“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.
The Obligations of the Covenant
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, 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.” Nehemiah 10 ESV
Seal the covenant, and these are the names of the men, their emblem, signature, declaration. These are the leaders of this people, the representation. What is a covenant though? Well here we see that it is both a curse and an oath. But lets look further back to the Abrahamic covenant, where we have a unilateral promise given to Abraham by God. This covenant is marked with blood and also by death, God has Abram sever animals, and then it is unilateral in that while God causes a deep sleep to fall upon Abram, where normally both parties would pass between the pieces of flesh, God passes through alone. The sign of this covenant for the children of Abraham was the circumcision, removal of the foreskin of the flesh. Abram becomes Abraham, the old things have passed away, God has made Himself known to this man, ignorance is no longer complete for this candle has been lit. Marriage is more similar in this way to a covenant than a simple contract, for again something dies, the self, it is one of the more higher institutes of religion and the loss of autonomy is used often in comparison to the Christian walk. The two become one flesh, and if anyone would follow Christ, he must first deny himself.
So back to this text, who entered into this curse, this oath? It says, "all who have knowledge and understanding." These practices are symbolic, but of themselves they are less than shadows if not explained. If I baptize my child without explanation then I have given her a bath. Circumcision, genealogy, sacrifices, the feast, communion, all nothing without remembrance. These people have been receiving the spoken and explained word, the history of their nation and the knowledge of being set apart unto God. This covenant is in response to a change of heart in many, a great awakening, a true revival.
How has this knowledge affected them? They see where they have failed in the pass. Marriage was placed before their first and truest love, the One Who had been faithful to them. The institute became no longer the Godly shadow or mirror of communion, it lost both it's spirit and it's truth by way of lust and greed. Men divided themselves among many women, and took to themselves trophies and idols from those surrounding nations, who did not follow the true God. They did not put God first in marriage, and at the time it was a decision of the parents, who literally sold their children into disobedience, using them to make alliances with those who hated God. They also put commerce before the Sabbath. It is so easy for us to justify this, look how unfair it is that my neighbor makes 52 more days of profit. Just think of how much more I could give to the Lord, like we would. We miss the point that we are already robbing Him of our time. You can see this in marriage, with families not taking time for each other, for the things of eternal consequence. How is your relationship with God? I should probably ask Him that, I would not trust myself.
So back to this text, who entered into this curse, this oath? It says, "all who have knowledge and understanding." These practices are symbolic, but of themselves they are less than shadows if not explained. If I baptize my child without explanation then I have given her a bath. Circumcision, genealogy, sacrifices, the feast, communion, all nothing without remembrance. These people have been receiving the spoken and explained word, the history of their nation and the knowledge of being set apart unto God. This covenant is in response to a change of heart in many, a great awakening, a true revival.
How has this knowledge affected them? They see where they have failed in the pass. Marriage was placed before their first and truest love, the One Who had been faithful to them. The institute became no longer the Godly shadow or mirror of communion, it lost both it's spirit and it's truth by way of lust and greed. Men divided themselves among many women, and took to themselves trophies and idols from those surrounding nations, who did not follow the true God. They did not put God first in marriage, and at the time it was a decision of the parents, who literally sold their children into disobedience, using them to make alliances with those who hated God. They also put commerce before the Sabbath. It is so easy for us to justify this, look how unfair it is that my neighbor makes 52 more days of profit. Just think of how much more I could give to the Lord, like we would. We miss the point that we are already robbing Him of our time. You can see this in marriage, with families not taking time for each other, for the things of eternal consequence. How is your relationship with God? I should probably ask Him that, I would not trust myself.
They enter into this covenant, no longer wanting to rob God of what He has blessed them with, but rather wanting to be humble and grateful, setting themselves up to do good.
how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself unblemished to God, purify our consciences from works of death, so that we may serve the living God! 15Therefore Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternalinheritance, now that He has died to redeem them from thetransgressions committed under the first covenant. 16In the case of a will, it is necessary to establish the death of the one who made it,…Hebrews 9:14-16
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