Effective Christian Living - Nehemiah
10 - Chapter 10
The effective Christian is a committed Christian. If you are committed you won’t be here today gone tomorrow. You will be reliable and dependable in the work of God. The theme of chapter 10 of the book of Nehemiah is commitment.
The people of God decided to take definite steps to do what is pleasing to the Lord. So determined were they that they put it down in writing and signed their name to it. We read at the end of chapter 9 verse 38, "We are making a binding agreement, putting it in writing, and our leaders, our Levites, and our priests are affixing their seals to it". This commitment was public. It was an open thing that others could see. The Bible knows nothing of secret discipleship. The Apostle Paul said, "I am not ashamed of the Gospel". Paul was out and about making known the Lord Jesus Christ. The committed believer will say with the hymn writer, "I'm not ashamed to own my Lord, or to defend His cause; maintain the honour of His word, the glory of His cross".
To what did God's people commit themselves? There was a commitment to God's word. Chapter 10 verse 29 tells us, "All these now join their brothers the nobles and bind themselves with a curse and an oath to follow the Law of God given through Moses the servant of God and to obey carefully all the commands, regulations and decrees of the Lord our God". Here was a new resolve to live under the authority of scripture. To enjoy God's blessing you must be living the life of obedience. You must be careful to do all that God asks of you as revealed in His word. Be a careful student of the Bible. Saturate yourself in God's word. The great preacher Charles Spurgeon, once said of John Bunyan, the author of "Pilgrim's Progress", "Prick him anywhere; his blood is "Bibline", the very essence of the Bible flows from him". As the scripture fills our hearts and minds we will be able to say with the Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 10 verse 5, "We take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ".
There was also a commitment to God's will. In verse 30 we read, "We promise not to give our daughters in marriage to the people around us, or take their daughters for our sons". They remembered God's word in Deuteronomy 7 verse 3 where God tells His people as they prepare to go over into the land of Canaan, "Do not intermarry with them". God's will is revealed in the Bible. We must make God's will our will. His will should be our delight. The Lord Jesus is our example. He prayed in Gethsemane in Matthew 26 verse 39, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from Me. Yet not as I will, but as you will". Above everything else be committed to doing the will of God as He makes it known to you through the Scriptures.
There was a commitment to God's day. We read in verse 31, "When the neighbouring peoples bring merchandise of grain to sell on the Sabbath, we will not buy from them". The Sabbath was a reminder of God's rest on the seventh day after creation, and of their redemption from Egypt. The Sabbath had been neglected. The day identified them as God's special people. It marked them out as different from the world. Christians now observe the Lord's Day, the first day of the week, Sunday. This is the day of resurrection, victory and the new creation in Christ. As Christians we should use this day in a positive way and with a spiritual mind. It is a day for fellowship and worship, for family, spiritual and physical refreshment. It is sad to see Sunday used like any other day. In Nehemiah's time the Jewish Sabbath had become just another day for buying and selling. If this is possible where you are, take full advantage of the Lord's Day to develop your walk with God.
There was a fresh commitment to God's house. Verse 32 says, "We assume responsibility for carrying out the commands to give a third of a shekel each year for the service of the house of God". Their commitment was especially seen in their giving. The money would be used to but the bread, grain, and animals for the various offerings for sin and the Sabbaths.
The church of Christ needs you practical support. There is no doubt that God is well able to provide for our needs from His own bountiful resources. But God has chosen to provide for the ongoing work of the Gospel through the sacrificial and generous giving of Christians like you and me. Paul said in 2 Corinthians 8 verse 7, "But just as you excel in everything in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us, see that you also excel in this grace of giving". The church bills need to be paid. The day to day running of the Church must be provided for. It comes down to your giving if those needs will be adequately met.
Be guided in your giving by 2 Corinthians 9, verses 6 and 7, "Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not to give reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver".
Connected with that last point we find that there was a new commitment to God's servants. Verses 36 and 37 say, "As it is also written in the law, we will bring the firstborn of our sons and of our cattle to the priests ministering there, and we will bring a tithe of our crops to the Levites". The Priests and Levites served God working in the temple. They were given to the service of God. Pastors, evangelists, missionaries, all give themselves to the word of God and to prayer. The Scripture says in Galatians 6, verse 6, "Anyone who receives instruction in the word must share all good things with his instructor". When your pastor, or a missionary or evangelist goes shopping and comes to pay, there isn't a special queue with a sign saying "Discounts for Christian Workers Only". Be sure you make proper provision for God's servants. God expects it.
The people of God stated their new aim. They said in verse 39, "We will not neglect the house of our God". May you be just as keen to be as committed to meeting the spiritual and practical need of God's Kingdom.