Global Church of the Nazarene DAY 35 OF 40 - Better Together Through Prayer And The Word

Global Church of the Nazarene DAY 35 OF 40 - Better Together Through Prayer And The Word

Nehemiah 10:28-29

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, 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.

DAY 35 – MAKING A COVENANT WITH GOD

After the “history lesson” of yesterday, we will see the Israelites have a different desire. Instead of being people who rebelled and were stiff-necked, they promised to become a nation that:

SCRIPTURE: Nehemiah 10:28 The rest of the people, the priests, the Levites, the porters, 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— 29 they joined with their brothers, their nobles, and entered into a curse, and into 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 Yahweh our Lord, and his ordinances and his statutes;

37 and that we should bring the first fruits of our dough, and our wave offerings, and the fruit of all kinds of trees, the new wine and the oil, to the priests, to the rooms of the house of our God; and the tithes of our ground to the Levites; for they, the Levites, take the tithes in all the cities of our tillage.

39 For the children of Israel and the children of Levi shall bring the wave offering of the grain, of the new wine, and of the oil, to the rooms, where are the vessels of the sanctuary, and the priests who minister, and the porters, and the singers. We will not forsake the house of our God.

In the first 27 verses of Nehemiah chapter 10, we see the MANY leaders, Levites and priests, who stamped their seal on the covenant agreement. In verse 28 we find that the rest of the people who had separated themselves from their idol worshiping neighbors also committed to be bound to the oath.

They desired to become a people that “live by God’s Torah (the Books of Moses – the first five books of the Bible)…and will perform and obey all the mitzvot (commands), rulings and laws of ADONAI (God) our Lord.” This desire was for them an oath—a sacred unbreakable promise saying what they will do. Should someone break this promise there was written in a curse.

There were two special parts to this oath that can definitely speak to us today. 1. And we will bring a tithe to the Levites (the temple workers), for it is the Levites who collect the tithes in all the towns we work (farm). 2. We will not neglect (forsake, abandon) the house (temple) of our God.

LIFE APPLICATION: The greatest covenant ever made between God and man was the New Covenant given to us by Jesus’ death on the cross and His resurrection on the third day. It is not a covenant of the Laws given to Moses; but is based on undeserved grace offered to all who will accept it. Think about this: The Israelites failed so many times to keep the Laws. They desired to but failed!! Today, because of Jesus paying our penalty and bringing the New Covenant of grace, we can—with the help of the Holy Spirit, live according to this New Covenant.

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