Question 1

What does it mean that the people entered into a curse and into an oath?

Accepted Answer

When the people entered into a curse and into an oath, they were taking their promise to obey God very seriously. An oath is a solemn promise made before God. The “curse” part means they accepted that if they broke this promise and turned from God’s law, they deserved the troubles God had warned about. They were not trying to bargain with God but saying, “We know your law, we agree it is right, and we are willing to face the results if we walk away from it again.”

Question 2

Why did the people promise not to give their daughters to the people of the land?

Accepted Answer

The people promised not to give their daughters in marriage to the nations around them, and not to take foreign daughters for their sons, because these marriages had led them into idol worship and disobedience in the past. The problem was not about race but about faith. Marrying those who did not follow the Lord often drew their hearts away from him. By making this promise, they were guarding their families so that their worship, customs, and trust in God would not be pulled in a different direction again.

Question 3

Why did they refuse to buy goods on the Sabbath and holy days?

Accepted Answer

They refused to buy goods on the Sabbath and on holy days because those days were set apart for rest and worship, not business. In the past, treating the Sabbath like any other day had been a sign that their hearts were drifting from God. By promising not to trade when others brought food or merchandise, they were choosing to let their weekly schedule and money habits show that God came first. It was a practical way of saying, “These days belong to the Lord, not to our business.”

Question 4

What is the meaning of leaving the seventh year and the exaction of every debt?

Accepted Answer

Leaving the seventh year means they agreed to let the land rest every seventh year and not plant crops, trusting God to provide. Letting go of “the exaction of every debt” means they would stop pressing their fellow Israelites to repay what was owed during that year, as the law said. This protected the poor and reminded everyone that the land, their harvest, and their wealth belonged to God. It was a built-in rhythm of mercy, rest, and trust instead of constant pressure and greed.

Question 5

Why did they charge themselves with the third part of a shekel each year?

Accepted Answer

They agreed to give a third of a shekel each year so that the daily work in God’s house would not lack anything. This money supported the showbread, regular grain and burnt offerings, Sabbaths, new moons, feast days, holy things, and sin offerings. In other words, it funded the ongoing worship life of the community. By setting this amount, they were taking shared responsibility. They were not waiting for someone else to pay, but saying, “We will all give so that worship continues properly.”

Question 6

What were the firstfruits and firstborn offerings they promised to bring?

Accepted Answer

Firstfruits were the first part of their crops and produce, and the firstborn were the first male children and firstborn of their animals, as God’s law described. The people promised to bring these to God’s house, to the priests and Levites who served there. For sons, this involved a set redemption, not human sacrifice. These offerings were a way of confessing that everything they had came from God. By giving the first and best, they showed trust that God would continue to provide the rest of the harvest and future flocks.

Question 7

What does this passage teach about tithes and the support of priests and Levites?

Accepted Answer

This passage shows that tithes were given so the Levites and priests could serve in God’s house without being neglected. The people brought a tenth of their produce to the Levites in every place they farmed. Then the Levites themselves brought a “tithe of the tithes” up to the temple, where the priests, porters, and singers served. It was a chain of giving that made sure everyone who worked in worship had what they needed. This kept the focus on God and made worship a shared responsibility.

Question 8

Why do the people end by saying, “We will not forsake the house of our God”?

Accepted Answer

They end with the promise, “We will not forsake the house of our God,” because in the past they had neglected God’s house. The temple had fallen into disrepair, offerings had stopped, and those who served there were not supported. That neglect showed a cold heart toward God. By saying this now, they are drawing a clear line. They are committing to keep up the building, the supplies, and the people needed for steady worship. It sums up their whole covenant: they want God’s worship at the center of their life together.

Nehemiah 10:28

¶ And the rest of the people, the priests, the Levites, the porters, the singers, the Nethinims, and all they that had separated themselves from the people of the lands unto the law of God, their wives, their sons, and their daughters, every one having knowledge, and having understanding;

The Vows of the Covenant

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Nehemiah 10:28

¶ And the rest of the people, the priests, the Levites, the porters, the singers, the Nethinims, and all they that had separated themselves from the people of the lands unto the law of God, their wives, their sons, and their daughters, every one having knowledge, and having understanding;

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The Vows of the Covenant

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