Nehemiah 10:1-39 - Signed and Sealed in the Covenant

Nehemiah 10:1-39

The People Who Sealed the Covenant

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.

The Covenant That Was Sealed

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.

Nehemiah the governor, the priests, the Levites and their brethren, and the leaders of the people of God all signed the agreement before God with their seals of their signet rings as their signatures.  We are likewise signed and sealed in God’s covenant with His signet ring which is His Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13, 14) as our eternal seal guaranteeing we are His forever and will no longer face condemnation for our sin forgiven in our reconciliation.  Because God keeps His covenant always, the Jews of Nehemiah’s day made their own covenant in return with this truth in mind in their humble repentant hearts.  The new covenant which the Lord made with us in Christ is absolute because it was not made by our covenant promise to Him, but solely on His part with us (Matthew 26:28, Romans 11:27, 2 Corinthians 3:7-8, Hebrews 7:22-24, 25, Romans 8:10, 38-39, John 10:28-29) and so cannot be broken or abrogated by us.  We who are now in Christ cannot be pried loose from His covenant hand of eternal certainty of that eternal, not temporary or conditional, promise.  The Jews in the return from exile did their best to promise their covenant devotion but like us all, we fall short (Romans 3:23, 6:23) in sin and require redemption in Him alone.  That is the gospel hope we obtain when we receive the one who has made this new covenant in His sacrificial lifeblood given as our eternal Passover () to guarantee we remain in Him as we have further assurance by His presence in us now to put the word of His laws into our hearts to desire and be able to do them.  The Jews in the day of Nehemiah meant well, but were unable in the weakness of their will to follow through and needed to learn this (Galatians 3:22-23, 24, 29) to seek the Messiah who is Jesus Christ to come for lasting peace in the eternal covenant (Hebrews 9:15, 12:23-24, 13:20-21, Romans 3:25-26) made by Him that we cannot do on our own.  We are signed and sealed by Him for eternal, not temporary, life. He is the first fruits of grace whom we follow in response to offer ourselves now as living sacrifices and not the material ones as the people of God did here in this account of their deliverance from bondage to sin and return from exile to Him.  Our signed and sealed covenant promise is all by the grace of our Lord and our response should be eternal thankful hearts of willing obedience to be pleasing children.  Little children, keep yourselves (1 John 5:21) from idols and do not neglect the house of God.