Greg's Notes

This Is Not A Drill

Nehemiah 10

At this stage in the Book of Nehemiah, Nehemiah is historically back in Babylon serving as cupbearer to the king. The walls of Jerusalem are rebuilt, the Israelites prayed, dedicated themselves to the Lord, confessed their sins, and a great revival broke out. Now Nehemiah receives a message that things aren’t going well back in Jerusalem and he needs to return because the people who had earlier made a vow to the Lord backed out on their promises. They started well, but were not finishing well.

Once the wall was rebuilt, the people made a series of very significant commitments to the Lord. 

Practical Principles

  1. They surrendered to the Word of God. In Nehemiah 10:29, the people made an oath to obey the law of God. They also “swore a curse on themselves if they failed to obey the Law of God as issued by his servant Moses” and “solemnly promised to carefully follow all the commands, regulations, and decrees of the Lord our Lord” (nlt). They made a public stand to obey, but then went back on their promise to God.
  2. They separated themselves from ungodly influences. They separated themselves in order to obey God, promising that they would not let their sons or daughters marry the pagan people of the land (verses 28, 30). However, the Israelites had a problem with this and kept getting pulled down by ungodly people, marrying pagans, and doing ungodly things.
  3. They were invested in God’s kingdom. Verse 32 says, “In addition, we promise to obey the command to pay the annual Temple tax of one-eighth an ounce of silver for the care of the Temple of our God” and in verse 35, they promised “to bring the first part of every harvest to the Lord’s Temple year after year…” (nlt). But the people weren’t giving, the Levite priests had gone home, and the temple wasn’t functioning any longer. They even allowed their enemy Tobiah to occupy a place in the temple.

 

Relevant Reminders

  • If we believe the Bible, love the Bible, and quote the Bible, we should also surrender to it on every topic.
  • If you want to live a godly life, you will need to separate yourself from some things and some people and in exchange surround yourself with other things and other people.
  • God gives us everything. Our health, our jobs, our lives. It’s all from God. He says, “I’d like you to give back a percentage to Me.” Make sure you bring your very best to the Lord, giving to Him systematically, proportionally, and joyfully.

 

Applicable Actions

Sometimes a little problem will turn into a big one. You’ve got to stay on top of things because it’s very easy to take one step forward and two steps back. That’s what happened here with the Israelites, but God gave them a chance to repent and they did. Isn’t it great that God gives second chances? And He will give you a second chance too if you need one.