CHAPTER 10

(445 B.C.)

THE SIGNERS OF THE COVENANT

¹Now those who sealed were, Nehemiah, the Tirshatha (the governor), the son of Hachaliah, and Zidkijah,

²Seraiah, Azariah, Jeremiah,

³Pashur, Amariah, Malchijah,

⁴Hattush, Shebaniah, Malluch,

⁵Harim, Meremoth, Obadiah,

⁶Daniel, Ginnethon, Baruch,

⁷Meshullam, Abijah, Mijamin,

⁸Maaziah, Bilgai, Shemaiah: these were the Priests.

⁹And the Levites: both Jeshua the son of Azaniah, Binnui of the sons of Henadad, Kadmiel;

¹⁰And their brethren, Shebaniah, Hodijah, Kelita, Pelaiah, Hanan,

¹¹Micha, Rehob, Hashabiah,

¹²Zaccur, Sherebiah, Shebaniah,

¹³Hodijah, Bani, Beninu.

¹⁴The chief of the people; Parosh, Pahath-moab, Elam, Zatthu, Bani,

¹⁵Bunni, Azgad, Bebai,

¹⁶Adonijah, Bigvai, Adin,

¹⁷Ater, Hizkijah, Azzur,

¹⁸Hodijah, Hashum, Bezai,

¹⁹Hariph, Anathoth, Nebai,

²⁰Magpiash, Meshullam, Hezir,

²¹Meshezabeel, Zadok, Jaddua,

²²Pelatiah, Hanan, Anaiah,

²³Hoshea, Hananiah, Hashub,

²⁴Hallohesh, Pileha, Shobek,

²⁵Rehum, Hashabnah, Maaseiah,

²⁶And Ahijah, Hanan, Anan,

²⁷Malluch, Harim, Baanah. (God honors those who honor His Book. Accordingly, a role of honor opens this Chapter. None of these men dreamed that 2,500 years after their deaths millions of people would read their names with praise to God.)

TERMS OF THE COVENANT: TO REMAIN A SEPARATED AND PECULIAR PEOPLE

²⁸And the rest of the people, the Priests, the Levites, the porters, the singers, the Nethinims, and all they who had separated themselves from the people of the lands unto the Law of God, their wives, their sons, and their daughters, every one having knowledge, and having understanding (all who were of age to understand the nature of the Covenant and what was meant by sealing it not a special intelligent or learned class);

²⁹They clave to their brethren, their nobles, and entered into a curse, and into an oath, to walk in Gods Law, which was given by Moses the servant of God, and to observe and do all the Commandments of the LORD our Lord, and His Judgments and His Statutes (the important statement of this Chapter is the acceptance by the restored Israelites of the written Word of God as the sole authority for conduct and worship; they did not say that the Bible belonged to a past age and was now out-of-date; but, on the contrary, they confessed its teaching to be living and binding);

³⁰And that we would not give our daughters unto the people of the land, nor take their daughters for our sons (referring to the mixed marriages so soon after the reformation of Ezra [Ex. 34:16; Deut. 7:3; Ezra 9:12]):

³¹And if the people of the land bring ware or any victuals on the Sabbath day to sell, that we would not buy it of them on the Sabbath, or on the Holy Day: and that we would leave the seventh year, and the exaction of every debt (this precept of the Law, leaving the land fallow every seventh year, had been frequently neglected during the times of the monarchy, and its neglect was one of the sins which the captivity was expressly intended to punish [II Chron. 36:21]).

OFFERINGS GIVEN FOR WORSHIP IN THE TEMPLE

³²Also we made Ordinances for us, to charge ourselves yearly with the third part of the shekel for the service of the House of our God (to keep up the Temple and its Services);

³³For the Shewbread, and for the continual Meat Offering (Thank Offering), and for the continual Burnt Offering (the daily morning and evening Offerings), of the Sabbaths, of the new moons, for the set Feasts (three times a year), and for the holy things, and for the Sin Offerings to make an Atonement for Israel, and for all the work of the House of our God (this is the service of which Nehemiah speaks in Verse 32).

TITHES AND OFFERINGS FOR THE PRIESTS AND LEVITES

³⁴And we cast the lots among the Priests, the Levites, and the people, for the wood offering (first time this is mentioned; the people were to bring in wood for the fire of the Sacrifices), to bring it into the House of our God, after the houses of our fathers, at times appointed year by year (certain times to bring it in), to burn upon the Altar of the LORD our God, as it is written in the Law:

³⁵And to bring the firstfruits of our ground, and the firstfruits of all fruit of all trees, year by year, unto the House of the LORD (it is believed that firstfruits referred to a tenth, or a tithe):

³⁶Also the firstborn of our sons (firstborn sons were to be redeemed [Ex. 22:29; 34:19], which meant that five shekels had to be given to the Sanctuary [Num. 18:1516]), and of our cattle, as it is written in the Law, and the firstlings of our herds and of our flocks, to bring to the House of our God, unto the Priests who minister in the House of our God:

³⁷And that we should bring the firstfruits of our dough, and our offerings, and the fruit of all manner of trees, of wine and of oil, unto the Priests, to the chambers of the House of our God; and the Tithes of our ground unto the Levites, that the same Levites might have the Tithes in all the cities of our tillage (Tithing is first mentioned in the Bible with Abraham paying Tithe to Melchizedek; this was long before the Law; this means that Tithing was meant to continue in the Plan of God, even in the New Covenant, for we are all children of Abraham [Gal. 3:7]; also, Melchizedek was a Type of Christ [Heb. 5:56, 10], which means that we presently are supposed to continue to pay Tithe in support of the Work of God, headed up by Christ [Col. 1:1621]).

³⁸And the Priest the son of Aaron shall be with the Levites, when the Levites take Tithes (meaning that the Priests were to share with the Levites, inasmuch as the Tithes were given for this purpose): and the Levites shall bring up the Tithe of the Tithes into the House of our God, to the chambers, unto the treasure house (the Tithes were to go for the support of the Priests and the Levites; however, the Priests and Levites were as well to take a tenth of that which was given to them and put it in the Temple treasury for the maintenance of the Temple proper).

³⁹For the Children of Israel and the children of Levi shall bring the offering of the corn, of the new wine, and the oil, unto the chambers, where are the vessels of the Sanctuary, and the Priests who minister, and the porters, and the singers: and we will not forsake the House of our God (to be sure, all of this was the Will of God!).