The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in Nehemiah 10:1,
"In view of all this, we are making a binding agreement, putting it in writing, and our leaders, our Levites and our priests are affixing their seals to it."
The "this" in the above verse refers to a very dramatic and moving prayer of confession of sins of the nation of Israel to God provided us in chapter 9. Following the confession, and while the all the Jews who had returned to Israel where present, they made a "binding agreement", a written commitment to follow the ways of the Lord. So much of a commitment, that the governor (Nehemiah), the officials and leaders, the Levites all notarized the written binding agreement with their seals. I believe this was a heartfelt and sincere action on their part to express to God and one another their commitment to him.
While I don't know that notarized documents in the church today are needed or even helpful to express our commitment to the Lord, this passage does raise the question of our commitments to him. Have we committed ourselves to the Lord personally? As a fellowship? What is the nature of that commitment?
I suspect there have been many attempts in the past to articulate commitments to the Lord, only to find that down the road they really took on a somewhat artificial and insincere aspect. A heartfelt commitment by a group of people to honor the Lord in the form of, say, a church covenant, that sort of thing. While communicating a true devotion at one time, in later years it becomes something less than heartfelt and sincere.
While that may be true, one thing that is clear to me is that, as Paul puts it, "Those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God." Romans 8:14. A document may not be needed but our hearts are. If we do not feel a genuine commitment to live for our Savior who gave his life that we might have life, it might be best to take stock of our relationship with the Lord.
All God's people "should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good." 1 Peter 4:19.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.
"In view of all this, we are making a binding agreement, putting it in writing, and our leaders, our Levites and our priests are affixing their seals to it."
The "this" in the above verse refers to a very dramatic and moving prayer of confession of sins of the nation of Israel to God provided us in chapter 9. Following the confession, and while the all the Jews who had returned to Israel where present, they made a "binding agreement", a written commitment to follow the ways of the Lord. So much of a commitment, that the governor (Nehemiah), the officials and leaders, the Levites all notarized the written binding agreement with their seals. I believe this was a heartfelt and sincere action on their part to express to God and one another their commitment to him.
While I don't know that notarized documents in the church today are needed or even helpful to express our commitment to the Lord, this passage does raise the question of our commitments to him. Have we committed ourselves to the Lord personally? As a fellowship? What is the nature of that commitment?
I suspect there have been many attempts in the past to articulate commitments to the Lord, only to find that down the road they really took on a somewhat artificial and insincere aspect. A heartfelt commitment by a group of people to honor the Lord in the form of, say, a church covenant, that sort of thing. While communicating a true devotion at one time, in later years it becomes something less than heartfelt and sincere.
While that may be true, one thing that is clear to me is that, as Paul puts it, "Those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God." Romans 8:14. A document may not be needed but our hearts are. If we do not feel a genuine commitment to live for our Savior who gave his life that we might have life, it might be best to take stock of our relationship with the Lord.
All God's people "should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good." 1 Peter 4:19.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.
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