Nehemiah 10:32-39

Nehemiah 10:32–39 KJV (WS)

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.

Introduction

Revival is a process.

Like dieting, learning a new skill, or taking a walk.

You don’t cover the entire distance in one meal, practice, or step.

It takes time and consistency.

The Baptist Tabernacle is a testament to the continued possibility of revitalization.

I saw a bulletin from July of 18 that asked for prayer for our parking lot, children’s areas, playground, teen room, and adult ss classes because they all needed attention.

All of those areas have been addressed and we are moving on to other areas of need.

They didn’t all get addressed at the same time.

Piece by piece we gave attention to our facilities.

Revival takes patience.

Thank you to those that have been patient with the process.

Sometimes though we aren’t as patient with ourselves as we are with others.

If we will let the process play out in our personal lives, we will find ourselves doing things we never thought we would be able to do.

That’s what the Israelites discovered.

The Israelites are on a path of revival and renewal.

It started with a return to God’s word in chapter 8.

This led to a celebration of God’s faithfulness and grace.

The people then proved the genuineness of their revival with obedience at the end of chapter 8.

Last week, in chapter 9, we learned about the effect of revival on the people’s ability to praise God regardless of their circumstances.

This week, we are going to look at another step in the process of revival.

Giving.

One indisputable sign of revival is our willingness to give back to God.

Jesus said in Matthew 6:21 “21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

This can be an awkward topic of conversation, especially on a Sunday morning.

But, it shouldn’t be for the Baptist Tabernacle.

We are blessed with incredibly generous and faithful givers.

I made this comment on Wednesday but the average yearly giving amount per giver, nationally, is $1400.

At the Baptist Tabernacle our average yearly gift per giver is around $3200.

That’s nearly 3x the average.

Now, that’s nowhere near 100% participation.

If you are here this morning, and you’re a member of this church who is not participating in giving, please understand this.

Your pastor doesn’t know who you are.

I can not single any one out for not giving, because I don’t see that information.

You could stand up right now and claim to give, and I would believe you.

With that being the case, I hope you will look at this passage knowing that the preacher is not targeting anyone.

This is the next chapter in our study.

We are going to consider it as we have every other passage.

If giving is the next step in your process of revival, I trust that God will make that clear to you today.

In our passage we see that the Israelites committed to 4 types of contributions to the Lord’s work.

The temple tax. 32

Traditionally, this was a tax of half of a shekel.

A shekel was about 9.8 grams of silver.

Half a shekel would be 4.9 grams.

A third of a shekel would be 2.95 grams.

Today’s silver price per gram is $1.08.

That means normally each person paid a temple tax of $5.30 in today’s money.

Since times were especially difficult, as we have seen, the tax is lowered.

1/3 shekel would have been $3.19 in today’s money.

This was not a weekly tax, but more likely a yearly tax.

Each person over the age of 20 was most likely included in this tax.

It is not a large amount of money.

It was not meant to be a large payment.

It was a low threshold that was meant to include everyone in the provision of the House of God.

I started by giving .50 cents a week as a kid.

It wasn’t even my .50 cents, but it got me in the habit of making sure i had my offering ready for Sunday.

We can see what this tax provided for.

Shew bread.

Offerings

Work of the house of our God.

9x in this passage we see the phrase House of our God.

One of the signs of revival is when God’s business becomes our business.

You didn’t have to give a great sum to be a part of the work of God in the house of God.

The 1/3 shekel amount did not last forever.

By Jesus’ time, things had settled enough that it was back to a half shekel.

The point of the temple tax was that every adult regardless of wealth was supposed to participate.

The wood offering. 34

Now this offering was not prescribed in the law of Moses.

It was not a monetary gift, but it was still necessary for the work of the house of God.

With as many offerings as they were offering, it required a lot of wood.

One author noted that this was one act of service that everyone could be a part of.

The temple tax left out teens and children.

Not every one could be a priest or a levite.

Anyone could bring wood for the sacrifices.

The responsibility of the wood offering rotated among the families of Israel throughout the year.

If the tax included all the adults, the wood offering gave children an opportunity to participate as well.

The first fruits. 35

This is an interesting offering.

There is never a percentage listed regarding how much of the first fruits you were supposed to bring.

The offering of first fruits was meant to symbolize dependence upon God’s provision and to honor him with the best.

It was also a redemptive offering.

God claimed ownership of the first born sons of Israel as well as the firstborn of all cattle.

These could be redeemed through the first fruits offering.

The firstfruits could be anything produced by the individual.

Fruit from a tree.

Firstlings from the herds and flocks.

Dough, wine, and oil.

Whatever was produced, God expected the first and the best.

Is he not worthy of such?

Only a revived person will agree.

Finally, we see the tithe. 37

Tithe means a tenth.

Tithing existed before the establishment of the law.

The people of Israel here commit to bring the tithes to the levites.

The tithes, here, are specifically earmarked for providing for the people who do the work of the house of God.

There was no provision for the Levites to receive an inheritance in the land.

They were completely dependent upon the tithes of the people.

I appreciate that God includes the people that work at his house in the provision required for his house to operate.

There were several positions listed that were paid by the tithes of the people.

The priests.

The porters.

The singers.

I also appreciate the system of checks and balances in place to insure fairness and accountability.

The levites could not just take the offering and say, “oh this is how much we got.”

There was also supposed to be a priest present at the time of collection.

This insured that the right amount of offering was brought back to Jerusalem.

90% of the tithes collected could go to the Levites and their livelihood.

10% was to go back to the Temple for use there.

These are all generous donations commitments from the people.

They were a natural result of revival.

They were grounded in a sincere desire that the house of God not be forsaken.

Though not everything in this passage translates to our world, there are some key principles that do.

Application

The matter of giving is a matter of revival.

A cold, carnal Christianity looks for justification to withhold gifts from God.

If you are member of this church and you would like to find a reason not to give here, you will find it.

We do our absolute best to be good stewards of the funds that God has entrusted to us.

We have tighter checks and balances than we have ever had.

We have weekly and monthly review processes to keep an account of how God’s money is spent.

We do consider every dollar given to belong to God.

Every person in a leadership position from myself, to the staff, to the trustees, to the treasurers will give an account for how the money is spent here.

That’s humbling.

As we move to officer elections, you need to be mindful of that.

We could be the most thrifty, financially sound church on earth but if you are not experiencing constant revival, it won’t matter.

People love to pick apart the matter of New Testament giving.

They like to say that the church building is not the Temple.

They like to say that the tithe is not a part of New Testament christianity.

Here’s the baseline principle that still applies.

Community worship is definitely a part of NT Christianity.

This is enhanced by a place to worship.

This is enhanced by leaders to facilitate worship.

These things still require money.

Whereas the house of God today is no longer material but spiritual, the material is still a very real symbol of the spiritual. When the Church of God, in any place, in any locality, is careless about the material place of assembly, the place of its worship, and its work, it is a sign and evidence that its life is at a low ebb. -G. Campbell Morgan

What you need to decide or reconfirm in your heart this morning is that you will not be responsible for forsaking the house of the Lord.

It doesn’t have to start big.

It can/should start small.

All of us can do something.

Conclusion

We are abundantly blessed with revived individuals.

We have room to grow.

Will you allow God to speak to your heart about taking another step in your personal revival?

Giving is an indisputable sign of revival.

Through giving we can all have a part in the promotion of God’s work.