Nehemiah 13:15-22

4. The observance of the Sabbath 13:15-22

Nehemiah discovered that foreign merchants were selling goods in Jerusalem on the Sabbath, and that the Jews were also preparing and transporting goods on that holy day. He rebuked both the merchants and the Jewish nobles (cf. Nehemiah 10:31). Furthermore, he locked the city gates on the Sabbath and kept traders from gathering outside and tempting the Jews to buy and sell. He asked God to remember him for his fidelity to the Mosaic Law (Nehemiah 13:22 b).

"In opposing Tobiah’s personal use of a room in the temple precincts, Nehemiah was concerned about honoring holy space; in his anger against those who wanted to make the Sabbath just another day of buying and selling, he wanted to protect holy time." [Note: Holmgren, p. 154.]