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Nehemiah
Chapter Ten
Nehemiah 10
Chapter Contents
The covenant
Those who signed it. (1-31) Their
engagement to sacred rites. (32-39)
Commentary on Nehemiah 10:1-31
(Read Nehemiah 10:1-31)
Conversion is separating from the course and custom of
this world
devoting ourselves to the conduct directed by the word of God. When
we bind ourselves to do the commandments of God
it is to do all his
commandments
and to look to him as the Lord
and our Lord.
Commentary on Nehemiah 10:32-39
(Read Nehemiah 10:32-39)
Having covenanted against the sins of which they had been
guilty
they obliged themselves to observe the duties they had neglected. We
must not only cease to do evil
but learn to do well. Let not any people expect
the blessing of God
unless they keep up public worship. It is likely to go
well with our houses
when care is taken that the work of God's house goes on
well. When every one helps
and every one gives
though but little
toward a
good work
the whole will come to be a large sum. We must do what we can in
works of piety and charity; and whatever state we are placed in
cheerfully
perform our duty to God
which will be the surest way to ease and liberty. As
the ordinances of God are the appointed means of support to our souls
the
believer will not grudge the expense; yet most people leave their souls to
starve.
── Matthew Henry《Concise Commentary on
Nehemiah》
Nehemiah 10
Verse 1
[1] Now
those that sealed were
Nehemiah
the Tirshatha
the son of Hachaliah
and
Zidkijah
Sealed —
Both in their own names
and in the name of all the rest. It may seem strange
that Ezra doth not appear among them. But that might be because he was
prevented
by some sickness
or other extraordinary impediment. It is true
we
meet with Ezra after this
at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem
chap. 12:36
and therefore he was then freed from this
impediment
whatsoever it was.
Verse 29
[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;
Their nobles —
The commonality agreed with the nobles in this good work
great men never look
so great
as when they encourage religion and are examples of it: and they
would by that
as much as any thing
make an interest in the most valuable of
their inferiors
who would cleave to them closer than they can imagine. Observe
their nobles are called their brethren; for in the things of God
rich and
poor
high and low meet together.
They cleave —
They ratified what the others had done in their names
declaring their assent
to it.
Verse 31
[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.
People of the land —
The Heathens.
On the sabbath —
They that covenant to keep all the commandments of God
must particularly
covenant to keep the sabbath holy. For the profanation of this is a sure inlet
to all manner of profaneness.
── John Wesley《Explanatory Notes on Nehemiah》
10 Chapter 10
Verses 1-39
Now those that sealed were
Nehemiah.
Covenanting with God -
I. The parties
entering the covenant.
1. Nehemiah the governor. This is true greatness in the sight of God
to be foremost in consecration to the service of religion
and to stand among
His people in trying times.
2. The priests. It is remarkable that the name of Eliashib
the
high-priest does not appear in this list. It is honourable to the rest of the
priests that notwithstanding this defection of their chief
so many of them set
their hands to this holy bond.
3. The Levites. We observe among them almost all the names of those
who took part in the previous solemnities of this memorable day. It is well
when those who are eminent in devotion are also eminent for devotedness. It
sometimes happens that those who are gifted in prayer are not distinguished for
holy practice.
4. The chiefs of the nation. This fidelity to the cause of truth adds
a lustre to all earthly glory
and sets an ornament of grace on the noblest
brow.
5. The rest of the people. It is a blessed thing when whole families
thus unite together in the faith of Christ and the life of religion.
II. The engagements
of the covenant.
1. Sins to be renounced. It is vain to make loud profession of
spiritual experience
and of devotion to the Saviour
unless besetting sins are
abandoned and a new course of obedience begun.
2. Duties to be performed.
All vow to work for God
each in his own place
according to the
Divine will
at the appointed times
and unwearied in well-doing. Henry Martyn
wrote: “With
resignation and peace
I can look forward to a life of labour and seclusion
from earthly comforts
while Jesus stands near changing me into His holy image.
How happy and honoured am I in being suffered to be a missionary.” And Levi
Parsons testified:
“I can subscribe with my hand to be for ever the Lord’s
to be sent anywhere
to do anything
to endure any hardship
live and die a missionary.”
III. The inferences
deducible from the covenant.
1. We here see the propriety of religious covenanting.
2. The obligation in covenanting established. When you devote
yourself to the Lord in covenant
to obey the precepts of His Word
your
essential obligation is not strengthened or altered; it is merely recognised by
you
and promised to be fulfilled.
3. The benefits from covenanting illustrated. (W. Ritchie.)
Covenant comfort
Christmas Evans
after being sorely tried
was led to enter afresh into
personal
covenant
with God; and such was the joy in God which followed
that
he said of it
After forming this covenant I felt great calmness and peace. I
had the feelings of a poor man who has just come under the protection of the Royal
Family
and has obtained a pension for life
the dreadful tear of poverty and
want having left his house for ever. I felt the safety and shelter which the
little chickens feel under the wings of the hen.” (The Thinker.)
A national covenant
On February 25
1688
a memorable scene was witnessed in the churchyard of
Greyfriars
Edinburgh. The National Covenant to maintain Presbyterianism
and
to resist contrary errors
having been numerously signed within the church
the
parchment was subsequently placed upon the flat tombstone
still extant
of
Boswell of Auchinleck
where many others
to show their determination to die
rather than yield
signed it with blood from their arms. History testifies that
numbers of them endured much suffering rather than violate their pledge. If
frail men will so keep their promise
much more must the Omnipotent (God honour
His covenant. (The Thinker.)
Now those that sealed were
Nehemiah.
Covenanting with God -
I. The parties
entering the covenant.
1. Nehemiah the governor. This is true greatness in the sight of God
to be foremost in consecration to the service of religion
and to stand among
His people in trying times.
2. The priests. It is remarkable that the name of Eliashib
the
high-priest does not appear in this list. It is honourable to the rest of the
priests that notwithstanding this defection of their chief
so many of them set
their hands to this holy bond.
3. The Levites. We observe among them almost all the names of those
who took part in the previous solemnities of this memorable day. It is well
when those who are eminent in devotion are also eminent for devotedness. It
sometimes happens that those who are gifted in prayer are not distinguished for
holy practice.
4. The chiefs of the nation. This fidelity to the cause of truth adds
a lustre to all earthly glory
and sets an ornament of grace on the noblest
brow.
5. The rest of the people. It is a blessed thing when whole families
thus unite together in the faith of Christ and the life of religion.
II. The engagements
of the covenant.
1. Sins to be renounced. It is vain to make loud profession of
spiritual experience
and of devotion to the Saviour
unless besetting sins are
abandoned and a new course of obedience begun.
2. Duties to be performed.
All vow to work for God
each in his own place
according to the Divine will
at the appointed times
and unwearied in well-doing. Henry Martyn wrote: “With resignation and peace
I can look
forward to a life of labour and seclusion from earthly comforts
while Jesus
stands near changing me into His holy image. How happy and honoured am I in
being suffered to be a missionary.” And Levi Parsons testified: “I can subscribe with
my hand to be for ever the Lord’s
to be sent anywhere
to do anything
to
endure any hardship
live and die a missionary.”
III. The inferences
deducible from the covenant.
1. We here see the propriety of religious covenanting.
2. The obligation in covenanting established. When you devote
yourself to the Lord in covenant
to obey the precepts of His Word
your
essential obligation is not strengthened or altered; it is merely recognised by
you
and promised to be fulfilled.
3. The benefits from covenanting illustrated. (W. Ritchie.)
Covenant comfort
Christmas Evans
after
being sorely tried
was led to
enter afresh into personal
covenant
with God; and such was the joy in God
which followed
that he said of it
After forming this covenant I felt great
calmness and peace. I had the feelings of a poor man who has just come under
the protection of the Royal Family
and has obtained a pension for life
the
dreadful tear of poverty and want having left his house for ever. I felt the
safety and shelter which the little chickens feel under the wings of the hen.”
(The Thinker.)
A national covenant
On February 25
1688
a
memorable scene was witnessed in
the churchyard of Greyfriars
Edinburgh. The National Covenant to
maintain Presbyterianism
and to resist contrary errors
having been numerously
signed within the church
the parchment was subsequently placed upon the flat
tombstone
still extant
of Boswell of Auchinleck
where many others
to show
their determination to die rather than yield
signed it with blood from their
arms. History testifies that numbers of them endured much suffering rather than
violate their pledge. If frail men will so keep their promise
much more must
the Omnipotent (God honour His covenant. (The Thinker.)
Verses 28-30
And all they that had
separated themselves from the people of the lands unto the law of God.
A genuine revival
1. The crucial test of any revival is the extent to which it actually
purifies and reforms the lives of those who come under its influence.
2. This is the kind of revival which ever and again we all need. For
we are constantly liable to fall below the level of our Christian privileges.
We are also apt to grow blind to out” own defects
and to under-estimate the
extent of our own shortcomings. We have need to bring our lives into the light
of God’s holy law
and into the light of the life of Christ
that our
consciences may be awakened to a truer and deeper penitence.
3. A repentance which is the fruit of A true revival of the religious
life naturally goes into the details of conduct. (T. Campbell Finlayson.)
And that we would not give our daughters unto the people of the
land.
Marriage and purity
Wherever I find a purely
savage life
which means life eaten up by impure sin
there I also find no
capacity in the life to advance and grow. You have an instance in the case of
Africa
the life of which has not moved for a couple of thousand years
simply
because it is soaked with impurity. Turning to the earliest efforts of
civilisation
as recorded in the Bible
I find men making effort after effort
getting a little way
and then each effort vanishing in a sink of impure sin.
Life ought to grow if natural
but if impurity is natural
it is natural to
stagnate
never to grow
to fall to pieces
and for civilisations to be swept
out by weakness and impotence. The history of our European civilisation is the
history of the gradual rise in the idea of marriage and purity. (Canon
Scott-Holland.)
Verse 31
And if the people of the
land bring ware or any victuals on the sabbath day to all
The profit of
Sabbath-keeping
John Brand was an old
Cornish fisherman.
The fishing had not been good for some days
the water had been wild and
stormy; but at length
on the Sunday
the weather became fine
and the other
fishermen said
“We would keep Sunday--but--we have had so few fish lately; and
we are sorry to go out to-day--but--the weather is so good. It is a pity; we
would not go if we were not so poor.” “What!” said honest John
“are you going
to break God’s laws with your ifs and buts? Better be poor than be wicked. My
religion is not the kind that shifts with the wind. ‘Thou shalt remember the
Sabbath day to keep it holy’--that is enough for me.” So he persuaded them
and
they took his advice
and spent the day in worshipping God. And it was well
they did so; for that night
just when the boats would have been coming back
a
terrible storm suddenly burst over the deep
and lasted two days. Any boat out
in that weather would certainly have been wrecked. But two days after the
beautiful weather returned
and more fish were taken then than had been caught
for weeks before. No; no one ever yet lost by obeying God. Be you like John
Brand; be thorough
honest
and God-fearing in and out; do not have a religion
like a weathercock that shifts with the wind
or one that can be broken with An
“if” or a “but.” (J. Reid Howatt.)
The Sabbath beneficial
In a prize essay on the
Sabbath written by a journeyman printer in Scotland
there appears the
following striking passage:
“Yoke-fellows
think how the abstraction of the Sabbath would hopelessly
enslave the working-classes with whom we are identified. Think of the labour
thus going on in one monotonous
and continuous
and eternal cycle--limbs for
ever on the rack
the fingers for ever plying
the eyeballs for ever straining
the brow for ever sweating
the feet for ever plodding
the brain for ever
throbbing
the shoulders for ever drooping
the loins for ever aching
and the
restless mind for ever scheming! Think of the beauty it would efface
of the
merry-heartedness it would extinguish
of the giant strength it would tame
of
the resources of nature it would exhaust
of the aspirations it would crush
of
the sickness it would breed
of the projects it would wreck
of the groans it
would extort
of the lives it would immolate
of the cheerless graves it would
prematurely dig! See them toiling and moiling
sweating and fretting
grinding
and hewing
weaving and spinning
sowing and gathering
mowing and reaping
raising mad building
digging mad planting
unloading and storing
striving and
struggling--in the garden and in the field
in the granary and in the barn
in
the factory and in the mill
in the warehouse and in the shop
on the mountain
and in the ditch
on the roadside and in the wood
in the city and in the
country
on the sea and on the shore
on the earth in days of brightness and of
gloom. What a sad picture would the world present if we had no Sabbath!”
Verses 32-39
Also we made ordinances
for us
to charge ourselves yearly with the third part of a shekel.
Voluntary taxation
Not to enter upon the
thorny path of endowed or voluntary religion
nor to inquire whether tithes are
coeval with the first man
and binding upon the present age
let us maintain--
I. That the church
supposes an edifice. God may be worshipped in any house. Experience has taught
the convenience and value of a house of God. The edifice must be built and
maintained.
II. That a church
requires a minister. “No
man can rightly labour in the Word and doctrine
without diligent and habitual Biblical study; no man can conduct such study
without the renunciation of secular pursuits; no man can abandon such pursuits
without an adequate and guaranteed salary from the Church in which he teaches
for which he labours.” The ministry must be sustained.
III. That a church
is a brotherhood. “The rich and poor meet together.” “The poor ye have always
with you.” In a Church sense
“if any provide not for his own house
he hath
denied the faith.”
IV. That a church
is a missionary organisation. It has duties both at home and abroad. The Word
of God must be translated
the masses evangelised
society leavened. A true
Church must of necessity be a generous Church. It gets to give (Homiletical
Commentary.)
Verse 35
And to bring the
first-fruits of our ground.
A fruit-service
We notice in this text--
I. Willinghood.
“And to bring.” It was no tax. Love is its own tax-levier
and it ever gathers
the richest
the ripest
and the best fruit. When a Church or a community is
filled with love you need have no fear for revenue.
II. Precedence
“First-fruits.” In all things Christ must have the “pre-eminence.” He must be
Alpha.
III. Universal
lordship. First-fruits of “all trees.” He is Lord of all. So it is with the
fruit of our souls. Jesus claims tribute from all provinces of our nature. He
is not satisfied with actions. He claims the captivity of our thoughts. He
wants not only the first-fruits of our emotions
of penitence
but also of our
gratitude
our adoration
our trust
and our love. Let us see that His flag is
waving over every province of our nature
and that we give to Him the
first-fruits of conscience and meditation
of imagination and memory
of ardent
love and submissive will.
IV. Annual offering. “Year by year.” We
should lose the consciousness of advancing time if it were not for our
birthdays. We should miss much of occasions for gratitude if it were not for
Iced-time and harvest
summer and winter. The living earth reminds us of the
living God
who supplies all we need. (W. M. Statham.)
Verse 37
And the tithes.
Tithes
Without inquiring into the
reason for which the number ten has been so frequently preferred as a number of
selection in the ones of tribute offerings
both sacred and secular
voluntary
and compulsory
we may remark that numerous instances of its use are found both
in profane and also in Biblical history
prior to
or independently of
the
appointment of the Levitical tithes under the law. In Biblical history the two
prominent instances are--
1. Abram presenting the tenth of his property
according to the
Syrian and Arabic versions of Hebrews 7:1-28.
but as the passages themselves appear to show
of the spoils of
his victory
to Melchisedek (Genesis 14:20; Hebrews 7:2-6).
2. Jacob
after his vision at Luz
devoting a tenth of all his
property to God in case he should return home in safety (Genesis 28:22). These instances bear witness to the antiquity of tithes
in
some shape or other
previous to the Mosaic tithe system. But numerous
instances are to he found of the practice of heathen nations
Greeks
Ronians
Carthaginians
Arabians
of applying tenths derived from property in general
from spoil
from confiscated goods
or from commercial profits
to sacred
and
quasi-sacred
and also to fiscal purposes
viz.
as consecrated to a deity
presented as a reward to a successful general
set apart as a tribute to a
sovereign
or as a permanent source of revenue. (Smith’s Bible Dictionary.)
Giving as a means of
character culture
God carries on His cause
in the world by the aid of His people. He is constantly calling on us to give
now to
this cause and now to that. Why so? Surely He to whom the silver and gold
belong has no need of us to help forward His work. He could
if He would
do it
much more efficiently without us. But He is striving to educate us into
resemblance to Christ and meetness for heaven. If a father could place his
child where he would be habitually giving
giving
in the expression of a
benevolent sympathy and helpfulness
he would be putting him under the most
efficient of all means for the development in him of a truly Christian
or
Christlike
spirit. He would be conferring on him one of the richest possible
blessings. This is the blessing which our heavenly Father is trying to bestow
upon us
in surrounding us as He does with those who need our sympathy and
help. If we gratefully recognise our Father’s wise and loving design
and
so
far as we can
give our help with a truly Christian spirit
our contributions
will do more good to us who give than to those who receive them. Every such expression
of Christian love will leave an impress on our character which we shall carry
with us for ever. It will develop into augmented power and more absolute
supremacy within us that Christlike spirit without which we can never walk the
golden streets. We need
then
to cultivate the habit of giving as much as the
habit of praying.
Verse 39
And we will not forsake the house of our God.
Zeal for the sanctuary
Why should we say of “the habitation of God’s house
” “We will not
forsake it”?
1. God has clearly ordained public worship. He made man to be
social--social in virtue of his sorrows
joys
wants
affections
and
relationships. He also made man to be social in things spiritual. The isolation
of selfishness is sin. Union is cherished by communion
and communion
strengthened by public worship. Jesus honoured the temple. The faithful in
every age have desired to dwell in the house of the Lord.
2. The special manifestations of the Divine presence
vouch-salad in
the congregations of the saints
ought to endear to us such privileged scenes.
3. As the sanctuary has been the place of the Lord’s rest
so has it
been the scene where He has imparted the richest gifts to His worshippers.
4. The servant of God will love the courts of the Lord
and not
forsake them
because in them he tastes most of heaven below. You cannot form a
better conception of heaven than by fixing on the happiest Sabbath
and the
happiest hour of worship on the happiest Sabbath
you ever enjoyed in the
assembly of the saints. (Canon Stowell.)
Zeal for God’s house expressed in a holy resolution not to forsake
it
I. A resolution
well becoming Christians themselves. This resolution comprehends the following
particulars:
1. That we will never cast off the profession of our faith
nor make
a defection from the truth and ways of the gospel
for any cause
nor upon any
account whatsoever.
2. That we will not neglect the ordinances of Divine worship
nor be wanting
in our attendance on them whenever we are called
and have an opportunity of
appearing before God in His house.
3. That we will promote as far as in us lies the interests of
religion
and spread the kingdom of Christ in the world.
II. It is not only
lawful
but may be useful and expedient for Christians in societies to engage
themselves to God
and the duties they owe to him and one another.
III. Offer reasons
both for making this resolution and obliging ourselves to make it good.
1. Because it is God’s house.
2. Because our particular good is lodged in the public interest.
3. This is the noblest way of imitating the great God Himself
and
conforming to the example of our blessed Saviour.
4. This makes men real blessings to the world. Such men really are the
strength and security of a nation. For their sakes God sometimes preserves
others from those judgments which their crying sins would otherwise pull down
upon their guilty heads. Sodom had been preserved for the sake of ten righteous
men
could so many have been found in the place.
5. This will be our rejoicing and comfort another day. Application: Having made this
resolution
we must oblige ourselves to make it good. Because of the
inconstancy and deceitfulness of our hearts. Such engagements will help to fix
us more firmly in the interests of religion
and make us more successful in
resisting all temptations to apostasy. Hereby we are rendered more capable of
serving the interests of religion. A force when united becomes the stronger.
The joint concurrence of many gives a great advantage to a design
and a better
prospect of success. (Matthew Clarke.)
Attachment to God’s house
Consider--
I. The resolution
itself: “We will
not forsake
” etc. This resolution includes--
1. Constant and regular attendance.
2. A lively interest in its welfare and prosperity.
II. The grounds of
this resolution.
1. Our gracious union with God. All connected with God should be dear
and sacred to us--His Word
ordinances
people; therefore His house.
2. Our clear and imperative duty. Public worship is of His own
appointment.
3. Our public profession.
4. The special advantages we shall derive from it. Exaltation of
desires; soul elevation; enlargement of mind; soul enrichment with all
spiritual blessings in Christ. “A day in Thy courts is better than a thousand
”
etc. “They that wait upon the Lord
” etc.
5. The connection of the house of God with the celestial world. It is
“the gate of heaven.”
Application:
1. Where professors are indifferent to the welfare of God’s house
it
is an unfailing indication that the heart is not right with God.
2. Let the subject inspire the sincere friends of Christ to more
ardent zeal for the diffusion of the Divine glory.
3. How suited is God’s house to every description. The reckless here
are warned
the supine aroused
the inquirer directed
the mourner comforted
the faithful established
etc. (J. Burns
D. D.)
──《The Biblical Illustrator》