Nehemiah 10:1-39

Commitments are an important part of our spiritual growth and our walk with the Lord.  The natural outflow of our study of God’s Word should involve the making of commitments before the Lord to make changes in our lives that will reflect the teachings of Scripture.  This is what the children of Israel who returned from exile did when they returned to the land and were exposed to the Scripture.  Too often we read the Word of God simply for the purpose of information and not for the purpose of transformation.  We must be diligent students of God’s Word and seek to understand it fully but all of our studies and understanding will only create pride in our hearts if we do not commit ourselves to the process of change that the Word of God requires of our lives.

GOD REMEMBERS THOSE WHO ARE COMMITTED TO HIM: There is a long list of names of the people who wrote and signed the covenant that the leaders of the people of Israel were making to God.  All of their names are recorded forever in the Scriptures and are obviously remembered by the Lord.  The same is true today.  The commitments and covenants that we make today are never forgotten by the Lord even if we come to forget them or fail to keep them.  We must not make our commitments hastily or take them lightly.


WE MUST REMEMBER THE COMMITMENTS WE MAKE TO HIM: The people were challenged by their study of Scripture and moved to repentance.  They were truly committed to making drastic changes in their lives in accordance with what they had learned.  However, they apparently also recognized that they could easily forget these commitments so they took the time to write them down and sign them individually.  They promised to prevent idolatry in the land by not intermarrying with the people of the land.  They promised to worship the Lord by setting aside one day a week to rest from their work and focus on worship.  They promised to trust in the Lord by obeying His instruction to let the land rest every seventh year.  They promised to take their sin seriously by offering regular sacrifices for their sin in accordance with the instruction of Scripture.  They promised to contribute generously and regularly of all of their produce in order to support the house of the Lord and those who serve there.  The commitments we make to the Lord should accurately reflect our understanding of Scripture and should impact ever area of our lives.  We must be careful to record our commitments and keep them and not simply let them slip from our minds and our hearts because God will never forget them.

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