Study notes
This section, possibly from Ezra’s personal memoirs, explains how Ezra’s teaching of God’s law renewed the people's commitment to serve God and follow his instructions. Spiritual revival occurred alongside the civic work of Ezra and Nehemiah.
The time for the people to show their sadness came after the Feast of Booths. The people gathered to admit all their sins out loud to God. They did this while they worshipped and praised God.
As they prayed, the Jews remembered God’s work among them. All the stories mentioned in the prayer are recorded in other books of the Bible. They are recorded in the books from Genesis through 2 Chronicles.
The Jews remembered when God told Abraham to move from Babylon to Canaan. They remembered how God had been faithful to them since then. They recognised that God is a gracious God. He had always been so good to them.
They also admitted all the ways that they had been proud and stubborn. Over and over God’s people had said no to him and they had chosen to do evil. They were very sorry about this and they repented. They were suffering. They longed for God to save them from being slaves of the Persian government.
So they once again committed to being faithful to the Mount Sinai covenant. This included men, women and children who were old enough to understand. They all agreed to follow God’s laws. They agreed not to join the families of people who worshipped false gods. They agreed to rest on the Sabbath day. They agreed to give the first share of their crops and a tenth of everything. They would give these to support the Levites and to take care of the temple.
The people, embracing the prayer, renewed their dedication to God and his word. They signed their names to show their commitment (Nehemiah 9:38–10:27) and took an oath to follow the covenant (10:28–39).
The list of eighty-four names included:
The governor, Nehemiah (Nehemiah 10:1)
A group of priests (Nehemiah 10:2–8; compare 12:1–7)
Levites (Nehemiah 10:9–13; compare 9:4–5; 12:8–9)
Leaders (Nehemiah 10:14–27; compare 3:4–31)
who had separated themselves from the people of the land: See Nehemiah 9:2; compare with Ezra 9–10.
sworn oath to follow the Law of God: Compare Leviticus 26:14–35 and Deuteronomy 28:15–62.
Compare Ezra 9–10.
The community had broadly committed to following the law of Moses. However, they focused on specific issues. These issues involved keeping the community pure and ensuring proper worship at the temple.
Stopping trade on the Sabbath was important for keeping the covenant (compare Nehemiah 13:15–22; see Exodus 16:29; 20:8–11; 31:15; Numbers 15:32–36; Amos 8:5).
Every seventh year: See Exodus 23:10–11; Leviticus 25:2–7; Deuteronomy 15:1–3.
the showbread: See Leviticus 24:5–9; Numbers 28:1–8.
for all the duties: The annual tax money allowed priests to buy animals for daily sacrifices and maintain the temple complex (compare 2 Kings 12:11–12; see also Exodus 30:11–16).
The fire on the altar burned constantly (Leviticus 6:12), so it required a lot of wood. The Gibeonites supplied it earlier (Joshua 9:27), but now everyone shared the responsibility.
Community offerings provided food for the priests and Levites, who had no farmland and could not support themselves. These provisions included:
The first part of every harvest (see Exodus 23:19; 34:26; Numbers 18:12–13; Deuteronomy 26:1–11)
Redemption money of five shekels for the oldest sons and the firstborn of all herds and flocks (see Exodus 13:13; 34:20; Numbers 18:15–17)
A tenth of everything (see Numbers 18:21–24; Deuteronomy 14:22–29)
The Levites gathered tithes in all the rural towns and sent one-tenth of that collection to the temple in Jerusalem (see Numbers 18:25–32).
Verse notes: Adapted by Mission Mutual (Aquifer Open Study Notes) from Tyndale Open Study Notes © 2023 Tyndale House Publishers. CC BY-SA 4.0. Section notes: Biblica Study Notes © 2023 Biblica, Inc. CC BY-SA 4.0, via BibleAquifer. About the sources