The terms of the covenant
“We promise not to give our daughters in marriage to the peoples around us or take their daughters for our sons.
31“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.
32 “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: 33 for the bread set out on the table; for the regular grain offerings and burnt offerings; for the offerings on the Sabbaths, New Moon festivals and appointed feasts; for the holy offerings; for sin offerings to make atonement for Israel; and for all the duties of the house of our God.
34 “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.
35“We also assume responsibility for bringing to the house of the LORD each year the firstfruits of our crops and of every fruit tree.
36 “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.
37 “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 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. 38 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. 39 The people of Israel, including the Levites, are to bring their contributions of grain, new wine and oil to the storerooms where the articles for the sanctuary are kept and where the ministering priests, the gatekeepers and the singers stay.
“We will not neglect the house of our God.”
The people promised to observe the regulations God gave to Moses, regulations that we call the civil and ceremonial law. A Bible dictionary, encyclopedia, or commentary on the following passages from Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy will help those who are interested in more information about the regulations.
Intermarriage with the surrounding peoples was one of the most troublesome problems confronting Ezra and Nehemiah. We discussed this problem in the commentary on Ezra chapter 10.
The obligation to observe the weekly Sabbath Day rest is recorded in Exodus 20:8-11. In addition, the Israelites were to give their land a rest by not farming it every seventh year. The regulations for this sabbatical year are found in Leviticus 25:2-7 and Deuteronomy 15:1-3. During this year debtors were to receive a fresh start by having their debts canceled. The observance of these regulations was a special test of faith; the Israelites had to have confidence that the Lord would provide for them even if they did not plant crops in the seventh year. It required a special measure of generosity to cancel the debts that were due them at the very time they were giving up their normal agricultural income!
The rest of the covenant emphasized various offerings for the support of the temple services. The Law required that each male over 20 years of age pay a half-shekel offering as a ransom for his life (Exodus 30:11-16). If the third of a shekel offering was a continuation of that practice, the reduction in the amount could have been due to the people’s poverty or to a different monetary system under the Persian Empire.
The “bread set out on the table” refers to the 12 loaves that had to be placed on the table in the Holy Place of the temple each week (Leviticus 24:5-9). The traditional English name for this offering is the “show bread.” The regular offerings for various festivals are summarized in Numbers chapters 28 and 29 and other passages in the books of Moses. Leviticus chapters 1 through 7 discuss the various categories of personal offerings.
The firstfruits and the tithes are summarized in Deuteronomy 14:22-29 and 26:1-15. The redemption of firstborn sons and the sacrifice of firstborn animals was commanded in Exodus 13:12,13 and 34:19,20. This redemption commemorated the sparing of the Israelites’ firstborn in Egypt. Although Leviticus often mentions the need for wood for the sacrifices, it contained no specific command for bringing wood. This may have been a new obligation that was being assumed for the first time in Nehemiah’s day.
Although these particular regulations and obligations no longer apply to us, the principle “we will not neglect the house of our God” remains unchanged. We who have seen the fulfillment of God’s promises in Christ have even more reason to support the gospel with our time and possessions. The wholehearted support of these Old Testament believers for the Lord’s work encourages us to pledge the same dedication that we see in them.