In those days I
saw men in Judah treading winepresses on the Sabbath (Nehemiah 13:15).
Entropy (EN truh
pee), n. 1. Inevitable and steady
deterioration of a system or society [2].
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 [3].
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 sabbatical was ended and he had returned to
Persia where he would continue serving his king. On a later return visit, he was dismayed to find that all
the things 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 an apartment in 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.
TODAY’S MEDITATION
What steps will you take
this week to avoid spiritual entropy?
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