A Covenant Renewal

May 25, 2025 Background Scripture: Nehemiah 8: 1 - 10:39 Lesson Passage: Nehemiah 10:28 - 39 It is difficult to get back on track after we stray from following God. Our flesh is inclined to live in rebellion to the will of God. In today's lesson, Israel went to extremes to overcome their situation after returning to Palestine from living in captivity. In the Background Scripture, the Jews who returned to Palestine from exile listened as Ezra the scribe read from the Book of the Law of Moses. They listened to the reading of the Law for hours at a time over the course of three weeks. After hearing the word of God and having it explained to them, they began to cry. They understood what their ancestors had done that offended God and caused them to be sent into captivity. Their ancestors had been blessed beyond measure by God. It was after the manifold blessings that they turned from obeying God. Those who listened to Ezra also learned that they were not living according to what God prescribed in the Law. To not live according to the Law was to not live according to the will of God. Chief among their common sin was intermarriage with the Gentiles of Canaan. That was strictly forbidden by the Law. They confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers. Those who had intermarried, separated themselves from their foreign spouses, After the separation, the people declared an oath of allegiance to God's covenant and a curse upon themselves if they failed to live up to their oath. They committed to live according to the Law God gave to Moses. Their repentance included honoring the holy days stipulated in the Law. They discovered that the Feast of Tabernacles had not been properly observed since the days of Joshua the son of Nun. The Law required them to construct and live in makeshift booths during the annual observance. The observance of the Feast of Tabernacles was a reminder of how God had kept their ancestors during their forty years of living in the wilderness. This was read to them at the time of the year they were required to observe the Feast of Tabernacles. Furthermore, they committed to the physical (financial) support of the house of God and its service by the Levites. This would allow the Levites to return to the work and service of the house of God. They made an oath to observe everything God required of them in the Law because they were under conviction. The word of God convicts the people of God when we live contrary to God's will. Again, getting back on track with God is a very difficult undertaking. Once we have left the straight and narrow way outlined by God, we must first get pass our shame and disappointment with ourselves and humble ourselves before God. The Feast of Tabernacles, where they lived in makeshift shelters constructed with tree branches, was the beginning of the humbling process. Any commitment we make to set ourselves apart for God should consider that we need help beyond our will power. The Levites led them in a psalm that was a recital of Israel's history of being delivered and blessed by God. True deliverance begins when we realize that what we need is beyond our own ability. We must approach God humbly in prayer and submit ourselves to Him. When it comes to our deliverance, God knows how, what, and when something needs to be done. God does not need, nor does He require any input from us concerning it. Anything we have to offer other than our submission to God can only taint the process and render it unholy. God must sanctify, or set us apart, if we are to be holy as He requires of us. Israel renewed their covenant with God by making an oath to live according to the Law God gave to Moses. This involved both personal and national repentance. Robert C. Hudson May 3, 2025