Pray the Word with David Platt is a resource from radical.net.

Nehemiah chapter 10, verse 32.

We also take on ourselves the obligation to give yearly a third part of a shekel for the service of the house of our God.

That verse doesn't maybe seem to stick out at first. It's in the part of Nehemiah

chapter 10 where they're basically just listing out all the ways they're going to obey God.

And the word that's used there is obligation. We take on ourselves the obligation to do this, to give yearly a third part of a shekel for the

service of the house of our God.

You get to the very end of the chapter, it says we will not neglect the house of our God.

So they're saying we know we are obligated to provide for the services in the temple.

Now, when I read this, I think about that word obligation.

Like, are we obligated to do certain things, to obey God's word.

Well, yes, in one sense, as His servants, we are.

Like when God speaks, he's our Lord.

When Jesus gives us a command, it's not an option for us. As followers of Jesus, we obey.

We obey. We're obligated to obey. This is why even when you get to Romans chapter 1, Paul talks about

how he is obligated to preach the gospel,

not only to Jews, but to Gentiles as well. He's obligated. At the same time, there is joy in

obligation. Now, we realize, we realize there can be lack of joy joint obligation. Like, okay, I'm doing something

because I have to. I don't really want to. But that, that's not the picture we see here in Nehemiah 10.

Like they're, they just finished worshiping God, rejoicing over God. So they say we're obligated to provide for his worship.

That doesn't feel like, okay, so we have to do this. That feels like a want to. But even more so,

like in the new covenant, that's the promises we see that in the new covenant, God puts his law on

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