Nehemiah Returns to Jerusalem and Hurls His Enemy's Furniture out of the Temple

Nehemiah returns to Jerusalem after an absence and discovers what Eliashib the priest has done: he has cleared out a large storeroom in the temple courts — rooms that should hold the grain offerings, incense, and temple vessels — and given it to Tobiah the Ammonite, Nehemiah's persistent enemy, as a private residence. Nehemiah is enraged. He throws all of Tobiah's furniture out of the rooms. He orders the rooms purified. He restores the temple equipment and provisions. He does not write a letter, convene a hearing, or negotiate. He picks up the furniture and throws it out.