Nehemiah 9:33

The Bible says in Nehemiah 9:33-38, “Howbeit thou art just in all that is brought upon us; for thou hast done right, but we have done wickedly:[34] Neither have our kings, our princes, our priests, nor our fathers, kept thy law, nor hearkened unto thy commandments and thy testimonies, wherewith thou didst testify against them.[35] For they have not served thee in their kingdom, and in thy great goodness that thou gavest them, and in the large and fat land which thou gavest before them, neither turned they from their wicked works.[36] Behold, we are servants this day, and for the land that thou gavest unto our fathers to eat the fruit thereof and the good thereof, behold, we are servants in it:[37] And it yieldeth much increase unto the kings whom thou hast set over us because of our sins: also they have dominion over our bodies, and over our cattle, at their pleasure, and we are in great distress.[38] And because of all this we make a sure covenant, and write it; and our princes, Levites, and priests, seal unto it.” These verses are an admission of sin. Since all humans are sinners, we could all use some honest confession of this sort. Thankfully, God allows us to confess our sins, and then He forgives us. He always forgives us when we confess because Jesus died for our sins on the cross. Notice who had sinned. In verse thirty-three Nehemiah wrote, “we have done wickedly.” He included himself. And then in verse thirty-four Nehemiah mentioned all the leaders of their country as well as those of past generations: “the fathers.” We have a lot of sins by the leaders of our country too. That is the problem. A lot of real confession of sin and repentance needs to take place.

Notice that verse thirty-five says, “For they have not served thee in their kingdom, and in thy great goodness that thou gavest them, and in the large and fat land which thou gavest before them…” One of their great sins was that they did not use their prosperity to serve God. If you are a Christian and you understand material things, then you know that the Lord has given to you everything that you have, and you are careful to be thankful to Him about it. In addition to being thankful, the mature Christian wants to use his or her abundance for the glory of the Lord and the furtherance of the Gospel of Christ.

The next several verses list the names of those who made a covenant saying that they would start following the Word of God faithfully. The list of names continues through verse twenty-seven. The Bible says in Nehemiah 10:1-6, “Now those that sealed were, Nehemiah, the Tirshatha, the son of Hachaliah, and Zidkijah,[2] Seraiah, Azariah, Jeremiah,[3] Pashur, Amariah, Malchijah,[4] Hattush, Shebaniah, Malluch,[5] Harim, Meremoth, Obadiah,[6] Daniel, Ginnethon, Baruch,”

The Bible says in Nehemiah 10:28-32, “And the rest of the people, the priests, the Levites, the porters, the singers, the Nethinims, and all they that had separated themselves from the people of the lands unto the law of God, their wives, their sons, and their daughters, every one having knowledge, and having understanding;[29] They clave to their brethren, 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 the LORD our Lord, and his judgments and his statutes;[30] And that we would not give our daughters unto the people of the land, nor take their daughters for our sons:[31] And if the people of the land bring ware or any victuals on the sabbath day to sell, that we would not buy it of them on the sabbath, or on the holy day: and that we would leave the seventh year, and the exaction of every debt.[32] Also we made ordinances for us, to charge ourselves yearly with the third part of a shekel for the service of the house of our God;” Notice the very first thing that the people agreed to do in this covenant that they made to start serving God again: they “separated themselves from the people of the lands…” The scriptural principle of separation from the world and separation from the people of the world is so very important. Of course, we must learn to be separate from their ways and their ideas, but still show them Christian love.

It says in verse twenty-nine that the people with Nehemiah “entered into a curse, and into an oath, to walk in God's law.” Notice the word “curse.” That is exactly how the law worked. If you did not keep the law perfectly, you were cursed. In the New Testament times we are under grace and not under law. It says in Galatians 3:12-13, “And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them.[13] Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:”

Notice verse thirty above. It says, “And that we would not give our daughters unto the people of the land, nor take their daughters for our sons.” If you are a believer, one of the most important decisions in life has to do with whom you marry. The most important decision is to accept Christ as your Savior, but the second most important decision is: whom will you marry? So much of what will happen to you and how happy you will be for the rest of your life is determined by whom you marry. If you are not married, my advice is that you pray a lot about whom you will marry. And make sure that you follow the example of these people. Do not give your daughters unto the people of the world, and do not take their daughters for your sons. If you believe in Jesus and love Jesus, marry someone who believes in Jesus and loves Jesus.

In verse thirty-one above we see that the people of the land followed the observance of the Sabbath Day. The Sabbath was Saturday, but there were also other special Sabbath days. And so the Sabbath Day in the Old Testament was not only Saturday. Those who say that we must do what the Old Testament says about the Sabbath Day must observe all of the Sabbath Days. Of course, these legalists do not do that. In the New Testament Christians are not told to follow the Sabbath Day probably because all of the Sabbaths are connected to the law. The disciples started meeting on Sunday in the book of Acts probably because Jesus rose from the dead on Sunday, and probably because the first Christians wanted to make it clear that they were not under law but under grace. Jesus is our Sabbath. We rest in Him and in His finished work for us.

Finally, at the end of verse thirty-one the believers said with Nehemiah, “to charge ourselves yearly with the third part of a shekel for the service of the house of our God.” They continued to faithfully support the work of God with their finances. Somebody has to pay the bills. Keep the bills as small as possible, such as paying off any debts, having a volunteer pastor, and having no salaried employees; but even with such cost saving measures, there will still be bills to pay.

The Bible says in Nehemiah 10:33, “For the shewbread, and for the continual meat offering, and for the continual burnt offering, of the sabbaths, of the new moons, for the set feasts, and for the holy things, and for the sin offerings to make an atonement for Israel, and for all the work of the house of our God.” This is a revealing verse that demonstrates how much the Sabbath is tied into the law. There are many things mentioned in this verse and every one of them are a part of the ceremonial procedures of the Old Testament law: “the shewbread,” “the continual meat offering,” “the continual burnt offering,” “the new moons,” “the set feasts,” “the holy things,” “the sin offerings,” “the work of the house of our God.” All of these things are undeniably a part of the ceremonial aspects of the law. Therefore, one other thing mentioned in this verse is also a part of the ceremonial aspects of the law: “the sabbaths.” There is a reason that observing the Sabbaths is never commanded or recommended to Christians in any of the New Testament epistles or in the book of Acts. We are not under law.

The Bible says in Nehemiah 10:34-39, “And we cast the lots among the priests, the Levites, and the people, for the wood offering, to bring it into the house of our God, after the houses of our fathers, at times appointed year by year, to burn upon the altar of the LORD our God, as it is written in the law:[35] And to bring the firstfruits of our ground, and the firstfruits of all fruit of all trees, year by year, unto the house of the LORD:[36] Also the firstborn of our sons, and of our cattle, as it is written in the law, and the firstlings of our herds and of our flocks, to bring to the house of our God, unto the priests that minister in the house of our God:[37] And that we should bring the firstfruits of our dough, and our offerings, and the fruit of all manner of trees, of wine and of oil, unto the priests, to the chambers of the house of our God; and the tithes of our ground unto the Levites, that the same Levites might have the tithes in all the cities of our tillage.[38] And the priest the son of Aaron shall be with the Levites, when the Levites take tithes: and the Levites shall bring up the tithe of the tithes unto the house of our God, to the chambers, into the treasure house.[39] For the children of Israel and the children of Levi shall bring the offering of the corn, of the new wine, and the oil, unto the chambers, where are the vessels of the sanctuary, and the priests that minister, and the porters, and the singers: and we will not forsake the house of our God. These were doing a lot of giving of their material substance in order to support the work of the temple, and the sacrifices, and the priesthood. Notice that in this passage much more than tithes were being given. This is an important point for those who insist on demanding tithes from Christians. Ten percent was not enough to support this kind of a work for God. It involved property, a building, and salaries. It involved many materials needed every day to butcher, to sacrifice, and to burn the animals. Tithes are mentioned several times, such as in verses thirty-seven and thirty-eight. But also “firstfruits,” “firstlings,” and “offerings” are mentioned. The believers in the Old Testament gave a lot more than tithes. If tithing was important in the New Testament, it would have been mentioned in one of the epistles. The New Testament principle of giving presents much more freedom and much more responsibility to the individual believer. It says in Second Corinthians 9:6-7, “But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.[7] Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.” Ten percent might be a good place to start, but this principle probably would often result in a Christian giving much more than ten percent.

Another point to make about this passage in Nehemiah is the fact that it can take a tremendous of money and other material input in order to keep a large organization going. That is all the more reason to think out of the box and to create churches based upon a philosophy that requires less money instead of more money in order to keep the ministry going. Here is an idea: get rid of as many bills a possible. Here is another idea: establish the church with volunteer workers only: no salaries. That includes the pastor. Why not have the pastor work a normal job? Why not have the pastor be a retired person who no longer needs a salary? The pastors normally would be the elders, which mean the older men. When people give offerings, surely some will give much more than the tithe because that is the purpose that God lays on their heart, and surely Christians are sensitive to the Lord’s leading.

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