Nehemiah 10:1-39 Chavurah Shalom Saturday 7/27/19

Israel was first brought into with God through the sprinkling of Blood at Mount Sinai when Israel agreed to the 10 Words, and everything that God would give to Israel through Moshe. There was an Altar set up, sacrifices were made, blood was shed, and the blood was sprinkled upon the people in a Covenant Cer- emony. The there was a Covenant Meal with the representatives of the whole com- munity of Israel. Exodus 24:3-11 Then Moses came and recounted to the people all the words of the LORD and all the ordinances; and all the people answered with one voice and said, “All the words which the LORD has spoken we will do!” 4 Moses wrote down all the words of the LORD. Then he arose early in the morning, and built an altar at the foot of the mountain with twelve pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel. 5 He sent young men of the sons of Israel, and they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed young bulls as peace offerings to the LORD. 6 Moses took half of the blood and put it in basins, and the other half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar. 7 Then he took the book of the covenant and read it in the hearing of the people; and they said, “All that the LORD has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient!” 8 So Moses took the blood and sprinkled it on the people, and said, “Behold the blood of the covenant, which the LORD has made with you in accordance with all these words.” 9 Then Moses went up with , Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, 10 and they saw the God of Israel; and under His feet there appeared to be a pavement of sapphire, as clear as the sky itself. 11 Yet He did not stretch out His hand against the nobles of the sons of Israel; and they saw God, and they ate and drank. We have all the elements of a Covenant expressed in Exodus, complete with a Covenant Meal. Here in Nehemiah, we have something of a ratification of that Covenant, or a Covenant Renewal, from the leadership and the Returning Remnant in Nehemiah 10. We must be reminded at this point that they have assembled as One Man to Jerusalem, to Ezra the Scribe, for the continued reading and explanation of the Torah. So this document they are making, writing it and sealing it, is something of a renewal of their commitment to what they were already responsible to perform - The Torah. We go to the end of chapter 9 to get the

- 1 - beginning of this whole chapter and agreement. Nehemiah 9:38 “Now because of all this We are making an agreement in writing; And on the sealed document are the names of our leaders, our and our .” Now to get to the "because of all of this," we have to go back to the beginning of chapter 9, and be reminded that two days after Sukkot and Shemini Atzeret, they had gathered together to read and study the Torah, and then this agreement comes at the end of that time of reading and confessing of sins, which leads then to this Covenant Renewal made in writing, signed and sealed. The first part of Chapter 10 lists for us those leaders who signed the document. The Hebrew is "cut an אֲ נַ ֛חְ נוּ כֹּרְתִ ֥ ים אֲמָנָ ֖ה וְ כֹתְבִ ֑ ים ?What is this agreement agreement," where we have the word amanah, from amen, and thus something that is firm, true, and trustworthy. It is related to emet. This is the word Yeshua uses in address where it is translated Truly, Truly I say unto you. Some believe that this is a synonym for "Cut a Covenant." The general language and what they are agreeing to is to keep the Mosaic Covenant to which they are already obligated. But in every way this document is a Covenant Agreement. In this case this is understood as a voluntarily entered and unilaterally binding agreement. This was a very serious agreement noted by the fact that it is written down, and then either signed or sealed by the leaders. Most commentators assert that the list of names which follow indicate the use of a seal for each person rather than signatures on the document. Their signatures were indicated by the individual seals of the various ones doing the "signing." The outline of those who signed began with the Laity, beginning with Nehemiah as the Governor. Then the Levites were listed, and finally the priests. This is not the normal way we would encounter such lists. Normally this would have begun with the priests, then the Levites, and then the Laity. However, the actual listing of names, which is actually v. 2 in Hebrew while 10:1 in English, begins with Nehemiah, then priests, then Levites, and then the leaders of the various tribes of Israel. Nehemiah 10:1 Now on the sealed document were the names of: Nehemiah the governor, the son of Hacaliah, and , 2 Seraiah, , Jeremiah, 3

- 2 - Pashhur, Amariah, Malchijah, 4 Hattush, Shebaniah, Malluch, 5 Harim, Meremoth, Obadiah, 6 Daniel, Ginnethon, Baruch, 7 Meshullam, Abijah, Mijamin, 8 Maaziah, Bilgai, Shemaiah. These were the priests. 9 And the Levites: Jeshua the son of Azaniah, Binnui of the sons of Henadad, Kadmiel; 10 also their brothers Shebaniah, Hodiah, Kelita, Pelaiah, Hanan, 11 Mica, Rehob, Hashabiah, 12 Zaccur, Sherebiah, Shebaniah, 13 Hodiah, Bani, Beninu. 14 The leaders of the people: Parosh, Pahath-moab, Elam, Zattu, Bani, 15 Bunni, Azgad, Bebai, 16 Adonijah, Bigvai, Adin, 17 Ater, Hezekiah, Azzur, 18 Hodiah, Hashum, Bezai, 19 Hariph, Anathoth, Nebai, 20 Magpiash, Meshullam, Hezir, 21 Meshezabel, , Jaddua, 22 Pelatiah, Hanan, Anaiah, 23 Hoshea, Hananiah, Hasshub, 24 Hallohesh, Pilha, Shobek, 25 Rehum, Hashabnah, Maaseiah, 26 Ahiah, Hanan, Anan, 27 Malluch, Harim, Baanah. Next we are told the nature of this document. The emphasis is on the whole community without exception. This is in keeping with most commentators. 28 Now the rest of the people, the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, the temple servants and all those who had separated themselves from the peoples of the lands to the law of God, their wives, their sons and their daughters, all those who had knowledge and understanding, 29 are joining with their kinsmen, their nobles, and are taking on themselves a curse and an oath to walk in God’s law, which was given through Moses, God’s servant, and to keep and to observe all the commandments of GOD our Lord, and His ordinances and His statutes; 30 and that we will not give our daughters to the peoples of the land or take their daughters for our sons. 31 As for the peoples of the land who bring wares or any grain on the sabbath day to sell, we will not buy from them on the sabbath or a holy day; and we will forego the crops the seventh year and the exaction of every debt. Our text uses the word "remnant" of the people, where our text describes them as "the rest of the community." What we are dealing with here altogether is the Returning Remnant, for many did not return but chose to remain in the various areas to which they had been exiled, and had "settled in." In spite of their being in exile, some established themselves in their new communities, set down roots as it were, had good income, so they decided to stay where they were. The rest of the listing is understood to mean the entire Remnant who had Returned to Jerusalem as the result of the Decree of Cyrus and the following Decree of Darius.

- 3 - The further description of this Returning Remnant is of those "separating themselves from the peoples of the lands unto the Torah of Elohim." This included their wives, sons, daughters, and all who were able to "know with understanding." That is, they had the ability to think it through, make choices, and agree to these terms. Our Hebrew states "they caused to strengthen their brothers their nobles," and they entered into a curse and an oath "to walk in the Torah of Elohim which was given in the hand of Moshe." The first word in Hebrew is understood to indicate a self imposed curse if they failed to live up to this their Covenant. The second Hebrew word is then normally used of a promise, in this case, an oath to live by this Torah which has just been read again for the third time since the beginning of the 7th Month, and then explained. We might well ask, "How many times must we read this Torah?" Or, "How often must we read this Torah?" This continual reading of the Word of God resulted in something of a Revival here, where the people make a renewed commitment to live by the Torah. We should read the Torah daily! And I mean by Torah - the whole Bible. We need a steady diet of reading the Entire Word of God each year so that we don't miss any of the bountiful blessings God has intended for His Talmidim that are found therein. Charles Haddon Spurgeon created a twice daily devotional just for this purpose, "Morning and Evening." I am going by memory at this point. Remember, they gathered for the Reading of the Torah on the First Day of the 7th Month. They read the Torah again daily during Sukkot. Then they gathered two days after the 8th Day to read and study the Torah once again. They came to read through the Torah every three years in Judea and Jerusalem, and one a year in Babylon. The Babylonian Schedule came to be the one most would follow, and remains the norm for most Jewish Synagogues today. This oath they entered into included a further statement to "guard and to do all of the commandments of YHVH our Adonai, and His judgment and His statutes." This is an all inclusive statement. Three very specific points then follow, ones that they had been guilty of and reprimanded for under Ezra. First, they committed themselves to refrain from intermarriage with the Peoples of the Land. Second, they committed to honoring of the Shabbat, and not doing any commerce on the Shabbat, or any Holy Day. Lastly, they committed to keeping the Shemittah, that which they had not kept during the Kingdom period and was part of the reason for their Exile to begin with.

- 4 - 1 Chronicles 36:20-21. Those who had escaped from the sword he carried away to Babylon; and they were servants to him and to his sons until the rule of the kingdom of Persia, 21 to fulfill the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed its sabbaths. All the days of its desolation it kept sabbath until seventy years were complete. They had no doubt seen these Scriptures in their study of the Torah, and are now moved to be Shomer Shabbat. They would keep the Shabbat of each week, the 7th day, and the Shabbat of the 7th Year. The Shemittah called for letting the Land enjoy its own Shabbat, and is a agricultural principle to let the land lay fallow every 7th year. Along with this refraining from sowing, plowing and reaping, was the remission of debts. All of this is being rehearsed in this agreement. Leviticus 25:1-7 The LORD then spoke to Moses at Mount Sinai, saying, 2 “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When you come into the land which I shall give you, then the land shall have a sabbath to the LORD. 3 ‘Six years you shall sow your field, and six years you shall prune your vineyard and gather in its crop, 4 but during the seventh year the land shall have a sabbath rest, a sabbath to the LORD; you shall not sow your field nor prune your vineyard. 5 ‘Your harvest’s aftergrowth you shall not reap, and your grapes of untrimmed vines you shall not gather; the land shall have a sabbatical year. 6 ‘All of you shall have the sabbath products of the land for food; yourself, and your male and female slaves, and your hired man and your foreign resident, those who live as aliens with you. 7 ‘Even your cattle and the animals that are in your land shall have all its crops to eat. ADONAI's promise was that if they would grant the Land its Shabbat, and then plant the 8th year, they would have enough to last until the harvest of the 9th year. This is a difficult thing to practice, particularly having seen any times of famine. If we take the Scripture at face value, then the Land was given its rest which it was not given for 490 years, every 7th year. Thus the 70 straight years of rest made up for the lack. This would take us back by most reckoning to the Rule of Solomon. Does that mean that they did not give the Land its rest at all for 70 years? Or did it mean that there were some who did and many who did not, so that the whole land is being given its rest due to the bad people? While it may not have been across the board, we must reckon that this Shemittah was not kept as it was intended, and it would seem to be true for a 490 year period based upon the Scriptures.

- 5 - Leviticus 26:34 ‘Then the land will enjoy its sabbaths all the days of the desolation, while you are in your enemies’ land; then the land will rest and enjoy its sabbaths. 35 ‘All the days of its desolation it will observe the rest which it did not observe on your sabbaths, while you were living on it. We mentioned the remission of debts, which was also on a 7 year cycle. Whether or not it always coincided with the Shemittah, many Scholars believe it was joined to the Shemittah at this point forward. There are three passages for our consideration. Exodus 21:2-6 “If you buy a Hebrew slave, he shall serve for six years; but on the seventh he shall go out as a free man without payment. 3 “If he comes alone, he shall go out alone; if he is the husband of a wife, then his wife shall go out with him. 4 “If his master gives him a wife, and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall belong to her master, and he shall go out alone. 5 “But if the slave plainly says, ‘I love my master, my wife and my children; I will not go out as a free man,’ 6 then his master shall bring him to God, then he shall bring him to the door or the doorpost. And his master shall pierce his ear with an awl; and he shall serve him permanently. Deuteronomy 15:1 “At the end of every seven years you shall grant a remission of debts. 2 “This is the manner of remission: every creditor shall release what he has loaned to his neighbor; he shall not exact it of his neighbor and his brother, because the LORD’S remission has been proclaimed. Deuteronomy 31:10 Then Moses commanded them, saying, “At the end of every seven years, at the time of the year of remission of debts, at the Feast of Booths, 11 when all Israel comes to appear before the LORD your God at the place which He will choose, you shall read this law in front of all Israel in their hearing. The passages from Deuteronomy make it sound as if the concept of the Shabbat Year for the Land, and the 7th Year of Release are one and the same according to the Torah. This is debated, but it seems straightforward from reading these passages together. Vv. 32-33 The Expenses of the Temple Nehemiah 10:32-33 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 , for the continual grain offering, for the continual , the

- 6 - 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. The idea of the Temple Tax, and its half-shekel comes from Exodus 30:13; 36:26; and is found referred to in Matthew 17:24. It would seem a rather preposterous thing that Israel would create for themselves an ordinance which already occurs in the Torah. Originally the needs for the Temple was provided through the tithes of the people of Israel from the produce of their land, fields, crops, and animals. The New Temple did not have such storehouses at this time because of the destruction by Nebuchadnezzar, and the Exile. Now Israel must take care that the Public Worship of the Temple, and the functioning of its various items such as the Menorah and its requirement of oil, the Table of Showbread and its 12 loaves each Shabbat, and the Altar with its twice daily sacrifice above and before all others, could all be provided. We must all help provide for public worship in our modern times for the buildings in which we worship. Exodus 30:11-16 The LORD also spoke to Moses, saying, 12 “When you take a census of the sons of Israel to number them, then each one of them shall give a ransom for himself to the LORD, when you number them, so that there will be no plague among them when you number them. 13 “This is what everyone who is numbered shall give: half a shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel is twenty gerahs), half a shekel as a contribution to the LORD. 14 “Everyone who is numbered, from twenty years old and over, shall give the contribution to the LORD. 15 “The rich shall not pay more and the poor shall not pay less than the half shekel, when you give the contribution to the LORD to make atonement for yourselves. 16 “You shall take the atonement money from the sons of Israel and shall give it for the service of the tent of meeting, that it may be a memorial for the sons of Israel before the LORD, to make atonement for yourselves.” The way that this first census money was used was in the silver tenons for the framework of the Court of the Sanctuary which was erected around the Altar and the Tent of Meeting, the Ohel Moed. Nowhere is this referred to as a tax, nor as a yearly assessment. However, this is the basis for the later Temple Tax which is being imposed in Yeshua's Day. Jewish Commentary suggests that this was levied upon all the men of fighting age from this day forward.

- 7 - Matthew 17:24-27 When they came to Capernaum, those who collected the two- drachma tax came to Peter and said, “Does your teacher not pay the two- drachma tax?” 25 He said, “Yes.” And when he came into the house, spoke to him first, saying, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth collect customs or poll-tax, from their sons or from strangers?” 26 When Peter said, “From strangers,” Jesus said to him, “Then the sons are exempt. 27 “However, so that we do not offend them, go to the sea and throw in a hook, and take the first fish that comes up; and when you open its mouth, you will find a shekel. Take that and give it to them for you and Me.” The two drachma reference is the equivalent of two day's wages in Yehua's Day, and equivalent apparently to a half shekel, since one shekel was enough for the tax for both Yeshua and Peter. We recognize then that this was a very fixed tax at this time. So if there is no Torah for this tax, why do we find it here in Nehemiah and later in the times of Yeshua? The Maccabees are credited for the Temple Tax from their time period and on into the 1st Century, and until the destruction of the Temple. However, there is a direct connection between the passages mentioned in Exodus and the language employed here for this self imposed yearly tax. The reference is "for the service of the House of our God." The reference in Exodus above is "for the service of the Tent of Meeting." Some have speculated that the provisions made by Artaxerxes for the functioning of the Temple had ceased, or that the needs for worship had increased beyond that which the King of Persia had provided. In this case the amount is reduced, perhaps due to the financial distress of the people at this time. Here it is one-third of a shekel. They imposed it upon themselves yearly, and qualify its use "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." So while this self imposed taxation was less than the half-shekel, it was nonetheless imposed prior to the time of the Maccabees. What is more difficult is to determine if it existed prior to the time of Nehemiah, and since the time of Exodus. I know of no verses at this point that demand a yearly tax of a yearly giving of a half shekel. There were times of asking for willing donations for the purpose of restoring the Temple, such as Jehoash's Chest, 2 Kings 12:6-16.

- 8 - Vv. 34-39 Keeping the Temple Functioning Nehemiah 10:34-39 Likewise we cast lots for the supply of wood among the priests, the Levites and the people so that they might bring it to the house of our God, according to our fathers’ households, at fixed times annually, to burn on the altar of the LORD our God, as it is written in the law; 35 and that they might bring the of our ground and the first fruits of all the fruit of every tree to the house of the LORD annually, 36 and bring to the house of our God the of our sons and of our cattle, and the firstborn of our herds and our flocks as it is written in the law, for the priests who are ministering in the house of our God. 37 We will also bring the first of our dough, our contributions, the fruit of every tree, the new wine and the oil to the priests at the chambers of the house of our God, and the tithe of our ground to the Levites, for the Levites are they who receive the tithes in all the rural towns. 38 The , the son of Aaron, shall be with the Levites when the Levites receive tithes, and the Levites shall bring up the tenth of the tithes to the house of our God, to the chambers of the storehouse. 39 For the sons of Israel and the sons of Levi shall bring the contribution of the grain, the new wine and the oil to the chambers; there are the utensils of the sanctuary, the priests who are ministering, the gatekeepers and the singers. Thus we will not neglect the house of our God. Here are a number of commandments being covered concerning the ongoing functioning of the Temple Worship as prescribed by ADONAI in the Torah. We are definitely to presume that this was covered in that which had been read and expounded during this 7th Month. This section begins with the wood necessary to keep a fire burning upon the Altar at all times. We must not forget that the fire was never to go out! Leviticus 6:12-13 ‘The fire on the altar shall be kept burning on it. It shall not go out, but the priest shall burn wood on it every morning; and he shall lay out the burnt offering on it, and offer up in smoke the fat portions of the peace offerings on it. 13 ‘Fire shall be kept burning continually on the altar; it is not to go out. This Torah gave no directions on how to procure the wood necessary for the Altar, only that there was to be a fire kept burning upon the Altar. This is no doubt the reference to which they were referring when they sought an organized method to keep wood handy. The Gibeonites, the ones who tricked the leaders of Israel in the time of Joshua, became "hewers of wood and drawers of water." They became the

- 9 - servants of Israel, and they were providing the wood and the water needed in the , and we presume later in the Temple. We know that the Gibeonites existed during the time of King Saul and King David, for King Saul sought to exterminate them, and King David gave 7 of Saul's sons into their hand for the atrocities done by Saul, and this was to appease God for the Three Year Famine being experienced in the Land at that time. 2 Samuel 21:1-14. We also read of a Gibeonite being part of David's 30 Mighty Men, 1 Chronicles 12:4; and that we have a Gibeonite who is helping to build the Wall, Nehemiah 3:7. However, at this point, the Gibeonites we find referenced appear to have become part of the community. Instead they are casting lots for appointed times of the year. (c) thus writes:"what is the wood offering? there was a time fixed for families to go out unto the forests, and bring in wood of disposition (to be laid in order on the altar); and the day when it came to the turn of a family to bring the wood, they offered up freewill burnt offerings, which were called a wood offering; and it was to them as a good day (or festival), and they were forbid to mourn, fast, or do any work on it;" and he observes, that if a single person brought wood of his own free will, he was obliged to the same; and Josephus (d) speaks of a feast called χυλοφορια, when it was customary for all to bring wood to the altar, to keep alive the fire, that it might not go out, which, according to him, was on the fourteenth of the month Lois, or August; but this was not the business of all the people, lots were cast, as here said, who should do it, and when: to bring it into the house of our God; the temple, where there was a place called the "wood room", into which the wood was brought after it had been wormed by the priests (e).---Gill, John. Gill's Bible Commentary (Kindle Locations 95183-95185). OSNOVA. Kindle Edition. Next is mentioned the first fruits of the ground and the first fruits of all the fruit of every tree to be brought in annually. We actually have one long sentence in the Hebrew, listing a number of different issues related to the first fruits, and to whom they were to be given. There are a number of different regulations that are included in this very terse statement. We have added to the first two already mentioned, the first born of man, of cattle, of flocks and herds, of the dough, the wine, the oil, and the tithe of our ground to the Levites. This is quite a list! Let's begin with the first thing mentioned, and that is the first fruit of the ground. We find the first fruits mentioned in the following passages:

- 10 - Exodus 23:19 “You shall bring the choice first fruits of your soil into the house of the LORD your God. Exodus 34:26 “You shall bring the very first of the first fruits of your soil into the house of the LORD your God. Deuteronomy 26:1-11 “Then it shall be, when you enter the land which the LORD your God gives you as an inheritance, and you possess it and live in it, 2 that you shall take some of the first of all the produce of the ground which you bring in from your land that the LORD your God gives you, and you shall put it in a basket and go to the place where the LORD your God chooses to establish His name. 3 “You shall go to the priest who is in office at that time and say to him, ‘I declare this day to the LORD my God that I have entered the land which the LORD swore to our fathers to give us.’ 4 “Then the priest shall take the basket from your hand and set it down before the altar of the LORD your God. 5 “You shall answer and say before the LORD your God, ‘My father was a wandering Aramean, and he went down to Egypt and sojourned there, few in number; but there he became a great, mighty and populous nation. 6 ‘And the Egyptians treated us harshly and afflicted us, and imposed hard labor on us. 7 ‘Then we cried to the LORD, the God of our fathers, and the LORD heard our voice and saw our affliction and our toil and our oppression; 8 and the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm and with great terror and with signs and wonders; 9 and He has brought us to this place and has given us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. 10 ‘Now behold, I have brought the first of the produce of the ground which You, O LORD have given me.’ And you shall set it down before the LORD your God, and worship before the LORD your God; 11 and you and the and the alien who is among you shall rejoice in all the good which the LORD your God has given you and your household. Numbers 18:8-20 Then the LORD spoke to Aaron, “Now behold, I Myself have given you charge of My offerings, even all the holy gifts of the sons of Israel I have given them to you as a portion and to your sons as a perpetual allotment. 9 “This shall be yours from the most holy gifts reserved from the fire; every offering of theirs, even every grain offering and every and every guilt offering, which they shall render to Me, shall be most holy for you and for your sons. 10 “As the most holy gifts you shall eat it; every male shall eat it. It shall be holy to you. 11 “This also is yours, the offering of their gift, even all the

- 11 - wave offerings of the sons of Israel; I have given them to you and to your sons and daughters with you as a perpetual allotment. Everyone of your household who is clean may eat it. 12 “All the best of the fresh oil and all the best of the fresh wine and of the grain, the first fruits of those which they give to the LORD, I give them to you. 13 “The first ripe fruits of all that is in their land, which they bring to the LORD, shall be yours; everyone of your household who is clean may eat it. 14 “Every devoted thing in Israel shall be yours. 15 “Every first issue of the womb of all flesh, whether man or animal, which they offer to the LORD, shall be yours; nevertheless the firstborn of man you shall surely redeem, and the firstborn of unclean animals you shall redeem. 16 “As to their redemption price, from a month old you shall redeem them, by your valuation, five shekels in silver, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, which is twenty gerahs. 17 “But the firstborn of an ox or the firstborn of a sheep or the firstborn of a goat, you shall not redeem; they are holy. You shall sprinkle their blood on the altar and shall offer up their fat in smoke as an offering by fire, for a soothing aroma to the LORD. 18 “Their meat shall be yours; it shall be yours like the breast of a and like the right thigh. 19 “All the offerings of the holy gifts, which the sons of Israel offer to the LORD, I have given to you and your sons and your daughters with you, as a perpetual allotment. It is an everlasting covenant of salt before the LORD to you and your descendants with you.” 20 Then the LORD said to Aaron, “You shall have no inheritance in their land nor own any portion among them; I am your portion and your inheritance among the sons of Israel. This was the way that ADONAI provided for the Priests from the beginning of the organized worship of Israel. There was not a monetary tax for the functioning of the Temple, but rather the agricultural produce of the nation. These first fruits of the ground were wholly given to the priests for their sustenance. While there are the very clear offerings of the grains of Barley at First Fruits of , and the grains of Wheat at , it is not quite so clear concerning the basket of first fruits mentioned in Deuteronomy. While it is typically associated with Shavuot, we recognize that many of the fruits of the ground will not be ready by this time. The Harvest Season in Israel begins with the Barley and Wheat Harvest, and continues through the Summer with Grapes, and then in the Fall with Olives. The Festival of Sukkot is also referred to as the Festival of Ingathering, when all of the crops will have begun to be harvested, though not everything finished by this time.

- 12 - Some will suggest that this as one of the Shelosh Regalim was when this basket would be brought to the priests at the Temple. The First Fruit of Trees brings up a serious difference in modern times. The idea of a separate calendar for the offering of the fruit trees is based upon Leviticus 19:23-25 ‘When you enter the land and plant all kinds of trees for food, then you shall count their fruit as forbidden. Three years it shall be forbidden to you; it shall not be eaten. 24 ‘But in the fourth year all its fruit shall be holy, an offering of praise to the LORD. 25 ‘In the fifth year you are to eat of its fruit, that its yield may increase for you; I am the LORD your God. However, the only mention of Tu B'Shevat is found in the Mishnah and not in our Scriptures. Reference is made to the reasoning of Hillel verses Shammai, when the date came to be established with the 15th of Shevat, which corresponds to our January/ February. Tu B'Shevat for 2020 will be at sunset on February 10th. The connection with Hillel and Shammai tells us that this was well established by the time of Yeshua, for they are mentioned by Yeshua, and the period of the Zugot, or Pairs, ended 10 AD. The reasoning behind this unique calendar and celebration has to do with the rainy season, the former rains coming just after the Festival of Sukkot and continuing through the Winter. Shevat falls after Mid-Winter in Israel, so that the ground is usually wet, with the majority of the rain coming during this time of year, and the best time for planting trees. We might call it Israeli Arbor Day. Arbor Day is the holiday in America when people, families, and concerned groups are encouraged to plant trees. Here in America, it is typically in April. April is chosen because it is typified as a wet month, but it may vary depending upon climate and suitable planting season. The old adage went something like this, "April showers brings May flowers." All that our text mentions has to do with when the fruit of trees may be eaten. The first three years, you are to let your trees bear without using any of the fruit. This is we presume to allow the tree to fully establish itself. The fourth year the fruit is used in worship to God, and in the 5th year it is available for personal consumption. Next mentioned is the first born of man and animal. The concept of the First Born is tied to the Exodus, and to God's referring to Israel as His Firstborn Son, Exodus 4:22. The last plague to hit Egypt was the death of the first born, both of man and animal throughout the land of Egypt.

- 13 - Exodus 13:1-2; 11-16 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Sanctify to Me every firstborn, the first offspring of every womb among the sons of Israel, both of man and beast; it belongs to Me.” 11 “Now when the LORD brings you to the land of the Canaanite, as He swore to you and to your fathers, and gives it to you, 12 you shall devote to the LORD the first offspring of every womb, and the first offspring of every beast that you own; the males belong to the LORD. 13 “But every first offspring of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb, but if you do not redeem it, then you shall break its neck; and every firstborn of man among your sons you shall redeem. 14 “And it shall be when your son asks you in time to come, saying, ‘What is this?’ then you shall say to him, ‘With a powerful hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt, from the house of slavery. 15 ‘It came about, when Pharaoh was stubborn about letting us go, that the LORD killed every firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of beast. Therefore, I sacrifice to the LORD the males, the first offspring of every womb, but every firstborn of my sons I redeem.’ 16 “So it shall serve as a sign on your hand and as phylacteries on your forehead, for with a powerful hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt.” As a result of the Exodus, and in particular this plague, the first born of man and animal have been devoted to God. In reality, everything belongs to God whether they acknowledge God or not. He is the Creator and the Sustainer of all flesh, so all flesh were created by Him. From Him they come, and to Him they shall return. We must all stand before God. But Israel, and those who join to God in faith have a special relationship. The first born are set apart by this Scripture, and are to be treated as special. We come then to what is called in Hebrew, , the redemption of the first born. Numbers 18:15-16 “Every first issue of the womb of all flesh, whether man or animal, which they offer to the LORD, shall be yours; nevertheless the firstborn of man you shall surely redeem, and the firstborn of unclean animals you shall redeem. 16 “As to their redemption price, from a month old you shall redeem them, by your valuation, five shekels in silver, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, which is twenty gerahs. This practice is continued in our modern times. The concept is believed to be tied to the first born of a family acting as both leader and as priest to the whole household. The firstborn had special status as the head of the household, with certain responsibilities to care for the household. The concept was that ADONAI

- 14 - set apart the Priests and Levites to function in place of the first born of the Tribes of Israel. This is typically taught in the Jewish world to be the result of the worship of the Golden Calf at Sinai. However, ADONAI was instructing Moshe concerning the priesthood while on Mount Sinai, whether the beginnings of the Golden Calf had yet begun or not is difficult to determine. Numbers 3:11-13 Again the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 12 “Now, behold, I have taken the Levites from among the sons of Israel instead of every firstborn, the first issue of the womb among the sons of Israel. So the Levites shall be Mine. 13 “For all the firstborn are Mine; on the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I sanctified to Myself all the firstborn in Israel, from man to beast. They shall be Mine; I am the LORD.” When asked why only the first born males, it is responded that the women did not have the role of priests, therefore this relates only to the first born sons. Luke 2:22-24 And when the days for their purification according to the were completed, they brought Him up to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “EVERY firstborn MALE THAT OPENS THE WOMB SHALL BE CALLED HOLY TO THE LORD”), 24 and to offer a sacrifice according to what was said in the Law of the Lord, “A PAIR OF TURTLEDOVES OR TWO YOUNG PIGEONS.” So Yeshua was brought to the Temple for the Rite of Pidyon HaBen, the Redemption of the First Born Son. Since they were a poor family, they had to get by with the smallest acceptable offering. The sacrifice after the male child was born was offered for Miriam, but the Redemption Price for Yeshua was set above in Numbers 18:15-16 at 5 Silver Shekels. Today you can actually buy special coins of silver for the Pidyon HaBen. They are even available on Amazon! These coins are specially minted in Israel just for this purpose, with embellishments on either side.

Obverse: The chalice that served the Temple and five pomegranates, symbols of the "Five Shekels of the Sacred Kind." These symbols were found on the ancient Jewish shekels. Around: a crown based upon the seven varieties (for which Palestine was praised).

- 15 - Reverse: The Hebrew verse: "And their redemption when a month old shall you redeem - shall be by your valuation, five silver shekels, the sacred shekels" - Numbers 18:16. The inscription "Pidyon Haben Medal" in English.

- 16 - The firstborn of animals begins with cattle, herds, and flocks. The word for cattle This word is most often translated as cattle, though it can refer .בְּהֵמָה ,is behemot .בָּקָר ,to any beast. The Hebrew for herd also refers to either cattle or oxen, bakar refers to either sheep or goats, or both. There are ,צוֹן ,The word for flocks, tzon specific words for lambs, young goats, male sheep, and male goats. These are more general terms. These terms refer to those animals that are able to be offered up to God on the Altar. These cannot be redeemed, but must be offered up to God, or the fat thereof, and the meat of them then given to the priesthood for their consumption, and for their families. Our text in Nehemiah makes it clear that these first born animals are for the ministering priests. However, the fact remains that you are not to offer unto God anything that is blemished. For they point towards the One Without any Blemish, the Perfect Sacrifice in Yeshua who was sinless, Holy, and Perfect in every way. Deuteronomy 15:19 “You shall consecrate to the LORD your God all the firstborn males that are born of your herd and of your flock; you shall not work with the firstborn of your herd, nor shear the firstborn of your flock. 20 “You and your household shall eat it every year before the LORD your God in the place which the LORD chooses. 21 “But if it has any defect, such as lameness or blindness, or any serious defect, you shall not sacrifice it to the LORD your God. 22 “You shall eat it within your gates; the unclean and the clean alike may eat it, as a gazelle or a deer. 23 “Only you shall not eat its blood; you are to pour it out on the ground like water. Once there was a Central Sanctuary, and these first born animals, being within one year of age, are then brought to the Sanctuary for Sacrifice, a portion of which the families enjoyed as a Shelamim or Peace Offering with God, and the rest of the animal, as previously provided, going to the priests. arisah, translated' ,עֲרִיסָה Our next term is related to our Challah. The Hebrew is either as coarse grain or as dough. There is another specific word for the dough that you are working with to produce the bread, kneading it and forming it. This word is specifically used for the whole grain bread flour or dough that is offered up before ADONAI. Numbers 15:20-21 ‘Of the first of your dough you shall lift up a cake as an offering; as the offering of the threshing floor, so you shall lift it up. 21 ‘From the first of your dough you shall give to the LORD an offering throughout your

- 17 - generations. In this commandment, we have the same word used above for "dough," followed by the amount lifted up from that dough and referred to as a "cake," which is our It was lifted up and waved before ADONAI, and then. it .חַלָּה ",word "challah became food for the priests just like the first of the animals. The clearest representation of this may be in the Millennial Temple, from Ezekiel 44:30 “The first of all the first fruits of every kind and every contribution of every kind, from all your contributions, shall be for the priests; you shall also give to the priest the first of your dough to cause a blessing to rest on your house. We have here the same word as in our text, the 'arisah. In modern times, since there is no Temple, many Jewish women will honor and respect this practice by pinching off an offering of the Challah as they are working with their dough to be burned outside on the grill, on a fire, or in the oven. In modern times, bakers — both professionals and amateurs — still separate challah when they make large batches of dough by removing a small piece before forming it into loaves. That piece is then burned and discarded. This is why on packages of challah and matzah the manufacturer prints the line “challah is taken.”--My Jewish Learning Website. Next up is the New Wine and Oil. There are various words used for the fresh pressing of the grapes, for that which is intoxicating in various levels, and that which comes from the verb to ,תִיֶוֹשׁ ,which is not intoxicating. This word is tirosh tread down or press wine, or better, the grapes for the juice and then the wine after fermentation. This was acknowledged already in our passage from Numbers above: Numbers 18:12. “All the best of the fresh oil and all the best of the fresh wine and of the grain, the first fruits of those which they give to the LORD, I give them to you. There were various uses for the wine, for the consumption by the priests as part of their regular diet, and for the ceremonies associated with the various festivals. There was a cup of blessing with Shabbat, and with other festivals, and with every covenant. There were various libations, cups of wine, much of which was poured out before God. There is the stipulation that a drink offering was not to be poured out upon the Altar of Incense, but was poured out before ADONAI. Genesis 35:14 Jacob set up a pillar in the place where He had spoken with him,

- 18 - a pillar of stone, and he poured out a drink offering on it; he also poured oil on it. Exodus 37:16 He made the utensils which were on the table, its dishes and its pans and its bowls and its jars, with which to pour out drink offerings, of pure gold. Numbers 28:7 ‘Then the drink offering with it shall be a fourth of a hin for each lamb, in the holy place you shall pour out a drink offering of strong drink to the LORD. was a staple for the Israeli diet, as well as being used in the grain offerings, the Holy Oil, the Oil for the Holy Menorah, and in various ways upon the body for healing and for the care of the skin. Perhaps our first thoughts will go to the Menorah. The Oil was to be brought to the priest, into the chambers of the Temple. The Oil for the Menorah underwent a filtering for 7 days, along with the blessings over the oil, in order to create a smokeless oil for the Great Menorah. Only after the 7 days of filtering and blessing was it a Holy Oil for the Menorah. All of the Offerings of First Fruits were to be brought to the Temple, put in the storehouse, and brought out for use as needed by the priests for their needs. This then brings us to a whole other way of support. The Tithe. We don't have time nor space to deal with the Tithes in detail, only to acknowledge them. While the priests received the First Fruits, the Levites received the Tithes. These Tithes are to be understood as separate from the First Fruits, and would have been set aside only after the First Fruits were given unto God. The First Fruits were God's! Only after they were set apart as the very best of all of their crops and animals, had been brought to the Temple and given to God, and the priests had waved them before ADONAI, were they then given by God to the priest for their use. The Tithes however, were given to the Levites directly. These Tithes were for the sustenance of the Levites in their role in behalf of the community of Israel. Num. 18:21-28 “To the sons of Levi, behold, I have given all the tithe in Israel for an inheritance, in return for their service which they perform, the service of the tent of meeting. 22 “The sons of Israel shall not come near the tent of meeting again, or they will bear sin and die. 23 “Only the Levites shall perform the service of the tent of meeting, and they shall bear their iniquity; it shall be a perpetual statute throughout your generations, and among the sons of Israel they shall

- 19 - have no inheritance. 24 “For the tithe of the sons of Israel, which they offer as an offering to the LORD, I have given to the Levites for an inheritance; therefore I have said concerning them, ‘They shall have no inheritance among the sons of Israel.’” 25 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 26 “Moreover, you shall speak to the Levites and say to them, ‘When you take from the sons of Israel the tithe which I have given you from them for your inheritance, then you shall present an offering from it to the LORD, a tithe of the tithe. 27 ‘Your offering shall be reckoned to you as the grain from the threshing floor or the full produce from the wine vat. 28 ‘So you shall also present an offering to the LORD from your tithes, which you receive from the sons of Israel; and from it you shall give the LORD’S offering to Aaron the priest. To come back to our text in Nehemiah: Nehemiah 10:37-40 We will also bring the first of our dough, our contributions, the fruit of every tree, the new wine and the oil to the priests at the chambers of the house of our God, and the tithe of our ground to the Levites, for the Levites are they who receive the tithes in all the rural towns. The priest, the son of Aaron, shall be with the Levites when the Levites receive tithes, and the Levites shall bring up the tenth of the tithes to the house of our God, to the chambers of the storehouse. 39 For the sons of Israel and the sons of Levi shall bring the contribution of the grain, the new wine and the oil to the chambers; there are the utensils of the sanctuary, the priests who are ministering, the gatekeepers and the singers. Thus we will not neglect the house of our God. It would appear that the Priests and the Levites together would receive the tithes in all of the towns and "cities of our service," to bring the appropriate portion to the Temple for it to be stored in the appropriate chambers of the Temple. The Levites received a Tenth of all that was grown, and they in turn gave a tenth of the tenth to the priests in Jerusalem at the Temple. In this way Everyone Gives for the Functioning of the Temple. And in this way, We Will NOT Neglect the House of our God. This Returning Remnant was determined to keep The Main Thing the Main Thing! Reading the Torah, Keeping Shabbat, building up and caring for the Priests, Levites, and through them, The Temple. Everything revolved around God, and the Temple represented His Holy Presence in the midst of Israel.

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