_THE COVENANT._
NEHEMIAH x.
The tenth chapter of "Nehemiah" introduces us to one of the most vital
crises in the History of Israel. It shows us how the secret cult of
the priests of Jehovah became a popular religion. The process was
brought to a focus in the public reading of The Law; it was completed
in the acceptance of The Law which the sealing of the covenant
ratified. This event may be compared with the earlier scene, when the
law-book discovered in the temple by Hilkiah was accepted and enforced
by Josiah. Undoubtedly that book is included in Ezra's complete
edition of The Law. Generations before Ezra, then, though nothing more
than Deuteronomy may have been forthcoming, that vital section of The
Law, containing as it did the essential principles of Judaism, was
adopted. But how was this result brought about? Not by the intelligent
conviction, nor by the voluntary action of the nation. It was the work
of a king, who thought to drive his ideas into his subjects. No doubt
Josiah acted in a spirit of genuine loyalty to Jehovah; and yet the
method he followed could not lead to success. The transient character
of his spasmodic attempt to save his people at the eleventh hour,
followed by the total collapse of the fabric he had built up, shows
how insecure a foundation he had obtained. It was a royal reformation,
not a revival of religion on the part of the nation. We have an
instance of a similar course of action in the English reformation
under Edward VI., which was swept away in a moment when his Catholic
sister succeeded to the throne, because it was a movement originating
in the court and not supported by the country, as was that under
Elizabeth when Mary had opened the eye of the English nation to the
character of Romanism.
But now a very different scene presents itself to our notice. The
sealing of the covenant signifies the voluntary acceptance of The Law
by the people of Israel, and their solemn promise to submit to its
yoke. There are two sides to this covenant arrangement. The first is
seen in the conduct of the people in entering into the covenant. This
is absolutely an act of free will on their part. We have seen that
Ezra never attempted to force The Law upon his fellow-countrymen--that
he was slow in producing it; that when he read it he only did so at
the urgent request of the people; and that even after this he went no
further, but left it with the audience for them to do with it as they
thought fit. It came with the authority of the will of God, which to
religious men is the highest authority; but it was not backed by the
secular arm, even though Ezra possessed a _firman_ from the Persian
court which would have justified him in calling in the aid of the
civil government. Now the acceptance of The Law is to be in the same
spirit of freedom. Of course somebody must have started the idea of
forming a covenant. Possibly it was Nehemiah who did so. Still this
was when the people were ripe for entering into it, and the whole
process was voluntary on their part. The only religion that can be
real to us is that which we believe in with personal faith and
surrender ourselves to with willing obedience. Even when the law is
recorded on parchment, it must also be written on the fleshy table of
the heart if it is to be effective.
But there is another side to the covenant-sealing. The very existence
of a covenant is significant. The word "covenant" suggests an
agreement between two parties, a mutual arrangement to which each is
pledged. So profound was the conviction of Israel that in coming to an
agreement with God it was not possible for man to bargain with his
Maker on equal terms, that in translating the Hebrew name for covenant
into Greek the writers of the Septuagint did not use the term that
elsewhere stands for an agreement among equals
({~GREEK SMALL LETTER SIGMA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER UPSILON~}
{~GREEK SMALL LETTER NU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER THETA~}
{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ETA WITH DASIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER KAPPA~}
{~GREEK SMALL LETTER NU~}),
but employed one indicative of an arrangement made by one party to the
transaction and submitted to the other ({~GREEK SMALL LETTER DELTA~}
{~GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA~}
{~GREEK SMALL LETTER THETA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ETA WITH DASIA~}
{~GREEK SMALL LETTER KAPPA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER NU~}
{~GREEK SMALL LETTER DELTA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA~}
{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER THETA~}
{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ETA WITH DASIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER KAPPA~}
{~GREEK SMALL LETTER NU~}). The
covenant, then, is a Divine disposition, a Divine ordinance. Even
when, as in the present instance, it is formally made by men, this is
still on lines laid down by God; the covenanting is a voluntary act of
adhesion to a law which comes from God. Therefore the terms of the
covenant are fixed, and not to be discussed by the signatories. This
is of the very essence of Judaism as a religion of Divine law. Then
though the sealing is voluntary, it entails a great obligation;
henceforth the covenant people are bound by the covenant which they
have deliberately entered into. This, too, is a characteristic of the
religion of law. It is a bondage, though a bondage willingly submitted
to by those who stoop to its yoke. To St. Paul it became a crushing
slavery. But the burden was not felt at first, simply because neither
the range of The Law, nor the searching force of its requirements,
nor the weakness of men to keep their vows, was yet perceived by the
sanguine Jews who so unhesitatingly surrendered to it. As we look back
to their position from the vantage ground of Christian liberty, we are
astounded at the Jewish love of law, and we rejoice in our freedom
from its irksome restraints. And yet the Christian is not an
antinomian; he is not a sort of free lance, sworn to no obedience. He
too has his obligation. He is bound to a lofty service--not to a law,
indeed, but to a personal Master; not in the servitude of the letter,
but, though with the freedom of the spirit, really with far higher
obligations of love and fidelity than were ever recognised by the most
rigorous covenant-keeping Jews. Thus he has a new covenant, sealed in
the blood of his Saviour; and his communion with his Lord implies a
sacramental vow of loyalty. The Christian covenant, however, is not
visibly exhibited, because a formal pledge is scarcely in accordance
with the spirit of the gospel. We find it better to take a more
self-distrustful course, one marked by greater dependence of faith on
the preserving grace of God, by turning our vows into prayers. While
the Jews "entered into a curse and into an oath" to keep the law, we
shrink from anything so terrible; yet our duty is not the less because
we limit our professions of it.
The Jews were prepared for their covenant by two essential
preliminaries. The first was knowledge. The reading of The Law
preceded the covenant, which was entered into intelligently. There is
no idea of what is called "implicit faith." The whole situation is
clearly surveyed, and The Law is adopted with a consciousness of what
it means as far as the understanding of its requirements by the people
will yet penetrate into its signification. It is necessary to count
the cost before entering on a course of religious service. With a view
to this our Lord spoke of the "narrow way" and the "cross," much to
the disappointment of His more sanguine disciples, but as a real
security for genuine loyalty. With religion, of all things, it is
foolish to take a leap in the dark. Judaism and Christianity
absolutely contradict the idea that "Ignorance is the mother of
devotion."
The second preparation consisted in the moral effect on the Jews of
the review of their history in the light of religion, and their
consequent confession of sin and acknowledgment of God's goodness.
Here was the justification for the written law. The old methods had
failed. The people had not kept the desultory _Torah_ of the prophets.
They needed a more formal system of discipline. Here too were the
motives for adopting the covenant. Penitence for the nation's
miserable past prompted the desire for a better future, and gratitude
for the overwhelming goodness of God roused an enthusiasm of devotion.
Nothing urges us to surrender ourselves to God so much as these two
motives--our repentance and His goodness. They are the two powerful
magnets that draw souls to Christ.
The chronicler--always delighting in any opportunity to insert his
lists of names--records the names of the signatories of the covenant.
The seals of these men were of importance so long as the original
document to which they were affixed was preserved, and so long as any
recognised descendants of the families they represented were living.
To us they are of interest because they indicate the orderly
arrangement of the nation and the thoroughness of procedure in the
ratification of the covenant. Nehemiah, who is again called by his
Persian title Tirshatha, appears first. This fact is to be noted as a
sign that as yet even in a religious document the civil ruler takes
precedence of the hierarchy. At present it is allowed for a layman to
head the list of leading Israelites. We might have looked for Ezra's
name in the first place, for he it was who had taken the lead in the
introduction of The Law, while Nehemiah had retreated into the
background during the whole month's proceedings. But the name of Ezra
does not appear anywhere on the document. The probable explanation of
its absence is that only heads of houses affixed their seals, and that
Ezra was not accounted one of them. Nehemiah's position in the
document is official. The next name, Zedekiah, possibly stands for
Zadok the Scribe mentioned later,[238] who may have been the writer of
the document, or perhaps Nehemiah's secretary. Then come the priests.
It was not the business of these men to assist in the reading of The
Law. While the Levites acted as scribes and instructors of the people,
the priests were chiefly occupied with the temple ritual and the
performance of the other ceremonies of religion. The Levites were
teachers of The Law; the priests were its administrators. In the
question of the execution of The Law, therefore, the priests have a
prominent place, and after remaining in obscurity during the previous
engagements, they naturally come to the front when the national
acceptance of the Pentateuch is being confirmed. The hierarchy is so
far established that, though the priests follow the lay ruler of
Jerusalem, they precede the general body of citizens, and even the
nobility. No doubt many of the higher families were in the line of the
priesthood. But this was not the case with all of them, and therefore
we must see here a distinct clerical precedence over all but the very
highest rank.
[238] Neh. xiii. 13.
Most of the names in this list of priests occur again in a list of
those who came up with Zerubbabel and Jeshua,[239] from which fact we
must infer that they represent families, not individuals. But some of
the names in the other list are missing here. A most significant
omission is that of the high-priest. Are we merely to suppose that
some names have dropped out in course of transcription? Or was the
high-priest, with some of his brethren, unwilling to sign the
covenant? We have had earlier signs that the high-priest did not enjoy
the full confidence of Ezra.[240] The heads of the hierarchy may have
resented the popularising of The Law. Since formerly, while the people
were often favoured with the moral Torah of the prophets, the
ceremonial Torah of the priests was kept among the _arcana_ of the
initiated, the change may not have been pleasing to its old
custodians. Then these conservatives may not have approved of Ezra's
latest recension of The Law. A much more serious difficulty lay with
those priests who had contracted foreign marriages, and who had
favoured the policy of alliance with neighbouring peoples which Ezra
had so fiercely opposed. Old animosities from this source were still
smouldering in the bosoms of some of the priests. But apart from any
specific grounds of disaffection, it is clear that there never was
much sympathy between the scribes and the priests. Putting all these
considerations together, it is scarcely too much to conjecture that
the absentees were designedly holding back when the covenant was
signed. The only wonder is that the disaffected minority was so small.
[239] Neh. xii. 1-7.
[240] _E.g._, Ezra viii. 33; where the high-priest is passed over in
silence.
According to the new order advised by Ezekiel and now established, the
Levites take the second place and come after the priests, as a
separate and inferior order of clergy. Yet the hierarchy is so far
honoured that even the lowest of the clergy precede the general body
of the laity. We come down to the porters, the choristers, and the
temple-helots before we hear of the mass of the people. When this lay
element is reached, the whole of it is included. Men, women, and
children are all represented in the covenant. The Law had been read to
all classes, and now it is accepted by all classes. Thus again the
rights and duties of women and children in religion are recognised,
and the thoroughly domestic character of Judaism is provided for.
There is a solidity in the compact. A common obligation draws all who
are included in it together. The population generally follows the
example of the leaders. "They clave to their brethren, their
nobles,"[241] says the chronicler. The most effective unifying
influence is a common enthusiasm in a great cause. The unity of
Christendom will only be restored when the passion of loyalty to
Christ is supreme in every Christian, and when every Christian
acknowledges that this is the case with all his brother-Christians.
[241] Neh. x. 29.
It is clear that the obligation of the covenant extended to the whole
law. This is called "God's law, which was given by Moses the servant
of God."[242] Nothing can be clearer than that in the eyes of the
chronicler, at all events, it was the Mosaic law. We have seen many
indications of this view in the chroniclers narrative. Can we resist
the conclusion that it was held by the contemporaries of Ezra and
Nehemiah? We are repeatedly warned against the mistake of supposing
that the Pentateuch was accepted as a brand-new document. On the
contrary, it was certainly received on the authority of the Mosaic
origin of its contents, and because of the Divine authority that
accompanied this origin. By the Jews it was viewed as the law of
Moses, just as in Roman jurisprudence every law was considered to be
derived from the "Twelve Tables." No doubt Ezra also considered it to
be a true interpretation of the genius of Mosaism adapted to modern
requirements. If we keep this clearly before our minds, the
Pentateuchal controversy will lose its sharpest points of conflict.
The truth here noted once more is so often disregarded that it needs
to be repeatedly insisted on at the risk of tautology.
[242] _Ibid._
After the general acceptance of the whole law, the covenant specifies
certain important details. First comes the separation from the
heathen--the burning question of the day. Next we have Sabbath
observance--also made especially important, because it was distinctive
of Judaism as well as needful for the relief of poor and oppressed
labourers. But the principal part of the schedule is occupied with
pledges for the provision of the temple services. Immense supplies of
fuel would be required for the numerous sacrifices, and therefore
considerable prominence was given to the collecting of wood;
subsequently a festival was established to celebrate this action.
According to a later tradition, Nehemiah kindled the flames on the
great altar of the burnt-offerings with supernatural fire.[243] Like
the Vestal virgins at Rome, the temple officials were to tend the
sacred fire as a high duty, and never let it go out. "Fire shall be
kept burning upon the altar continually,"[244] was the Levitical rule.
Thus the very greatest honour was given to the rite of sacrifice. As
the restoration of the religion of Israel began with the erection of
the altar before the temple was built, so the preservation of that
religion was centred in the altar fire--and so, we may add, its
completion was attained in the supreme sacrifice of Christ.
[243] 2 Macc. i. 19-22.
[244] Lev. vi. 13.
Finally, special care was taken for what we may call "Church finance"
in the collection of the tithes. This comes last; yet it has its
place. Not only is it necessary for the sake of the work that is to be
carried on; it is also important in regard to the religious obligation
of the worshipper. The cry for a cheap religion is irreligious,
because real religion demands sacrifices, and, indeed, necessarily
promotes the liberal spirit from which those sacrifices flow. But if
the contributions are to come within the range of religious duties,
they must be voluntary. Clearly this was the case with the Jewish
tithes, as we may see for two reasons. First, they were included in
the covenant; and adhesion to this was entirely voluntary. Secondly,
Malachi rebuked the Jews for withholding the payment of tithes as a
sin against God,[245] showing that the payment only rested on a sense
of moral obligation on the part of the people. It would have been
difficult to go further while a foreign government was in power, even
if the religious leaders had desired to do so. Moreover, God can only
accept the offerings that are given freely with heart and will, for
all He cares for is the spirit of the gift.
[245] Mal. iii. 8-12.