Constancy.
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· 2 viewsSermon 13 in Nehemiah, Refocus series 2023.
Notes
Transcript
At that time the book of Moses was read publicly to the people. The command was found written in it that no Ammonite or Moabite should ever enter the assembly of God,
INTRO—
INTRO—
CONSTANCY:
the quality of being faithful and dependable
the quality of being enduring and unchanging
CONSTANCY CONSTANTLY CHALLENGED—We, as a church and personally, will always face challenges to our constancy. Refocus (revitalization, renewal) is one of the efforts we will undertake to regain/maintain our faithfulness in living for Christ.
Nehemiah 13 shows this fact in the lives of God’s people in this time in Israel’s history (in the third leg of Israel’s return from The Exile…
Here we see this truth in the context of…
THE TEMPLE [Nehemiah 13.1-14]
THE TEMPLE [Nehemiah 13.1-14]
These actions are a falling away from Zerubbabel’s Reforms in Ezra 1-6. [even Tobiah—a relative of the priest Eliashib—has been able to move into a room in the Temple…to live! …Nehemiah had been away, etc.]
ALSO…a breaking of their renewed Covenant commitment:
Nehemiah 10.32-34 “We will impose the following commands on ourselves: To give an eighth of an ounce of silver yearly for the service of the house of our God: the bread displayed before the Lord, the daily grain offering, the regular burnt offering, the Sabbath and New Moon offerings, the appointed festivals, the holy things, the sin offerings to atone for Israel, and for all the work of the house of our God. We have cast lots among the priests, Levites, and people for the donation of wood by our ancestral families at the appointed times each year. They are to bring the wood to our God’s house to burn on the altar of the Lord our God, as it is written in the law.”
Nehemiah 10.35 “We will bring the firstfruits of our land and of every fruit tree to the Lord’s house year by year.”
Nehemiah 10.37-39 “We will bring a loaf from our first batch of dough to the priests at the storerooms of the house of our God. We will also bring the firstfruits of our grain offerings, of every fruit tree, and of the new wine and fresh oil. A tenth of our land’s produce belongs to the Levites, for the Levites are to collect the one-tenth offering in all our agricultural towns. A priest from Aaron’s descendants is to accompany the Levites when they collect the tenth, and the Levites are to take a tenth of this offering to the storerooms of the treasury in the house of our God. For the Israelites and the Levites are to bring the contributions of grain, new wine, and fresh oil to the storerooms where the articles of the sanctuary are kept and where the priests who minister are, along with the gatekeepers and singers. We will not neglect the house of our God.”
Restore (again) the primacy of the Temple…of worship being central to the life of God’s people.
This aspect is of primary significance. That God be honored as God among his people.
THE SABBATH [Nehemiah 13.15-22]
THE SABBATH [Nehemiah 13.15-22]
These actions are a falling away from Ezra’s Reforms in Ezra 7-10. [even to the point of passing through/by the wall which had just been rebuilt (the testimony of God’s blessing amid his people’s re-commitment)].
ALSO…a breaking of their renewed Covenant commitment:
Nehemiah 10.31 “When the surrounding peoples bring merchandise or any kind of grain to sell on the Sabbath day, we will not buy from them on the Sabbath or a holy day. We will also leave the land uncultivated in the seventh year and will cancel every debt.”
THE PEOPLE (Holiness) [Nehemiah 13.23-29]
THE PEOPLE (Holiness) [Nehemiah 13.23-29]
These actions are a falling away from Nehemiah’s Reforms in Nehemiah 1-7, 10. […even Sanballot became an in-law (father-in-law to the grandson of the priest (Eliashib, again)).]
ALSO…a breaking of their renewed Covenant commitment:
Nehemiah 10.30 “We will not give our daughters in marriage to the surrounding peoples and will not take their daughters as wives for our sons.”
Nehemiah 10.36 “We will also bring the firstborn of our sons and our livestock, as prescribed by the law, and will bring the firstborn of our herds and flocks to the house of our God, to the priests who serve in our God’s house.”
CONCL—
CONCL—
The time frame of Ezra-Nehemiah is 114 years (538-425 BC).
Zerubbabel, Ezra, and Nehemiah wanted God’s people to see that their (our) lives are a life time war against sin and pursuit of holiness/righteousness. Folks did, even as imperfectly and inconsistently as you and I. This will surely be our heart cry…as parents, as influencers among friends, as ministers together in Jesus’ church—that we are heartbroken and heaven-bent to see God honored in all these areas of our lives.
LISTEN to Nehemiah’s heart throughout this concluding chapter:
Nehemiah 13.30-31 “So I purified them from everything foreign and assigned specific duties to each of the priests and Levites. I also arranged for the donation of wood at the appointed times and for the firstfruits. Remember me, my God, with favor.”
Nehemiah 13.14 “Remember me for this, my God, and don’t erase the deeds of faithful love I have done for the house of my God and for its services.”
Nehemiah 13.22 “Then I instructed the Levites to purify themselves and guard the city gates in order to keep the Sabbath day holy. Remember me for this also, my God, and look on me with compassion according to the abundance of your faithful love.”
Hope. Hopefulness.
Where do we anchor that treasure?
I’ve been thinking about this quite a bit lately…
Revelation 21.1-2 “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. I also saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared like a bride adorned for her husband.”
Revelation 21.3-4 “Then I heard a loud voice from the throne: Look, God’s dwelling is with humanity, and he will live with them. They will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them and will be their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; grief, crying, and pain will be no more, because the previous things have passed away.”
I also arranged for the donation of wood at the appointed times and for the firstfruits. Remember me, my God, with favor.