Nehemiah 10

Nehemiah 10

Nehemiah 10 opens with the signatories who placed their seal of the written agreement that they would obey the Mosaic Law as presented at the end of chapter 9. This is also a great list of baby names if anyone is in the market.  The rest of the people agree to this covenant and chapter 10 spells out what they’re to do—avoid intermarriages, keep the Sabbath, maintain the temple through giving, etc.

For today, I want to key in on a little phrase in verse 28 that provides insight into one of the primary purposes of the Law. Verse 28 says, “The rest of the people… and all who have separated themselves from the peoples of the lands to the Law of God.”

One of, if not the, primary purpose of God’s Law was to separate God’s people from everyone else—they were to be clearly and easily identifiable as God’s people. They weren’t supposed to look like the world around them. This is the definition of Holy, “to be set apart intended for a specific purpose.”

Peter reiterates this same call to holiness for the church in 2 Peter 2,

“9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
11 Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. 12 Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.”

Although we are not under the Mosaic Law, we are called as God’s Holy People. Christians aren’t to be confused with the world around us, but instead clearly and easily identifiable. Co-workers and others in our lives shouldn’t be surprised when they find out we’re believers. It means that we should live in such a way that when someone discovers you’re a believer, they might think to themselves, “I don’t like Christians, but I like them.”

Reflection Questions:
Is there any area of my life that might be confused with a non-Christian?
Are there any people I interact with that would be surprised to discover I’m a believer?
What needs to change to fall more in line with God’s holiness?
 
By: Tyler Short

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