Nehemiah 10

Those who sealed it were: Nehemiah the governor, the son of Hakaliah. Zedekiah, Seraiah, Azariah, Jeremiah, Nehemiah 10:1-2

This plainly appears to be a covenant renewal ceremony (cf. Jos. 8:30-35 and 24:1ff.) in which the people were signed and sealed as participants. The list begins with Nehemiah the governor and is followed immediately by twenty-two priests. We might wonder why the chief priest was not signed on and why Ezra was not listed. Coffman says: “For all who wonder where the name of Ezra may be in this list, Cook’s opinion offers the solution that, ‘The seal of the high-priestly house of Seraiah was probably appended, either by Ezra personally or by Eliashib, both of whom were members of that house.’” [1] Of course, Eliashib may have been a little reluctant to sign on, like he probably was concerning the wall building, but he may have joined in this case too because of its popularity with the people. [2] Later we learn about some real problems with Eliashib (13:4, 7, & 28).

Guzik comments: “Those who placed their seal on the document: At the end of Nehemiah chapter 9, the people had come to a place of decision, and now, collectively, the nation was going to do something about it by entering into a covenant.” [3]

“ Pashhur, Amariah, Malkijah, Hattush, Shebaniah, Malluk, Harim, Meremoth, Obadiah, Daniel, Ginnethon, Baruch, Meshullam, Abijah, Mijamin, Maaziah, Bilgai and Shemaiah. These were the priests” (10:3-8). Anders remarks: “It seems reasonable that the names are ancestral family names and do not refer to individuals. This was a common method of identification in Jewish society.” [4]

The Levites

The Levites: Jeshua son of Azaniah, Binnui of the sons of Henadad, Kadmiel, and their associates: Shebaniah, Hodiah, Kelita, Pelaiah, Hanan, Mika, Rehob, Hashabiah, Zakkur, Sherebiah, Shebaniah, Hodiah, Bani and Beninu. Nehemiah 10:9-13

Breneman remarks: “Of the seventeen Levitical names, some are family groups, and some are individual names.” [5] We remember that in the original list of returnees to the land there were quite a number of priests but very few Levites (7:43).

The Leaders Of The People

The leaders of the people: Parosh, Pahath-Moab, Elam, Zattu, Bani, Bunni, Azgad, Bebai, Adonijah, Bigvai, Adin, Ater, Hezekiah, Azzur, Hodiah, Hashum, Bezai, Hariph, Anathoth, Nebai, Magpiash, Meshullam, Hezir, Meshezabel, Zadok, Jaddua, Pelatiah, Hanan, Anaiah, Hoshea, Hananiah, Hasshub, Hallohesh, Pilha, Shobek, Rehum, Hashabnah, Maaseiah, Ahiah, Hanan, Anan, Malluk, Harim and Baanah. Nehemiah 10:14-27.

Once again, it seems that the leaders’ names are not personal but rather family names. Coffman says: “The actual signing of the covenant was apparently made by various groups, heads of houses, and officials, including some individuals, who affixed their seal instead of writing a signature.” [6] Pfeiffer & Harrison say, “Of the thirty-three families that returned from Babylon (Ezr. 2), only thirteen are found in this list.” [7] The likelihood is that many other families were dispersed in the outlying areas of the Judean territory and could not handily sign.

The Bulk Of The People

The rest of the people – priests, Levites, gatekeepers, musicians, temple servants and all who separated themselves from the neighboring peoples for the sake of the Law of God, together with their wives and all their sons and daughters who are able to understand –all these now join their fellow Israelites the nobles, and bind themselves with a curse and an oath to follow the Law of God given through Moses the servant of God and to obey carefully all the commands, regulations and decrees of the LORD our Lord. Nehemiah 10:28-29

We see here that a varied group of people also joined with the leaders in the covenant renewal. These also bound themselves to follow the Law of God. This meant separating themselves from the Gentiles. This particularly involved the matter of intermarrying with Gentiles, which had been a serious problem all along. It was not a racial matter but a religious one. We can imagine some of the problems involved with this. A Gentile wife would normally not know how to keep a kosher kitchen, that is in observing all the various food laws. She would also tend to gravitate toward her pagan family and be drawn to pagan ceremonies and worship. Of course, a Gentile father in that day would surely remove the family from the covenant and lead them all into paganism.

Pett comments: “Throughout the books of Ezra and Nehemiah certain particular contemporary issues stand out. These include the taking of idolatrous foreign wives (Nehemiah 13:23-27; Ezra 9-10), the failure to strictly observe the Sabbath (Nehemiah 13:15-22), and the exaction of debt from the poor (Nehemiah 5:1-13).” [8] The big problem in keeping the Sabbath was that of trading with Gentiles on that day. This was being done at times but it was against the law of God (Jer. 17:21, 22).

McConville comments: “Adherence to the law was never meant to be what it later became in some quarters, a pedantic and nitpicking attention to detail that knew and cared little about real rights and wrongs (cf. Matt. 23:23).” [9] In truth, calling a curse upon themselves sounds serious and perhaps even rash. It is interesting that our English Old Testament ends with this word “curse.”

The people were intent on making a new beginning in their faith. Alexander Whyte once said, “The victorious Christian life is a series of new beginnings.” [10] Probably some were reluctant to sign and that is usually the case. McGee remarks: “I don’t know why people can sign up for everything else in life, but they are afraid to sign up with God.” [11]

It was important to sign or seal this national covenant. However, it was more important to live up to the agreement stated in it. Wiersbe tells this story that he thinks might be apocryphal: “In a certain church, there was a man who always ended his prayers with, ‘And, Lord, clean the cobwebs out of my life! Clean the cobwebs out of my life!’ One of the members of the church became weary of hearing this same insincere request week after week because he saw no change in the petitioner’s life. So, the next time he heard the man pray, ‘Lord, clean the cobwebs out of my life!’ he interrupted with, ‘And while you’re at it, Lord, kill the spider!’” [12]

Promises To God

We promise not to give our daughters in marriage to the peoples around us or take their daughters for our sons. When the neighboring peoples bring merchandise or grain to sell on the Sabbath, we will not buy from them on the Sabbath or on any holy day. Every seventh year we will forgo working the land and will cancel all debts. We assume the responsibility for carrying out the commands to give a third of a shekel each year for the service of the house of our God: for the bread set out on the table; for the regular grain offerings and burnt offerings; for the offerings on the Sabbaths, at the New Moon feasts and at the appointed festivals; for the holy offerings; for sin offerings to make atonement for Israel; and for all the duties of the house of our God. Nehemiah 10:30-33

Intermarriage with pagans was a perennial problem for Israel. Kidner says: “But social climb was tempting in these trying days, and marriage offered an attractive ladder…” [13] As we have said earlier, to give daughters in marriage to pagan men was almost certainly to lose them and their children to paganism. In ancient cultures, the man exercised a great amount of control over the family. To take a pagan woman for their son was to invite pagan influences on the son and his family. Malachi says: “…Judah has desecrated the sanctuary the LORD loves by marrying women who worship a foreign god” (Mal. 2:11). We surely remember how the many pagan wives of King Solomon stole his heart away from the Lord. Of course, there were some pagan women like Rahab and Ruth who fully converted to Judaism and who chose to follow the Lord and keep his commandments. Guzik says, “The whole idea of marriage is closely connected to the idea of covenant – Malachi 2:14.” [14]

The fact that pagan people often brought their wares to sell on the Sabbath was another problem. We can imagine the lure of fresh fish offered at Jerusalem’s gate to a landlocked populace. But God’s law says: “If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath and from doing as you please on my holy day, if you call the Sabbath a delight and the LORD’s holy day honorable, and if you honor it by not going your own way and not doing as you please or speaking idle words, then you will find your joy in the LORD…” (Isa. 58:13-14).

Every seventh year or Shmita was to be a sabbath year (Exo. 23:10-11). The land was to lay uncultivated and all debts were to be forgiven. However, in ancient times and in modern times the Jewish people have found ways to get around the requirements of this law. Today the Jewish farmer may temporarily sell his land to a non-Jew in order to avoid the requirements of Shmita. This practice is known as Heter Mechira. It allows the working of the land during the sabbath year and at the close of the year the “sale” is voided and the property is returned to the Jewish farmer. We can be sure that the Jews in Nehemiah’s day used tactics like this and also found ways to avoid canceling their debts (cf. Deut. 15:1-2). We should note that this forgiveness of debt never applied to foreigners.

Thankfully, as Christians, we do not have to struggle over keeping these various laws. Jesus has kept the law for us and made it possible for us to live with the law. Through Christ, we now even live above the law. The law is now written on our hearts. Martin Luther once said, “Grace makes the law lovable to us…and the law is no longer against us but one with us.” [15]

In Israel there was an obligation, much like a tax, that was charged. We see a mention of this in Exodus 30:11-14. By New Testament times we have a reference to this half-shekel offering in Matthew 17:24-27. We note in the verse above that the half-shekel had been reduced in this period to a third of a shekel. Commentators feel that the poverty in this particular era had caused the half-shekel to be lowered to a third of a shekel. This was an offering that was used for the operation and maintenance of the temple.

The various offerings of the Old Testament may leave us in some quandary regarding our giving today. Guzik says: “The New Testament speaks with great clarity on the principle of giving; that giving should be regular, planned, proportional, and private (1 Corinthians 16:1-4); that it must be generous, freely given, and cheerful (2 Corinthians 9).” [16]

Keeping The Altar Fires Burning

We – the priests, the Levites and the people – have cast lots to determine when each of our families is to bring to the house of our God at set times each year a contribution of wood to burn on the altar of the LORD our God, as it is written in the Law. We also assume responsibility for bringing to the house of the LORD each year the firstfruits of our crops and of every fruit tree. As it is also written in the Law, we will bring the firstborn of our sons and of our cattle, of our herds and of our flocks to the house of our God, to the priests ministering there. Nehemiah 10:34-36

In Leviticus 6:13 we read: “The fire must be kept burning on the altar continuously; it must not go out.” As long as the altar fires were burning brightly, they attested to a warm-hearted religion. In earlier times wood for the fires was easier to find since ancient Israel had many forests. As time went on, many nearby trees were cut in order to make siege machinery, and firewood became scarce. Also, in earlier times the Nethinim, or temple servants, were the carriers of wood, but not so many of them had returned to the land. [17] Apparently, the offerings of wood and other items had not been sufficient (Neh. 13:10; Mal. 3:8-12). [18] We read that the people cast lots to determine the schedule for each family’s wood offering. The casting of lots had common usage in the Old Testament but is seldom used in the New Testament.

The people were also responsible for bringing their firstfruits offering to the temple. In Proverbs 3:9-10 it is written: “Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.” Bringing the first ripe fruits as an offering to the Lord was a way of showing God’s ownership of the entire harvest. [19]

They were also to bring as an offering to God their firstborn sons and the firstborn of their animals (Exo. 13:1-13; 34:19-20). Obviously, their sons were not sacrificed like their animals, but they were rather redeemed with animal offerings.

The Offerings, The Priests And The Levites

Moreover, we will bring to the storerooms of the house of our God, to the priests, the first of our ground meal, of our grain offerings, of the fruit of all our trees and of our new wine and olive oil. And we will bring a tithe of our crops to the Levites, for it is the Levites who collect the tithes in all the towns where we work. A priest descended from Aaron is to accompany the Levites when they receive the tithes, and the Levites are to bring a tenth of the tithes up to the house of our God, to the storerooms of the treasury. The people of Israel, including the Levites, are to bring their contributions of grain, new wine and olive oil to the storerooms, where the articles for the sanctuary and for the ministering priests, the gatekeepers and the musicians are also kept. We will not neglect the house of our God. Nehemiah 10:37-39

There were several occasions in Israel’s history when the proper tithes and offerings were not brought to the temple as prescribed. At such times the temple of God languished and the temple officials had to go to work on the farms. At this particular time, it seems that the offerings were not coming in as commanded. Pett says: “‘Firstfruits’ is not the same word as that previously used for firstfruits and means ‘prime’. It could therefore refer to the ‘first’ or it could signify the ‘best, choicest.’” [20]

The tithe was brought to the Levites and they had the responsibility of also giving a tenth of what they received to the priests (Num 18:25-32). The scripture here says that a priest was to accompany and oversee this transaction. So, even God’s ministers have the responsibility of tithing in the Old Testament.

Despite what we often hear in the churches, the New Testament does not require the Christian to give a tithe. We have only the clear instruction of 1 Corinthians 16:1-3, where we are instructed to set aside a proportional amount for our offering to the Lord. However, when we consider that Israel’s giving started with ten percent it gets our attention. When we add up all the other various offerings of Israel their total giving would almost have to be at least fifty percent of their income. The whole idea in the Bible is to keep our money moving around to help others. We cannot dare hoard our wealth for ourselves. We do remember that Abraham gave a tithe to Melchizedek centuries before the Law of God was given (Gen. 14:18-20).

Guzik comments: “Covenants were not made in the ancient world, they were cut – because almost always an animal was sacrificed as part of the covenant. A covenant always costs something, and our point of decision will cost us something – the self-life, comfort, ease and some of the passing pleasures of this world. Count the cost to see if it’s worth it!” [21]

Footnotes

1. Quoted in Coffman, Commentary on Nehemiah, Coffman Commentaries on the Bible, v. 10:1.

2. Ibid.

3. Guzik, Enduring Word Bible Commentary, Ezra, vs. 10:1-8.

4. Anders, g. ed. Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Holman Old Testament Commentary, p. 243.

5. Breneman, Ezra, Nehemiah & Esther, The New American Commentary, p. 245.

6. Coffman, Commentary on Nehemiah, Coffman Commentaries on the Bible, v. 10:1.

7. Pfieffer & Harrison, eds., The Wycliffe Bible Commentary, p. 442.

8. Pett, Commentary on Nehemiah, Peter Pett’s Commentary on the Bible, vs. 10:29-39.

9. McConville, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther, p. 131.

10. Quoted in Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, OT, p. 782.

11. McGee, History of Israel, Ezra Nehemiah, Esther, p. 153.

12. Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, OT, p. 782.

13. Kidner, Ezra & Nehemiah, p. 115.

14. Guzik, Enduring Word Bible Commentary, Ezra, v. 10:30.

15. Martin Luther, Preface To The Letter Of St. Paul To The Romans, Introduction.

16. Guzik, Enduring Word Bible Commentary, Ezra, vs. 10:32-39.

17. Jamieson, et. al., Commentary on Nehemiah, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, v. 10:34.

18. Breneman, Ezra, Nehemiah & Esther, The New American Commentary, p. 249.

19. Utley, Bible Lessons International, Nehemiah, v. 10:35.

20. Pett, Commentary on Nehemiah, Peter Pett’s Commentary on the Bible, v. 10:37.

21. Guzik, Enduring Word Bible Commentary, Ezra, v. 10:38.