Historical Books Nehemiah

Continuing the House of the Lord

Discover Jesus as: Builder Nehemiah 10 Read on Bible Gateway (HCSB)

Day 328 of 730
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INTRO

It feels like we have flown through Nehemiah! The topic or theme for this whole book is Builder. This is a very practical book. Nehemiah was rebuilding the city of Jerusalem. At the end of Nehemiah 9, there was a group of people who had studied through the history of Israel. In chapter 10, this group decided they wanted a document that showed they wanted to follow God. This document was signed and sealed.

TEACHING

Nehemiah 10:1–27: These verses list all the people who were committing and submitting to the Word of God. They were all in!

Nehemiah 10:28–30: You begin to see the separation of the Israelites as the people of God. This includes everyone who was obeying the law of God by literally separating themselves from worldly things and people. There were two major areas of separation. The first separation was marriage. There tended to be this theme of the Israelites being super tempted by the women of the enemy or foreign peoples. The problem was that as the Israelites came into foreign lands and married foreign women, they became worldly and disobeyed the Word of God.

So the Israelites would not let their daughters marry those outside the faith. The application for us here is that we must make ourselves different. When you start aligning yourself in relationships or marriages that are not equally yoked, the relationships don’t work (Exodus 34:10–17). I think foreign marriages had been the downfall of Israel since the beginning. It’s never worked! Marriage is very important! We are to be separate and distinct as followers of the Lord.

Nehemiah 10:31: The second area of separation is through the Sabbath. God wanted and still wants His people to rest. The Sabbath should not be a day of misery but a day of rest. I think we need to ask ourselves, “Can I depend upon the Lord to fully rest for an entire day?” What led the Israelites into Babylon was not resting on the seventh year—not taking a Sabbath. This would have been a huge statement for Nehemiah and the others to say, “Yes, we will adhere to the Sabbath.”

Nehemiah 10:32–39: In the Israelites process of submission and separation, we see their support for the house of God. They came up with self-imposed commands to give to the house of the Lord. They did this in order to keep the people focused. It was written, “We will not neglect the house of our God” (v. 39). I feel like this chapter is a summary of God’s desire for His people. God longs for His people to submit to the Word of God, to separate themselves from worldly things, and to continue to support the house of the Lord.

I want to look at the different offerings mentioned in these verses. Warren Wiersbe broke up these offerings in the following way:1

The temple tax (vv. 32–33).

  • In the Book of Exodus, these taxes were used to make silver sockets and other things for the temple.
  • In the New Testament and present day, giving would go to pay salaries (Luke 10:7); share with the needy (1 Corinthians 16:1–3); and show the practice of good stewardship (2 Corinthians 8:9).

The wood offering (v. 34).

The fire on the brazen altar was to be kept burning (Leviticus 6:12–13).

The Israelites cast lots to see who would give this offering.

There was a lot of wood needed!

The firstfruits (vv. 35–37a).

The firstfruits are giving to God the first and the best.

These offerings were redeemed by sacrifices of the ground (Exodus 23:16), the trees (Leviticus 19:23-25), and sons (Numbers 18:15).

All these things are about contributing to the house of the Lord (Jeremiah 2:3)!

God’s firstfruits are the Israelites. They are to be giving of themselves. Later in 1 Corinthians 15:23, we see Christ is the ultimate firstfruits who sacrificed His life for ours.

What does this mean for us today? These are the ways you can help support the temple and the house of God22:

God expects each one of us to give from our firstfruits.

If you have a business think, “What can I give first?”

Giving should be joyful (2 Corinthians 9:7).

We should give as we have been given (Matthew 6:2–4; 1 Corinthians 16:1–2).

What I love about the principle of firstfruits giving is that you are giving what you have!

The tithes (vv. 37b–39).

The Jews tithed to the temple (Numbers 18:23–32; Deuteronomy 26:11).

CLOSING

If the Israelites were going to move forward with the work given to them, they needed to submit to God’s Word, separate themselves, and support the house of the Lord. All of these things pointed and still point to God’s presence. Just because a physical building stops growing, the house of the Lord does not stop growing.

  1. Warren Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary: Old Testament (Colorado Springs: David C. Cook, 2007), p. 686-687.

  2. Steve Diggs, Thy Principles of Godly Giving, Crosswalk.com: Family Finances; available https://www.crosswalk.com/family/finances/three-key-principles-of-godly-giving-1426486.html.

Questions

  1. The governor, leaders, priests, and Levites signed and put their seal on a document, making an agreement in writing. Who was this agreement made to? What were the things they committed to? What things have you committed yourself to in service to God?
  2. What does it mean in Nehemiah 10:29 when it says, “They took on themselves a curse and an oath to walk in God’s law” (NASB)?
  3. According to Nehemiah 10:30, is it wrong to marry people of other ethnicities? (2 Corinthians 6:14: Colossians 3:11)
  4. The people pledged to give a third of a shekel yearly for the service of the house of God. Find the value of a third of a shekel. What was this money specifically used for?
  5. This chapter talks about the firstfruits, which are to be brought into the house of the Lord. What do the firstfruits foreshadow? Support your answer with several Bible references.
  6. What did the Holy Spirit highlight to you in Nehemiah 10 through the reading or the teaching?

Next: the Daily Word →

Daily Word

Laura Martin Nehemiah 10:28–29

“The rest of the people—the priests, Levites, gatekeepers, singers, and temple servants, along with their wives, sons, and daughters, everyone who is able to understand and who has separated themselves from the surrounding peoples to obey the law of God—join with their noble brothers and commit themselves with a sworn oath to follow the law of God given through God’s servant Moses and to carefully obey all the commands, ordinances, and statutes of Yahweh our Lord.”

The Israelites submitted to Yahweh and made the decision to walk in His ways. They committed to separate themselves from others in the area because they were children of God, followers of Yahweh. It’s one thing to say, “We love the Lord and read His Word,” but they needed to live their lives differently from those who did not follow God. The Israelites vowed to obey and follow God’s Word through marriage, honoring the Sabbath, and supporting the house of the Lord with their firstfruits.

If you truly love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind, then your behavior, your actions, and the way you spend your time, resources, and talents will be transformed. As a New Testament Christian, your faith is not about a list of laws and rules. Rather, it’s a matter of daily yielding your heart to the Lord and receiving His grace and power that transforms you into His image. Does your life resemble Christ or the world? If you remain in the world, then you will resemble the world. But as you remain in Christ and walk in the Spirit, you will bear much fruit: love, joy peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. As the world sees the fruit of the Spirit displayed in your life, they will know something is different about you. That difference is Jesus empowering you!

“The rest of the people—the priests, Levites, gatekeepers, singers, and temple servants, along with their wives, sons, and daughters, everyone who is able to understand and who has separated themselves from the surrounding peoples to obey the law of God—join with their noble brothers and commit themselves with a sworn oath to follow the law of God given through God’s servant Moses and to carefully obey all the commands, ordinances, and statutes of Yahweh our Lord.”

—Nehemiah 10:28–29

FURTHER SCRIPTURE

  • John 15:4 — “Remain in Me, and I in you. Just as a branch is unable to produce fruit by itself unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in Me.”
  • 2 Corinthians 3:18 — “We all, with unveiled faces, are looking as in a mirror at the glory of the Lord and are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory; this is from the Lord who is the Spirit.”
  • Philippians 1:27 — “Just one thing: Live your life in a manner worthy of the Gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or am absent, I will hear about you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind, working side by side for the faith that comes from the Gospel.”