When one has received a spanking, one recommits to living well because you know the consequences. This is exactly what happened with Israel. After 70 years in exile in Babylon, and then another almost century later, it was time to bring back the Law of God.
They began with putting the names of the leaders at the beginning of the vow for it to be known to all. Nehemiah started with his name, and then the priests, the Levites and the other leaders. They then committed themselves to obeying the Law of God, separating themselves from the behavior of the other people. They then vowed the following:
- Not to give their daughters in marriage to foreign people. This was a direct command from God because he knew if they intermarried, they would drive to serving the foreign gods.
- They would honor the Sabbath and stop buying and selling among themselves and with the foreigners.
- They would honor the house of God through giving of silver, giving of wood at intervals, giving of the firstfruits of everything and giving the tithe.
It’s a very interesting list to think about.
- What is the first thing to slip with church? Tithing. Investing in ministry and missions. In fact Christians nationally average 2% giving.
- What’s the next thing? Going to church/honoring the Sabbath.
- And holy relationships? Those are a thing of the past
When Israel came to repentance, they made a vow to change those things and begin to walk rightly with God. We can only hope that God will pour put his spirit on this country, and that we will do the same.
