Nehemiah 10:1-39

Now those that sealed were, Nehemiah, the Tirshatha, the son of Hachaliah, and Zidkijah, ² Seraiah, Azariah, Jeremiah, ³ Pashur, Amariah, Malchijah, ⁴ Hattush, Shebaniah, Malluch, ⁵ Harim, Meremoth, Obadiah, ⁶ Daniel, Ginnethon, Baruch, ⁷ Meshullam, Abijah, Mijamin, ⁸ Maaziah, Bilgai, Shemaiah: these were the priests. ⁹ And the Levites: both Jeshua the son of Azaniah, Binnui of the sons of Henadad, Kadmiel; ¹⁰ And their brethren, Shebaniah, Hodijah, Kelita, Pelaiah, Hanan, ¹¹ Micha, Rehob, Hashabiah, ¹² Zaccur, Sherebiah, Shebaniah, ¹³ Hodijah, Bani, Beninu. ¹⁴ The chief of the people; Parosh, Pahathmoab, Elam, Zatthu, Bani, ¹⁵ Bunni, Azgad, Bebai, ¹⁶ Adonijah, Bigvai, Adin, ¹⁷ Ater, Hizkijah, Azzur, ¹⁸ Hodijah, Hashum, Bezai, ¹⁹ Hariph, Anathoth, Nebai, ²⁰ Magpiash, Meshullam, Hezir, ²¹ Meshezabeel, Zadok, Jaddua, ²² Pelatiah, Hanan, Anaiah, ²³ Hoshea, Hananiah, Hashub, ²⁴ Hallohesh, Pileha, Shobek, ²⁵ Rehum, Hashabnah, Maaseiah, ²⁶ And Ahijah, Hanan, Anan, ²⁷ Malluch, Harim, Baanah. ²⁸ And the rest of the people, the priests, the Levites, the porters, the singers, the Nethinims, and all they that had separated themselves from the people of the lands unto the law of God, their wives, their sons, and their daughters, every one having knowledge, and having understanding; ²⁹ They clave to their brethren, their nobles, and entered into a curse, and into an oath, to walk in God’s law, which was given by Moses the servant of God, and to observe and do all the commandments of the Lord our Lord, and his judgments and his statutes; ³⁰ And that we would not give our daughters unto the people of the land, not take their daughters for our sons: ³¹ And if the people of the land bring ware or any victuals on the sabbath day to sell, that we would not buy it of them on the sabbath, or on the holy day: and that we would leave the seventh year, and the exaction of every debt. ³² Also we made ordinances for us, to charge ourselves yearly with the third part of a shekel for the service of the house of our God; ³³ For the shewbread, and for the continual meat offering, and for the continual burnt offering, of the sabbaths, of the new moons, for the set feasts, and for the holy things, and for the sin offerings to make an atonement for Israel, and for all the work of the house of our God. ³⁴ And we cast the lots among the priests, the Levites, and the people, for the wood offering, to bring it into the house of our God, after the houses of our fathers, at times appointed year by year, to burn upon the altar of the Lord our God, as it is written in the law: ³⁵ And to bring the firstfruits of our ground, and the firstfruits of all fruit of all trees, year by year, unto the house of the Lord: ³⁶ Also the firstborn of our sons, and of our cattle, as it is written in the law, and the firstlings of our herds and of our flocks, to bring to the house of our God, unto the priests that minister in the house of our God: ³⁷ And that we should bring the firstfruits of our dough, and our offerings, and the fruit of all manner of trees, of wine and of oil, unto the priests, to the chambers of the house of our God; and the tithes of our ground unto the Levites, that the same Levites might have the tithes in all the cities of our tillage. ³⁸ And the priest the son of Aaron shall be with the Levites, when the Levites take tithes: and the Levites shall bring up the tithe of the tithes unto the house of our God, to the chambers, into the treasure house. ³⁹ For the children of Israel and the children of Levi shall bring the offering of the corn, of the new wine, and the oil, unto the chambers, where are the vessels of the sanctuary, and the priests that minister, and the porters, and the singers: and we will not forsake the house of our God.

As we celebrate Mother’s Day this year, we celebrate one of the two most important people that God places in our lives, our mother and father. Parents have a lasting impact on our lives and are used by God to care for us and teach us. Above the many important things that parents do for their children is to instruct their children in the ways of the Lord. Parents are called above all things to “bring” children “up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4). This responsibility involves both discipline (“nurture”) and instruction (“admonition”). This requires not only teaching our kids about Christ and His Word, but involves modeling it for our children. Nehemiah 10 is about the priorities that the people of Jerusalem set as they went about to fulfill the covenant that they made in Nehemiah 9:38. God had restored His people in Jerusalem, equipped them to rebuild the walls of the city, and had given them instruction in His Word through Ezra, Nehemiah, and other leaders. The people had gathered together to pray and to confess their sins as those sins were revealed to them in the law in Nehemiah 9 and now the time had come for this group of people to commit themselves to walk in obedience to the Lord, something their ancestors had repeatedly failed to do. The three priorities that are set by the people in Nehemiah 10 serve as a valuable model for every Christian and every family that seeks to faithfully live for Christ.

Last week, we were introduced to the first two of three priorities that we find in Nehemiah 10. In verses 28-29, we find that the people’s first commitment was to obey God’s Word. This follows on the heels of the first 27 verses of the chapter that contain the list of names representing those who made the covenant mentioned in Nehemiah 9:38. While God’s people had failed to honor their prior commitments made in Exodus 19:8 and Joshua 24:18 throughout their history, the people of Nehemiah’s time came to recognize that the pitiful state that Nehemiah had found them in was as a result of their disobedience to God’s Word and failure to honor their commitments to the Lord. Making obedience to God’s Word the highest priority puts faithfulness to Him above all other priorities in our lives. To follow Christ is to obey Christ. To love Christ is to obey Him (John 14:15). His Word must be our guide and be the lens through which we see all of life. It must have the final say and authority in all of our thinking and decision making. His Word gives us discernment that will help us to distinguish between doing apparently “good” things and “right” things. God’s Word, either directly or indirectly, addresses every area of our lives. If we are faithful to learn and know it, it will enable us to make all of the decisions that we make in life and handle all of the situations we have in life in ways that honor God. We simply have to be committed to obey it. Most of the time our error doesn’t come from not knowing what to do, but in not being willing to do what we know God’s Word would have us do. We must prioritize obedience to His Word above all else.

The second priority that the people made that we are called to make was to separate from sin. This priority flows out of the first and it manifested itself in two ways in Nehemiah 10:30-31. First, the people of Jerusalem had entered into marriages and relationships with the other people groups that lived in and around Jerusalem. Exodus 34:10-17 and Deuteronomy 7:1-8 both speak against this practice. As we have said before, the issue was not race but religion. God commanded the Israelites not to do this because those relationships would inevitably introduce idolatry and the sinful practices that accompanied the worship of those idols into the Israelite community. The second issue the people faced was in regards to honoring the Sabbath Day. The people around Jerusalem conducted their business seven days a week and the Israelites had been participating with them. Israel had been called to set aside the seventh day of the week (Saturday) in order to honor the Lord. Both of these areas have important application for us. In regards to the intermarriage, God warns us against being “unequally yoked” (2 Corinthians 6:14-18) in any area of our lives with unbelievers. The line must be drawn when participation with the lost world leads to compromise in our obedience to Christ, temptation to sin, or damage to our Christian testimony. In regards to the Sabbath day, while there is an application for us gathering with God’s people on the Lord’s Day (Sunday), Sunday is not the Sabbath day. The Sabbath finds its fulfillment in Christ who brings the eternal rest of salvation to God’s people that the rest of the Sabbath and the rest of the promised land pointed forward to (Hebrews 4:1-11). Christians find our rest in Christ, not in a day. The Sabbath was given as a sign to the Jewish people (Exodus 31:17) that the Creator who rested on the seventh day came to bring rest to His people. It marked Israel out uniquely as belonging to their Creator. Christians honor the Sabbath by living lives that are marked out as holy to God. That is an every day occurrence. We have entered into the true rest that God has for His people and we are called to live in it. We do that by separating from sin and living lives holy to the Lord (1 Peter 1:15-16)

The final priority that Nehemiah calls us to make is that of serving God’s purposes. Verses 32-39 list out the various tithes and offerings that the people were called to make in order to fund and support the work that would go on in the temple. God’s purposes for Israel were to set them apart as His holy people and demonstrate to the whole world what it was for a people to live in covenant with Him. A central part of that purpose was the temple and everything that took place in it. Those tithes and offerings went to that purpose. While there is an application for Christians giving of our possessions to fund the work of the Lord throughout the world and in our local congregation (1 Corinthians 16:1-2), this part of Nehemiah 10 would actually speak to the priority of us serving God’s purpose in our lives. Some today believe that tithing according to the Old Testament is the standard of giving, however, there was not just one tithe. This meant that to tithe was more than just ten percent. There was an annual tithe required of all Jews to support the Levites (Leviticus 27:30-34; 28:30). There was a tithe off the remaining ninety percent to bring to the temple at the annual feasts (three times each year). There was also a third tithe collected every third year for the poor (Deuteronomy 26:12-15). That means that to tithe according to the Old Testament was to give between twenty and thirty percent. It would have been more like taxes. While ten percent may be a good starting point, Christians today are called to give freely, cheerfully, proportionately, and regularly according to the New Testament (1 Corinthians 16:1-2; 2 Corinthians 9:6-7). It is a matter of conscience and joyful obedience. Our giving is a part of serving God’s purposes in the world, but there is more to it than just our giving. It is also about us living our lives in fulfillment of our calling as Christians. Just as Israel was set up as a holy people meant to show God’s glory in the world, Christians are called to take the gospel to the ends of the earth and make disciples by baptizing and teaching (Matthew 28:18-20). All of us have been given a part to play in the salvation of the lost world around us. Are we being faithful to it?

Mothers and fathers play a vital role in setting an example for us. What kind of example are we setting? What are our highest priorities in life? Are we concerned with career advancement, financial portfolios, material possessions, etc.? Or, are we concerned with obeying God’s Word, living holy lives, and serving God’s purposes in the world?  For many of us, our mothers have played such a vital role in teaching us to do those three things. Our mothers have taught and shown us the love and grace of God in their unconditional love for us. Today, we honor our them. Happy Mothers’ Day!