Nehemiah 10:1-39

10:1-27 | Eighty-four people signed (placed their seal on) the covenant, vowing to separate themselves from ungodly ways and be accountable for what they signed. Nehemiah’s name was first, followed by the names of priests, Levites, and leaders or heads of homes. Just like the rebuilding o the city wall, spiritual restoration would involve all the people, not just Israel’s leaders.

10:28-31 | Before Israel entered the Promised Land, God had forbidden intermarriage with people from nations outside the covenant (Ex. 34:12-16; Deut. 7:3). The parents in Nehemiah’s day pledged they would not give their daughters as wives to the peoples of the land. The people further vowed to separate themselves from the world, submit to the Word (Law) of God, and keep the Sabbath (we would not buy it). Similarly, God calls Christians to make themselves distinct from the world today (2 Cor. 6:14-16),

10:31 | The people also sought to reinstitute the sabbatical year, a practice of giving the land rest every seventh year (Lev. 25:1-7) and forgiving (forego the exacting of) debts in that year (Deut. 15:1-2).

10:32-35 | As a central part of their renewed covenant, these Israelites made giving to God and supporting the temple a priority. Their ordinances included a yearly deduction for the service of the house of God and a pledge to give God the first of everything (Ex. 23:19; 34:26; Deut. 26:2). The task of bringing firewood for the offerings was assigned by lot.

10:35-39 | In the OT much giving was “in kind” rather than in the form of money. The tithes meant to support the Levites, priests, and temple came mostly in the form of animals, produce, and crops (Num. 18:12-18; Deut. 15:19-23; 26:1-11). The Levites collected the various tithes and in turn tithed a tenth from those gifts to the temple storerooms.