And it grieved me sore: therefore I cast forth all the household stuff of Tobiah out of the chamber.
The verse records what Nehemiah did without delay after coming back from Persia when he discovered that the temple had been daringly desecrated. During his absence Eliashib the high priest had entered into an unholy alliance with Tobiah through marriage ties and on that basis had allowed him to take possession of a room joined to the temple. That room had served as a storehouse for tithes and sacred offerings, yet its holy contents were thrown out to clear space for a private residence. Tobiah was an Ammonite, a relentless foe of Israel belonging to a forbidden people, and an idol worshipper, so lodging him there planted an enemy inside the city, defiled the very courts of God's house, and expressed scorn toward God Himself.
Stung with deep sorrow at the insult, Nehemiah ejected every piece of Tobiah's domestic belongings from the room. He then ordered the rooms to be purified from the contamination. Once cleansed, he restored to their place the utensils belonging to the house of God together with the grain offering and the frankincense.
The verse records what Nehemiah did without delay after coming back from Persia when he discovered that the temple had been daringly desecrated. During his absence Eliashib the high priest had entered into an unholy alliance with Tobiah through marriage ties and on that basis had allowed him to take possession of a room joined to the temple. That room had served as a storehouse for tithes and sacred offerings, yet its holy contents were thrown out to clear space for a private residence. Tobiah was an Ammonite, a relentless foe of Israel belonging to a forbidden people, and an idol worshipper, so lodging him there planted an enemy inside the city, defiled the very courts of God's house, and expressed scorn toward God Himself.
Stung with deep sorrow at the insult, Nehemiah ejected every piece of Tobiah's domestic belongings from the room. He then ordered the rooms to be purified from the contamination. Once cleansed, he restored to their place the utensils belonging to the house of God together with the grain offering and the frankincense.