Tabor Baptist Church

• We have come to a passage where a large group of people have made a covenant with God
• They promise allegiance to God
• They make specific promises regarding marriage, the Sabbath, the service of God
• How many times over history have Christians entered into a covenant with God?
• 60'000 people in Scotland made a covenant to God
• 9:38 - the leaders, the Levites and the priests
• 22 priests (v2-8)
• 17 Levites (v19-13)
• 44 leaders (v14-27)
• The priests offered the sacrifices and the Levites taught the people, the Nethinim helped in temple worship (v28)
• The rest of the people - the proselytes or maybe the people mentioned in Ezra 10, wives, children (v28)
• They entered into a covenant with an oath and a curse (v29)
• They solemnly entered this covenant after worshiping for 7 days
• In Brazil some people who had committed adultery publicly pledged again their relationship
• This people did a similar thing
• They are binging themselves to the word of God
• They will not allow their daughter to marry pagan sons and vice versa (v30)
• Ordinances about the Sabbath (v31)
• Detailed promises about the House of God (v32-39)
• If we were to do this today, what would we need to make a covenant regarding?
• Ezra's name is not found in this covenant

Motivation for the Covenant

• They had seen how the breaking of God's law had repercussions
• These people were learning from history
• They saw God's law not as something that restricted them but something that brought them into liberty
• 9:13
• A law that was just and holy
• If you think that God's law is not fair or true you will not have allegiance to His word
• If you can see God's law is good and just then you will have ears to hear
• The laws are given for our good
• The law shows us the character of God
• Their view of God was right
• He was more inclined to mercy that to judge
• He was loving and wise
• He was powerful and promised His presence
• He blesses an obedient people

Pledge of the Covenant

• They will not allow their daughter to marry pagan sons and vice versa (v30)
• Why was this? What principles can we learn?
• They were living in a time when the Holy Spirit hadn't been given in its fullness
• The Holy Spirit had not been given to indwell each believer
• The Lord had put defenses around them
• If you marry these people they will influence you
• Sure enough the people influenced them to idol worship
• There will be a separation
• 'Do not be unequally yoked' (2 Cor 6:14)
• Believers should not be in relationship with an unbeliever
• If it becomes marriage what does this mean - cannot have intimate fellowship, begin to compromise, what about the advice we give to children?
• 'We are to be in the world but not of the world'
• We are to be a friend of sinners but not a friend of the world
• Ordinances about the Sabbath (v31)
• They had already decided not to buy and sell on the Sabbath amongst themselves
• They extended this to the non believers to encourage them to rest
• They decided to leave the land fallow every 7th year
• It is not about money or getting everything for themselves
• They would release people from their debts in the 7th year
• This was ordained from God
• There still remains a rest for the people of God
• Christ rose on the first day of the week
• We are not legalistic about it - the Sabbath was given for our benefit
• Detailed promises about the House of God (v32-39)
• They will give a temple tithe - 1/3 of a shekel
• This is less than than 1/2 shekel required by the law
• The leaders must have realised the situation of the people
• The people were also going to sacrifice other things: the first fruits of the fruit, their animals, their bread, their wood, etc
• They were to give a tithe (1/10) to the Levites
• 1/10 of this was to be put in the store houses
• We will give and give so the House of God will not be neglected
• Do we give of our time, our money, etc?
• Do we say we will do all we can to further the church of Jesus Christ?

• Sadly the people did break the covenant
• They let their children marry a foreign people
• They neglected the House of God
• The Levites could no longer be supported
• A covenant made by man will eventually fail
• A covenant made by God will never fail