Excerpts from: " Covenant People"
10/24/04
Nehemiah 9 &10

As we continue from last week, the walls of Jerusalem have been rebuilt, and the doors on the gates have been hung, the city has been made secure and a census is taken. The 8th chapter begins by telling us that everyone had settled in Jerusalem, and in the surrounding towns. Then all the people gathered as one in the town square in front of the water gate.

They implored Ezra the priest to 'bring out the book' of the Revelation of Moses that God had commanded for Israel.

Then he read Nehemiah 9:1-3

Then on the twenty-fourth day of this month, the People of Israel gathered for a fast, wearing burlap and faces smudged with dirt as signs of repentance. The Israelites broke off all relations with foreigners, stood up, and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their parents. While they stood there in their places, they read from the Book of The Revelation of GOD, their God, for a quarter of th day. For another quarter of the day they confessed and worshiped their GOD.

The revelation of God broke their heart! It revealed to them as a people where they were at.
The 9th chapter is about four things:

Repentance, Reflection, Recognition, Restoration

The Israelites now realize their state-as we read this at the conclusion of the chapter:

36. And here we are, slaves again today; and here's the land you gave our ancestors So they could eat well and enjoy a good life, and now look at us--no better than slaves on this land. Its wonderful crops go to the kings you put over us because of our sins; They act like they own our bodies and do whatever they like with our cattle. We're in deep trouble. Because of all this we are drawing up a binding pledge, a sealed document signed by our princes, our Levites, and our priests.

I want us to see 4 promises that the people of God made in Nehemiah 10. After hearing what God wanted from them, and knowing their own rebellion, verse 38 of chapter 9 says that the people made a "binding agreement", which is a promise or covenant to follow the Lord wholeheartedly. They put it in writing and sealed it. Putting a seal on a document is a serious matter because it meant taking a solemn oath before the Lord.

God is a covenant-keeping God, even when we don't keep our end of the deal. You may have made promises to God in the past that you haven't kept. You may have broken some vows. If you have, you're not alone.

While it may be helpful to make a vow or an oath to God today, remember this: We don't succeed as Christians because we make promises to God, but because we believe the promises of God and act upon them.

Having said that, many of us never come to the point of getting serious in our walk with God simply because we never get specific with Him. We hear and sense the Spirit's tug at our heart, but until we decide to be completely committed to Him, we stay where we are at.

As a result of hearing God's Word, the Israelites made four decisions. The first one is found in 10:29:

"all joined their noble kinsmen in a binding oath to follow The Revelation of God given through Moses the servant of God, to keep and carry out all the commandments of GOD our Master, all his decisions and standards."

This is vow #1: Submission to God's Word. They were totally serious in their desire to devote themselves what God said.

Hey, who does God use to make an impact? Super saints? Heroes? Pious religious people? No. Listen to the words of 1 Chronicles 16:9, "For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him."

The key to your spiritual life is devotion. Simply put, if you want to do things for God, you need to be available to God. Listen; the depth of your devotion determines your impact.

God isn't over the earth for strong, talented people, for great people, for perfect people, or even for religious people.... He's looking for men and women, youth and boys and girls who are committed to Him. He's looking for a regular person who He can pour His strength out on. In order for that to happen, we need to be dangerously devoted.

William Booth, the founder of the Salvation Army was once asked what his secret was to an incredible ministry. This is what he said, "God has had all that there was of me. There have been men with greater brains than I... but from the day I got the poor of London on my heart and caught a vision of what Jesus Christ could do with me and them, on that day I made up my mind that God should have all of William Booth that there was."

So, what does God have of you?

In Nehemiah 10, the people are saying that they are so seriously submitted to God and His Word that they are willing for the curses of God to fall on them if they don't obey what He says. I wonder if we have that same dangerous devotion today? Does God have you?

Vow #2. A Separation From the World.

After submitting themselves to God and His Word, the people make a second vow in verse 30: "We will not marry our daughters to our foreign neighbors nor let our sons marry their daughters."

Separation is simply devotion to God, no matter what the cost.

When a man and woman get married, they separate themselves from all other possible mates and give themselves completely to each other. We separate from others to the one who is our life mate. The Israelites separated from the peoples around them and to God and His Word.

This was not about ethnic pride or a sense that the Israelite gene pool was superior to that of other peoples. Rather it had to do with how they worshipped God and honored Him. There is abundant historical evidence that unequally yoked marriages led to a decline in Israel's spiritual and moral life.

Let me be clear. Being unequally yoked doesn't have to do with race, creed or color. It has everything to do with spending your life for God's kingdom.

Vow #3. A Sabbath Rest for God's People.

After pledging themselves to submit to the Word of God and to live separated lives, the believers renew the covenant with a third vow: the Sabbath for God's people in verse 31: "When the foreign neighbors bring goods or grain to sell on the Sabbath we won't trade with them--not on the Sabbath or any other holy day. Every seventh year we will leave the land fallow and cancel all debts." In Nehemiah's time, it was necessary for God's law about the Sabbath to be clearly understood.

First of all, this day was set aside to honor God. It was distinctive from other days and given to God so that they might offer their worship to Him without being distracted by the demands of everyday life. It was a day of rest.

This is an important paradigm or model for us today. From the very beginning of the church, Christians made the Lord's Day their appointed day for worship, rest, service, and witness. While avoiding the legalism that the Pharisees fell into, most of us can do a much better job of looking for ways to keep Sunday special.

The Israelites also promised to observe the "Sabbatical Year." Every seventh year, they were to let the land lie idle so that it might restore itself. To obey God in this way, they certainly needed to trust Him with their needs during the seventh year. It seems to me that obedience to God always involves trust. We cannot always see what's coming up, but if we are doing what God says, He will never disappoint us. Their commitment to commemorate the Sabbatical Year was a great step of faith and is a beautiful illustration of Matthew 6:33: "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."

Notice that they also canceled all debts in verse 31. They promised that every seven years, they would live out a renewed scale of values that people matter more than money. The keeping of the Sabbath and Sabbatical Years were ways of saying "no" to a life of maximum acquisition. My highest goal is not to make the most I can and then spend my life trying to keep everything that I have.

Vow #4 Support For God's Work.

That leads to their fourth pledge: support for God's work in verses 32-39. The phrase "house of our God" is used nine times in this section and refers to the restored temple. The people were promising to follow God's priorities by submitting to Him, by separating from the world, by keeping the Sabbath, and by supporting the work of God. Verse 39 sums up their commitment: "We will not neglect the house of our God."

The temple in Jerusalem stood at the heart of the country's religious, moral and spiritual life. In symbolic terms it proclaimed the presence and power of God among His people and the centrality of spiritual matters.

This passage covers an impressive series of promises to support God's work in a variety of different ways and gives us 7 insights into how our giving can support God's work today.

1. It was responsible giving. In verse 32 and verse 35, the people say that "they accegt the responsibility..." They owned it and gave what they owned because they saw it as their privilege and their responsibility.

2. It was obedient giving. They didn't practice "impulse giving" but instead gave as an expression of practical obedience. This was yet another way to demonstrate that God came first in their lives.

3. It was systematic. There was nothing haphazard about their giving. Verse 32 says that they were to bring a third of a silver shekel each year. Verse 34 states that lots were drawn to determine when families were to bring a contribution of wood at set times each year. Verse 35 tells us that first fruits were brought each year. There was an orderliness about these offerings and a system that was followed. The people knew precisely what was expected of them. The New Testament teaches systematic giving as well in 1 Corinthians 16:2: "On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income..."

4. It was proportionate. The reference to the wood offering suggests that many poor people in Israel had an opportunity to make a gift to the Lord that would demand time rather than money. The temple needed a regular supply of firewood to keep the sacrificial fires burning. Everyone, regardless of income, could gather wood and take it to the temple.

In addition, Israel's sacrificial system recognized that not everyone could make the same kind of offering. If someone could not afford the cost of a young bull, a male goat or Iamb, they were able instead to offer two doves or young pigeons. It they could not even afford that, Leviticus 5: 11 allowed them to bring some fine flour as an offering. It is not the amount that is given which is important; it is the spirit in which we make our offering. We should give in proportion to how we've been blessed. The New Testament echoes this principle in 1 Corinthians 16 and 2 Corinthians 8-9.

5. It was sacrificial. They were to bring to God's house the "first fruits" of their crops "and of every fruit tree." (35) To offer the first of their crops was to declare that God was the giver of all things, that everything belongs to Him, and that He is worthy of the best we can offer Him. Here's a helpful principle to remember: while not everyone can give the same amount, everyone can make the same sacrifice. Not equal giving, but equal sacrifice. It was Mother Teresa who said, "If you give what you do not need, it isn't giving." And, C.S. Lewis put it this way, "I don't believe one can settle how much we ought to give. I'm afraid the only safe rule is to give more than we can spare."

6. It was all-inclusive. They were to not only bring their crops and their money; they were to also bring their first-born sons and their animals to the Lord in verse 36. God is not just interested in our money, He wants our hearts. Actually, He wants everything.

7. It was prearranged. They were not only to bring their "first," but also a "tithe" of their crops to the Lord in verse 37. Giving a tenth of their produce or income to the Lord has a lona and dianified history amonq believers and is an appropriate guide for Christian giving. As someone has said, "the tithe is a great place to start." The tithe is the minimum we should be giving to further the Lord's work.

Tithing can be a great blessing, and I recommend it highly, but there are at least three dangers:

• It's easy to give with the wrong motives. We can give out of a sense of duty or fear, or even greed ("If I tithe, God must prosper me!")
• Thinking that we can do whatever we want with the 90% that remains.
• Giving only the tithe and failing to give love offerings to the Lord.

Someone has said that we make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give. Jesus put it this way in Matthew 6:21: "Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." Let's determine to be like the believers in Nehemiah 10:39: "We will not neglect the house of our God."

When it comes to giving, we can do it for at least three reasons:

• Because we have to that's law
• Because we ought to that's obligation
• Because we want to that's grace

I don't know about you, but I want to give to the Lord. I came across a list of 10 reasons to give 10% or more to the Lord's work.

1. It is a tried and true pattern of giving (Malachi 3:7-15).
2. It will help you revere God more in your life (Deuteronomy 14:23).
3. It will help you harness the dragon of materialism (1 Timothy 6:6-10)
4. It serves as a reminder that God is the Owner of everything (Haggai 2:8)
5. It will allow you to experience God's provisions in incredible ways (Luke 6:38).
6. It will encourage you to trust in God (Proverbs 3:5-6)
7. It will ensure you of treasure in heaven (Matthew 6:19-20)
8. It strengthens the ministry and outreach of the church (2 Corinthians 9:12).
9. It supports church staff and missionaries (Galatians 6:6)
10. It will help accomplish needed building projects (1 Chronicles 29:2-10).

I invite you to use this time to think through any decisions the Lord wants you to make. Listen to Him and decide right now to put into practice what you know you need to do. If you've broken some promises with Him or with others, confess it right now.

We will not neglect the Temple of our God.