Read Genesis 21, Nehemiah 10, and Psalms 6-9.
This devotional is about Nehemiah 10.
The events recorded in the book of Nehemiah took place after the people of Judah had been exiled in Babylon for 70 years. Just as God had promised, the Jews were released from their captivity by the Persians, who had defeated the Babylonians.
Nehemiah led his fellow Jewish brothers to rebuild the wall around Jerusalem. This act of rebuilding was recorded in Nehemiah chapter 1 through chapter 7 verse 3. When the wall was finished, Nehemiah began to register the names of men and families who had returned to Judah. Those names were recorded in chapter 7 verse 4 through the end of the chapter.
In Nehemiah 8, these Jewish people, newly returned to Judah, began learning God’s law again through the reading of scripture and the teaching of Ezra. This sparked a movement of spiritual renewal among God’s people. So, in Nehemiah 9, the people confessed their sins to God and, in the last verse of Nehemiah 9, they made a covenant with God and signed their names to it.
So, here in Nehemiah 10, verse 1 says, “Those who sealed it were…,” and then a list of names followed. The people named at the beginning of our reading today in Nehemiah 10 were the people who signed the written covenant with God that was described at the end of Nehemiah 9.
We make promises to God, too. You may have promised the Lord to read through the Bible this year. Or, maybe you have promised the Lord at some point in your life to stop sinning in a specific way. But, did you write out that promise like a contract, sign it, and then have a notary public certify it? That’s essentially what God’s people did. They made a promise to God in writing.
And what was the promise they made to God in writing? Verse 29b says it was “an oath to follow the Law of God… and obey carefully” all that God’s word commanded them to do.
Then the rest of Nehemiah 10 spells out some of the specific promises they were making. They promised God–in writing, in a signed declaration that they would:
- Not intermarry with non-Jews (v. 30).
- Observe the Sabbath laws (v. 31).
- Give to God’s temple and provide everything needed for worship (vv. 32-39).
Did you catch that? Out of the nine verses that spelled out their promise to God, seven of them were about giving to God’s temple. The chapter closes with this statement, “We will not neglect the house of our God” (v. 39g).
Why did these people, in the middle of their spiritual revival, make such specific financial promises to God? Because it is easy for people to stop giving to God’s work. When money gets tight or when people want to buy something specific, the easiest way to free up cash is to stop giving to God’s work.
But, when God’s people stop giving to his work, his work becomes “neglected,” to borrow a term from verse 39. To apply the principle to us today, when people stop giving, the church does not have what we need to do ministry.
It is true that there is no command to tithe in the New Testament. But, the New Testament tells us repeatedly that God’s work in the church was and is funded by the giving of God’s people. There is no law requiring you to tithe, but there are commands to be generous and to pay God’s servants in the church for their work.
When God revives our hearts, we want to give to his work. That’s what this passage demonstrates and others in the Bible say the same thing. How is your walk with God? I hope it is thriving. What about your giving? Is it thriving?
If you don’t have a practice of giving regularly to God’s church, start now. Ten percent–that’s what a “tithe” is–is a great standard to live by.
But, maybe you’ve been tithing. Has it occurred to you, if God is blessing you financially, to give more than a tithe?
The ministries of our church and the work of world missions is funded by giving. We don’t do fundraisers or sell merch. So, if God’s people stop giving, God’s work suffers a lack of funds. Take some time now to consider your giving habits. How well does your financial generosity reflect your faith in God and your love for him and his work?