WWUTT 764 Sticking with the Covenant?

If we're going to ask the Lord for revival, it's not enough that revival happens, but that revival sticks.

If we say we've repented of our sin, we cannot return to sin, but we must turn to God when we understand the text.

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.com. Here's our host, Pastor Gabe. Thank you, Becky. We come back to our study in the book of Nehemiah, and we will actually be closing in on the conclusion of this study rather quickly.

What we have here in the last few chapters of Nehemiah will include large lists of names.

These are the names of people who have committed themselves to the covenant that is made between the Jews and God.

And I'm not real great at pronouncing a lot of those names, and you probably don't want to listen to me just read a large list of names.

So I'll be skipping over the bulk of those paragraphs that include these names, and you can go back and read them on your own time.

So going back to what we read last week, in Nehemiah chapter 9, the people lifted up a prayer of confession unto the

Lord. They had heard the law read aloud by Ezra, who read to all of the people there gathered at Jerusalem, and they were cut to the heart.

They realized they had not kept the law of God. Their fathers had not kept the law of God. And this city that had been given to them by God, the

Lord drove them out of because of their sinfulness and sent them into exile. But now because of God's faithfulness, he has delivered them out of that exile.

They have returned to Jerusalem. They've rebuilt the temple. They've rebuilt the walls. And now they are rededicating themselves unto

God. And in this prayer of confession, they went all the way back to the beginning of the writings of Moses, all the way to the creation story in Genesis chapter 1, recognizing that God is he who has made all of heaven, all their hosts, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them.

And you preserve all of them. And the host of heaven worships you. As we read in Colossians chapter 1,

God has made all things, specifically Christ is the one who has made all things and in him all things hold together.

And the people of Jerusalem recognize this in their prayer of confession. They know that Abraham was the one that was chosen by God and a promise was made to Abraham's offspring that they would inherit this land.

And God fulfilled that promise. And yet the people were not grateful to the Lord, but they turned and worshiped idols.

And so he turned them over to their enemies and now he's delivered them back to this place and they are asking for God's forgiveness upon them.

And what we read at the end of this prayer in chapter 9, verse 38, because of all of this, we make a firm covenant in writing on the sealed document are the names of our princes, our

Levites and our priests. And so then we get the names of the people who have committed themselves to this covenant in chapter 10, right at the very start on the seals are the names of Nehemiah, the governor.

He is the first course because he has been writing this book. And then we have a large list of names after that, skipping down to verse 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 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 statutes. We will not give our daughters to the peoples of the land or take their daughters for our sons.

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.

So these first things that are listed listed here as the obligations of the covenant.

First of all, it says we will not give our daughters to the peoples of the land or take their daughters for our sons.

Remember, that was one of the things that the Jews were guilty of and caused Ezra to mourn over the fact that some of these

Jews had taken pagan daughters to be their wives. And so part of this covenant is we're not going to do that anymore.

If the people sell goods or grain on the Sabbath day, we will not buy from them on the Sabbath, which is a holy day.

They had not been keeping the Sabbath or any of the festivals. That was something else that we read here in the book of Nehemiah.

So they're committing to the Sabbath and we will forego the crops of the seventh year and the exaction of every debt.

Remember in the book of Nehemiah that they were not honoring the year of Jubilee. When that seventh year comes around, they give rest to the land and they also relieve every one of their debts, even their slave debts.

So that's part of the beginning of this covenant that is made. Let's continue on.

Verse 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 for the show bread, 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. 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 father's houses at times appointed year by year to burn on the altar of the

Lord our God as it is written in the law. Now, the Jews, Jerusalem in particular, is not as prosperous as it once was before the exile.

So here they're taking turns in the appointment of those goods that need to be offered in order to carry out these sacrifices, according to the law of Moses.

Verse 35. We obligate ourselves to bring the first fruits of our ground and the first fruits of all fruit of every tree year by year to the house of the

Lord. Also to bring to the house of our God, to the priest who minister in the house of our

God, the first born of our sons and of our cattle as it is written in the law and the first born of our first born of our herds and of our flocks and to bring the first of our dough and our contributions, the fruit of every tree, the wine and the oil to the priest 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 of our towns where we labor.

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, 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. Now on to chapter 11.

Now the leaders of the people lived in Jerusalem and the rest of the people cast lots to bring one out of 10 to live in Jerusalem, the holy city, while nine out of 10 remained in the other towns.

And the people blessed all the men who willingly offered to live in Jerusalem.

Now what's being insinuated here is that there actually were not enough Jews in Jerusalem to populate the city.

So lots were cast, drawing people from the outlying towns and bringing them into the city to live because this was the city of God.

This was part of the covenant that they were making with God is that they were going to inhabit the city that the Lord had returned them to.

So in order for the city to thrive, it had to be populated with people. So for people in the outlying towns to come and live in the city, they had to give up their homes and their property.

You might think, well, Jerusalem was where they wanted to be. No, if they had property, they didn't want to give that up.

So by the casting of lots, people were chosen to live in the city. And that's why it says in verse two, and the people blessed all the men who willingly offered to go and live in the city.

Lot is a good way to make a decision if needed. As we read in Proverbs 18, 18, the lot puts an end to quarrels and decides between powerful contenders.

And Proverbs 16, 33 says the lot is cast into the lap, but it's every decision is from the

Lord. We might think of flipping a coin or casting a lot is as playing chance. But when it comes down to it, a godly coin flip is not outside the realm of wise decision making.

Let's go on here to verse three. These are the chiefs of the province who lived in Jerusalem.

But in the towns of Judah, everyone lived on his property in their towns, Israel, the priests, the

Levites, the temple servants, and the descendants of Solomon's servants. And in Jerusalem lived certain of the sons of Judah and of the sons of Benjamin, of the sons of Judah.

And then we have a list of names there. And then these are the sons of Benjamin, and we have a list of names there. Then the priests, that begins in verse 10, the

Levites, starting in verse 15, the gatekeepers, their names beginning in verse 19. And starting in verse 22, the overseer of the

Levites in Jerusalem was Uzzi, the son of Bani. And we have the list of the names there.

Then the villages outside of Jerusalem in verse 25. And as for the villages with their fields, some of the people of Judah lived in, and then the names of those villages.

Now we get to chapter 12, and we have the list of the priests and the Levites. And then we get to verse 27, and we have the dedication of the wall.

Now as the wall around Jerusalem was being rebuilt, it was being consecrated.

There were priests who were there, and when a section of the wall was finished, the priests would consecrate the wall.

What they were doing was they were asking for God's blessing upon the wall that it would stand, and that it would hold out their enemies on the outside.

I mean, when it comes down to it, nothing stands or falls unless God permits it.

And so they were asking for the Lord's blessing upon the section of the walls that they had finished, that it would be holy unto the

Lord, and that this would receive his blessing since he was with his people in this work that they were doing to reconstruct this wall.

What we have in verse 27, or starting in this particular section, is the dedication of the entire wall unto the

Lord. So the project was completed. It was a sign unto the people that God was indeed with them, and all of the people celebrate the completion of this project.

So verse 27, at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem, they sought the

Levites in all their places to bring them to Jerusalem to celebrate the dedication with gladness, with thanksgivings, and with singing, with cymbals, harps, and lyres.

OK, you have this celebration that's going on now, which wasn't when the wall was being consecrated in sections, but it is at its final completion.

So verse 28, and the sons of the singers gathered together from the district surrounding Jerusalem and from the villages of the

Natophathites and from Beth Gilgal and from the region of Geba and Asmopheth, for the singers had built for themselves villages around Jerusalem.

And the priests and the Levites purified themselves, and they purified the people and the gates and the wall.

And then I brought the leaders of Judah up onto the wall and appointed two great choirs that gave thanks.

And we have lists of those choirs there, all the way through about verse 43, where it says they offered great sacrifices that day and rejoiced, for God had made them rejoice with great joy.

The women and children also rejoiced, and the joy of Jerusalem was heard far away.

Verse 44, on that day, men were appointed over the storerooms, the contributions, the firstfruits, and the tithes, to gather into them the portions required by the law for the priests and for the

Levites, according to the fields of the towns. For Judah rejoiced over the priests and the

Levites who ministered. And they performed the service of their God and the service of purification, as did the singers and the gatekeepers, according to the command of David and his son

Solomon. For long ago, in the days of David and Asaph, there were directors of the singers, and there were songs of praise and thanksgiving to God.

And all Israel, in the days of Zerubbabel and in the days of Nehemiah, gave the daily portions for the singers and the gatekeepers.

And they set apart that which was for the Levites, and the Levites set apart that which was for the sons of Aaron.

So you think about these congregational hymns, which we have in the Psalms, all 150

Psalms that are listed there. These were the songs that were written for Israel to sing and celebrate

God together. So since they didn't really have, you know, a printing press, they didn't really write these things out and roll them up and have just large collections of scrolls.

Who was responsible for remembering these songs and writing them down and keeping collections of them and presenting them to Israel and leading

Israel in singing? Well, it was these Levites that were set aside specifically to lift up songs of praise and thanksgiving to God.

Ever since the days of David, these songs have become a regular part of Israel's praise unto the

Lord. And there were people who were specifically appointed to remember those songs, keep those songs and teach them to Israel.

So even during a time of exile, these traditions had not disappeared from the

Jews, and they continued to keep them, even as the Lord had established them again in Jerusalem.

Now, in chapter 13, on that day, they read from the book of Moses in the hearing of the people.

And it was found written that no Ammonite or Moabite should ever enter the assembly of God, for they did not meet the people of Israel with bread and water, but hired

Balaam against them to curse them. Yet our God turned the curse into a blessing.

As soon as the people heard the law, they separated from Israel all those of foreign descent.

And that story that we read about Balaam, that was back in the book of Numbers. He was hired by the king of Moab to curse

Israel. But what came out of his mouth instead was blessing. Three times he tried to curse them, but the

Lord had controlled his tongue so that only blessing upon Israel was coming out of his mouth.

So verse four. Now, before this Eliashib, the priest who was appointed over the chambers of the house of our

God and who was related to Tobiah, prepared for Tobiah a large chamber where they had previously put the grain offering, the frankincense, the vessels and the tithes of grain, wine and oil, which were given by commandment to the

Levites, singers and gatekeepers and the contributions for the priest. While this was taking place,

I was not in Jerusalem, for in the thirty second year of Artaxerxes, king of Babylon, I went to the king and after some time

I asked leave of the king and came to Jerusalem. And then I discovered the evil that Eliashib had done for Tobiah, preparing for him a chamber in the courts of the house of God.

And I was very angry and I threw all of the household furniture of Tobiah out of the chamber.

Then I gave orders and they cleansed the chambers and I brought back there the vessels of the house of God with the grain offering and the frankincense.

So if you'll remember, Nehemiah, when he first came to Jerusalem, he was a cupbearer in the court of the king of Persia.

And when he left to come help and rebuild Jerusalem's walls, he had to give the king a time frame as to how long he was going to be gone.

So likely that time was up and he had to go report back to Susa. During his absence,

Eliashib took advantage and likely he didn't care for Nehemiah's policy of strict separation between the

Jews and their neighbors. And so he tried to undo those things. And then Nehemiah had to come back and set and set the law back in order.

So then in verse 10, Nehemiah says, I also found out that the portions of the Levites had not been given to them so that the

Levites and the singers who did the work had fled each to his field. So I confronted the officials and said, why is the house of God forsaken?

And I gathered them together and set them in their stations. Then all Judah brought the tithe of the grain, wine and oil into the storehouses.

And I appointed as treasurers over the storehouses, Shalamiah the priest, Zadok the scribe and Padaiah of the

Levites. And as their assistant, Hanan, the son of Zakur, son of Mattaniah, for they were considered reliable and their duty was to distribute to their brothers.

Remember me, oh, my God, concerning this and do not wipe out my good deeds that I have done for the house of my

God and for his service, for his service. So here Nehemiah is concluding with a prayer saying these things that were set in order were not kept the first time.

But now that I've set them in proper order and placed people to oversee the proper practice of these things, bless my work and don't let it be undone.

So verse 15, in those days I saw in Judah people treading wine presses on the

Sabbath and bringing in heaps of grain and loading them on donkeys and also wine, grapes, figs and all kinds of loads, which they brought into Jerusalem on the

Sabbath day. And I warned them on the day when they sold food. Tyrians also who lived in the city brought in fish and all kinds of goods and sold them on the

Sabbath to the people of Judah in Jerusalem itself. Remember, part of the covenant was we would not buy from those pagans who were going to sell to us on the

Sabbath. Then I confronted the nobles of Judah and said to them, what is this evil thing you were doing, profaning the

Sabbath day? Did not your father's act in this way and did not our God bring all this disaster on us and on this city?

Now you are bringing more wrath on Israel by profaning the Sabbath. As soon as it began to grow dark at the gates of Jerusalem before the

Sabbath, I commanded that the doors should be shut and gave orders that they should not be opened until after the

Sabbath. And I stationed some of my servants at the gates that no load might be brought in on the

Sabbath day. Then the merchants and the sellers of all kinds of wares lodged outside Jerusalem once or twice.

But I warned them and said to them, why do you lodge outside the wall? If you do so again, I will lay hands on you.

From that time on, they did not come on the Sabbath. Then I commanded the Levites that they should purify themselves and come and guard the gates to keep the

Sabbath day holy. Remember this also in my favor, oh my God, and spare me according to the greatness of your steadfast love.

In those days also, I saw the Jews who had married women of Ashdod, Ammon and Moab and half of their children spoke the language of Ashdod and they could not speak the language of Judah, but only the language of each people.

And I confronted them and cursed them and beat some of them and pulled out their hair and I made them take an oath in the name of God saying, you shall not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons or for yourselves.

Did not Solomon, king of Israel, sin on account of such women? Among the many nations, there was no king like him and he was beloved by his

God and God made him king over all Israel. Nevertheless, foreign women made even him to sin.

Shall we then listen to you and do all this great evil and act treacherously against our

God by marrying foreign women? And one of the sons of Jehoiada, the son of Eliashib, the high priest, was the son -in -law of Sanballat, the

Horonite. Therefore, I chased him from me. Remember, Sanballat was one of those persons that opposed

Nehemiah when he first came back to Jerusalem. Remember them, oh my God, because they have desecrated the priesthood and the covenant of the priesthood and the

Levites. Thus, I cleansed them from everything foreign and I established the duties of the priests and Levites, each in his work.

And I provided for the wood offering at appointed times and for the first fruits. Remember me, oh my

God, for good. And thus brings to a conclusion our study of the book of Nehemiah.

Nehemiah was faithful to the law of God even when others were not. And when they couldn't even follow good leadership,

Nehemiah stepped up in those positions to ensure that the people loved God and kept his word.

And we need strong men of God standing at the pulpits in our churches who will boldly proclaim this word.

Call the people to repentance. Tell them to follow Jesus. Ask for God's forgiveness and God will cleanse them from all unrighteousness.

Keep the commandments of our Lord Jesus Christ, for as he said to his own disciples, you will show me that you love me when you keep my commandments.

The Lord has demonstrated his love for us in this way, that while we were yet sinners,

Christ died for us. So may we demonstrate our love for God by following Jesus and keeping his commandments.

Do not turn from the right or the left of the word of God. Love this word.

Write it on your hearts and do good to consider it every day. For it's in the

Bible that we find the words of eternal life, the message of the gospel of our

Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful and true and he will keep his promises to the very end, including us who have been sealed by his

Holy Spirit for the day of redemption. Amen. Gabriel Hughes is the pastor of First Southern Baptist Church in Junction City, Kansas.