Making a Sure Covenant - Nehemiah 9:38

In the book of Nehemiah, Nehemiah shared how the Levites said to Jehovah God, “Behold, we are servants this day, and for the land that you gave unto our fathers to eat the fruit thereof and the good thereof, behold, we are servants in it. And it yields much increase unto the kings whom you have set over us because of our sins: also they have dominion over our bodies, and over our cattle, at their pleasure, and we are in great distress”, and in chapter nine and verse thirty-eight of Nehemiah, Nehemiah shared how the Levites said, “because of all this we make a sure covenant" where we read,

And because of all this we make a sure covenant, and write it; 

and our princes, Levites, and priests, seal unto it.

The verse reads, “And because of all this we make a sure covenant, and write it;” Nehemiah began with the words, “and because of all this” which means “and since or on account of everything that happened with Israel including their land and produce being given over to foreign rulers““we make a sure covenant” or “we, the Levites and the people of Israel, fashion, form and produce a certain, fixed and established compact, pledge and agreement”, “and write it” which means “and inscribe, engrave, enroll and record it, the sure covenant”. Nehemiah shared how the Levites said they formed and fashioned a written agreement with Jehovah God on account of all the consequences they suffered because of their sin against Him.

The verse continues, “and our princes, Levites, and priests, seal unto it.” Nehemiah added the words, “and our princes” or “and our, the Levites and the people of Israel's, leaders, rulers, chief and chieftains”, “Levites” which means “descendants of Levi whose name means joined to and were specially set aside by God for His service”, “and priests” or “and spiritual spokesmen and leaders”, “seal unto it” which means “affix, fasten, lock, make a mark and sign to it, the sure covenant”. Nehemiah shared how the Levites said their leaders, the Levites themselves and the spiritual leaders of Israel make their mark and sign their names to the sure covenant. 

When we think through Nehemiah's words in this verse, we discover how the Levites not only told the people of Israel their commitment to Jehovah God, but they also formed a written document that would declare their agreement with Him. This “sure” or “covenant agreement” was symbolic of the way people attempt to keep their word with Jehovah God, and although it was a valiant effort, Jehovah God is the only one who can make a “covenant” agreement and observe it completely. God sent His Son Jesus into the world to die on the cross for the sins of all mankind, and He raised Him from the dead three days later so all who believe and trust in Him may be forgiven of their sins and inherit everlasting life with Him. This is God's “covenant” agreement with us, and when we receive Jesus as our “Savior and Lord”, we shall spend all eternity enjoying the “covenant” God has signed for us.

Next time we begin a new chapter and see Nehemiah mention, “those that sealed”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".