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“Keys To Holy Living” • 2.24.19 • Calvary
Christian Fellowship, Sunday Morning Service
Intro.
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In Nehemiah chapter 8, the people of
God gathered for their annual Feast of Tabernacles, which coincided with the
year that God commanded them to hear the law of Moses in it's entirety.
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For the first time in many years, God's people heard the law and had it
thoroughly explained to them by the Priests, which led to their massive
confession of sin recorded in chapter 9.
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In examining the scriptures that they had, beginning at the law of Moses
through the books of the Kings for
several days, they realized that the book repeated one story.
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God had been consistently faithful to His covenant promises and Israel had been
completely unfaithful! Having realized this, they exemplify what it means to
repent before God.
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They acknowledged their guilt, they accepted their consequence and they acquitted
their God of any wrong doing!
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In chapter 10, they continued this
healthy trend with an assignment of what they would now do in response. They
committed to three actions which most directly expressed their obedience.
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Unfortunately, they will fail in their commitment because they were not indwelt
by the Holy Spirit as we are. This doesn't make what they committed to, wrong.
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In fact, I would offer that God doesn't call us to commit to these points, but
the Holy Spirit works them out in our lives as we submit to Him! Don't commit.
Submit!
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What did they commit to on this day before God and what are we to submit to by
the Spirit today? Israel committed to
I. The
Principle Of Separation (v.28-30)
II. The
Practice Of Sabbath (v.31)
III. The
Priority Of Sacrifice (v.32-39)
Text
I. The
Principle Of Separation (v.28-30)
• Nehemiah 10:28-30 : "Now the
rest of the people—the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, the
Nethinim, and all those who had separated themselves from the peoples of the
lands to the Law of God, their wives, their sons, and their daughters, everyone
who had knowledge and understanding—these joined with their brethren, their nobles, and entered into
a curse and an oath to walk in God’s Law, which was given by Moses the servant
of God, and to observe and do all the commandments of the Lord our Lord, and His ordinances and
His statutes: We
would not give our daughters as wives to the peoples of the land, nor take
their daughters for our sons;" : The people that are agreeing to this have already learned what
it means to have to separate themselves from unbelievers.
- It hadn't been a good experience.
Some years earlier, as captured in Ezra 9 & 10, these people
had come to understand that the law demanded separation from the people of the
land.
- They wanted more of God and
understood that the only way that was possible was for them to comply with His
law on this point.
- They knew that they could not be
separated "TO" the law of God until they were separated
"FROM" the peoples of the land.
- When they separated from those
who were unwilling to convert to Judaism, it brought about great emotional pain and suffering that
they had essentially brought upon themselves.
- They had disobeyed God's clear
command and now, having learned that God will not change His mind, they
discovered the pain of removing themselves from these unlawful relationships.
- No wonder that the entire group
who had knowledge and understanding, stood before the Lord to enter into this
oath and curse! They would not allow their children to follow in their
footsteps!
- The pain of experience is enought
to make a person want to stand in the gap for others who might make the same
mistake! These people would not allow it!
- They would not seek arranged
marriages for their children with members of those outside of the faith of
Israel. Why was this such a dangerous proposition?
- For one, the Jewish nation was
charged with bringing the Messiah into the world. I have been mistaken in
saying this in the past, so please allow me to correct it here.
- The issue is not pure Jewish
blood line, but pure Jewish faith! Remember, there are at least two, maybe
three Gentiles in our Lord's geneaology! Tamar, Rahab and Ruth, were all
Gentiles.
- These were women who converted to
the faith. Separation from the world then refers to the spiritual danger of
influence! How bad could it be to allow the world to influence us?
- When we studied the life of
Solomon, we observed how close he lived on the line. What eventually pushed him
over the edge? The love of foreign women! (I Kings 11:1,2)
- He was merely the latest in a
long line of people that had forsaken God's command for separation. Listen to
the testimony of the Psalmist contained in Psalm 106.
• Psalm 106:34-39 : "They did
not destroy the peoples, concerning
whom the Lord had commanded them,
but they mingled with the Gentiles and learned their works; They
served their idols, which became a snare to
them. They even sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons, and shed innocent blood, The
blood of their sons and daughters, whom they
sacrificed to the idols of Canaan; And the
land was polluted with blood. Thus they were
defiled by their own works, and played the
harlot by their own deeds." : God had warned them and this was the result. Their godliness
didn't affect their foreign neighbors one wit!
- Do not believe for a second that
your godliness will defend you against the influence of those that are given
over to the worship of themselves!
- Soon, you'll find your fire, your
passion for the Lord is diminished. Shortly after that, you will agree with the
world's assessments on sexuality, culture and the beginning of life.
- You will run your own life by
mottos like, "It's not that bad" and "nobody else seems to have
a problem with it!"
- Before long, you'll be
worshipping just like the world around you! If you will be separated to the law
of God, the law that frees and satisfies, you must be separate from the
influence of the world!
- It is no wonder that the Apostle
Paul instructs the church not to be conformed to the world (Romans 12:2)
and to come out and be separate from them! (II Corinthians 6:17)
- This begs the question: How can
we effectively separate ourselves from the world? This leads us to the practice
of the Sabbath. Verse 31.
II. The
Practice Of Sabbath (v.31)
• Nehemiah 10:31a : "if the
peoples of the land brought wares or any grain to sell on the Sabbath day, we
would not buy it from them on the Sabbath, or on a holy day;" : When Jerusalem was re-established as
a city, merchants from the neighboring cities discovered a gold mine of
opportunity!
- Think of the needs of these
re-decorating Jewish wives! Certainly, they would need new throw rugs and
decorative pottery! And the men needed their tool sheds re-filled!
- What about that Ammonite non-GMO
grain that everyone is talking about? Discounted, end of the week kosher grain
is just what the average Jewish household would need during this time.
- To a person from any other nation,
there was no significance to the Sabbath. God did not give that law to any
other nation on Earth, so why not use the day for commerce?
- Because God commanded Israel to
keep themselves from such activities for one day!
- There is no rebuke here for the
nations. Rather, the people would choose not to encourage their presence on a
Sabbath or holy day.
- They would turn them away by
refusing to purchase anything from them. In doing this, they were setting an
example and sending a message.
- They were setting an example for
all of God's people. They were to keep God's sabbath. What is the sabbath and
what does it mean?
- Biblically, it is the recognition
of a rest from labor. God rested on the seventh day and made it a perpetual
remembrance for Israel. They were also to take a rest from their six day work
week.
- This was a day off, but not just
for the sake of relaxation. God wanted to teach them that there was more to
life than working. Their identity was not found working, but in resting!
- Most orthodox Jewish people came
to consider the Sabbath as a reflective opportunity to consider their role in
God's World and some others saw it as a preview of things to come.
- "Someday, there will be an
eternal rest from all of our labor!" they would think.
- You and I are not called by God
to take a special day of rest, though it is absolutely a good thing to
practice. Our Sabbath is not found in a day, but in a person!
- Jesus Christ is our Sabbath! He
brings us rest from any labor that we might use to impress God! Our rest
reflects the fact that He now rests, sitting at the right hand of God!
- When we walk before the Lord in
love and respond to His Spirit's call, we are resting in Christ, trusting in
His provision, aware of our future intimacy with Him!
- What an example to set then for
the nation? It's better to celebrate my role, relationship and real life in the
Kingdom than it is to seek an extra business opportunity!
- Their example showed that they
could do business any other day, but they could not rest any other day!
- This was their example to their
own nation, but they were also sending a message to Gentiles that sought their
business.
- Every other nation knew that
Israel was serious about following and obeying the Lord. They would know that
they took their Lord's commands seriously!
- This is an important point,
relevant to our question. How does separation occur in our lives today? When we
reflect upon our position before God and learn to take His commands seriously!
- I've recently come across a study
from the Barna group that speaks to this very issue. Jesus commands His
disciples to evangelize, to proclaim the gospel to every nation.
- According to a recent study, 47%
of millenials believe that it is wrong to share their faith with those of a
different faith![i] James tells
us rightly that friendship with the world is hostility with God!
- If you do share your faith with
your friends, honoring God's commandment, it will also mean that you now live
that faith out before them.
- You won't be the one laughing at
dirty jokes, letting swear words fly from your lips or delighting in violence
or wickedness of any kind!
- When your friends see that your
faith works, they'll soon separate from you! Problem solved!
- For these neighboring nations, if
they wanted to do business, they would have to do it in line with what their
God wanted!
- The second part of this verse
outlines their second commitment regarding the Sabbath.
• Nehemiah 10:31b : "and we
would forego the seventh year’s produce and the exacting of every
debt." : When the
Jewish people came to every seventh year, they were commanded in the law to
allow the land to rest.
- You can read more about this set of laws in Exodus 23:10,11,
as well as Leviticus 25:1-7.
- They were not allowed to plant or
harvest God's land, in order for the poor to eat. Quite literally, the entire
vision of God was for them to learn in the 7th year that He was their Provider!
- If He asked them to take a year
off from planting and harvesting, He would be responsible to produce enough for
the nation to eat and that is what He intended to do!
- Unfortunately, the nation never
did learn to trust Him, as they never gave the land it's rest! II Chronicles
36:21 tells us that this is why the Lord sent them to Babylon for 70 years!
- The people are communicating that
they are willing to trust the Lord for their provision, so much so, that they
are also going to forego collecting debts from anyone they lent to!
- God set this up in the law as
well in Deuteronomy 15:1-3 with a special release coming in the 50th
year, known as the "Year of Jubilee!"
- Can you imagine the festive
atmosphere every 7th and every 50th year? Everybody would begin with a clean
slate! Nobody's debt would be held against them!
- That would have brought the
praise of the Lord to a fever pitch! The practice of sabbath then is quite
extensive.
- The people were willing to live lives
that revealed their value of the Lord and each other!
- They were looking to be a
community that was defined by love for God and love for each other! Does that
sound familiar? These are the tenets that should define our lives before God!
- Our position before God should
always be viewed as primary! And
that should issue in our love for one another! We cannot say that we have the
one without having the other!
- Your proof of love for God that
you haven't seen will be seen in how you love His people that you have! How is
it that we learn to love His people? Where do we cultivate that attitude? Verse
32.
III. The
Priority Of Sacrifice (v.32-39)
• Nehemiah 10:32-34 : "Also we
made ordinances for ourselves, to exact from ourselves yearly one-third of a
shekel for the service of the house of our God: for the showbread, for the regular
grain offering, for the regular burnt offering of the Sabbaths, the New Moons,
and the set feasts; for the holy things, for the sin offerings to make
atonement for Israel, and all the work of the house of our God. We cast lots among the priests, the
Levites, and the people, for bringing the wood offering into the house of our
God, according to our fathers’ houses, at the appointed times year by year, to
burn on the altar of the Lord our God as it is written in the Law." : The people that were making this
covenant with God took on the responsibility to fulfill the command of God to provide
for the services of His house.
- Exodus 30:11ff outlines
the responsiblity as a donation of half of a shekel. During difficult economic
times, when the nation was in poverty, the amount was reduced to a 1/3 of a
shekel.
- That is their reality here. They
didn't have much to give, but what they had they gave! That is always the heart
that God desires. He doesn't need your money. He wants your heart!
- He knows that your heart is
connected to what you invest in! Your heart will follow what your hand has
given toward. The showbread, the grain and the burnt offerings would come at
their hands.
- Every feast, every holy day and
every service that was performed in the house of God came from regular tithes
and offerings.
- For those that didn't have any
money, they made sure to donate wood so that the Altar of the Lord would remain
lit! They gave the wood into the hands of the men that would carry it in.
- They planned to see the entire
calendar filled with worship opportunities! They intended for all of it to be
fulfilled! Verse 35.
• Nehemiah 10:35-38 : "And we
made ordinances to bring the firstfruits of our ground and the firstfruits of
all fruit of all trees, year by year, to the house of the Lord; to bring the firstborn of our sons
and our cattle, as it is written in the Law, and the firstborn of our herds and
our flocks, to the house of our God, to the priests who minister in the house
of our God; to bring the firstfruits of our
dough, our offerings, the fruit from all kinds of trees, the new wine and oil,
to the priests, to the storerooms of the house of our God; and to bring the
tithes of our land to the Levites, for the Levites should receive the tithes in
all our farming communities. And the priest, the descendant of Aaron, shall be with the
Levites when the Levites receive tithes; and the Levites shall bring up a tenth
of the tithes to the house of our God, to the rooms of the storehouse." : Aside from their financial
commitment, they also committed the firstfruits of their produce to the Lord.
- These were the first things that
came up out of the ground or that grew on their trees. The first cows or ewes
that were born came to the house of the Lord.
- The principle is that the first,
the best, and the most fresh came to the house of the Lord, where it was stored
and ripened! We aren't to give the Lord our leftovers!
- Is your heart His first? Does He
have your best attention? Is your mind fresh enough to receive what He has to
say to you?
- Additional to their gifts of
produce, they also brought their tithes from their land and from their farming
community to support the Levites that administered their gifts.
- For a New Testament believer,
there is no such thing as a "tithe." Ours is a voluntary response to
God's calling. What you give is between you and Him! Verse 39.
• Nehemiah 10:39 : "For the
children of Israel and the children of Levi shall bring the offering of the
grain, of the new wine and the oil, to the storerooms where the articles of the
sanctuary are, where the priests who minister and the gatekeepers and the
singers are; and we will not neglect the house of our God." : This last verse sums it all up. Everything for the worship of
Israel would be brought to the Lord's house. The people would orient themselves
around "church life." This was their priority.
- The house of God was where the
people of God gathered to hear the Word of God in order that they might embody
the image of God! That takes commitment and intention!
- They said that they would not
neglect the house of their God. Will you? All I will say on this point is this:
Separation from the world happens when you decide to take your walk seriously.
- What He commands you to do, you
do and that with a grateful heart. You will only do that as you commit to being
with people that are doing the same thing!
- Where do you find them? At work?
Out in a field somewhere? All alone on the beach? No. You will find them in the
house of God, assembled, because that alone is the church!
Conclusion
Let's pray!