Practical Commitments
January 14, 2017

Scripture: Nehemiah 10

C.S. Lewis: “Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important.”

I. You are committed to holiness.

A. One of the first specific commitments they make is found in vs. 30: “We will not give our daughters to the peoples of the land or take their daughters for our sons.” What is the issue here? The issue here is not racism. It’s holiness. Galatians 3:28: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

B. Israel could not afford to compromise with the religions of the people that surrounded her. The word holy means set apart. Israel was supposed to be set apart for the worship of God and God alone. But in these other religions the people worshiped idols. Marriage to an idol worshiper would take people away from God. Today Christians should commit to marriage to another Christian. 1 Corinthians 7:39: “A wife is bound to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to be married to whom she wishes, only in the Lord.”

II. You are committed to trusting God.

A. In vs. 31 we see the Jewish people’s commitment to keeping the Sabbath. The Sabbath was a sign to the nations around Israel that they were God’s holy people. No other nation did no work for one day in seven. But Israel kept the Sabbath. They reflected God’s creational pattern of six days of work and one day of rest. Israel’s keeping of the Sabbath then was a witness to other nations about who God is as Creator and who they were as God’s people. And you going to church today is also a witness to your non-Christian friends and neighbors.

B. But Sabbath was not just about worship for the Jews. It was also about trust. We see that in vs. 31. If the people of the land, the people from other nations, try to sell grain or other things to us on the Sabbath like they do on the other six days of the week, we’re not going to do it. Why not? Because we trust that God will provide for us even if we do not work or do business for one day in seven. We don’t have to be producing all the time. We can stop. We can rest. We can enjoy time worshiping God and enjoy time with our families and friends for one day a week.

III. You are committed to giving to the worship of God.

A. There is a word that is repeated over and over again in vs. 32-39 that shows what the Jews were committed to doing. Verse 32 talks about the service of the house of our God. Verse 33 mentions “all the work of the house of our God.” Verse 34 says the Jews were committed to bringing the needed items for worship “into the house of our God.” Verse 35 talks about bring the firstfruits of the harvest “to the house of the Lord.” Verse 36 talks about bringing the price of redemption for the firstborn of the sons and the cattle “to the house of the Lord.” Verse 37 talks about bringing contributions “to the chambers of the house of our God.” A final summary commitment is made in vs. 39: “We will not neglect the house of our God.”

Application:
Make and keep commitments to Jesus because Jesus is your life.

Sources:
The book of Nehemiah
Commentaries on Nehemiah by James Hamilton Jr. and Derek Thomas