I don't know the timeline of when chapter 13 occured in relation to chapter 12, but I imagine it could be a huge holy buzzkill. Just as the people are celebrating and thinking pretty highly of themselves, Nehemiah comes along and points out all their faults. In a way, I love his direct approach, including but not limited to pulling the hair out of men who married foreign chicks. You have to get attention somehow. And these things the people did were expressly forbidden. Dozens (probably) of times in scripture alone. Never mind the examples of what happened to revered forefathers of Israel when they hooked up with foreign broads (Solomon?).
But another way to react, as I did, was to bristle at how Nehemiah treated the people. He didn't sugarcoat his judgment on the people. He didn't try to reason with them. Straight up he was with the people he knew were blowing it. This was no milquetoast believer. I don't respond so well to direct hostility. Chances are, I know when I'm a screwup, and personally, I'd need someone to show me how to change.
And I don't mean to suggest that these violations were minor. Eliashib allowing Tobiah (yeah, that Tobiah who aided in spreading rumors and impeding wall construction) to use a room in the temple was pretty out of line. In fact, the whole temple situation was in disarray, with people not at their posts (out farming, because people weren't giving the priestly portions with their offerings) and people working on the Sabbath. Lets not forget how important rest is to the LORD.
So Nehemiah does a lot of purificatin', and does his best to implant reforms that will get things right again. These are the things Nehemiah wants to be remembered for, and I think he is.
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