Nehemiah 10:39
“For the children of Israel and the children of Levi shall bring the offering… and we will not neglect the house of our God.”
Much of our life is experience oriented. We save, plan, and prepare for a trip; making sure we get lots of photos, so we can remember our experience, and share it with others. We might even put together a photo album and place it on the coffee table, making it easier to look back and remember the times we enjoyed. Sometimes, we treat our relationship with the Lord the same way. We have an encounter with the LORD, we come forward at church to receive Christ, or recommit our lives to Him. Rather than treating this as a day-to-day ongoing relationship, we simply memorialize the moment. I think it is important to remember, while salvation transpires in that moment in time when we trust in Christ, relationship with the Lord is an ongoing event, and should be a part of our daily living. This relationship includes, not only what He has done for us, but committing ourselves to be a part of the further work He desires to do.
We read here, they committed themselves “not to neglect the house of God.” That meant, they were committed to doing their part. The priests committed to their service requirement, the Levites to theirs; while the people committed to giving the first fruit of the produce, to provide for the work. Giving back to the Lord is a very important part of following Him. We give, not because God is needy, but as an expression of our love and gratitude for all He has done for us, and because we want to be a part of the work He is doing in the lives of others.
Only you can determine if you have been neglecting the house of God. Why not take a few moments to examine your commitment to Christ. What part of your time, talents, and treasures have you been giving to the Kingdom of Heaven? If you need to make adjustments now is the time.
Pastor Jim
Over the years I have discovered something about myself, I am better at projects than I am at maintenance. My yard is a classic example. We worked hard to irrigate, lay sod, and plant trees, and our yard looked good for a little while. As time went on however, we discovered that neglect undid much of our labors, and before long, things looked rather unkept. It seems like Azariah had a similar problem; while he desired to live pleasing to the Lord and made great strides, he still neglected certain areas that needed his attention. One area in particular, was the “high places”, where altars were built to false gods. These shrines were destructive to the nation because they served as an open door to lead the people away from the true and living God. The only way to properly deal with the high places was to aggressively attack the problem. Azariah needed to mount an offensive and destroy the altars.
Jim Gallagher 