We Will Not Neglect the House of Our God
Notes
Transcript
Psalm 51 that Stephen read a moment ago is an individual man’s experience of revelation, repentance, and restoration. God revealed Himself to David; David’s sin was made clear. David repented and, in light of that repentance, he moved into obedience.
Our chapter today is the corporate version of that same turning from repentance to commitment.
The events of this chapter have, in a way, been prophesied about by Moses in Deuteronomy.
Moses had told them in Deuteronomy 30 that, after they have been exiled and return to Lord and obey his voice, then the Lord would restore them.
4 If your outcasts are in the uttermost parts of heaven, from there the Lord your God will gather you, and from there he will take you.
He goes on:
6 And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.
God has brought them back and it seems that he is doing a work in their hearts, not merely to lead them back to a piece of real estate, but to lead them back to Himself.
Let’s look at the very last verse of chapter 9 to get a handle on where the story is moving:
38 “Because of all this we make a firm covenant in writing; on the sealed document are the names of our princes, our Levites, and our priests.
“Because of all this...” The preceding chapters are the reason for what comes here.
This is not the beginning of the thought. No, actually, to understand Nehemiah 10, we have to go back to Nehemiah 8. The construction of the wall has been completed and on the first day of the seventh month the people gathered together in the city, inside the newly rebuilt walls.
We heard Pastor Jeremy preach a couple weeks ago about Ezra and the other priests read from the torah (the first 5 books of the Bible) while the Levites moved through the crowds, explaining the what was being read. The word of God was proclaimed to the people here on the first day of the month.
After hearing the laws about the feasts that were supposed to be celebrated in the 7th month, the people started to make preparations to obey.
Then last week we fast-forwarded to the 24th day of the 7th month.
In the 3 weeks or so between chapters 8 and 9, a lot would have taken place. The 7th month is a big one in terms of holidays in Israel’s calendar.
The 1st is the feast of Trumpets. The month begins with this extra day of rest. Sometimes it fell on a regular Sabbath, but most times it was like a bonus Sabbath day that would be celebrated with trumpets and a food offering to the LORD.
The 10th is the day of Atonement. If you don’t know much about the other feasts, you probably know about the day of atonement. It was the centerpiece of Israel’s holidays. It was the one day in the entire year when the High Priest would go into the most holy place in the Temple, where God’s presence dwelt. he would draw near to God and sacrifice a lamb. This lamb is a spotless lamb over which the High Priest would have laid his hands on and confessed the sins of the people. In this way the High Priest would make atonement for the sins of the people every year.
The 15th to the 22nd is the Feast of Booths. So, then just a few days afterward, the people would celebrate the Feast of Booths. They would essentially camp out for a week. They would build temporary structures and stay in them for a full week, making offerings. This was to remind them of the 40 years they spent in the wilderness.
Last week we got to the end of this month of worship. The pattern here is one that is found throughout the Bible and in our lives.
The people heard God’s word read, proclaimed, and explained. They saw God’s Word acted out in worship and in His prescribed ways.
In short, they have spent the past 23 days contemplating God. Who He is, what He demands, how He deals with His people, and how He deals with people rebellious to Him.
Then Pastor Brad explained the results of all this in last week’s sermon. The people, upon seeing who God is and who they are, are led to repentance.
They see how drastically short they have fallen and understand that there is no refuge from God. There is only refuge in God.
In our text today it’s clear that after we see God for who He is, and we confess and repent, the natural response is obedience to Him.
The people here in chapter 10 seek to rededicate themselves to the covenant God made with them through Moses.
Our text today is the the people’s rededication to the covenant. It breaks down easily into three parts.
the People Committing to the covenant (vv.1-28)
the obligations of the covenant (vv.29-38)
Summary and conclusion (v.39)
First, I want to cover the basics of the covenant commitment, then dive into the People Committing to the covenant.
The people have heard the first five books of the Bible read and explained. This has caused them to want to recommit to the covenant God made with them. But there are some specific commands that have weighed heavily on them. These specific areas are the focus of chapter 10. The areas are basically three: (1) Intermarriage, (2) Sabbath regulations, and (3) Temple worship. [briefly explain each]
The Signatories (10:1-28)
The Signatories (10:1-28)
If you stack up all the lists of the names in Ezra and Nehemiah, you’ll see a couple things. First, you’ll see that the books of Ezra and Nehemiah are about 20% lists of names. That’s one in five chapters!
God is at work in Nehemiah 8-10. God is at work in history. But God very rarely works around His people. Instead, God uses people to carry out his deeds. God has used these people in Israel’s story. That’s what makes their names worth mentioning.
One thing that gets lost on us sometimes in these Old Testament stories is that these are real people. These events happened in our world. This is not a fairy tale. These names, though difficult to pronounce, belong to actual men who made actual sacrifices to see God’s people and covenant restored in the land of Israel.
They led the way out of Persia and back to Israel. They helped rebuild the Temple with Zerubbabel. They helped restore worship with Ezra. They helped ensure the safety of Jerusalem by rebuilding the walls. They were God’s hands and feet. And God honored them by inspiring verses 1-27 of Nehemiah 10.
So, we are going to read their names here, to honor all these ways that God used these peoplle.
1 “On the seals are the names of Nehemiah the governor, the son of Hacaliah, Zedekiah, 2 Seraiah, Azariah, Jeremiah, 3 Pashhur, Amariah, Malchijah, 4 Hattush, Shebaniah, Malluch, 5 Harim, Meremoth, Obadiah, 6 Daniel, Ginnethon, Baruch, 7 Meshullam, Abijah, Mijamin, 8 Maaziah, Bilgai, Shemaiah; these are the priests. 9 And the Levites: Jeshua the son of Azaniah, Binnui of the sons of Henadad, Kadmiel; 10 and their brothers, Shebaniah, Hodiah, Kelita, Pelaiah, Hanan, 11 Mica, Rehob, Hashabiah, 12 Zaccur, Sherebiah, Shebaniah, 13 Hodiah, Bani, Beninu. 14 The chiefs of the people: Parosh, Pahath-moab, Elam, Zattu, Bani, 15 Bunni, Azgad, Bebai, 16 Adonijah, Bigvai, Adin, 17 Ater, Hezekiah, Azzur, 18 Hodiah, Hashum, Bezai, 19 Hariph, Anathoth, Nebai, 20 Magpiash, Meshullam, Hezir, 21 Meshezabel, Zadok, Jaddua, 22 Pelatiah, Hanan, Anaiah, 23 Hoshea, Hananiah, Hasshub, 24 Hallohesh, Pilha, Shobek, 25 Rehum, Hashabnah, Maaseiah, 26 Ahiah, Hanan, Anan, 27 Malluch, Harim, Baanah. 28 “The rest of the people, the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, the temple servants, and all who have separated themselves from the peoples of the lands to the Law of God, their wives, their sons, their daughters, all who have knowledge and understanding,
This is a list of nearly every honorable man in Ezra-Nehemiah.
The groupings here are significant:
Nehemiah & Zedekiah: The Social Leaders (v.1)
Priests: The Spiritual Leaders (vv.2-8)
These men had the duty and privilege of carrying out worship in the temple. We get a clue of the depth of these men’s commitment later on in the chapter (verse 38: “the tithe of the tithes”).
According to the Torah, The Levites’ wages came from the tithes of the people. The Priests’ wages came from the tithes of the Levites. In the days of Moses, when the Levites greatly outnumbered the Priests, this all worked out and the Priests would be given about 1% of the produce of the entire country to live on. But now, 1% is a huge pay cut. Based on chapter 7, the people of Israel were probably able to support about 500 priests comfortably. But there was something like 4,000 priests! That’s 8 times as many as they could easily support.
These spiritual leaders were leading out in faith to serve at the temple. The people also commit to bringing their firstfruits to the Priests, and their obedience in this matter would have helped to provide for the priests over and above the tithes.
They also lead by example. Even though they are in such dire financial straits, they still take their part in providing the wood offerings.
Levites: The First Followers (vv.9-13)
The Levites were supposed to be helpers to the Priests. They would collect the tithes from the people and some of them even taught the people back in chapter 8.
In short, these people led by following. Leaders can only do so much on their own. I want to say this by way of testimony: Brittany and I feel blessed to be a part of a church with faithful pastors. We are truly grateful to know the ways they serve our congregation. But we have also come to really be thankful for many of you, not in “formal” leadership positions, who step up by following well. Your example of rallying behind our pastors in prayer and action does not go unnoticed.
God has used you to continue to move our church forward through this past difficult year.
Local Leaders (vv.14-27)
This is the majority of the list. Most Israelites would not have personally known anyone in vv.1-13, but odds are, they knew or were related to someone in these verses.
These local leaders are the face of the commitment to most Israelites. They will determine how seriously people take the covenant on a daily basis. They will be the ones making small talk with their families and villages. They will be standing at the gate when the people go to make buy from a foreigner on the Sabbath. They will be the ones to hear of a local boy who is engaged to a non-Israelite girl. They are the ones who will see their neighbor’s field, how much produce he has, and how much he brings in for the tithe. Will they speak up or will they turn a blind eye or a deaf ear? There will be thousands of tiny opportunities to be faithful or to break these commitments. As the local leadership goes, so goes the village. As the village goes, so goes the nation.
All the Rest (v.28)
28 “The rest of the people, the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, the temple servants, and all who have separated themselves from the peoples of the lands to the Law of God, their wives, their sons, their daughters, all who have knowledge and understanding,
This is the widest possible net. There is no person in Israel that can claim exemption from this commitment.
Verse 28 draws a circle that leaves everyone inside it. No one in Israel can say that they are exempt from this covenant.
The Obligations (10:29-39)
The Obligations (10:29-39)
29 join with their brothers, their nobles, and enter into a curse and an oath to walk in God’s Law that was given by Moses the servant of God, and to observe and do all the commandments of the Lord our Lord and his rules and his statutes. 30 We will not give our daughters to the peoples of the land or take their daughters for our sons. 31 And if the peoples of the land bring in goods or any grain on the Sabbath day to sell, we will not buy from them on the Sabbath or on a holy day. And we will forego the crops of the seventh year and the exaction of every debt.
32 “We also take on ourselves the obligation to give yearly a third part of a shekel for the service of the house of our God: 33 for the showbread, the regular grain offering, the regular burnt offering, the Sabbaths, the new moons, the appointed feasts, the holy things, and the sin offerings to make atonement for Israel, and for all the work of the house of our God. 34 We, the priests, the Levites, and the people, have likewise cast lots for the wood offering, to bring it into the house of our God, according to our fathers’ houses, at times appointed, year by year, to burn on the altar of the Lord our God, as it is written in the Law. 35 We obligate ourselves to bring the firstfruits of our ground and the firstfruits of all fruit of every tree, year by year, to the house of the Lord; 36 also to bring to the house of our God, to the priests who minister in the house of our God, the firstborn of our sons and of our cattle, as it is written in the Law, and the firstborn of our herds and of our flocks; 37 and to bring the first of our dough, and our contributions, the fruit of every tree, the wine and the oil, to the priests, to the chambers of the house of our God; and to bring to the Levites the tithes from our ground, for it is the Levites who collect the tithes in all our towns where we labor. 38 And the priest, the son of Aaron, shall be with the Levites when the Levites receive the tithes. And the Levites shall bring up the tithe of the tithes to the house of our God, to the chambers of the storehouse. 39 For the people of Israel and the sons of Levi shall bring the contribution of grain, wine, and oil to the chambers, where the vessels of the sanctuary are, as well as the priests who minister, and the gatekeepers and the singers. We will not neglect the house of our God.”
v. 29: “a curse and an oath” communicates the seriousness of what is happening here.
cf. Gen. 15: the animals torn in two at the cutting of the covenant.
v. 29: “to walk in God’s Law (Torah) . . . to observe and do all the commandments of the LORD (Yahweh) our God, and his rules and his statutes.
The language gets very precise, not to create loopholes, but to remove them. There are no exception clauses here; this is no half-hearted agreement. This is true repentance.
vv.30-31: Intermarriage & Sabbath: Updates and applications to earlier rules.
Moses had commanded them to not marry anyone from 7 specific groups (the groups living in Canaan at the time).
They did not woodenly interpret this, but applied it to their current situation by committing not to marry any of the peoples of the lands.
This was not an issue of race, but of faith (cf. Ruth).
w.r.t. Sabbath, the foreign sellers in Israel created a new issue: commerce on the Sabbath.
The people commit here not to buy on the Sabbath, even though this was not specifically commanded in the earlier law.
They also commit to celebrating the “sabbath year” [explain briefly, with the difficulty of it]
There is no loophole-hunting here cf: “ make no provision for for the flesh (Rom 13:14)
vv.32-39: The bulk of the commitments here are adding specificity to the provisions in the Law.
the law speaks about a wood offering to be burnt in the Temple, but not exactly where the wood comes from. The people commit to giving individual groups this responsibility to ensure that it gets done.
Kidner: “What is everybody’s business is nobody’s business”
cf. shift in deacon service strategy
They are going to great pains to make sure that the Temple and the Priests are cared for in the way they ought to be.
This is especially interesting because Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes had all authorized public funds for the cost of worship, but the people were not willing to let this be the way worship was funded. They knew they couldn’t expect those funds to continue forever, nor would it be healthy for such an arrangement to continue. They understood that true worship costs something of the worshippers.
The Outcome
The Outcome
v. 39: Ends with "we will not neglect the house of our God"
Moses prophesied that God would circumcise their hearts so that they will love the LORD with all their heart and live.
Here in Nehemiah 10, we can tend to think this is finally happening.
But just as countless times before, we will see that it does not take.
They neglected the House of God within 14 years. (They would have celebrated only one Sabbath year).
By the time of Jesus, they had turned the outer courts into a place for extortion (John 2)
The history of Israel is a history of a faithful God, big promises from his people and continual falling short. But it isn’t just the ancient Israelites who fell short.
Paul makes this point abundantly clear in the book of Romans (Rom. 3:23) [All have fallen short]
God’s “House,” i.e. His Temple, is in disarray.
But God’s house cannot go uncared for. God’s house needs a faithful steward.
The author of Hebrews understood this.
6 but Christ is faithful over God’s house as a son. And we are his house, if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope.
Note the wonder of this: Jesus is faithful over God’s house. AND YOU ARE HIS HOUSE! Christian, when Jesus is taking care of God’s house, He is not taking care of some stones and gold, He is taking care of you.
That heart that obeys God the Moses prophesied about has to come from God Himself. You cannot work it up. Every resolution that starts with you will fall flat. It has to start with seeing how Jesus has taken care of you.
Living in the light of that truth is the only path to true obedience.
thats why just a few verses later in Hebrews he says,
Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end.