gue in favour of the loose
observance of the fourth commandment.

Nehemiah reminds the nobles that the destruction of Jerusalem, the
overthrow of that very city which they were taking so much trouble to
rebuild, had all been brought about through desecration of the Sabbath
day.

For what message had Jeremiah brought their fathers?

'If ye will not hearken unto me to hallow the Sabbath day, and not to
bear a burden, even entering in at the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath
day; then will I kindle a fire in the gates thereof, and it shall devour
the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched.'

God's word had come true. Their fathers, despising the warning, had
continued to break the Sabbath, and Nebuchadnezzar had burnt and
destroyed the very gates through which the Sabbath burdens had been
carried. What safety, then, could they hope for now, how could they
expect to keep their new gates from destruction, if they followed in the
footsteps of their fathers, and did the very thing that God, by the
mouth of Jeremiah, condemned?

'Then I contended with the nobles of Judah, and said unto them, What
evil thing is this that ye do, and profane the Sabbath day? Did not your
fathers thus, and did not our God bring all this evil upon us, and upon
this city? yet ye bring more wrath upon Israel by profaning the
Sabbath.'

But though Nehemiah began by rebuking the nobles, he did not stop here.
He took up the matter with a high hand. He commanded the gate-keepers to
shut the gates on Friday evening, about half-an-hour earlier than usual.
On other nights they were shut as soon as the sun had set, but now
Nehemiah orders them to close the gates on Friday evenings, so soon as
the shadows began to lengthen and the day was drawing to a close. They
were also, in future, to be kept shut the whole of the Sabbath, so that
no mules, or donkeys, or camels, or other beasts of burden, might be
able to enter the city on the holy day.

The little gate, inside the large gate, by means of which
foot-passengers might enter and leave the city, was left open, in order
that people living in the country villages round might be able to come
into the city to attend the temple services. But at this smaller gate
Nehemiah took care to place some of his own trusty servants, and gave
them strict instructions to admit no burdens, no parcel, no goods of any
kind into the city on the Sabbath day, xiii. 19.

Very naturally, the merchants and the sale