Nehemiah 10 Devotional

Signed in View of Mercy

“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 ministering priests, the gatekeepers, and the singers stay. Thus we will not neglect the house of our God.””Nehemiah 10:39 (BSB)

The great prayer of chapter 9 ends with the people resolving, in view of all God has done, to make a binding agreement in writing (9:38). Chapter 10 lists those who sealed it: Nehemiah, the priests, the Levites, and the leaders (10:1-27). Everyone else, with their children old enough to understand, joins with an oath to follow the Law of God given through Moses (10:28-29).

The promises are concrete. They will not intermarry with the surrounding peoples or buy on the Sabbath, and every seventh year they will let the land rest and cancel debts (10:30-31). They will give for the temple's offerings, supply wood for the altar, and bring firstfruits and tithes, so that God's house is not neglected (10:32-39). It is costly obedience offered in response to mercy. Yet the book's last chapter shows several of these promises broken (Nehemiah 13). Hebrews says Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant (Hebrews 7:22). Your obedience matters, but your hope rests on the one who guarantees what you cannot.

To think about: What concrete step of obedience could you take in response to God's mercy, while resting your hope on Christ rather than your resolve?