June 22, 2023

Nehemiah 10:30-39 (HCSB)
Details of the Vow
 
30 We will not give our daughters in marriage to the surrounding peoples and will not take their daughters as wives for our sons. 31 When the surrounding peoples bring merchandise or any kind of grain to sell on the Sabbath day, we will not buy from them on the Sabbath or a holy day.  We will also leave the land uncultivated in the seventh year  and will cancel every debt. 32 We will impose the following commands on ourselves: To give an eighth of an ounce of silver  yearly for the service of the house of our God:  33 the bread displayed before the Lord,   the daily grain offering, the regular burnt offering, the Sabbath and New Moon offerings,  the appointed festivals, the holy things, the sin offerings to atone for Israel,  and for all the work of the house of our God. 34 We have cast lots  among the priests, Levites, and people for the donation of wood by our ancestral houses at the appointed times each year. They are to bring the wood to our God’s house to burn on the altar of the Lord our God,  as it is written in the law. 35 We will bring the firstfruits of our land and of every fruit tree to the Lord’s house year by year.  36 We will also bring the firstborn of our sons and our livestock, as prescribed by the law, and will bring the firstborn of our herds and flocks to the house of our God,  to the priests who serve in our God’s house. 37 We will bring a loaf from our first batch of dough  to the priests at the storerooms of the house of our God. We will also bring the firstfruits of our grain offerings, of every fruit tree, and of the new wine and oil.  A tenth of our land’s produce belongs to the Levites, for the Levites are to collect the one-tenth offering in all our agricultural towns.  38 A priest of Aaronic descent must accompany the Levites when they collect the tenth,  and the Levites must take a tenth of this offering to the storerooms of the treasury in the house of our God.  39 For the Israelites and the Levites are to bring the contributions of grain, new wine, and oil to the storerooms where the articles of the sanctuary are kept  and where the priests who minister are, along with the gatekeepers and singers. We will not neglect the house of our God.

Patrick Raley
Now we learn the details of the vow the Israelites took. They commit to stay faithful to the Lord in their relationships, their business, and in their service to the church. While the first two areas are important, let’s focus on their commitment to supporting their church, and the last verse: “We will not neglect the house of God.” Not only did they agree to give to the church as God commanded (through tithing), they also volunteered to give their best, and serve as needs arose (vs. 34). How can you commit to serve the Lord in your church today? Matthew 7:7 says “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened to you.” Ask the Lord how you can serve and He will show you. Like the Israelites, we should commit to “not neglect the house of God."


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