When God's House became a ghosttown

Today: Nehemiah 12-13

Here's a very sad story from today's passage: God's House became a ghost town (again). Take a look at Nehemiah's words here:

And then I learned

that the Levites hadn't been given their regular food allotments.

So the Levites and singers who led the services of worship

had all left and gone back to their farms.

I called the officials on the carpet,

"Why has The Temple of God been abandoned?"

Why was the House of God abandoned?

God's people neglected to give...so the Levites (the equivalent of pastors/teachers/church leaders) couldn't dedicate their lives to full-time service. Instead, they had to abandon the work God had called them to so that they could survive.

The good part of this story is that God's House didn't remain a ghost town. Nehemiah came back, called the people out on their neglect and set things right. God's House was never designed to be a ghost town. It was always intended to be a place of giving--a place where people give in worship to God and a place where simultaneously, God gives us glimpses of His presence.

Tomorrow: Esther 1-5