Nehemiah 10:32

_ALSO WE MADE ORDINANCES FOR US, TO CHARGE OURSELVES YEARLY WITH THE THIRD PART OF A SHEKEL FOR THE SERVICE OF THE HOUSE OF OUR GOD;_ The third part of a shekel for the service of the house of our God. The law required every individual above twenty years of age to pay half a shekel to the sanctuary. But in consequence of the general poverty of the people, occasioned by war and captivity, this tribute was reduced to a third part of a shekel....

32-39 Having covenanted against the sins of which they had been guilty, they obliged themselves to observe the duties they had neglected. We must not only cease to do evil, but learn to do well. Let not any people expect the blessing of God, unless they keep up public worship. It is likely to go well with our houses, when care is taken that the work of God's house goes on well. When every one helps, and every one gives, though but little, toward a good work, the whole will come to be a large sum. We must do what we can in works of piety and charity; and whatever state we are placed in, cheerfully perform our duty to God, which will be the surest way to ease and liberty. As the ordinances of God are the appointed means of support to our souls, the believer will not grudge the expense; yet most people leave their souls to starve....

Verse 32. _CHARGE OURSELVES YEARLY WITH THE THIRD PART OF A_ _SHEKEL_] According to the law, every one above _twenty_ years of age was to give _half a shekel_ to the sanctuary, which was called a _ransom for their souls_. See Exodus 30:11-2. But why is _one third_ of a shekel now promised instead of the _half_ shekel, which the law required? To this question no better answer can be given than this: the general _poverty_ of the people, occasioned by their wars, overthrows, heavy tributes, c., in the land of their captivity: and now on their return, having little property, it was impossible for them to give more and we know, from the terms of the law in this case, that the _poor_ and the _rich_ were obliged to give _alike_, because it was a _ransom for their_ _souls_; and the souls of the _poor_ and the...

THE THIRD PART OF A SHECKEL - This appears to have been the first occasion on which an annual payment toward the maintenance of the temple service and fabric was established. The half-shekel of the Law Exodus 30:13 was paid only at the time of a census (which rarely took place), and was thus not a recurring tax. In later times, the annual payment was raised from the third of a shekel to half a shekel Matthew 17:24....

EXPOSITION THE NAMES OF THOSE WHO SEALED, AND THE TERMS OF THE COVENANT (Nehemiah 10:1.). The covenant which the Levites had recommended, probably at the suggestion of Nehemiah and Ezra, whose hand may perhaps be traced in the long address of the preceding chapter (verses 6-38), was at once accepted by the heads of the nation in Church and State, and was "sealed to" by Nehemiah, by his secretary, by the heads of the priestly and Levitical families, each sealing for his house, by the heads of various lay families or communities, and by a certain number of individual laymen, sealing (as it would seem) for themselves only. The rest of the people, those who did not actually s

CHAPTER 10 _ 1. Those who sealed the covenant (Nehemiah 10:1)_ 2. The obligations of the covenant (Nehemiah 10:28) Nehemiah 10:1. The last verse of the preceding chapter mentions a covenant. “And yet for all this we make a sure covenant, and write it; and our princes, our Levites, and our priests, seal unto it.” In this chapter we find the names of the heads of the different houses who sealed the covenant, which means they put their signature to it. According to talmudical tradition these signers constituted “the Great Synagogue.” Originally it consisted of 120 members, but later only 70 belonged to it. Its covenants were as follows: _ (1) Not to marry heathen women;_...

NEHEMIAH 9:38 TO NEHEMIAH 10:39. THE COVENANT. This section is probably originally from Ezra's memoirs, though it has been considerably worked over, presumably not by the Chronicler, since he writes in the third person. It is, in the main, written in the first person plural, and may in its present form have come from some loyal follower of Ezra or Nehemiah who writes as representing one of the people. The special points of the covenant are the undertaking not to marry foreigners, to observe the Sabbath more strictly, to remit debts in the seventh year, to pay a third of a shekel to the Temple, to supply wood for burning the sacrifices, to offer all the first-fruits, and to give tithes; with all this _cf._ ch. 13....

A poll-tax of ⅓ of a shekel imposed for the maintenance of the service of the Temple 32. _we made ordinances for us_ The verse shows that Ezra and his colleagues, although establishing the authority of the written law, were ready to expand or modify it according to the requirements of the time a significant indication of the way in which the numerous instances of minor variation in the laws of the Pentateuch may reflect changes and qualifications required at different epochs. -Ordinances." The plural shows that the reference is not to be limited to the Temple tax. _the third_part _of a shekel_ See Exodus 30:11-16; in which passage every Israelite, -from twenty years old and upward," is required to give -the offering of the Lord," i.e. - _half-a-shekel_after the shekel of the sanctuary:" -the rich shall not give more and the poor shall not give less tha

_WHAT DID THE PEOPLE PROMISE TO GIVE -- NEHEMIAH 10:32-39:_ The people make promises and ordinances that they would provide funds needed to do the work in the Temple. They determined to give a certain amount per person each year to accomplish this goal. This was a voluntary decision of the people to support the Temple work. They would be sure that the wood was provided to burn the sacrifices. These Jews also agreed to obey the laws of God regarding giving Him the firstfruits of the harvest and the firstborn of the people and animals. The gifts would be brought to the Temple and stored until they were needed. This store of good was to insure that the service to God in the Temple would not be neglected. Let us learn to uses whatever we have to the glory of God and to help build up his kingdom. If we give back to God anything less than what He deserves it is to rob Him. ...

3. The people pledged additionally to support the Temple. TEXT, NEHEMIAH 10:32-33 32 We also placed ourselves under obligation to contribute yearly one third of a shekel for the service of the house of our God: 33 for the showbread, for the continual grain offering, for the continual burnt offering, the sabbaths, the new moon, for the appointed times, for the holy things and for the sin offerings to make atonement for Israel, and all the work of the house of our God. COMMENT The one-third shekel in _Nehemiah 10:32_ appears superficially to be at variance with the requirement of Exodus 30:13, specifying a half-shekel. The amount is also known to us from...