before them, 3 and said, "Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 "Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 "And whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me; 6 but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone hung around his neck, and to be drowned in the depth of the sea. 7 "Woe to the world because of its stumbling blocks! For it is inevitable that stumbling blocks come; but woe to that man through whom the stumbling block comes! 8 "If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; it is better for you to enter life crippled or lame, than to have two hands or two feet and be cast into the eternal fire. 9 "If your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and throw it from you. It is better for you to enter life with one eye, than to have two eyes and be cast into the fiery hell. I've heard some folks say that here Christ was speaking figuratively. I don't think so. He and His Father are very, very serious when it comes to sin. IF and that's a big IF...IF that's what it literally comes down to, a choice between loosing our soul for eternity and loosing a body part, most people would gladly choose the latter. The big problem we humans have is perserverance. We all tend to be impulsive like Peter and would rather get it over with in a hurry and then enjoy the fruits of our "dedication" afterwards. Instead our God likes to see a steady progression of maturity, love and devotion in spite of living in a world filled to overflowing with distractions, temptations and much evil. This is truly the more difficult thing to do. Hope this helps and God bless. --Rowdy PS: Hair isn't such a big thing to lose. I've been losing it ever since I was a teenager. Ha-Ha |