With the completion of the city walls, the covenant God made with the Israelites in the time of Moses was to be re-established. This signing of the covenant is reminiscent of the contents of Deuteronomy 28, where the same principles were affirmed. Blessings and curses from God depended on their obedience or disobedience. The beauty of Nehemiah chapter 10 lies in the people's agreement to accept and truly implement the covenant, not just paying lip service, but diligently keeping God's way. They were willing to separate themselves from everything and obey God, signing the covenant before God, committing to serve the Lord forever without change. If you have chosen to follow God, then be determined to serve Him in this way. No matter what situation we encounter, we should uphold the covenant we have made with God.
Questions for Reflection:
- Why was it necessary to renew the former covenant in writing? What were the contents of the covenant?
- How did they begin to put their vows into practice? Why was it so important to restore the observance of the Sabbath and tithing?
- Have you had any experiences of making or renewing a covenant with God? Did you persevere in keeping it? Feel free to share.
Renewing the Covenant with God
The first thing about renewing the covenant is the people making the covenant. The covenant was already there, written by Moses in Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. That covenant was already very well written. By the time of Nehemiah, the Book of Isaiah and many other books were already in the Bible. But Nehemiah and these people wanted to renew the covenant with God. In fact, we today should also often make covenants with God. What is the problem with making covenants with God?
Be a Person of Understanding, with Discernment in Your Intellect
First, you must understand. Education began with Christianity, and Christianity places great emphasis on education. We must be filled with the knowledge of God's grace in our intellect, and we must change in our intellect. If you don't understand in your intellect, if you don't know you have a problem, you cannot change. If you think you can just pray in the spirit and something will immediately happen, then the result will be that nothing happens. If you don't have discernment in your intellect, you cannot change. We must first be filled with the knowledge of God's grace in our intellect, and be a person of understanding. But there are many who do not understand.
In my ministry, I have observed some particularly strange phenomena: When you are good to them, they don't know it; when you are bad to them, they don't know it either. The worst situation is when they treat those who are good to them as enemies and those who harm them as friends. Such people are those who do not understand. Not understanding is very dangerous. Therefore, brothers and sisters, when ministering, be most careful when ministering to those who do not understand. Those who do not understand often treat good people as bad people and bad people as good people, treating those who love them as those who harm them and those who harm them as those who love them. So be especially careful of sweet talk; liars speak the sweetest words.
Understand Blessings and Curses
Second, making a covenant involves swearing an oath. How was the covenant made? How was Moses' covenant made? If I diligently keep God's way, these blessings will be mine; if I do not diligently keep God's way, these curses will come upon me. So blessings and curses are two critical keys we must know in life. If people do not understand blessings and curses, it is the same as not understanding good people and bad people. So we really need to have some discernment in our intellect, to know what is a curse and what is a blessing. We discard what is a curse, and we tightly grasp what is a blessing. I want to tell everyone a concept: Look for returns in everything. If you hold onto something without returns, then discard it. Everyone must understand these two things, blessings and curses. Today, when we swear an oath, don't think that swearing is bad; the act of swearing itself carries the meaning of a curse.
Keeping the Covenant with God through Perseverance and Faith
Third is swearing an oath. Why did these people making the covenant come here to make these oaths? Let's go back to the end of chapter 9: When Nehemiah was confessing, repenting, and praying, they were slaves there, and the possessions they had belonged to the kings. It was very miserable; they suffered great disasters. Why? Because they had forsaken God's covenant. Now they are renewing the covenant. I encourage you to renew your covenant with God. And then, even after renewing, some did not keep it. Some kept it, but a large portion did not keep it. So what kind of people keep it? Those who persevere to the end keep it. We go back to the time of Joshua. Joshua said, And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. (Joshua 24:15)
This immediately divides people into two types: If you serve God because God has given you something, you will not be able to serve. If you serve Him because He is God, and therefore serving Him is my life, then you will easily resolve the following passages. If you think you can have a good life by serving God, and if He is good to you, you will serve; if He is not good to you, you will not, then you will not be able to serve. Because there are often some difficulties placed before you. If you overcome them, you will be blessed; if you get stuck in that place, you will remain stuck there. If you do not have a faith that perseveres to the end, you cannot go on. So today we need to know for sure how our thoughts and intentions will be if we live for God. Because He is God, therefore I serve Him, just like Joshua, and nothing else is important. But if it is because He has given me something, and I give Him something in return, what is that? That is a transaction. How can you possibly keep it? A small test and you crumble, two small tests and you are almost done for, three small tests and you are shattered to pieces, unable to go on at all. That is simply a test of life. Can you withstand that test?
Contents of the Covenant
Do Not Intermarry with Foreigners, Live a Holy Life
Let's look at the contents of the covenant. These contents include all the statutes and ordinances of the Mosaic Law. This sentence should actually end here, but Nehemiah and his people did not put a period here. The first thing they talked about was the marriage of their children. Why is it that marrying foreigners is brought up? Because it is very, very important. Under no circumstances should you intermarry with foreigners. Intermarrying with foreigners will not lead to anything good. You will definitely enter into a curse, and you will definitely not be able to keep the covenant you have made with God.
Once you enter into marriage with foreigners, it's all over. So he specifically brings up this matter. Not only must you keep those six hundred or so laws, but you also cannot intermarry. Your daughters cannot marry them, nor can you take their daughters in marriage. But what is the problem? The problem is how far people's vision extends. If you are shortsighted, you will say, What does it matter? My son and her daughter are getting along well. Then just continue. Isn't it normal for children to fall in love? It's not like that. If you enter into such a situation, you will not be able to keep the covenant you have made with God, and the curse will come upon you and your descendants. Do you think he would not bring it up? That is to say, living a holy life is very important.
Keep the Sabbath
What is the second content of the covenant? Keeping the Sabbath. Once you cannot keep the Lord's Day, everything else will collapse. If you say, Pastor, believing in the Lord is believing. It's good to believe in your heart. On the Lord's Day, I'll clean the house. Then after a while, Oh, I'm moving. Then after a while, I bought a plane ticket, and it just happens to be on Sunday. You take that day as, Okay, if it's there, it's there; if it's not, it doesn't matter. What kind of Christian is that? A convenient noodle-style Christian. Today, we don't want to be convenient noodle-style Christians. Eating instant noodles for a long time can cause cancer. I met someone who had blood cancer, who ate instant noodles every day and eventually got blood cancer. A Singaporean broadcaster, who is still a broadcaster today, was healed by God. That was more than 20 years ago, in the years when I believed in the Lord. He got blood cancer because he was too busy with work and ate instant noodles every day. Later, after believing in the Lord, he began to know God's grace and never left God again.
Regarding not spending money on the Sabbath, don't turn the Sabbath into a legalistic rule, but don't go on a big shopping spree on the Sabbath. Don't misunderstand the essence of the Sabbath. The Sabbath is not about not spending a single cent, but about not indulging in this kind of thing. Actually, the result of spending money on the Sabbath is that, in this place, if you have this demand, there will be supply. If there is supply, people will earn that money, and they will think this is pretty good, and others will also do this business. If everyone keeps the Sabbath, and suddenly someone comes out to do business, he will make a lot of money. Then another one comes, and he still makes a lot of money. But if everyone goes to make money, can the Sabbath still be kept? It can't be kept. That's how it is. The first one will definitely make a lot of money, but such people will have trouble in the future. All the money you earn will belong to the kings. Didn't the previous chapter say that? This is about keeping the Sabbath. It's not about not spending money, but we should not create temptations on the Sabbath.
Observing the Sabbath Year
The third point is observing the Sabbath year. Every seven years, there is a Sabbath year. During the Sabbath year, there is no cultivation, and a very important point is that all debts are forgiven. If you are a wealthy person and just lent out ten thousand dollars last year, this year is the Sabbath year. Alas, isn't this going to cost you your life? Or if someone wants to borrow money from you when the Sabbath year is approaching, that's a struggle, isn't it? But they don't understand this principle: in this world, you won't become poor by giving, but you will become poor if you don't give.
This world has a characteristic, and you will find that you can never understand those with better welfare benefits. Some countries are now implementing social security, which is what? It is to provide the citizens of the country with a basic guarantee. You can be very, very poor, but you can live a normal life without resorting to rebellion. If there are many very, very poor people in a place, they will rise up in rebellion. The result of rebellion is that even if the country is very rich, it is useless, and there will be a lot of riots. So in a country, in a society, when there are more middle-class people, the country will be more stable, without those who are already in a state of desperation. If there are many people whose survival is threatened, these people will definitely rebel.
God understands this law very well, but as a person, he does not understand this law. If your vision only sees your individual self and you cannot see the whole society, it will be fatal. So if you lend out money and forgive people's debts, you will not be poor because you are obeying God's law. But if you hold on to these debts, isn't it hard work? If you don't forgive his debt, but he has no money to repay you, what can you do if you don't forgive? Can you get it back? You can't get it back even if you put him in jail. It's better to just forgive him. After forgiveness, he will be relaxed, he can return to a normal life, and society will be stable. This is God's will, but people's vision is too short, thinking that they will become poor after forgiveness.
In fact, you will not be poor. God will definitely give you, because you receive freely and give freely, so we must all learn to forgive people's debts. God forgives our debts, as we forgive the debts of others. In fact, we owe God the most, and we have never repaid. This is the third point, which is to enter into God's rest. Entering into God's rest will make society more stable and without turmoil, which is a good thing, isn't it? For individuals, we lose some wealth, but God will still give it to me.
During this year, we also do not cultivate or plant. What do we focus on? What do we do this year? We observe the Sabbath year. What do we do during the Sabbath year? During the Sabbath year, everyone is being educated, relearning God's laws, statutes, and ordinances. So I encourage everyone, if you are currently unemployed, then you are observing the Sabbath year, and you must read the Bible and recover well. Don't think that you will become poor after resting for a period of time. You won't, you won't be poor, don't worry. There is no problem with resting for a period of time. During this rest, you will regain strength. During economic downturns, smart companies conserve their strength and retrain their employees. When the opportunity comes, these companies will go up and take off. We humans are the same. Without rest, constantly busy, busy, busy, people will not be able to bear it, and in the end, they will collapse. So we must learn to observe the Sabbath and quietly enter God's rest.
Learn to Give Willingly and Joyfully
Offering the utensils in the temple, involving money, firewood for burning, and drawing lots, which group draws which lot will offer. Here I want to specifically talk about the matter of drawing lots. If you draw a lot and the result is that this person says, Alas, how unlucky, then the original meaning of drawing lots is completely lost. God originally wanted to bless this tribe, but the people of this tribe felt that this was an unlucky thing. If you think it is a good thing, it will be a good thing. If you think it is an unlucky thing, it will become an unlucky thing. God is testing people in this place, testing whether you think it is unlucky or a blessing.
So brothers and sisters, we really need to start learning to look at problems with spiritual eyes. The fifth point is to offer the first fruits, the sixth point is to offer the firstborn, and the seventh point is to offer a tenth. The firstborn is replaced by the Levites. The Levites replaced the firstborn. What do you do? You have to offer some redemption money to the temple of God, because someone is serving God in place of your firstborn. In fact, they made an exchange, but the Israelites didn't know and felt that it was a loss. Either you send your firstborn to the temple, or you let the Levites replace your son to do this service. Willing and joyful offerings are all grace.
Do Not Forsake the Temple of Our God
God is restoring the work of the temple, because living a God-centered life must have a temple. Today's temple is the church. We must live a church life. It is easy to start restoring, but it is not easy to maintain it. How long did the Israelites maintain it? Not long before they stopped. Why? Because they felt it was troublesome. When a country is destroyed, he does not think it is troublesome, and when he is captured, he does not think it is troublesome, because he has no way to find it troublesome, no choice. But if you become a free person, you can choose to worship God, or you can choose not to worship God. No one is forcing you. What do you choose?
Most of us are first-generation Christians. I think it will be a bit difficult for the second generation to maintain it. Because they have not experienced hard lives, we have experienced hard lives before believing in the Lord, but those who have not experienced hard lives do not know or understand it very well. Christians can probably last for one generation, two generations is already very good, three generations is a miracle, that is the grace of God, four generations, Pastor Zhou Shenzhu is a fourth-generation Christian, and even his son, the fifth generation, is serving God. This is God's great grace.
Whether we can maintain the operation of the restored temple depends on whether your heart is on money or on God. Jesus said that you cannot worship both Mammon and God, worship God and worship Mammon. If your heart is measured by money, you will probably become Judas, and eventually hang yourself, with your intestines spilling all over the ground. It's terrible. For the sake of money, your life will be ruined by money, but for the sake of God, your life will emit a glorious light.
I encourage everyone in the process of serving, are you willing to lay down your life, or do you have many, many concerns? If you are really willing to lay down your life to serve God, I believe you will definitely turn your family around, and you will definitely see the glory of God, and I can definitely tell you that your parents will experience God's wonderful grace because they have such a child. How good. How long can we last today? I challenge everyone to make a covenant with God again. At least in my lifetime, I will persevere, and persevere to the end. Hebrews 3:14 says, For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end. It is useless to persevere halfway. Revelation 2:26 also says, And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations.
We really need to persevere. Our church is a unique church. It is the church with the most gatherings, but we are also the church that receives the most and has the most grace. Why? Because the brothers and sisters of our church are willing to come here like now. Is this easy? Some people travel an hour's drive, an hour to go and an hour to come back. According to the suggestions of some brothers and sisters, remote is good. Can we all go remote? But what will happen in the future? Remote people are because the distance is too far and there is no way, but today remote people are also willing to take the time to pray with us, study the Bible, and constantly improve. But if you are in close proximity, or you are in remote like Sister YX, they can gather together and have fellowship together. It is the relationship between people. The church does not live in buildings, but lives in the relationship between you and me.
If we don't seem to have any relationship with each other, seeing you is like not seeing you, or seeing you and not knowing you, God will definitely leave us. But if God is in this place, even if we pay the price and persevere to the end, God will give us the authority to subdue the nations. Chapter 9 talks about being subdued by the nations, and Chapter 10 talks about if you persevere to the end, you can subdue the nations. Which one do you choose? Of course, choose to gain the authority to persevere to the end and be able to subdue the nations, rather than be subdued by the nations and have all your possessions go to the nations. What God has prepared for us is really very good. In this chapter, you will see that living a God-centered life is once again concretized to the temple's operation, very concrete. If the temple's operation cannot be maintained, and each person is busy with his own affairs, the great disasters mentioned in Chapter 9 will definitely come upon us, but if we persevere to the end and continue to walk this way, the authority to subdue the nations that God has prepared will definitely be in our hands. Amen!