Gashugi Yves 
Because of His Friendship with the Priest, He Placed Him in God’s House (Eliashib).
A disciple resembles his teacher, and no one can be a teacher without sharing something in common with the one who taught him. I affirm that it is often easy to recognize who taught a person based on their teaching style or the books they favor. When someone is taught, what is remarkable is not the amount of knowledge they have acquired, but rather the source from which they have drawn that knowledge.
In the Old Testament, God chose the people of Israel, and from them, He selected the tribe of Levi to be priests and spiritual leaders. God chose and trained them.
However, before this happened, Eliashib, the priest in charge of the rooms in the house of our God, made a room for Tobiah, an enemy of God’s work. The room had been prepared where grain offerings were formerly stored. “When I returned to Jerusalem, I learned about the evil Eliashib had done by providing Tobiah a room in the courts of the house of God.” (Nehemiah 13:4-5b, 7).
Today, you find that in different places, such as on social media and in congregations (churches), believers and non-believers alike express concern and complaints about the actions of some of their leaders. There are many reasons for these complaints, and we should not ignore them or pretend they don’t matter. Instead, we should continue praying for our leaders, as the scriptures command us (Ephesians 6:18-19; Colossians 4:3).
This is what happened with the priest Eliashib, who partnered with a man opposed to God’s work named Tobiah. Because of their friendship, he gave him a room in God’s house. The same thing happens in some of today’s churches, where people are given responsibilities based on their friendships with those in power rather than by God’s selection or the leading of the Spirit.
Sometimes, these individuals were even once enemies of God’s work. Now, being a former opponent of God’s work isn’t inherently wrong — after all, Paul himself was transformed. The problem lies in appointing someone who hasn’t truly changed.
What God Expects from Us
The Spirit that was in Moses was passed on to his assistants, and Moses desired that just as God filled him with His Spirit, the whole congregation of Israel should be filled as well (Numbers 11:24-25, 29). What happened with Moses is an illustration of how the spirit within a leader also resides in those being led, so the glory of the followers is connected to the glory of their spiritual leader.
God wants us to pray so that He may guide leaders through prayer in selecting those worthy of serving His work. As the Bible records, while they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them” (Acts 13:2).
As we conclude, let us remember that God does not forbid us from interacting with non-believers, but He forbids us from speaking or behaving as they do. Therefore, we must be vigilant because not all friendships are good, as some are snares from Satan designed to bring disgrace to God’s work.
