June 29, 2023
Please use the comment section on this page to share insights from today’s reading OR your own personal Bible reading.
Reading along with us in Nehemiah? Here’s today’s reading:
Nehemiah 10 (NIV)
1 Those who sealed it were:
Nehemiah the governor, the son of Hacaliah.
Zedekiah, 2 Seraiah, Azariah, Jeremiah,
3 Pashhur, Amariah, Malkijah,
4 Hattush, Shebaniah, Malluk,
5 Harim, Meremoth, Obadiah,
6 Daniel, Ginnethon, Baruch,
7 Meshullam, Abijah, Mijamin,
8 Maaziah, Bilgai and Shemaiah.
These were the priests.…..Continue Reading
Israel enters a new covenant with God. This way they could move forward from the past life of sin and publicly declare their intent to learn from the mistakes of the past and move forward obedient to God. The covenant spoke of their marriage relationships, their business dealing, and their part in supporting the church. These are still three big areas people struggle with today; morality in marriage, business, and even their attendance but more so participation in church.
As outlined in Chapter 9, the fruits of the Jews’ labor is not their own but rather the Persian kings. They are oppressed because they have continually turned from their God. Through it all, however, God “has remained righteous” and “acted faithfully”.
In Chapter 10, the people pledge the “we will not neglect the house of our God”. The prophet Haggia taught that when God is given priority the people are blessed and avoid being cursed.
The list of the people who made a covenant before God to walk in God`s law which was given to Moses. Also they would not intermarry with foreign spouses. No foreign wives or husbands. They were not to sell or buy on the sabbath. This was their day of worship which was a Saturday but Jesus Christ changed the day of worship to Sunday. He was Lord of the Sabbath. Throughout the New Testament the disciples would meet to worship on the first day of the week which was Sunday. Jesus also healed people on the sabbath. I am old enough to remember that in the United States that stores were closed and you couldn`t buy or sell on Sundays. People would prepare accordingly because of this. What happened/ As a nation we were founded with Biblical principles. Many of the founding fathers were Christians or at least feared God. Then over time the Bible was taken out of schools and then prayer. The Bible was used as the main text book. Everything from learning English, history, form of government, justice system and so much more. Even the Constitution, etc. People were free to worship God and they knew who God is. The founders were active their communities in worship and service including running the government. They also had their own jobs to support their families and the community. Serving in a government position was never meant to be for life. With power comes corruption. Anyways I never meant to write all this. It`s just that I have seen so much destruction of our country in recent years. We really need revival in our hearts and our Nation. Pray for our leaders to fear God and follow Him. Especially in the positions they are in. God sees all and one day all will have to face Him at the judgement seat. Of course with believers it will be different but even then Christians will have to give account on how we have lived for Christ. Thank God we as Christians aren`t going to hell but we should still live and follow Jesus Christ. Making the most of the day for the days are evil. God bless you brothers and sisters in the Lord.
I share your concern for our nation….we really need to get back to “In God We Trust”….
Recalling the acts of reconciliation and confession of sins in Ch9 shows again how God so patiently and graciously waits for His people to turn their hearts to Him….just as He does for us today. It reminds me of how (I) we as a nation repeatedly separate ourselves from God through the webs of distraction of pleasures or pressures that our adversary so carefully weaves that so easily ensnares us. Thank God for His Grace, Mercy, Power & Forgiveness.
For them, the atonement came through many liturgical acts, yet today our atonement through Christ requires the discipline of believing (The Word of God) embracing the Grace we are saved by and not of works, lest any of us should boast. Yet this Amazing Grace should lead us to acts of repentance, obedience and service to others which spring up out of a loving response with thankfulness for God’s accomplishments through Christ. …one parallel application shows us as disciples we ought to embrace the disciplines to “bind ourselves with an oath to follow the Law(s) of God”, in our case within the new Covenant the 2 great commands of “love God, ….and your Neighbor” and so much more in the new testament requires ongoing growth of dedication, reading, study, prayer, practicing teachings that lead us to putting on the Mind of Christ…how hard it can be to embrace these disciplines !……Thankfully we don’t have to do this alone as He has called us to a family, the ‘body of Christ. This reading together and comments is one great application of this habit of discipline which makes me thankful (as the new comer) for your lives.
Amen, Ken!
Nehemiah 10
How wise it was to not only list the people sealing the binding agreement but also to list the things that they are committing themselves to. How forgetful and neglectful we can become towards the things of God in spite of our best intentions and how helpful a reminder/document is. The issues dealt with in the contract deal with purity in the choices of a mate, the honoring of the Sabbath, especially towards those who would be ignorant of it…and not giving into that ignorance…and the various responsibilities that fell on the people for the function of the temple and the care of the Priests and Levites. All are important and easily set aside, but the thing that jumped out at me most was not letting foreign nations cause the Jews to forsake the Sabbath. What an important thing for us not to let the world influence us in a way that we neglect the things of God for ourselves.
Nehemiah 10
Sorry I accidentally posted my thoughts on 10 in chapter 9.
The Law of God through Moses has a lot of rules to follow. I’m grateful that Jesus Christ is my Savior and I have the Holy Spirit and the Bible to guide and teach me how God wants me to live.