Nehemiah 10: The Covenant Renewed

Nehemiah 10 recounts that moment in Israel's history after the exile when the Jews officially re-commit themselves to the covenant between the people and God.  Signing and sealing a document, they "join with their kin, their nobles, and enter into a curse and 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 ordinances and his statutes" (vs. 29).

Specifically, the people vow to:

• Not permit the intermarriage of their children with the peoples of the land (vs. 30).
• Not buy on the Sabbath or a holy day (vs. 31).
• Let the land lie fallow on the seventh year (vs. 31).
• Forego the exaction of every debt (vs. 31).
• Provide regular support for the house of the Lord (vs. 32-39).

The concern for the Temple runs deep.  These verses go into detail about the various ways in which the people promise to provide for the needs of the house of the Lord.  We see at this stage of Judaism how the Temple, with its organized sacrifices and rituals of worship, is becoming more and more the glue that holds the whole religion together.  Ultimately, the chapter concludes, "We will not neglect the house of our God" (vs. 39).