The situation described in Nehemiah 10 is connected to a period of spiritual revival. Nehemiah had spent several years securing the city of Jerusalem, mainly by rebuilding the city wall. He had completed that task, which had been authorised by the Persian emperor. Yet Nehemiah was aware that his work had been to prepare the way for spiritual revival as well as temporal restoration. It was within his power to ensure that the wall had been rebuilt because he had earthly authority from the Emperor to perform the task. But what Jerusalem needed most of all was spiritual restoration, and only God could provide it.
In his grace he did so, and several chapters in Nehemiah describe what took place. First, they had been a return to the Bible, seen in the way it became central to the religious life of the community. Second, there had been earnest, corporate confession of sin and desire for God’s blessing. So there had been hunger for the Word of God and honesty in prayer. A third feature is described in chapter 10, and it is public dedication to the Lord’s cause, which was done in the form of a covenant.
Covenant is a basic feature of church life. When a minister is ordained to a congregation, he is entering into a covenant relationship that has responsibilities for him and them. Baptism is also a covenant activity: the parents make vows, the congregation promise to help, and the child is admitted to the community of the church. The Lord’s Supper is also a covenant activity: in it Jesus fulfils his covenant obligation to bless his people and they keep their vows by remembering him with other believers in a public way. Preaching is also a covenant activity: the preacher explains the King’s laws and demands, and the people make an appropriate response.
At one time, it was common for countries, churches, groups of believers or individuals to enter into covenants with God. Probably, the best known in our country is the Solemn League and Covenant of 1638 that the people of Scotland made in response to the attempts of the king to undermine the Reformed Faith. It begins: ‘We, noblemen, barons, knights, gentlemen, citizens, burgesses, ministers of the Gospel, and commons of all sorts, in the kingdoms of Scotland, England, and Ireland.’ It then lists their concerns and intentions. The closing paragraph is an appeal to God: ‘And this Covenant we make in the presence of ALMIGHTY GOD, the Searcher of all hearts, with a true intention to perform the same, as we shall answer at that great day, when the secrets of all hearts shall be disclosed; most humbly beseeching the LORD to strengthen us by his HOLY SPIRIT for this end, and to bless our desires and proceedings with such success, as may be deliverance and safety to his people, and encouragement to other Christian Churches, groaning under, or in danger of the yoke of antichristian tyranny, to join in the same or like association and covenant, to the glory of GOD, the enlargement of the kingdom of JESUS CHRIST, and the peace and tranquillity of Christian kingdoms and commonwealths.’
Sometimes a group of people would bind together to pray for a revival. Such a practice does not mean that a revival is inevitable because God, in his sovereignty, can say no. Yet such a coming together for a specific purpose in prayer has other spiritual benefits, such as increased love for one another, a sense of the approval of God, and the presence of the Holy Spirit.
Individual covenanting
Samuel Rutherford, in his well-known Letters, refers to the benefits of personal covenanting. He reminds a man called John Kennedy: ‘Ye contracted with Christ, I hope, when first ye began to follow Him, that ye would bear His cross. Fulfil your part of the contract with patience, and break not to Jesus Christ’ (Letter 22 in Bonar’s Edition). He told Marion McNaught to show her children his letter in which he advises them ‘to covenant with Jesus Christ to be His’ (Letter 24).
William Guthrie recommends the practice in his famous book, The Christian’s Great Interest. He advocated the method because he had found it to be a useful help to those who had problems with assurance. Individuals should use covenanting when they backslide, when they are in danger, when they sense God is at a distance, or at the Lord’s Supper or at times of importance in their lives. The actual covenant can be spoken verbally by the person or can be written out and signed by the person.
For example, on August 14th 1699, Thomas Boston wrote out and signed the following covenant: ‘I, MR. THOMAS BOSTON, preacher of the gospel of Christ, being by nature an apostate from God, an enemy to the great JEHOVAH and so an heir of hell and wrath, in myself utterly lost and undone, because of my original and actual sins, and misery thereby; and being, in some measure, made sensible of this my lost and undone state, and sensible of my need, my absolute need of a Saviour, without whom I must perish eternally; and believing that the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of the eternal God, is not only able to save me, by virtue of his death and sufferings, but willing also to save me (though most vile and ugly, and one who has given him many repulses), both from my sins, and from the load of wrath due to me for them, upon condition that I believe, come to him for salvation, and cordially receive him in all his offices; consenting to the terms of the covenant: therefore, as I have at several opportunities before given an express and solemn consent to the terms of the covenant, and have entered into a personal covenant with Christ; so now, being called to undertake the great and weighty work of the ministry of the gospel, for which I am altogether insufficient, I do by this declare, That I stand to and own all my former engagements, whether sacramental, or any other way whatsoever; and now again do RENEW my covenant with God; and hereby, at this present time, do solemnly COVENANT and ENGAGE to be the Lord’s and MAKE a solemn resignation and upgiving of myself, my soul, body, spiritual and temporal concerns, unto the Lord Jesus Christ, without any reservation whatsoever; and do hereby give my voluntary consent to the terms of the covenant laid down in the holy scriptures, the word of truth; and with my heart and soul I TAKE and RECEIVE Christ in all his offices, as my PROPHET to teach me, resolving and engaging in his strength to follow, that is, to endeavour to follow his instructions: I TAKE him as my PRIEST to be saved by his death and merits alone; and renouncing my own righteousness as filthy rags and menstruous cloths, I am content to be clothed with his righteousness alone; and live entirely upon free grace; likewise I TAKE him for my ADVOCATE and INTERCESSOR with the Father: and finally, I TAKE him as my KING to reign in me, and to rule over me, renouncing all other lords, whether sin or self, and in particular my predominant idol; and in the strength of the Lord, do resolve and hereby engage, to cleave to Christ as my Sovereign Lord and Ring, in death and in life, in prosperity and in adversity, even for ever, and to strive and wrestle in his strength against all known sin; PROTESTING, that whatever sin may be lying hid in my heart out of my view, I disown it, and abhor it, and shall in the Lord's strength, endeavour the mortification of it, when the Lord shall be pleased to let me see it. And this solemn covenant I MAKE as in the presence of the ever-living, heart-searching God, and subscribe it with my hand, in my chamber, at Dunse, about one o'clock in the afternoon, the fourteenth day of August, one thousand six hundred and ninety-nine years. T. BOSTON.’
Thirty years later, on December 2, 1729, he wrote out another personal covenant: ‘O Lord, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, I confess from my heart, that I am by nature a lost and undone sinner, wholly corrupted, and laid under the curse, in Adam, through the breach of the covenant of works; and ruined myself more and more by my innumerable actual transgressions, whereby my whole life appears in my eyes this day a heap of vanity, sin, and foolishness. I am fully convinced, and do from my heart acknowledge, that I am utterly unable to help myself, in whole or in part, out of this gulf of sin and misery, into which I am plunged; and that it is beyond the reach of the whole creation to help me out of it; so that I must inevitably perish for ever, if thine own strong hand do not make help to me. But forasmuch as there is a covenant of grace, for life and salvation to lost sinners, established between THEE and thine own Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, as second Adam; wherein, upon condition of his fulfilling all righteousness, which is now performed, in his having been born perfectly holy, lived altogether righteously, and made perfect satisfaction to justice by his death and sufferings, thou hast promised that thou wilt be their God, and they shall be thy people, to the making of them holy and happy for ever; and that this covenant is, in Christ the head thereof, offered and exhibited to me in thy gospel, and thou callest me into the fellowship thereof, in him; therefore, (adhering to my former acceptings and taking hold of it, declared whether by word or writ before thee, without willful mistaking of it, or known guile), upon the warrant of, and in obedience to, thy command and call, I myself a poor perishing sinner, and worthy to perish, do now again TAKE HOLD of that COVENANT, for life and salvation to ME; believing on the name of Christ crucified, the head thereof, offered and exhibited to me, as the great High Priest, who, by the sacrifice of himself, hath made atonement, paid the ransom, and brought in everlasting righteousness for poor sinners. I CREDIT his word of grace to me, and accordingly TRUST on him, that he with his righteousness will be mine, and that, in and through him, God will be my God, and I shall be one of his people, to the making of me holy and happy for ever. O my God, I do by thy grace acquiesce in that covenant, as all my salvation, and all my desire, with my whole heart and soul. The Son incarnate is my only PRIEST, my surety, my intercessor, and my Redeemer; and, in him, the FATHER my FATHER; the HOLY GHOST my SANCTIFIER; GOD in CHRIST my GOD. I resign myself, soul and body, to him, to be saved by his blood alone; renouncing all confidence in mine own righteousness, doings and sufferings. With my whole heart and soul, he is my HEAD and HUSBAND; and I am his only, wholly, and forever; to live by him, to him, and for him. I take him for my alone PROPHET, Oracle and Guide; give up myself wholly to him, to be taught, guided, and directed, in all things, by his word and Spirit; and renounce mine own wisdom, and the wisdom of this world. He is, with my heart's consent, my alone KING and LORD. And I resign myself wholly, soul and body, unto him, to be rescued, by the strength of his mighty hand, from sin, death, the Devil, and this present evil world, for to serve him for ever, and to be ruled by the will of his command, as to my duty, and the will of his providence as my lot. I am with my whole heart content (Lord, thou knowest) to part with, and do renounce every known sin, lust, or idol, and particularly that sin which most easily besets me; together with my own foolish will, and all other lords besides him; without reservation, and with exception against his cross. Protesting in thy sight, O Lord, that I am, through grace, willing to have discovered unto me, and upon discovery to part with, every sin in me I know not; and that the doubtings and averseness of heart, mixed with this my accepting of thy covenant, are what I allow not; and that notwithstanding thereof, I look to be accepted of thee herein, in the Beloved thine only Son and my Saviour, purging away these, with all my other sins, by his precious blood. Let it be recorded in heaven, O Lord, and let the bed on which I leaned, the timber, and the stones, and all other things about me here, in my closet, bear witness, that I, though most unworthy, have this second day of December, 1729, here taken hold of, and come into thy covenant of grace, offered and exhibited to me in thy gospel, for time and eternity; and that thou art my God in the tenor of that covenant, and I am one of thy people, from henceforth and for ever.’
The covenant of Nehemiah 10
In this covenant, they promised to obey God’s law in general and to perform certain actions in particular. The particular actions included: (a) separation from the surrounding pagans in connection to marriage (v. 30); (b) observance of the Sabbath day and of the Sabbatical year (v. 31); and (c) to give what God demanded for the maintenance of God’s house (vv. 32-39).
It may be the case that these were the areas in which the people as a whole had failed to keep God’s Word. They had ignored or perhaps had been ignorant of his requirements in these areas. Therefore, they focussed on these areas of life because they needed to make changes. The covenant was therefore an expression of repentance, of sorrow for their sin. It may be that these are areas in which we have to repent or it may be that there are other areas of life about which we need to repent.
They also entered into the covenant with a deep sense of seriousness. Their words indicate that they were willing to be cursed by God if they were to renege on their promises (‘enter into a curse and an oath to walk in God’s Law’). I recall reading a similar kind of statement in Shadow of the Almighty, the biography of Jim Elliott. On one occasion he wrote in his journal: ‘Prayed a strange prayer today. I covenanted with the Father that He would do either or two things: either glorify Himself in me or slay me.’ This does not mean that they expected to be sinless in the future. Rather it means that in making this covenant they had crossed a line, as it were, over which they would not go back as far as their lives in general were concerned. It was a critical moment in their lives.
Further, they entered into the covenant by expressing the specific details that were mentioned above. First, the emphasis on the family was an indication that they wanted their families to serve the Lord. In that culture, the parents chose the spouses of their children and they resolved not to choose pagan partners for them. There was an element of sacrifice in this because it could mean that they would have to refuse wealthy partners and so deprive their children of a more comfortable life. Such a decision has much to say to us about our priorities for our families.
Second, the Sabbath was an indication that they wanted to spend time with God (v. 31). This is what the Sabbath is at its most basic meaning. It is a day set apart for God. Sadly, it is easy to turn it into a day for ourselves and use it for religious practices that suit ourselves. That is breaking the Sabbath just as much as using it for other practices that suit ourselves. The Pharisees had lots of rules about Sabbath-keeping, but they did not keep the Sabbath. The people in Nehemiah’s time, in this period of spiritual revival, were saying, ‘We want to spend time with God.’ Again, this was a sacrificial choice because they would lose out on the financial gain that could have been received if they traded on the Sabbath.
Further, they wanted to extend the restoration of the Sabbath and include the seventh-year rest that the law required (Lev. 25). This too was a sacrificial request because they would miss out on a year’s income from their fields. In addition, they were willing to forego the debts that others were in towards them. This decision was an expression of their desire that all God’s people would prosper.
Third, the worship decisions were an indication that they valued the way that God had instituted. Spiritual revival showed itself in a love for God’s methods and regulations (feasts, special days etc.). In addition, these decisions revealed their gratitude for God’s way of forgiveness (sin offerings). Further, their worship practices expressed that God was their owner and Master (give him the first fruits). And they wanted to pay their tithes. Their commitment is expressed in a wonderful way: ‘We will not neglect the house of our God.’
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