Nehemiah 10-Signed, Sealed, Delivered
Notes
Transcript
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Why All The Names?
I’m going to list some names and I want to see if any of you recognize any of the names. I am not asking for why you recognize the names, just if. How many of you are familiar with the following names? Benjamin Rush, Benjamin Harrison, Elbridge Gerry, Caesar Rodney, Charles Carroll, George Taylor, William Floyd, John Hart, Lyman Hall & Arthur Middleton?
Alright, let me see if I can make this a little easier. What if I add the names; Samual Adams (and no, I’m not talking about the beer!), John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin & John Hancock. Now do you recognize the significance of these names? All of these names are on this document: Next Slide
This, of course, is one of the most important documents in our Nation’s history. We sometimes forget what these men were doing when they signed the Declaration of Independence. To the best of their knowledge when they were signing this, they were signing a Suicide Pact, because the British government considered the Declaration of Independence a treasonous document, and treason was a capital crime punishable by death.
The first name on the list I gave you earlier, Benjamin Rush, remembered the atmosphere in the Continental Congress in Philadelphia when delegates affixed their signatures to the Declaration of Independence: A “pensive and awful silence pervaded the house as we were called up, one after another, to the table of the President of Congress,” Rush said, to sign “what was believed by many at that time to be our own death warrants.”
Benjamin Harrison, a portly delegate from Virginia, tried to lighten the mood with gallows humor. Standing at the table beside Elbridge Gerry, a skinny delegate from Massachusetts, Harrison said, “I shall have a great advantage over you, Mr. Gerry, when we are all hung for what we are now doing. From the size and weight of my body I shall die in a few minutes, but from the lightness of your body you will dance in the air an hour or two before you are dead.”
The witticism did little to ease the sense of foreboding shared by the 56 signers of the Declaration. By appending their names to the document, the famous and the obscure; the old, young and middle-aged; the planters, the farmers and the businessmen; the recent arrivals to America and those who were a part of older established American families were all risking not only their lives but also loss of property and the impoverishment of their wives and children.
Independence Day is now a time for family relaxation, patriotic parades and unabashed celebration. Amid the displays of red, white and blue and the dazzling fireworks, it is easy to forget the real-life sacrifices the signers of the Declaration made for the sake of American liberty.
Skinny Elbridge Gerry knew from firsthand experience how much danger the signers were putting themselves in. Gerry, who is remembered today mainly for having served as the fifth vice president of the United States and for giving his name to the word “gerrymandering” narrowly escaped getting caught and hanged by the British on April 18, 1775, the night of Paul Revere’s fabled ride. Gerry and a militia colonel had taken shelter at a tavern on the road from Boston to Lexington. When a contingent of British soldiers showed up in search of rebel traitors, Gerry and the colonel fled out the back of the tavern and hid in a nearby cornfield, still in their nightclothes. (From Suicide Pact: Signing the Declaration of Independence by early American historian William Hogeland)
So, while some of the names on the list we looked at earlier may not have been familiar to many of you, those names all have significant importance to the history of our nation.
If you read through Nehemiah chapter 10 on your own, you will see that the first 26 verses is a long list of names of individuals who also signed an important document for those of the Nation of Judah who had returned from exile in the Babylonian/Persian Empire. While this document didn’t necessarily bring with it the threat of hanging, any violation opened them up to the potential of eternal consequences of violating a covenant with God Himself. Part of this document included a curse on those who violated it.
Pam and I both received a “Nelson’s New King James Study Bible” in 2008. This is my copy. When reading through the names of the Editors and Contributing Editors list in the first few pages, I noticed one name in particular, the name Jonathan Farrar. Now while that name may mean nothing to you, it meant a great deal to me, you see Jonathan Farrar is my cousin. Our tendency at times when we see lists of names as we read through Scripture, is to largely ignore the names, and I understand that tendency, but these names are important enough that God determined He wanted them included for all eternity. I imagine that we will learn more about these names when we enter into heaven.
The document they were signing in chapter 10 is a key part of the progression that the Nation of Judah had taken as laid out in chapters 8-10 of the Book of Nehemiah. As you may recall, they had completed the rebuilding of the Walls around Jerusalem at the end of chapter 7, then they built a large tall platform and asked that Ezra the Scribe would read to them from The Law of Moses. He read for probably 6 hours plus that day, all the while the people were standing to their feet as he read. They learned during his reading that their was a very important annual feast that had not been celebrated corporately as a Nation since the days of Joshua. The spent the next several days celebrating that feast, then they went back to the reading of the Law. During both readings of the Law, the people began to weep at the realization that they were violating the very laws their forefathers had violated, which brought them into the Babylonian exile to begin with, close to 150 years earlier. This brought them to the desire for National repentance that we see taking place in chapter 9. But they understood, based on their past history as a Nation, that a brief period of repentance didn’t seem to do the trick, it just didn’t last! They felt like they needed something more, something with more teeth to it than repentance alone. This is what we see taking place in chapter 10 in the establishment of a binding sealed covenant with God.
They understood that despite their continued failures over the centuries, God had remained faithful, that He meets our failures with His forgiveness and His faithfulness. They were determined to meet His faithfulness, with their own faithfulness, that is the purpose behind this covenant.
As we look through this covenant in chapter 10, I want to make sure we all realize something of great importance. For the Nation of Judah, throughout their history the establishment of a covenant was a very big deal. It carried far more weight that a simple promise or oath. It was a binding agreement, but even as a binding agreement, it carried more weight that the binding agreements we are familiar with in our day and age. When Pam and I bought our home in Kansas City in 2001, we signed a binding agreement. If we violated that agreement, the mortgage company had the ability to force us to leave our home, but with the Nation of Israel, often times these covenants were accompanied by a curse that could include death for any who violated the covenant. To emphasize the weight of the agreement, early on in the Old Testament, these covenants were sealed by blood. In fact the word for covenant literally meant “to cut”. Often times what the parties would do when they established a covenant is, they would both bring a valued animal from their livestock. Both parties would then cut their animal in two and separate each half of the animal, then they would pass between the halves. In many instances, what happened to the animals (being cut in two), would happen to any party that did not honor the covenant. As you can see, covenants in the Nation of Judah, were hugely important. So, when I say that the Nation wanted to add more teeth to this agreement than mere temporary repentance, I think you can see how important this day was to them.
As we go through this chapter this morning, I want us to understand that there is a reason God has included it in His Word for us today, and that reason is not just so we understand what took place in the history of the Nation of Judah. The Nation of Judah and Israel had repented over and over again leading up to the time of this covenant. Those present there that day understood that fact and wanted to go beyond mere repentance.
Probably for most of us here today, we have done the same thing over and over again. We have done wrong, we have sinned, then we have felt guilty about what we did, confessed it before God, promised to stop, to turn away from what we had done in the past, only to return right back into that pattern after a short period of time. Perhaps we need to do what the Nation of Judah did that day, put more teeth to that commitment. To establish a “covenant” of sorts from this day forward.
As we truly respond to God’s Word, we will be changed. 2 Cor. 5:17
That is what we see in 2 Corinthians 5:17. Next Slide
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
In 2 Corinthians 5:17 we see that once we have placed our faith and trust in Christ, that new life will be evidenced by a change in our behavior, you see people who respond to God in faith change, and this morning I want to look at 3 evidences of a changed believer from Nehemiah chapter 10. They are not the only evidences, they are just 3 that we see here in chapter 10.
The first one we will look at this morning is: Next Slides
Changed Christians are Submissive Christians. Vs. 1-27, 28 & 29
You see from verses 1-27 a list of the names of people who were willing to put their name on the dotted line, so to speak, in this covenant. Then in verse 28 we see a significant addition to the list when we read; “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”
Then i want you to pay attention to what we see in verse 29: Next Slide
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.
The phrase I want you to look at closely is the phrase “to walk in God’s Law”. It is here we see them putting feet to action. To add emphasis he goes on to write “to observe and do all the commandments of the Lord and His rules and his statures.”
Did you notice at the beginning of the verse where it said; “and enter into a curse”? There are many who believe that at this point the slaughtered some animals and performed the the traditional covenant ceremony of passing between the slaughtered animal as a sign that what happened to the animal would happen to them if the violated the covenant. The point is, these people wanted to put teeth to this covenant, they want to commit to walking out this covenant from this day forward.
With that in mind, if you have trusted in Christ as your Savior, I want you to think of all that entails for you. Not just what it entails for you, but also what it meant for Jesus. Here He was, God in the flesh. He left the splendor of heaven to come to earth, not to be born in a palace and rule from a throne, but to be born in a cattle stall and laid as a baby in a feeding trough for animals. Then He lived a life of sinless perfection for one reason only, that He would be the spotless Lamb of God, Who would then be sacrificed on a cross for you. He took your nails. The crown of thorns placed on His head was your crown of thorns. The spear thrust into His side should have been thrust into your side. He did all of this for you. As I think about the price He paid, I have a hard time imagining that God doesn’t deserve my submission. Knowing what Jesus did for me, I believe that he deserves my submission.
Now what does that mean for us? Does that mean that next Sunday we need to bring some cattle or sheep to church and have a special curse/oath ceremony where we slaughter the animals and then as a church walk between the animals? Well if we did, I’ll bet we’d make some headlines! Of course that’s not what we would do in our day and age, in fact we don’t have to as New Testament believers. Because our covenant has already been established by a blood sacrifice. In this instance it was the blood sacrifice of Jesus when His blood was shed for us. So we don’t have to shed the blood of an innocent animal.
So, what can we do when we make a commitment like this? I think that when we make this type of commitment, it should be something we write down, something we keep, look back on frequently, maybe post somewhere that comes to our attention daily. Could be the mirror in your bathroom, maybe on your nightstand right next to your bed. Maybe it is the screen saver on your computer or taped to the dash of your car. For some of you it may be something you write at the front of your Bible and look to often. It could be that you write this covenant in the front of your journal, and when that journal is full, that is the first thing you write at the front of the next journal. Somewhere that it can be a daily reminder to you of the covenant you have made between you and God to live differently. When you do this you are putting teeth to your covenant, you’re walking it out. But I have to tell you, this is not an easy thing to do.
I heard a story this week. It appears this man wanted a new satellite dish for his TV. The satellite company quoted him a price for installing and setting up the new dish and he decided he could do it himself and save some money. So he got all of his tools together, the satellite. Leaned the ladder up against his house and climbed onto the roof. Everything was going fine until a storm blew in unexpectedly. The wind blew, it started to pour down rain and as he was gingerly making his way down the roof he started to slide. Thankfully professionals had installed his gutters and his hand caught one of the gutters just in time. He grabbed hold with his other hand and held on tightly. After a few minutes in a desperate prayer he shouted;
“Can anybody up there help me?” He immediately heard a reply from above;
“I can help you.”
He responded; “What do I need to do?”
The voice said; “Let go, I will catch you.”
He thought for a moment then said; “Is there anyone else up there?”
While this is a humorous story, too much of the time this is what we do. We are in desperate need of God’s help, and he provides the direction that we need right here in His Word. (Hold up the Bible). And we respond by looking for another way. We struggle fully submitting to God’s way. But if we want to experience a life of all that God has for us, this is something we need to do.
The next evidence we see in Nehemiah chapter 10 is: Next Slides
Changed Christians Are Separated Christians. Vs. 28; 30-31; 2 Cor. 6:14-16
What we see in these verse is first of all in verse 28 that they had some specific things they were going to “separate themselves from”. In other words, the things on their list were specific things they were struggling with that they knew were not pleasing to God. They go on to list them in verses 30-31. Now, all of the things they listed do not specifically apply to us, so our individual lists may be different. At the same time, i do think there are some specific things to do with each of the things they listed we could keep in mind. The first one specifically.
We have learned from their history and from God’s Law that they were not to marry those that were not Jews. Now this prohibition was not because they were better than other nations. It actually had more to do with their faith in God. You see God understood that if they married people that did not believe in Him, their faith in God and their relationship with Him would be compromised. That they would begin to worship the god’s of the people they were married to. In fact that is exactly what happened to King Solomon. He married all sorts of royal women from the surrounding lands. Then he actually had temples built near Jerusalem to their gods. It was so bad that it led to the civil war that divided this one nation into two, and eventually led to its destruction as other followed his lead.
By the way, God’s instruction to the Nation of Israel also applies to us. We see it in 2 Corinthians 6:14-16; Next Slides
14 Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?
15 What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever?
16 What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, “I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
This not only applies to that individual who may end up being your spouse one day, but I believe it also applies to business partnerships. Long before I was old enough to date my parents made it clear to me that I was not permitted to date a girl that didn’t have a strong relationship with God through the Lord Jesus Christ. I have known many who have turned their back on this New Testament command and have paid a heavy price as a result.
I also believe that there are parts of the second on their list of 3 can apply to us. Perhaps not so much from the standpoint of working on the Sabath, but I do believe it is a good idea to have one day set aside each week that is devoted to the Lord. To give you an example of what I mean, in all of our 33 plus years of marriage, there has only been 2 times that I can think of that Pam and I missed church for an athletic event. One weekend I took Steven to a special soccer tournament in the State Capital called The Governor's Cup. The other time Pam and I rode on a special Cancer Awareness and fund raising bike ride that took place on a Sunday. By the way, Pam and I barely escaped being hit by a drunk driver that day. She swerved to miss us, lost control of her car and literally drove right through a telephone pole. A hot wire was less than 2 feet above her car when Pam and I went back to help her. She was covered in blood as Pam crawled into the car to help her. I am not saying this happened because we rode that day. But it does make you think about it. Now maybe you think I am old fashioned, and perhaps I am, but I would rather err on the side of caution than take the chance of ignoring the directives of God.
The third thing on their list is also something we can take note of specifically. This one had to do with them giving the land a Sabbath rest. The law was this, they were to plant crops every 6 years, and on the 6th year they were to save a portion of their crops so that on the 7th year they could let the land rest from crops. The purpose of this command wasn’t so much because the land needed the rest, it was more to produce in them a faith that God would always provide for them as long as they were obedient to His commands. Their disobedience to this command was specifically listed as one of the reasons God delivered them into the hands of the Babylonians. I think the message here is, we can also trust in God. The more we live lives that are pleasing to Him, the more we can trust that He will sustain us.
However, for all of us, perhaps our list will differ greatly from the list the Nation of Judah wrote down that day. They specifically targeted 3 areas they had violated over and over again as a Nation. My guess is that each of us could come up with our own list this morning. You know the specific areas you struggle with, and those are the things you should add to your list.
What we are seeing from the Nation of Judah that day was, they were highlighting some specific areas where they were struggling keeping themselves separate from specific things that were doing great damage to their relationship to God. They didn’t list these 3 specific things as more rules to follow. The truth is all 3 of these things were already highlighted in the Law of Moses, in other words they were already covered in verse 29 where they wrote “to walk in God’s Law that was given by Moses”. They listed them because these were areas they were really struggling with when it came to their faith. That is why your list, our lists need to be specific to us as individuals.
You see: Next Slide
Separation is an outward show of total devotion to God no matter the cost.
So far this morning we have seen from Nehemiah 10 that as New Creations of Christ we need to be Submissive to God and that we need to be Separated from those things that we know do damage to our relationship to God.
The last thing we see in Nehemiah 10 is: Next Slides
Changed Christians Are Supportive Christians. Vs. 32-39
What we see in verses 32-39 is that they committed to willingly give of themselves to meet the needs of the Temple, of the Priests and Levites, basically they were to be supportive of the work of God. In fact they close out chapter 10 by saying “We will not neglect the house of our God.”
We also see that for the for the Priests and Levites they also committed to being supportive of the work of God. We see it first in verse 34 where they agreed to make sure the Temple always had the wood needed to keep the fire for the altar burning. I think what we are seeing here is they were agreeing to do the physical work of felling trees, and then cutting them to sizes that could be used in the Temple, and then hauling the wood to the temple. This was likely hard physical labor that they were committing to. We see it again in verse 38 where the priests and Levites were to take a tithe of what they received from the people to live off of, and they were to give a tithe of that to the house of God.
By the way, every time you see the mention of “first fruits” take that to mean that they were to give of their very best to the work of God.
We are as well.
So, as we have looked through Nehemiah 10 this morning, we have noted that as New Creations of Christ we need to be Submissive to God and that we need to be Separated from those things that we know do damage to our relationship to God, and that we are to be Supportive Christians of the Work of God. Not just in our giving to the church but also in giving of our physical abilities and talents to the church.
Now as we close out this morning, I want us all to consider 4 things:
4 Things To Consider:
Choose to believe that I am new in Christ.
Determine what I need to be separated from.
In fact I have left the back side of your sermon notes blank with lines this morning, because on this point I want you to list some specific things that you struggle with that you know are doing damage to your relationship to God. These are the things we talked about in the first point this morning that you may tape to your mirror, or the dashboard of your car, on in your Bible....
What commitments do I need to make as I follow Christ?
What promises am I to keep as God gives me strength?
As we do these things, there is no telling what God is going to accomplish through us as individuals, and in us as the body of Christ.
Let’s pray.
What things, people or actions do I need to separate from that are damaging my relationship with God?
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