Chapter 10 opens with a list of the names of senior leaders of the most prominent families who had experienced an awakening from God saying publicly that they were going to lead their families and live their lives in the ways of God.
God work was established, God’s Word was released and God’s presence was at work. Every community in the world needs this progression!
With God change happens from the inside out and it starts in the heart.
I never had any interest in reading the Bible until I became a Christian. Then I had a hunger for the things of God, I was in college in “barely surviving financially mode” and found myself joyfully giving my money to my church. I started going to 6am prayer to learn how to practice praying. I found myself asking people questions who were older than me who were married and had kids that would hug them – because I wanted to experience that miracle in my life one day.
Imagine if all the men of Destiny experienced a personal awakening and they all came together to make a public commitment to lead their families in following the Word of God and the ways of Jesus. This is the equivalent of what is taking place here.
Nehemiah 10:29 (They) joined with their brothers, their nobles, and enter into a curse and an oath to walk in God's Law that was given by Moses the servant of God, and to observe and do all the commandments of the Lord our Lord and his rules and his statutes. ESV
We will obey God’s Word
Agreeing to come under God’s Word together as their supreme source of truth. Schedules, budgets, dating relationships, business practices, etc will all be sacred worship to the Lord.
Jesus is Lord over “all”. There is no divide between secular and sacred. This is a great time for us to be looking at this with a New Year just 10 weeks away. Consider how you did in this past year with studying the Bible and praying? What are some commitments you can begin praying about for the New Year, 2024?
We will lead our families.
We will join with our brothers. These heads of households are saying our family is going to start living differently. These men were choosing to take responsibility to lovingly, humbly leading the family. Adam stood idly by as Eve sinned and then he participates. If men don’t take a stand and lead the charge the devil has an opportunity to step in.
Nehemiah 10:30 We will not give our daughters to the peoples of the land or take their daughters for our sons. ESV
We will only marry believers.
They’re saying we, as parents, will be actively involved in relationship formation with our children. The two most important decisions you’ll ever make that will change your life more than any other will be salvation and marriage.
You can control who you date but you cannot control who you fall in love with. If someone is not a candidate for marriage then don’t play with fire. Move along. The world’s system of dating is great practice for divorce. Raising kids in a divided spiritual environment is extremely complicated.
Young people! Invite your parents input and perspective. It can save tremendous heartache in your future.
Nehemiah 10:31 And if the peoples of the land bring in goods or any grain on the Sabbath day to sell, we will not buy from them on the Sabbath or on a holy day. And we will forego the crops of the seventh year and the exaction of every debt. ESV
We will conduct business Biblically and ethically
They had their businesses open 7 days a week and these men declared they would honor the Sabbath and not work on the 7th day. Recently I heard someone explaining that the original Hebrew language reveals how for 6 days of creation, God breathed out. Then on the 7th day he breathed in.
Sabbath: God doesn’t treat you like an animal, a slave or a machine. He loves you as your Father and he’s not trying to drive you for results. He wants to enjoy you in relationship.
7 days without God’s blessing /vs/ 6 days with God’s blessing. Believe this? Chik-fil-a. Tithe is same principle! Do you believe? Do you practice this principle of giving? Giving was also part of their commitment.
We will give generously.
Nehemiah 10:32-39 We obligate ourselves to bring the firstfruits of our ground and the firstfruits of all fruit of every tree, year by year, to the house of the Lord; 36 also to bring to the house of our God, to the priests who minister in the house of our God, the firstborn of our sons and of our cattle, as it is written in the Law, and the firstborn of our herds and of our flocks; 37 and to bring the first of our dough, and our contributions, the fruit of every tree, the wine and the oil, to the priests, to the chambers of the house of our God; and to bring to the Levites the tithes from our ground, for it is the Levites who collect the tithes in all our towns where we labor…We will not neglect the house of our God.” ESV
Money in our society is not going for good things. Believers come together and say our money will go for the eternal causes of Christ. Christianity is kind of like a pay it forward plan. A news report, a few years ago shared how a coffee shop experienced 11 hours of people paying it forward. A total of 378 people had their order paid for by the person in front of them so they paid for the order of the person behind them. Amazing! I wonder who #379 was who broke the cycle of generosity?
Christians fund ministry so others can learn about and become Christians as well. Others paid for us to be able to hear about and receive Christ. Now that we’re in, it’s our turn. Let’s purpose to love, serve and give sacrificially to pay it forward on behalf of those who are coming after us to discover God’s love.
These heads of their households are ultimately saying we will worship our God and we will lead our families in worshiping our God!
Everywhere we go….
We Bring GP2RL Action Point:
Continue to read Nehemiah daily asking the Holy Spirit to awaken our hearts to His eternal purposes. Invite your family or community to share personal commitments to seek God intentionally.
NEHEMIAH: God’s Heart Together
DISCUSSION GUIDE
Click here for a downloadable PDF file of this guide.
UNDERSTANDING THE SEASON: Nehemiah is all about rebuilding the ruins of the work of God in our world. God’s people had grown distracted and disconnected from God’s plan for them to be the expression of His Kingdom in the Earth.
Jerusalem had been in ruins since the Babylonian invasion in 586 B.C. Nehemiah lead the third of three returns to Israel after 70 years of exile in Babylon. Even in a state of ruin God was still at work looking for someone who would have a heart to respond to what God was about to do.
This is the condition of the Western church today. Much can be gained by a close examination of Nehemiah’s response in his day. God woke up a fresh movement that brought life but it was met with great challenges. No matter how challenging it was God was always seeing his work through.
God’s work is a work within us as we learn to respond to Him. It is God’s plan is for us to spend time drawing close to his heart and hearing his voice together as a family. This is why we start each meeting with this question first:
DISCUSSION QUESTION:
1. Where are you reading in your Bible and what are you sensing from God?
FOR GROUP LEADERS: The focus of the day is how we are designed by God to grow in our faith together. God changes our desires from within but then we must walk that out. In Nehemiah 10 we read about how these men came together making public commitments to lead their families in the ways of God. Consider starting your conversation by asking people to share how walking out their faith in the context of community has helped them.
Before reading, please encourage everyone to consider the deeper encounter of the God of the Word as you read the Word of God together. We are believing for the Holy Spirit to awaken his conversational nature as a result.
Nehemiah 10:28-39 The rest of the people, the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, the temple servants, and all who have separated themselves from the peoples of the lands to the Law of God, their wives, their sons, their daughters, all who have knowledge and understanding, 29 join with their brothers, their nobles, and enter into…an oath to walk in God’s Law that was given by Moses the servant of God, and to observe and do all the commandments of the Lord our Lord and his rules and his statutes. ESV
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
2. DISCOVER: Have each person give a simple 60 second summary of what these verses are saying, Encourage people to try not to add insights or application yet. Just simply summarize.
3. DEVELOP: What do you sense God may be speaking to you personally as we focus on these verses?
4. DEPLOY: We are to be doers and not hearers only. What will you do this week in response to what you sense God is revealing in this time together?
Everywhere we go, we bring...
GP2RL: Continue to read Nehemiah daily asking the Holy Spirit to awaken our hearts to His eternal purposes. Invite your family or community to share personal commitments to seek God intentionally.