repentance

Nehemiah chapter 10 describes what the people decided to do after they had returned to the city of Jerusalem from exile and rebuilt the walls. After a time of rejoicing over the Law being read in the city the people make some promises to God. It is very interesting the things mentioned that they decided to rededicate to the Lord.

First, they promised not to give their daughters and sons to be married to people from other nations. One of the ways that they had fallen away from God is by marrying outside of the nation of Israel. Now that they were repenting of this they were promising that they would dedicate these relationships back to God and be faithful to what God had asked them to do.

Next, they promised to keep the Sabbath rest as holy to God. They said that they would not buy merchandise or grain from neighboring peoples on the Sabbath or any other holy day. They were promising to keep these holy days as an offering to God. They would dedicate these times to God. They would work hard on six days and give to God the Sabbath to honor Him.

Finally, they promised to give to God from the first fruits of their crops and herds. They had gotten out of the practice of setting aside their tithes and offerings to God and now were repentant of this and were dedicating their possessions to God. All of what they had God was to get the best.

So, how does this apply to us? Very simple. If you want to check your dedication to God. If you want to put God first. If you have walked away from God and need to put Him first again. If you would like to continue to grow in your relationship with God then do these three things. Put God first in your Relationships, Time and Money. Where do you spend your time? With who do you spend your time? And how do you spend your money? Are you putting God first in all of these areas? If not, maybe it is time to repent - to make these things right with God.