Covenant Signed, Sealed, and Delivered

Nehemiah 10:1-39

    1 Now those who placed their seal on the document were:  Nehemiah the governor, the son of Hacaliah, and Zedekiah, 2 Seraiah, Azariah, Jeremiah, 3 Pashhur, Amariah, Malchijah, 4 Hattush, Shebaniah, Malluch, 5 Harim, Meremoth, Obadiah, 6 Daniel, Ginnethon, Baruch, 7 Meshullam, Abijah, Mijamin, 8 Maaziah, Bilgai, and Shemaiah. These were the priests.

    9 The Levites: Jeshua the son of Azaniah, Binnui of the sons of Henadad, and Kadmiel.  10 Their brethren: Shebaniah, Hodijah, Kelita, Pelaiah, Hanan, 11 Micha, Rehob, Hashabiah, 12 Zaccur, Sherebiah, Shebaniah, 13 Hodijah, Bani, and Beninu.

    14 The leaders of the people: Parosh, Pahath-Moab, Elam, Zattu, Bani, 15 Bunni, Azgad, Bebai, 16 Adonijah, Bigvai, Adin, 17 Ater, Hezekiah, Azzur, 18 Hodijah, Hashum, Bezai, 19 Hariph, Anathoth, Nebai, 20 Magpiash, Meshullam, Hezir, 21 Meshezabel, Zadok, Jaddua, 22 Pelatiah, Hanan, Anaiah, 23 Hoshea, Hananiah, Hasshub, 24 Hallohesh, Pilha, Shobek, 25 Rehum, Hashabnah, Maaseiah, 26 Ahijah, Hanan, Anan, 27 Malluch, Harim, and Baanah.

   28 Now the rest of the people—the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, 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 these joined with their brethren, their nobles, and entered into a curse and 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 ordinances and His statutes: 30 We would not give our daughters as wives to the peoples of the land, nor take their daughters for our sons; 31 if the peoples of the land brought wares or any grain to sell on the Sabbath day, we would not buy it from them on the Sabbath, or on a holy day; and we would forego the seventh year's produce and the exacting of every debt.

    32 Also we made ordinances for ourselves, to exact from ourselves yearly one-third of a shekel for the service of the house of our God: 33 for the showbread, for the regular grain offering, for the regular burnt offering of the Sabbaths, the New Moons, and the set feasts; for the holy things, for the sin offerings to make atonement for Israel, and all the work of the house of our God. 34 We cast lots among the priests, the Levites, and the people, for bringing the wood offering into the house of our God, according to our fathers' houses, at the appointed times year by year, to burn on the altar of the LORD our God as it is written in the Law.

    35 And we made ordinances to bring the firstfruits of our ground and the firstfruits of all fruit of all trees, year by year, to the house of the LORD; 36 to bring the firstborn of our sons and our cattle, as it is written in the Law, and the firstborn of our herds and our flocks, to the house of our God, to the priests who minister in the house of our God; 37 to bring the firstfruits of our dough, our offerings, the fruit from all kinds of trees, the new wine and oil, to the priests, to the storerooms of the house of our God; and to bring the tithes of our land to the Levites, for the Levites should receive the tithes in all our farming communities. 38 And the priest, the descendant of Aaron, shall be with the Levites when the Levites receive tithes; and the Levites shall bring up a tenth of the tithes to the house of our God, to the rooms of the storehouse.

    39 For the children of Israel and the children of Levi shall bring the offering of the grain, of the new wine and the oil, to the storerooms where the articles of the sanctuary are, where the priests who minister and the gatekeepers and the singers are; and we will not neglect the house of our God.

Because of the sins of God’s people walking away in disobedience and spiritual rebellion, Nehemiah the governor drew up a covenant to follow the LORD.  Then the leaders, Levites, and priests sealed it, ratifying the agreement with God to follow His Law from the Book of His words to the chosen people.  Those who put their seal on the document, labeling it with each individual’s mark to identify the ones making the commitment to God.  These are all enumerated here in chapter ten, as a testimony to all their decisions.  Verse 29 shows that their commitment included a curse and oath; an oath to bind them to keep their promise for God’s blessings, and a curse from Him if they broke the agreement (Nehemiah 5:12-13, Deuteronomy 29:12, 21, Psalm 119:106).  They committed themselves to only marry others of God’s people to avoid idolatry, which today means not being yoked to an unbeliever in Christ.  They also committed to obeying the ordinances and commands from God’s word.  Furthermore, they agreed to make commitments in addition to the law of Moses as written, determined to put money aside to maintain the service of God’s house, much as we commit to give to the church buildings and gospel ministries of our local churches today.  They also made their own ordinances to give God the first and best of all He blessed them with materially, in addition to their tithes.  They made certain that those priests and servants assigned to God’s work did according to God’s word, just as we do in church polity with elders, deacons, pastors, teachers, and other dedicated workers in His house which is under Christ as head.  There is a great pattern here for today’s church and believers to commit to following Christ and keeping accountability with each other in that service of the gospel, which was signed, sealed, and delivered by Jesus Christ Himself in the New Covenant which He initiated with us, and who maintains it in grace.  This is how God’s people keep themselves publicly accountable to His word and each other.