Latest / A Chapter a Day Bible Reading / October 28 - Nehemiah 10

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October 28 - Nehemiah 10 · A Chapter a Day Bible Reading

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  Hello friends. It's Sean here.
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  It's the 28th of October and it's a Monday.
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  It's great to have your company. Thank you for tapping on play
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  and inviting me in to join you at the start of this new week.
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  And of course, you know what that means.
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  It means that we are going to continue.
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  In fact, we're going to wrap up the book of Nehemiah this week
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  before we head all the way back to the New Testament to read
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  through the book of Acts together.
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  Yeah, we're going to hear the story of how the church first
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  began. But this week we are going to be
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  back in the Old Testament, in fact, back in the last section
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  of the Old Testament. When Israel returned from
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  Babylon, it was only about 85 years.
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  Is that right? Yeah, about 85 years between
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  their return and the end of the recorded letters and prophecies
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  that make up the Old Testament. So really at the end of this
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  book, Nehemiah, there's really only a couple or or a few minor
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  prophets, Zechariah, Haggai and Malachi, who will speak about
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  the time after this. And then we find ourselves
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  skipping about 400 years and coming up to the New Testament.
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  But that's next week. This week we will continue and
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  we will continue with these people who have just declared
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  their wrongs, asked for God's forgiveness, and now they are
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  going to make a vow, a vow to follow God's ways and uphold
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  everything that he wants his people to do.
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  So irrespective of how long it lasts, this is a very good
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  thing, right? Yes, it is.
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  So you'd remember at the end of last week they had just
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  confessed that they had married into the local Pagan population
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  and they had just worked to put everything right again.
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  And now it's time to say yes, this is our commitment and how
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  we'll go forward. So let's pick up where we left
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  off reading together. Nehemiah chapter 10.
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  The document was ratified and sealed with the following names.
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  The governor Nehemiah, son of Hakaliah and also Zedekiah.
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  The following priests Soraya, Azariah, Jeremiah, Pashur,
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  Amariah, Malkajar, Hatush, Shebeniah, Malik Harem,
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  Merrimoth, Obadiah, Daniel Giniton, Barack Meshalam,
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  Abbajar Myjamin, Marziah, Bilgai and Shemayah.
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  These were the priests. The following Levites Jeshua,
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  son of Azaniah Binuwai from the family of Hinad Cadmiel and
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  their fellow Levites Shebeniah, Hodayah, Keletar, Pelayah,
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  Hanan, Micah, Rahab, Hashabayah, Zakah, Sherebaya, Shebaniah,
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  Hodaya, Bani and Binaynu. The following leaders, Parosh
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  Pahath Moab Elam Zatu Bani Bunai Asgad Bebai Adonijah Bigvi Aiden
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  ETA Hezekiah Azur Hodaya Hashem Bezai Harif Anatoth, Nebai
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  Magpayash, Meshalam, Heza Meshazabel, Zedok, Jadua
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  Pelotaya Hainan, Anaya Hoshiya, Hananiyah, Hazhub, Halahesh
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  Pilhah Shobek Reyem Hashabna, Marseille, Ahaya Hanan, Aynan,
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  Malik, Haram and Bena. Then the rest of the people, the
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  priests, the Levites, gatekeepers, singers, temple
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  servants, and all who had separated themselves from the
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  Pagan people of the land in order to obey the law of God,
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  together with their wives, sons, daughters, and all who were old
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  enough to understand, joined their leaders and bound
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  themselves with an oath. They swore a curse on themselves
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  if they failed to obey the law of God as issued by His servant
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  Moses. They solemnly promised to
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  carefully follow all the commands, regulations, and
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  decrees of the Lord our God. We promise not to let our
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  daughters marry the Pagan people of the land and not to let our
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  sons marry their daughters. We also promise that if the
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  people of the land should bring any merchandise or grain to be
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  sold on the Sabbath or any other holy day, we will refuse to buy
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  it. Every 7th year we will let our
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  land rest and we will cancel all debts owed to us.
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  In addition, we promise to obey the command to pay the annual
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  temple tax of 1/8 of an ounce of silver for the care of the
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  temple of our God. This will provide for the bread
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  of the presents, for the regular grain offerings and burnt
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  offerings, for the offerings on the Sabbaths, the new moon
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  celebrations and the annual festivals, for the holy
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  offerings and for the sin offerings to make atonement for
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  Israel. It will provide for everything
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  necessary for the work of the temple of our God.
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  We have cast sacred lots to determine when at regular times
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  each year the families of the priests, Levites, and the common
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  people should bring wood to God's temple to be burned on the
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  altar of the Lord our God. As it is written in the law.
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  We promise to bring the first part of every harvest to the
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  Lord's temple year after year, whether it be a crop from the
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  soil or from our fruit trees. We agree to give God our oldest
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  sons and the first born of all our herds and flocks as
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  prescribed in the law. We will present them to the
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  priests who minister in the temple of our God.
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  We will store the produce in the storerooms of the temple of our
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  God. We will bring the best of our
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  flower and other grain offerings, the best of our
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  fruits, and the best of our new wine and olive oil.
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  We promise to bring to the Levites a 10th of everything our
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  land produces, for it is the Levites who collect the tithes
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  in all our rural towns. A priest, a descendant of Aaron,
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  will be with the Levites as they receive these tithes, and a
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  tithe of all that is collected as tithes will be delivered by
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  the Levites to the temple of our God and placed in the store
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  rooms. The people and the Levites must
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  bring these offerings of grain, new wine and olive oil to the
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  store rooms and place them in the sacred containers near the
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  ministering priests, the gatekeepers and the singers.
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  We promise together not to neglect the temple of our God,
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  our Father. You are a big hearted and
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  forgiving God as you showed us through your Son Jesus.
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  Ah, we see the way that Jesus lived and the way that he erred
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  on the side of forgiveness and compassion even while standing
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  true to all of your decrees. And like God's people here, when
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  they went the wrong way and they turned their backs on you, they
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  were able to turn back to you and you forgave them and showed
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  them a way forward. Lord, as we mess up, as we sin,
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  as we make mistakes, Lord, just continue to prompt through your
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  spirit, our conscience and draw us back to You that we might
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  confess our sins. And just as Israel did in this
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  chapter, turn back to You and promise to live according to the
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  way that You have planned for us and inevitably, when we make
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  more mistakes. Thank you, Jesus, for your
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  patience and the incredible gift of your grace and your
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  forgiveness that you earned with such a great price for us.
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  We will never take that for granted, and we are so grateful.
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  So we praise you, our sanctifying and forgiving God,
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  and it's in your name that we pray Jesus, Amen.