“Promises to Obey – assembling a ‘to do’ list,” from the lesson series, Return from Babylon | scattered & gathered, June 2020
our Scripture
Because of all this we make a firm covenant in writing; on the sealed document are the names of our princes, our Levites, and our priests.
28 “The rest of the people, the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, the temple servants, and all who have separated themselves from the peoples of the lands to the Law of God, their wives, their sons, their daughters, all who have knowledge and understanding, 29 join with their brothers, their nobles, and enter into a curse and an oath to walk in God’s Law that was given by Moses the servant of God, and to observe and do all the commandments of the Lord our Lord and his rules and his statutes.
We obligate ourselves to bring the first fruits of our ground and the first fruits of all fruit of every tree, year by year, to the house of the Lord (ESV);
New American Standard Bible: Nehemiah 9:38 NASB, Nehemiah 10:28-29 NASB, Nehemiah 10:35 NASB
New International Version: Nehemiah 9:38 NIV, Nehemiah 10:28-29 NIV, Nehemiah 10:35 NIV
The Message: Nehemiah 9:38 MESSAGE, Nehemiah 10:28-29 MESSAGE, Nehemiah 10:35 MESSAGE
New Living Translation: Nehemiah 9:38 NLT, Nehemiah 10:28-29 NLT, Nehemiah 10:35 NLT
our lesson
Do you keep or break promises? If you break them, you are certainly not alone. We have all broken promises before – to our family, our friends and to God. Broken promises have a disastrous effect on our relationships with others and within ourselves.
Enjoy a one page summary of the lesson. You can print copies for use with your group.
[su_pullquote align=”right”]Points to Ponder
1) How do you feel when someone breaks a promise to you? What does it do to the relationship that you have with the person?
2) Sometimes promises are broken for legitimate reasons. When this happens, how do you explain that you will do your best to not let it happen again? How can you best ask for forgiveness?
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why do we break promises
So why do we continue to break promises? First, most people begin with good intentions. We want to please the people that we know and love. We want to do a good job at work or school. While there are some people who intentionally mislead others, most just aren’t able to follow through.
Second, we make our promises based on what our “best self” would do in the circumstance. But our “best self” is rarely at work in keeping the promise. Begin today to work toward keeping your word. If remembering is a problem, find some high tech ways to be reminded of the actions that are needed. Explore the reasons behind why you have difficulties keeping your word.
[su_pullquote]Verse to Memorize
For all the promises of God find their “Yes” in Him. That is why it is through Him that we utter our Amen to God for His glory (2 Corinthians 1:20 ESV). [/su_pullquote]
promises to Nehemiah
For Nehemiah, the people of faith signed a covenant to live their lives with God. First they agreed to walk with God. Henry Ford once said, “Those who walk with God always reach their destination.”
[su_pullquote align=”right”]Words to Wrangle
The people of God are called out to be a people who are different than the world. We are a part of the covenant between God and man. The idea of the covenant was a written affirmation of the verbal agreement. The signatures of both parties made the agreement legally binding. Have you entered into such a covenant with God? Have you thought about writing down what you agree to keep as a part of your covenant? [/su_pullquote]
Next they promised to observe all the commandments of the Lord. Don’t you love how Nehemiah writes the phrase “the commandments of the Lord, our Lord?” We see things all the time, but there are times when we pay attention and times that we don’t. There are times we see God as almost impersonal – away from us, perhaps watching, reigning from afar. But there are times when we understand it is personal – this is our God, He is concerned with my welfare. He wants me to succeed.
Finally, the people pledged to obey. It takes more than observation of God’s ways, it takes actually doing what He asks. The word implies being compelled by a legal or moral duty, but it is actually a term used in biology.We need to obey because it is our very nature.
pledging to God
[su_pullquote align=”right”]Conclusions to Consider
1) A primary truth in this lesson is we keep our promises because of the certainty of God’s promises. Make a list of promises that God has made and how you recognize they were kept and fulfilled? Can you share one example of how God has kept a promise to you?
2) We can trust God, no matter the circumstance, because God always keeps His promises. Would you agree or disagree? Why? Do we really believe that statement?
3) We are participants in the new covenant with God. In what ways have you put your signature on the dotted line of the contract? [/su_pullquote]
It describes something that is restricted to a particular function because of its purpose and design. The lungs are made to breathe air, not water. We are obligated to be faithful and obedient to God by design.
The declaration is made by the entire company of people, filling in the blanks that are implied in Nehemiah 9:38. Everyone, from the oldest down to the youngest who could understand, was standing before God and sharing in this oath. They reinforced the oath with a curse, in essence calling down disaster if they should go back on their word.
| Return from Babylon: | Lesson Four |
sub-lessons | |||
| Want to take your study to a deeper level? The images to the right represent ten “sub-lessons,” each supporting the theme in today’s lesson. |  |
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| Click on an image and you will be taken to another page of content. Pick as many as you like. If you have a small group that meets two weeks apart, there is a study for each week day. |  |
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