Like Sue and I, many of you have made wedding vows, and you and your witnesses signed a document sealing that covenant, that agreement. I assume that you entered into that covenant voluntarily. Traditional such a covenant was initiated by a proposal from the groom, but sometimes the bride initiates them in our modern society.

We may be participants in other covenants and agreements: perhaps a business partnership or a corporation, perhaps a trade agreement among nations, or a peace settlement of some nature. In some we may be very actively involved and in others we may not shape the terms of the agreement, but are directly or indirectly involved.

In Nehemiah chapter nine we read about the recollection of the great acts of God among His people and how this should lead us to repentance and confession of sin. In Nehemiah 9:38 we read of a covenant that results from this. It is important to know that many leaders signed this document, but I want to focus our time this morning on the terms of the agreement, not all the names. This is an agreement that resulted from God's people working together valiantly to repair the city wall and gathered to worship and to hear the reading of the word of God. Matthew Henry wrote: Conversion is separating from the course and custom of this world, devoting ourselves to the conduct directed by the word of God. When we bind ourselves to do the commandments of God, it is to do all his commandments, and to look to him as the Lord, and our Lord. Having covenanted against the sins of which they had been guilty, they obliged themselves to observe the duties they had neglected.

What were the terms of the agreement? Four keeps: The word I use here, "keeps" is a hint that the terms were based on a previous covenant, one in which the Lord had clearly been the initiator, long before Ezra and Nehemiah appeared on the scene. We might think of the covenant with Abraham, the father in the faith and with Moses who received the law which the people received as their covenant and agreed to keep. It was a covenant sealed by sacrifice and the sprinkling of blood. Now lets spend a few moments thinking about the terms of this agreement sealed by the more common method of signing a document.

Terms

I. Keep the Commandments

They already had these commandments. They had been given by God through Moses a long time earlier. However, they had apparently been neglected, rather than kept by many of God's people while Jerusalem laid in ruins.

At this time of Nehemiah and Ezra the men and women of God and their children who were old enough to understand God's law, made a promise to keep ALL the law and ALL the commandments of God. They agreed to do that which they should have been doing all the time. Before we cast our judgement on them for that let me ask. Have you ever repeated a promise you made to God, but did NOT keep, so you confessed your sin and vowed to do better next time? Did you?

Not only did these people take an oath to walk in God's law; they also took a curse upon themselves if they did not do as they promised. Would we dare do this?

II. Keep the Purity of Marriage

v. 30 They covenanted to have their children only marry those who shared their faith in God. Marriage of the children of the godly with heathen had been a recurring problem and particularly during this period of time. Seldom did the Godly man or woman lead her heathen wife or husband to faith in the one true God. Almost always the ungodly one led his or her spouse into idolatry, wickedness, and/or worship of false gods. Sometimes these parents arranged these mixed marriages to make deals and treaties with groups and nations of ungodly people. This was already against the Lord's instructions. (Deut. 7:3)

What about Christian parents today? Would we make such a promise to keep the purity of marriage - to see that our sons and daughters marry women and men that share their personal faith in Jesus Christ? Since our society has nearly abandoned parental arranged marriages this task is a challenge. How do we instill Christian values in our children, lead them to accept Jesus Christ as their savior, and convince them of the importance of having a wife or husband that is really seeking to follow Christ?

III. Keep the Sabbath

The Lord gave the Sabbath as a day of worship and a day of rest. Shopping on a holy day is not completely new to our generation. While it may have been much less prevalent 30-40 years ago, such abuse of the Sabbath also took place in Nehemiah's time.

From the context of the previous chapters I think the concern regarding the Sabbath is primarily is that we regularly take time to worship God each week and honor God by putting into practice the teaching of God's word. One such practical demonstration of faith was to observe the seventh year - the Sabbatical year - to let their land rest from planting a crop and allowing whatever does grow to be harvested and used by persons in need. With crop rotation and all the chemicals to enrich the soil I don't think there are many farmers who would even consider such a practice today.

Along with this, at the end of seven years - the Sabbatical Year God's people were to forgive the debts of his Godly neighbors. They were not required to forgive the debts of those foreigners that were not following God.

I agree with Matthew Henry reflections on these verses. "We must not only cease to do evil, but learn to do well. Let not any people expect the blessing of God, unless they keep up public worship. It is likely to go well with our houses, when care is taken that the work of God's house goes on well." Is Sunday a holy day for you - a day that you purpose to set aside for worship every week and a day for putting your faith into action?

IV. Keep Tithing and Giving

We read in v. 32 & 33, "We placed ourselves under obligation to contribute yearly one third of a shekel for the service of the house of our God: for the showbread, for the continual grain offering, for the continual burnt offering, the sabbaths, the new moon, for the appointed times, for the holy things and for the sin offerings to make atonement for Israel, and all the work of the house of our God." They agreed to pay these various offerings of the Old Testament Law. Similarly they took turns providing firewood for the altar so that it could keep burning continuously. Perhaps we might compare this to utilities for our church today.

In addition they pledged their offering of first fruits of their livestock, their groves, and their grain. Do we give to God first, or do we give Him the leftovers?

These offerings spoken of here do not include giving of the tithe, one tenth of your income to the storehouse of the local church. Matthew Henry wrote: "As the ordinances of God are the appointed means of support to our souls, the believer will not grudge the expense; yet most people leave their souls to starve."

This week I read an article asking what good we might do in our churches with a tithe of the economic stimulus check many of us will be receiving. Do you plan to give the Lord His 10% of that gift? As Nehemiah closes he makes another promise on behalf on behalf of God's people, we will not neglect the house of our God. Will we renew such a promise to keep the commandments, the purity of marriage, the Sabbath, and tithes and offerings?

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