NATIONAL PRAYER ALTAR
MARATHON PRAYERS
Monday 5th - Sunday 11th May 2025
ELIASHIB, THE HIGH PRIEST
A couple of weeks ago, we published a prayer call entitled “THE TIRSHATHA”. There, we looked at Nehemiah as an example of Godly leadership during crisis. Within the Nehemiah account lies an account of ungodly leadership amidst crises. Both accounts are preserved in the Scriptures for our learning and admonition.
Eliashib the high priest was introduced in Neh. 3:1 as a humble and responsive office holder. He was the first to respond to the call to rebuild the broken walls of Jerusalem and he rallied his brethren, the priests, to join in the work.
Then Eliashib the high priest rose up with his brethren the priests, and they builded the sheep gate; they sanctified it, and set up the doors of it; even unto the tower of Meah they sanctified it, unto the tower of Hananeel (Neh. 3:1).
Unlike the nobles of Tekoa who, in Neh. 3:5, are reported to have "put not their necks to the work of their Lord," Eliashib put his neck to the work of the Lord and mobilized other priests to do the same. His response, as the high priest, must have encouraged other families and groups in Jerusalem to join in the work.
Had Eliashib continued that way, his story would have been written in gold. Unfortunately, something disastrous occurred to Eliashib. It is recorded in Neh. 13:4-5 that Eliashib did the unthinkable. He emptied a room in the temple for Tobiah. "And before this, Eliashib the priest, having the oversight of the chamber of the house of our God, was allied unto Tobiah: And he had prepared for him a great chamber, where aforetime they laid the meat offerings, the frankincense, and the vessels, and the tithes of the corn, the new wine, and the oil, which was commanded to be given to the Levites, and the singers, and the porters; and the offerings of the priests."
When Nehemiah arrived to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, three people led stiff opposition against the work. They were: Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem. They were the enemies of the Jews whose High priest was Eliashib. Under the Mosaic law, leadership of the nation was vested in the high priest. That was the only office that was openly ordained by God to lead the nation, before the monarchy. After the monarchy was destroyed by the Babylonian captivity, the office of the high priest remained.
Why would the high priest empty a room in the "house of our God"
for a public enemy of God? The answer is, compromise. Eliashib’s grandson, the son of Joiada (Eliashib’s son) was married to a daughter of Sanballat, the archenemy of the Jews. As the high priest, Eliashib knew that God forbad marriage with the heathen nations, yet his grandson married the daughter of Sanballat. After breaking the law of God, it was no longer difficult for Eliashib to bring defilement into the sanctuary. Again, as the high priest, Eliashib knew that God had commanded that the Ammonite and the Moabite should not come into the congregation of God for ever (Neh. 13:1). Tobiah, whom Eliashib accommodated in the temple, was an Ammonite!
By that inappropriate action, Eliashib proved that even though he occupied a leadership position, he was neither a leader of the people, nor a servant of God. He did his abomination because Nehemiah had gone back to king Artaxerxes. The moment the true leader was out of Jerusalem, Eliashib manifested his strange character. If Nehemiah had not returned when he did, only God knows what other atrocities might have been committed by the spiritual leader of Israel. When Nehemiah returned, starvation had started driving the Levites out of the temple, because their welfare was no longer the concern of the sanctuary. The room where their supplies were supposed to be kept had been handed over to Tobiah by no other than the high priest. Upon his return, Nehemiah asked, “Why is the house of God forsaken?” (Neh. 13:11). The house of God was forsaken because the high priest compromised with the enemies of God. Why would the high priest bring an entity like Tobiah the Ammonite into the temple? What was Eliashib thinking?
It is dangerous when the past successes of a leader are used to excuse his present failures. A leader must be judged and assessed by whatever he is doing at the moment. That a man started well, does not mean he will end well. That a man did the will of God yesterday does not mean he is doing the will of God today. This is a lesson that Nigeria Christians are yet to learn. Even when the consequences of the serial compromises of their leaders are staring them in the face, Christians still find it difficult to hold them accountable the way Nehemiah promptly dealt with the compromise of Eliashib. If Nehemiah had held on to the previous record of Eliashib, he would have been unable to deal with the problem he met in Jerusalem on his return from king Artaxerxes.
Nigeria Christians are not interrogating the actions of their spiritual leaders. They are using the success of yesterday to provide excuses for today’s compromise and treachery of some of the leaders, even those responsible for the bloodshed and other calamities that have befallen the Church and the country today. Like Eliashib, they have compromised.
Bearing in mind that some of the Christians are prone to argument, some examples shall be cited, of glaring compromises by spiritual leaders in the Church. The All Progressives Congress (APC) gained political power in Nigeria; a prominent church leader wrote a letter that negated a clear warning from God that APC should not be permitted to form government. Thus, the “son” of that spiritual leader was politically “married” off to a “jihadist”, and together, they collapsed the security architecture of Nigeria and turned the country into the poverty capital of the world. They laid the foundation upon which the present-day devourers are building.
It did not end there. The apex body of Christianity in Nigeria, like Eliashib, brought Buhari (represented by Rotimi Amaechi), Atiku, Miyetti Allah, Tinubu and Shettima, into the National Christian Centre for political engagement and dialogue. After their dialogues, the intensity of the murder of Christians escalated, kidnappings were added, while organ harvesting became the new scourge in the country. The reception Christian leaders gave the Muslim-Muslim ticket candidates of APC, at the National Christian Centre before 2023 election, was not given to any Christian candidate contesting in the same election.
It did not end there. Do Nigeria Christians remember those who made the following statements?
- “God ordained Buhari, Osinbajo as our leaders, they will deliver.” - 2015
• “God will give Buhari solutions to Nigeria’s problems in 2017” - 2016
• “God’ll build Nigeria through President Tinubu” - 2023
• “Tinubu fought a good fight and God gave him victory” - 2023
• “President-Elect, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed can fix the country with God’s help.” - 2023
• “God will use Tinubu, Wike, others to develop Nigeria.” – 2023
After endorsing APC to form a government, they kept reinforcing its failures so that the Christian community would not agitate for their removal. That their flock are brutalized and pauperized does not seem to matter to the leaders. Such is the spirit of Eliashib. So long as Tobiah is comfortable in the temple, starvation can drive the Levites out to fend for themselves.
When leaders compromise, the followers suffer the consequence. In the case of Eliashib, Nehemiah quickly stepped in to prevent another collapse of the nation. Who is stepping in for the Nigeria Church?
This prayer call is not demonizing Christian leaders, it is an attempt to awaken the Christian community to the dangers of compromise in spiritual leadership. This matter is raised to alert the Christian community that those who endorsed APC into power are preparing to do it again in 2027. Therefore, the Christian community needs to organize peaceful counter measures because the consequence of leadership compromise is borne by the followers and not by the leaders. If leaders bore the consequences of their compromise, they would not do it.
Remedial measures should be considered to mobilize and harmonize the Christian community to reverse the compromise that weakened the Church. One of such measures is to build a structure that will be a rallying point for Christians. In 2001, the five Church groups established Christian Social Movement of Nigeria (CSMN) to manage Christian engagement in politics and social issues. This is a laity-based movement. This movement accommodates every Church group in Nigeria. It was dormant for some years, but it has been revived. Christians should participate in it and build a common front for the emergence of righteous leadership for Nigeria. In addition to prayers, there must be proactive engagement of politics. Faith without works is dead.
May God deliver Nigeria Christians from a generation of Eliashibs in the sanctuary.
Christians who are interested in proactive measures can visit www.csmnigeria.org to register and receive further information.
PRAYER POINTS
1. Jer. 43:1-2 Confess the man made calamity that befell the Church. God, in His mercy, gave sufficient warning to avert it but some self-seeking Christian leaders negated God’s counsel. Pray for God’s forgiveness and deliverance.
2. Deut. 5:32-33 Confess the compromise of God’s standards and commands by many of the Church leaders. Pray that God would uproot all in leadership positions who have compromised God’s perfect will for the Church and Nigeria.
3. Hos. 4:7-9 As the country approaches another election, pray that God will disable and render powerless any Christian leader that wants to promote evil an government in Nigeria.
4. Jer. 3:15 Compromise in the Church produces spiritual decay, social unrest, the loss of spiritual authority and provokes divine judgment. Pray that God would give the Nigeria Church spiritual leaders with strong moral character and genuine fear of God.
5. Isaiah 33:22 Pray that God will raise a righteous judge, like Nehemiah for Nigeria.
6. Rev. 11:15 Pray for unity amongst all Christian groups in Nigeria to forge a unified political agenda.
7. Isaiah 43:18-19 Pray that the new Nigeria shall come forth and it shall neither be delayed nor deferred, in the name of Jesus Christ.
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DAILY INTERDENOMINATIONAL PRAYERS FOR NIGERIA
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