Introduction
- Nehemiah is great study of leadership, but also challenges us on Godly obedience
-- Obedience to God’s calling is one of our greatest hurdles in today’s world
- Last week we saw the people’s need to worship God and why:
1. He is completely Sovereign
2. He is always righteous and true
3. He is their Savior and deliverer
4. He is their provider
5. They (we) have an inheritance
- And we challenged ourselves: How can we fail to praise God for what we have?
-- Re: He is just & faithful, and we are the ones who are wrong in our sins
- So, if we focus on God, we will see that sometimes we must cry out to Him
-- This brings us to today’s passage, which demonstrates a key covenant
-- Lots of names (again) / Purpose: to see the level of commitment in Jerusalem
-- Read Nehemiah 9:38 – 10:39 / Pray for God’s calling to be committed
Point 1 – Godly obedience begins with a personal commitment
- I want us to see the order of the pledge made here (Nehemiah is first)
-- KEY: This is an extremely important leadership trait to take note of
-- Leaders do NOT sit in the background and direct the action (puppet masters)
-- At least, not effective leaders - leader should know the way and show the way
- Consider: Every general was at one time a lower rank, and they had to perform
-- Therefore, when they give the order to go … they understand the task & risk
- This is no different than what is happening in this story
-- They’ve rebuilt, they’ve repopulated, and now, it’s time to get busy living
-- And their task? Will we live a godly life and honor/thank God in everything?
- So, Nehemiah leads the way by signing a pledge of commitment
-- He is joined by the community leaders: priests, Levites, & other leaders
- Now, why is this so important? Proverbs 29:18, “When people do not accept divine guidance, they run wild. But whoever obeys the law is joyful.”
-- Proverbs 29:18 (KJV), “Where there is no vision, the people perish…”
- Remember, Israel’s defeat was often due to their disobedience & God’s judgment
-- Thus, after rebuilding, Nehemiah says, “Look, we are going to do this right”
- Now, just consider for a moment if the Church (big C) did this as well
-- If collectively, we determined that God’s way was most important
-- What if we focused more on what He said, than what the world told us to do
-- Expound … what if we put aside our preferences and desired more of Him
- How much different of a world could you and I have?
-- Answer: It would be a DRASTICLY different world! (What we are called to)
- At Seasons, I believe this is our charge today … Why? God is still moving!
-- The work is at hand – and the mission is simple: Worship God & Love People
-- APP: Living for God is no different today than 445 BC … He is the same God!
- See this: Godly leadership is not just doing what a committee voted on
-- It is also not just going along with the flow to keep the populous happy
-- It means looking at God’s word, praying hard, and seeking His will
-- Then … you execute because your focus & desire is on living for His approval
- NEH: Once the leaders agree – look how people respond (fully commit v28-29)
-- FACT: Our greatest worldly weakness is not having godly leaders
-- Not just in the Church, but in our country / world (ref. mankind’s failures)
-- I’m not saying that we must be perfect … but we must start somewhere
- FACT: Everyone wants to be in charge – but no one really wants to work
-- I feel like this is where we get ourselves in trouble … by doing it our way
-- And it is where God’s word leads us to today (Nehemiah) – do it God’s way!
- TR: So once the leaders/community pledge to live …
Point 2 – The people commit to live right before God
- The people vow to live upright lives in five specific ways:
1. Marriage (v30)
- Ezra dealt with this same issue before also: Jews marrying pagan women
-- Now get this, this is not about segregation – but regarding “spiritual purity”
-- Remember, their ceremonial practices took devotion and commitment
-- EX: If your spouse is anti-God, you have a foundational worship issue
- KEY: The desire to fall into foreign practices often got Israel into trouble
-- This decree says they will live separate from the world and rightly before God
- APP: The charge is simple: Live in a way that keeps God, first!
2. Sabbath (v31)
- We know that the celebration of the Sabbath began in Genesis 2:2, “On the seventh day God had finished his work of creation, so he rested from all his work.”
- Exodus 23:12 also confirms the importance of the Sabbath rest: “You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but on the seventh day you must stop working. This gives your ox and your donkey a chance to rest. It also allows your slaves and the foreigners living among you to be refreshed.”
- Underlying all of this is God’s wisdom: WE need to rest and recover
-- We were created to work, to serve, to worship, to engage … and to rest (PTL!)
-- The word “Sabbath” means “cessation”; which lends to all forms of resting
- APP: The people committed to resting out of obedience to God’s command
3. The temple tax (v32-33)
- The temple tax is not found in the Law, but came out of a necessity to operate
-- The people were assuming responsibility of the care and service of God’s house
-- Specifically, they promised to use it for prescribed offerings and celebrations
-- EX: Regular offerings for a sign of “thankfulness”, availability for God’s use
- The temple tax would also go towards building upkeep and repair
-- How? Communion, building fund, needy, repairs, etc. … sound familiar?
4. Contributions of wood (v34)
- RE: Leviticus 6:13, “Remember, the fire must be kept burning on the altar at all times. It must never go out.”
-- Knowing this passage, they cast lots (throwing dice) to determine the schedule
-- This way, the assignment was fair, and without bias, to ensure they kept it
- From the lots, each family was then assigned a time/date to bring the wood
-- It’s a shared responsibility for the community (re: many hands make light work)
- APP: Why? Because not just one group could possibly bear this load!
-- Consider, a fire in the temple that could never go out … that’s a lot of wood
5. Personal contributions (v35-39)
- God gave the Israelites a command to guide the people in offerings:
-- Exodus 23:19a, “As you harvest your crops, bring the very best of the first harvest to the house of the Lord your God …”
-- This symbolized God’s ownership of everything that they had (thankfulness)
- They also agreed to bring the firstborn of cattle, herds, and flocks to temple
-- As well as the first ground meal, grain offerings, fruit of trees, new wine & oil
-- Why? Because God deserved the best portion of everything they had (offering)
- Also, they were to bring a tithe, or a tenth of the finest that they had
-- This would also be for welfare and provision of the temple (as a godly offering)
-- When these were collected, they would be brought to the temple treasury for use
- Why? To support the work and ministry of the temple … tithe still exists!
-- It’s how the church survives and pays its bills … so all I’ll say is, God said it
-- We can always debate the amounts … but God said we are to give, and not stop
-- TR: So, with these promises/pledges in place, what do we take away for us?
Big Idea – (see last 5 items) … Obedience involves EVERY part of our life
- A public affirmation and confession helped establish two things:
1. Obedience (we confess that we need to obey God)
2. Accountability (you are not alone … we are side-by-side in this)
- Without these two traits the society would’ve floundered, prob. indefinitely
-- It is no different than how we should operate today – EX: we have laws
-- We also have church doctrine, leadership qualifications, and affirmation
- FACT: The Bible is for living … not just head knowledge (they knew it)
-- Giving and profession of faith indicated their devotion to godly servanthood
-- It also demonstrated their thankfulness to what God has allowed them to have
-- It really is a calling that we all have today … do we hear and follow it? / Pray
