Focal Passage: Nehemiah 10:28-39
We find it easy to segment our lives in many different ways. You likely have work clothes, church clothes, play clothes, and so on. We do this with time as well. We have work/school time, family time, church time, play time, etc. I don’t want my church time to encroach too heavily on my play time or family time. So it is with our money. I don’t want to use my eating-out money for car repairs.
God did not create us for segmented lives. It is not that any of these individual divisions are bad inherently. But they must all be governed and guided by God’s rule over our lives.
The people of God were exiled due to their rebellion and their lack of faithfulness to God’s covenant. While they worshipped as God had commanded, they also followed the rituals of their pagan neighbors. Their lives were segmented. They had their God-box where they kept things related to Him, and they had their other-box where they kept the rest of their lives.
In this week’s passage, God’s people restore their commitment to God’s covenant – no more segmented living. Their commitment to God as the sole ruler of their lives was demonstrated by their refusal to marry foreign wives, because God was king over their relationships. They gave faithfully because God was king over their material possessions. They also worshipped God alone, because He alone is worthy of worship. All of their lives belonged to Him.
Though God’s people pledged to follow Him faithfully, they eventually waned in their commitment. However, Christ came and fulfilled the law where we could not. He died to take the penalty for our rebellion against God. Christ rose from the dead to give us hope of new life, reconciled to a right relationship with God where He rules as King over every aspect of our lives. God calls us, as His people, to walk in surrender and holiness before Him in every way. Is there any aspect of your life you are trying to keep outside God’s rule and reign?