In those days I saw men in Judah treading winepresses on the Sabbath. (Nehemiah 13:15)Entropy (EN treh pee) n. 1. inevitable and steady deterioration of a system or society.
A. W. Tozer compared the spiritual life to a garden cut out of the jungle. No matter how well cultivated, if left untended the jungle will always creep back in.
After everything the nation of Judah had been through: the exodus, the conquest of Canaan, the monarchy, the divided kingdom, Israel's fall to and Judah's deliverance from Assyria, the Babylonian exile, the return to Jerusalem, the rebuilding of the temple and the city walls; one would think they would have learned their lesson.
Nehemiah's furlough from service to the king was ended and he had returned to Persia. On a return visit, he was dismayed to find that all the things that had been addressed during his time in Jerusalem had gotten off track in his absence.
Tobiah, one of the enemies who had tried to intimidate Nehemiah and the builders of the wall had been given access to the temple, financial support was being withheld, the Levites had not been paid in months and so had gone back to their fields to make a living, men were working on the Sabbath as well as buying and selling goods, and once again marrying foreign women.
We cannot afford to coast. The path of least resistance always leads to decline.
What steps will you take this week to avoid spiritual entropy?
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