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- Preaching the Living WORD through
the Written WORD - 2 Tim 4;:2 - |
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THE PEOPLE
EVIDENCED THE RESULTS OF REVIVAL (Pt. 6) (Neh 10:30‑39) 9/5/10
Grace Bible Church,
Gillette, Wyoming Pastor Daryl Hilbert I. A GREATER VOLITION FOR
DEDICATION (9:38‑10:1‑; cp. Ro 12:1‑2) A. The Lapse in Obedience to
the Law 1. While in
captivity and even before, the sons of Israel neglected the Law. After
captivity it was very difficult to begin practicing the Law. Why? 2. Some Jews were born in captivity and
never witnessed the practicing of some of the areas of the Law. They did not
have much spiritual leadership or spiritual examples. 3. Lethargy and disobedience had crept into
the hearts of the Jews before captivity. This was part of the reason that God
brought them into captivity. Lethargy, disobedience, and the cycles of sin
are difficult to break. The people persisted in their ways until the revival
during Nehemiah and Ezra’s spiritual leadership. 4. The people were dejected because though
the Temple was built, the city was in ruins and the wall was in great need of
repair. Their plight obviously affected their spiritual lives. But thanks to
the revival taking place, the people were now ready resume obedience to those
areas of the Law which they had allowed to lapse. B. A Covenant in Writing
(9:38) 1. Their
present situation was a result of their past behavior. Because of this, they
must dedicate themselves to keep God’s Law so that the same thing will not
happen again. 2. Therefore they decided to “make an
agreement,” which literally is “cut a firmness” or “cut a firm agreement.”
This refers to making a covenant (an agreement with two parties) with God.
This quite possibly may have had its origin from the custom that when two
individuals made a covenant with each other, they would cut a sacrifice in
half (Ge 15:9‑17; Je 34:18‑19). Both parties would walk in
between the two halves. This would symbolize the idea that the same thing
would happen to them if they broke the covenant. 3. But instead of cutting a sacrifice in
half, they would write it down as a memorial. In this way, they or the
following generations, should never forget it. That
memorial in writing was not only a written covenant, but it became an
intricate part of the book of Nehemiah. 4. The written document was sealed. It was
sealed because it was an important document with which they did not want
removed or tampered. This was also in keeping with the Phoenician culture
where they would seal a document with numerous signets in clay seals (cp. Je
32:10‑12). C. Names on the Document
(10:1‑29) 1. On this
document was written the names of all the leaders, Levites, and priests. In
other words, all the spiritual leaders had to dedicate themselves to
everything that was written in that document. 2. Governor (10:1) a) Not only
as governor, and not only as a good leader, but also in accordance with his
character, Nehemiah was the first to sign the covenant (10:1). 3. Priests
(10:2‑8) a) “Gedaliah, son of Passhur” was
found inscribed on the wall by archaeologist, Dr. Eilat
Mazar (Ez 2:38; Ne 7:41;
10:3; Je 38:1). 4. The
Levites (10:9‑13) 5. Leaders of the people (10:14‑27) 6. The Rest (10:28‑29) a) “The
rest” included the rest of the people, the priests, the Levites, the
gatekeepers, the singers, the temple servants (28). b) They all took on some curse if they were
to break the covenant (cp. Ne 5:13). They took an oath to walk in God's law
and to the Lord’s commandments, ordinances, statutes (29). D. Areas of Agreement (10:30‑39) 1. Not Give
Daughters to Foreigners (30) a) The idea
of not allowing an Israelite to marry a non‑Israelite came from God in
order to keep the Jewish and Messianic line pure. b) God commanded that they should not
intermarry (Ex 34:11‑16). c) It was especially a problem in the time
of Ezra (Ez 9:1‑2) and Nehemiah (Ne 13:23,
25). d) An exegetical change and application was
made to the Law because they were no longer dealing with the Canaanites,
Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. It was
therefore changed and applied to all the “people of the land.” This
precedence was followed throughout the pledge (cp. Ne 10:31) and Jewish
history. 2. No
Commerce on the Sabbath (31a) a) The Law
forbids numerous activities for the Israelite on the Sabbath such as, no
working (Ex 20:8‑11; 23:12; 34:21) or no selling (Amos 8:5) b) Another exegetical change and application
is made that Israel was not to buy from foreigners on the Sabbath (Ne 10:31a;
cp. 13:15‑16) 3. Sabbatical
for Crops and Debt in Seventh Year (31b,c) a) These
next two pledges were normally handled separately. Now they are placed
together. These two areas also had also been neglected. b) The Law commanded that Israel was to
forego sowing and harvesting crops on the seventh year. (Ex 23:10‑11;
Le 25:1‑7) c) The Law also commanded that Israel was to
forgive debt and slavery on the seventh year (Ex 21:2‑6, 10; Dt 15:1‑18;
Le 25:1‑7). d) Cp. Ne 5:7‑8, Nehemiah dealt with
the short term solutions, now they had to deal with the long‑term
solutions. 4. Contributions
Toward the House of God (32‑34) a) Temple Tax
(32‑33) (1) Moses was
told by God to take a census tax of a half shekel (aprox.
two days wages) for Temple expenses (Ex 30:11‑16; 38:25‑26). (2) Here it was probably reduced to a third of
a shekel because of their economic plight. But by the time of Jesus, it had
been raised back up to a half a shekel. b) Supplying
Wood (34) (1) The Law
instructed Israel to keep the altar continually burning (Le 6:12‑13). (2) To carry out that instruction they cast
lots for families to supply the Temple with wood. c) First‑fruits
(35‑37a) (1) They
pledged to reinstitute the giving of the first fruits of their crops (Ex
23:19; 34:26; Dt 26:2), trees (Le 19:24; Nu 18:13), sons (Nu 18:15), and
herds (Ex 13:12; 18:15, 17). (2) The Levites gave a tenth of all they
received to the priests (Nu 18:26) d) Tithes
(37b‑38) (1) They
pledged to begin tithing again (Le 27:30; cp. Mal 3:8‑10). (2) However, if all tithes under the Law were
added up, it would total to about 30 percent. e) Conclusion
(39) (1) Much of
what they were pledging was going toward the Levites and the Temple. This was
in keeping with obeying the Law and supporting what the Lord intended to be
the focal point of their lives, i.e. God’s Word and His house. Thus they
would not neglect the house of the Lord. (2) The other pledges consisted of those areas
of the Law that had not only been neglected, but was vital for the religious
and social stability of Israel. II. OBSERVATIONS A. Giving is a practical way
in which the Lord furthers His Word and His church, an important aspect of
one’s worship, as well as an introspection into one’s spiritual life (Pr 3:9‑10). B. Believers are to dedicate their lives to
Christ (Ro 6:12‑13; 12:1‑2; 2Co 8:5). C. A greater volition for dedication is an
evidence of revival in the soul. D. Leadership dedicates themselves
to the Lord first, then encourages others to do the same (Ne 10:1). E. Areas of dedication are: 1) Following God’s
will wherever it may lead. 2) Studying God’s Word at one’s top priority. 3)
Obeying God’s Word regardless of the persecution from without and within. 4)
Purposing to obey in difficult areas. |
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