Eps. 173: Why You Keep Struggling to Do What You Know Is Right (Neh. 10)

Have you ever found yourself knowing the right thing to do… but struggling to actually do it in the moment?

You’re not alone.

In Nehemiah 10, the people of Israel make a bold move—they don’t just feel convicted, they put their commitment to God in writing. They decide ahead of time how they will live, what they will prioritize, and where they will draw the line.

And it changes everything.

In this episode, we talk about:

•  Why spiritual growth requires more than good intentions 
•  How pre-deciding your values makes daily obedience easier 
•  What it looks like to honor God in your home, work, and priorities 
•  The difference between the Old Covenant and the freedom we have through Jesus Christ

If you’ve ever felt inconsistent in your faith or frustrated by your own choices, this episode will help you see why—and show you a better way forward.

Because the decisions you make ahead of time will shape the life you live in the moment.

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Transcript

Why Good Intentions Fail

SPEAKER_03 0:01

Have you ever noticed how easy it is to want to follow God until the moment you actually have to choose to? Meaning, we know what's right, we want to do what's right, and yet in the moment we find ourselves hesitating. I mean, what's the deal? But what if the struggle isn't just the pressure of the moment, but the fact that we've never actually decided ahead of time what we think. Hi, friends, I'm Betsy, and this is Moments to Ponder. If you sometimes struggle to understand the Bible and how it connects to everyday life, you're in the right place. This podcast is designed to help you connect to the Bible and integrate it into your daily life so that you can live a life guided by Jesus. Today we're stepping into Nehemiah 10. And what we find is a group of people who didn't just feel convicted by God's word. They made a decision. They wrote it down and they signed their names to it. And in this, they teach us something powerful. The decisions you make ahead of time will shape the life you live in the moment. So let's look at what they committed to and what that might mean for us today. Welcome. This is episode one seventy-three. Let's try that. And I've been trying to remember the first thing I signed my name to that had importance to it. And I think it was my first car and when I had to sign the title. I felt so grown up and I was so excited. It was a baby blue Chevette. I love that little car. Even though it didn't quite heat all the way up in the winter, it didn't have any air conditioning for sure. And there was a time when I could see the road through the floorboards, but it was all mine. My name was on the title to prove it. But when we went in to sign mortgage papers for our first house, it was daunting. If you've done this, you know. So many different documents that are required to have your full signature and it felt like we were signing our lives away. We didn't even understand all the documents. We just kept nodding and signing and nodding and signing. When we think about it, when we got married, it was one page, one signature, and it didn't even need a notary. And that was a commitment till death to us part. So signing our names to legal documents can bring a mix of emotions. I mean, it's it changes something in us. It's so official. I can remember the empowerment of my car title or the excitement of getting the keys to our first house, but there was also some anxiety with that as the commitment sank in. But what would it look like to put your name on something committed to God? As we enter into Nehemiah 10, this is exactly what the people are doing. They heard God's word, remembered his faithfulness, and they're convicted. Now at the end of chapter 9, we read this. At the end of chapter 9, we read this. And then chapter 10 continues this. The document was ratified and sealed with the following names: the governor, Nehemiah, son of Hechaliah, and also Zedekiah. Then there's priests and Levites and leaders. And I am not going to read all the names listed here. There are 84 of them. The point is, they all signed their names on a document that would be sealed. So we're going to pick it up at verse 28. Then the rest of the people, the priests, Levites, gatekeepers, singers, temple servants, and all who had separated themselves from the pagan people of the land in order to obey the law of God, together with their wives, son, daughters, and all who were old enough to understand, joined their leaders and bound themselves with an oath. They swore a curse on themselves if they failed to obey the law of God as issued by his servant Moses. They solemnly promised to carefully follow all the commands, regulations, and decrees of the Lord of God. Okay. So although they're dressed in burlap with dust on their heads and they're feeling something, they don't just feel, they decide something. They want to make a solemn promise about how they are going to live out their convictions. So they bound themselves with an oath, making a covenant. Now we're going to call it a covenant more than just a commitment because it's a sacred binding agreement between God and them. Now, a covenant can maybe be made between people too, but it's a sacred thing. For instance, marriage is a sacred covenant between two people. Here, the covenant is with God, and they even swear a curse on themselves if they fail to obey his law. This is a huge commitment here. It's a decision that's going to affect how they live their everyday lives. I know so many people who want to grow spiritually, but they've never actually gotten to the commitment part past faith in Jesus. The part that means I have to adjust my life in order to live out the convictions that come with following Jesus. But real spiritual change begins with a decisive moment when you decided to follow Jesus with a decisive commitment. But now living a life that reflects Jesus, well, that's going to take some commitment to make spiritual change. Now, in the following verses, as we continue, the people lay out four areas of commitment. So verse 30. Okay, so that's promise number one. Go on, verse 31. We also promise that if the people of the land should bring any merchandise or grain to be sold on the Sabbath or on another holiday, we will refuse to buy it. Every seventh year we will let our land rest, and we will cancel all debts owed to us. Okay, so that's a second promise, but maybe you heard in there. There were two parts. We continue. In addition, we promise to obey the command to pay the annual temple tax of one-eighth of an ounce of silver for the care of the temple of the Lord of our God. This will provide for the bread of the presence, for the regular grain offerings and burnt offerings, for the offerings on the Sabbaths, the new moon celebrations, and the annual festivals, for the holy offerings and for the sinned offerings to make atonement for Israel. It will provide for everything necessary for the work of the temple of God. We have cast sacred laws to determine when, at regular times each year, the families of the priests, Levites, and the common people should bring wood to God's temple to be burned on the altar of the Lord our God as it is written in the law. Okay, that's a lot of words, but this third promise had two parts. One had to do with the temple and caring for it and the temple tax, and the other had to do with providing the wood for sacrifices. Okay, we continue the next promise. Verse 35. We promised to bring the first part of every harvest to the Lord's temple year after year, whether it be a crop from the soil or from our fruit trees. We agreed to give God our oldest sons and the firstborn of all our herds and flocks as prescribed in the law. We will present them to the priests who minister in the temple of our God. We will store the produce in the storerooms of the temple of our God. We will bring the best of our flour and other grain offerings, the best of our fruit, and the best of our new wine and olive oil. And we promise to bring to the Levites a tenth of everything our land produces, for it is the Levites who collect the tithes in all our rural towns. Okay. So here we have this fourth promise, right? This caring for the harvest element. But there this is the extended of that promise. We're going to just cut that all out. Verse 38. A priest, a descendant of Aaron, will be with the Levites as they receive these tithes. And a tenth of all that is collected as tithes will be delivered by the Levites to the temple of our God and placed in the storerooms. The people and the Levites must bring these offerings of grain, new wine, and olive oil to the storerooms and place them in the sacred containers near the ministering priests, the gatekeepers, and the singers. We promise together not to neglect the temple of our God. Four Promises. To put it simply, they're committing to honoring God in every part of their lives. Think about it. They're going to honor them at home by keeping their relationships holy, meaning set apart. At work by trusting God over prophet through not working on the Sabbath or encouraging others to do the same, and by honoring the seventh year of rest for their land. By honoring God in worship, by prioritizing God's house, and then with their resources, by giving God their first and their best. I like that they're not vague promises. They are committing very literally to a lifestyle shift in all of these areas. And they're showing us something here. They're showing us that God isn't compartmentalized. I mean, this is why Nehemiah wants to make sure that we know everyone was all in, that there was unity behind this covenant. They want to change their culture, the culture of their nation. Breaking bad habits and sinful lifestyles that they had slipped into over the years isn't going to be easy. It is going to take a unified effort. You know why it's so hard to make the right choices, even oh gosh, why is that gray?

SPEAKER_01 12:18

Why is it gray now? Why is this part gray?

The Real Cost Of Commitment

SPEAKER_03 14:21

It's hard because you haven't truly committed to making that right choice. And I know that sounds like, don't judge me, but think about it. Have you ever noticed how much easier it is to make choices when you've set some commitments in place already? I mean, think about it. When you sit down for a meal and someone offers you dessert, it can be hard to turn it down, but if you have already made a commitment that you're not going to eat desserts, that you're cutting back on sugar, it is a lot easier to say no to that dessert because you decided beforehand that you weren't going to have them. Or let's say you're shopping and you find this incredible new dress and you think, oh, I love it, but it doesn't quite fit in the budget. If you haven't committed to that budget, you'll probably make some reason that you can afford the dress. But if you are committed to your budget, you're going to either stay for that dress or realize just not this time. Or saying no to a drink or compromising your values. When you've made decisions about those things before they happen, it's so much easier to make the right choice when they appear. But without commitment, it's easy to get wishy-washy. Now we live in a world, in a culture that says, oh, I don't want to sign that. I don't want to make a hard commitment. I think that says something. I mean, let's give another scenario that might be where you live. When should you decide what you'll do if your boss asks you to do something unethical? Is it easier to decide when you're sitting there in her office, or was it better if you made that decision ahead of time when you were at home or in a Bible study or in prayer with a friend? I mean, many of us, as was true in Nehemiah's day, we kind of slip into some of these practices kind of subtly. We don't wake up in the morning and say, we're going to cut corners and cheat people. We slightly defraud the system in order to get a better deal. We cut a corner in order to compromise. And over time we slip into things that we need to do. We think, I have to do this, I have to cut this corner. Or for Nehemiah's Day, I have to buy this on the Sabbath because bills need to be paid. The kids need things, and so on, and so on, and so on, and we slip because we haven't made a commitment. And sometimes those commitments are going to force us to depend on God. Because when we do make those commitments, we see different things happen, right? But if we plan on doing it ourselves because it will, it works, then we don't really need God. We should never trust our sticky ways of doing business more than we trust God in heaven. But in the heat of the moment, it is easy to give in to sinful pleasures and temptation. So we have to make decisions ahead of time. That makes it easier. And that's what the people are doing in Nehemiah 10. They're making decisions before they even happen so that when things arise, they know what they are going to stand on. So this brought a couple questions to mind for application for us, just in this part alone. Where are you most tempted to compromise? Or have I have you already decided what obedience looks like in that situation? Obedience helps us make choices, but it doesn't mean it's not gonna cost us something. When you think about the area where you're most tempted to compromise, what will it cost you if you don't?

SPEAKER_00 18:30

The people took an oath.

The New Covenant Through Jesus

Practical Questions For Your Next Step

Share It And Closing Prayer

SPEAKER_03 18:33

They acknowledged the curse and the consequences that would come if they didn't follow through that took unification in order for them to sign that. I mean, think about it. They knew that some of their sons or daughters might have to break up with a pagan, which would be heartbreaking. Others had to accept that it wasn't gonna be that they had income on the Sabbath day, and that might be hard for their family. Giving to the temple or finding wood for sacrifices when it was their family's turn might have been really hard for some of them. But a real commitment will always cost you something. Cost you comfort, convenience, or control, or a dream. If you're married, then you understand this is a big commitment in your life. And having that commitment in our case is definitely a covenant between God and my husband and I, as we stood before God and made our oaths to each other, our promises. And it does make some of the choices in my life pretty easy because I know that that commitment is the most important. But sometimes there's a cost. Yes, it's completely worth it. The benefits outweigh the cost, but there's definitely a cost. But have you ever noticed that what costs you something is often what changes you the most? It costs you comfort or it costs you convenience, but on the other side, you realize that you've changed for the good in the process of standing on what you've decided. We can see through the example of the people here that to grow spiritually, we can't just want it. We need to actually make a decision to live it out. And that's where it gets hard. I mean, that's what they're doing. And when we do make that decision, it makes it so much easier to make godly choices when the time comes. Whether to go to this movie or this movie, well, you know it's going to be the one that actually can affirm your beliefs and your choices versus the one that's going to actually offend you. And you don't compromise. Because to really honor God with our lives, we need to live out our faith through the choices that reflect where God's place is in our lives. You know, following God isn't a compartmentalized thing. My friends, my work, God, God should permeate all of those, how you live, how you spend your money, how you rest, how you relate with other people, and how you prioritize. Now, I know that in our current world, people avoid commitment because it feels like it would be restrictive. But in reality, it frees us from wavering and compromise and regret. When we know where the lines are, we have freedom to move all within them. But when we don't, we don't know where to go. And as we look at this section of scripture, there's one more thing that I want to bring to your attention. Because we have something that the Israelites did not. And it's called a new covenant. The ultimate goal for the Israelites and for those of us who follow Jesus is to have a right relationship with God. And for the Israelites, this required daily sacrifice, the yearly day of atonement, and so many more things. And it was all in place because of sin, so that God could take care of the sin to connect with his people. The old covenant God created with Abraham and then with Moses had requirements on both sides. God would do this when the people did this. It was a covenant. I mean, God loves his people, but they had to do certain things to keep their relationship connected. Well, in Jeremiah 31, it says some incredible things. Now remember, Jeremiah is actually before Nehemiah's time. And he says this, The day is coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel in Judah. This covenant will not be like the one I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and brought them out of the land of Egypt. They broke that covenant, though I love them as a husband loves his wife, says the Lord. But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel after those days, says the Lord. I will put my instructions deep within them, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. These instructions deep within them written on their heart, that happens through the power of the Holy Spirit, which happens because of something else. Now, as I record this today, it is Holy Week. And during the final supper with his disciples, Jesus was preparing to fulfill the prophecy of his death and resurrection. And he says this in Luke 22, 20. This is the cup of the new covenant between God and his people. New covenant, an agreement confirmed by my blood, which is poured out as a sacrifice for you. See, Jesus is saying that God and I, being God, and you, his people, we have a new covenant, a new agreement because of what I'm going to do. See, the new covenant holds the promise that God will forgive sin and restore fellowship with those whose hearts are turned toward him because of Jesus. Jesus fulfilled the sacrifice requirement for all time. He is the mediator of this new covenant. And his death on the cross was the basis of the promise. He paid the ultimate death, the wages of sin is death. But when he rose from the dead conquering death, he took care of all of that, offering us life. In the new covenant, different from the old, it's all on God. The old covenant had two sides, but in the new covenant, it's all on God. Through his grace, he took action so that we can receive salvation as a free gift, meaning forgiveness of our sins, saving us from death, from our sin. And when we choose to live out that gift, we're given the Holy Spirit to help us within us written on our hearts. We share an incredible, permanent, unbroken relationship with God because of Jesus. The Israelites are promising all of these things to let God know how much they love him. And for us, we just get to acknowledge that love through a free gift. But then how we live forward shows our love in return. In Hebrews 9:15, it says, this is why he is the one who mediates the new covenant between God and people, meaning Jesus, so that all who are called can receive the internal inheritance God has promised them. For Christ died to set them free from the penalty of the sins they had committed under that first covenant. There's so much more we could talk about, but I'll save that for another time. What's most important for us today is to know that because of Jesus, we don't have to strive under the rules like the Israelites did. We get to thrive in the freedom of knowing that we live under the grace of God. When we commit to living a life that honors God, it's not pressure pushing us, it's love drawing us to adjust our lives to Him. So this chapter isn't just about a document, it's about a people who were moved by God's word and chose to respond with intentional, costly commitment. It's in this that we find our final application for today. When we decide ahead of time to fully belong to God, it becomes easier to live faithfully in the moment. That commitment needs to be intentional, and it might be costly, but it is completely worth it. Dear one, you know what strikes me most about this passage about the Israelites? It's the weight of their commitment. They understood that following God wasn't something casual, it required intention. And it should push us to do the same. How intentional are you as you walk with Jesus? Now remember, we don't stand where they stood. They were committing themselves to try and keep the law. And we stand on the other side of the cross where Jesus has already fulfilled the law, where they were saying, We promise Jesus says it's finished. So when we talk about commitment, this isn't about earning God's love. It's about responding to it. It's saying, because you are faithful, I want to live faithfully. Because you love me, I want to honor you with my life in return. And maybe today, God is gently putting his finger on one area of your life and nudging you to take a closer look. Not to overwhelm you, but to invite you to decide ahead of time what obedience will look like in that moment, what faithfulness will require in your life, or maybe he's pushing you, encouraging you is a better word, to decide ahead of time what you're no longer willing to compromise on. Because here's the truth: you won't rise to the moment, you will fall to your level of preparation. So, what would it look like for you to commit to an area of obedience today? I mean, I'm simply trying to wake up in the morning on time in order to obey God in that. It's sadly so hard. But it's not out of pressure to show him I can do it, but out of love of wanting to be with him in the early morning. You are so loved by God, the one who made you. So, how can you show that love in return? Don't just move on from it. Take a moment and ask yourself, where do I need to make some decisions ahead of time? Maybe it's financially, maybe it's free time, maybe it's in some relationships. And if this episode encouraged you, would you share it with a friend who's trying to walk faithfully as well? Sometimes we just need a reminder that we are not doing this alone.

SPEAKER_00 30:44

I'll see you back here next Tuesday. Amen. Okay, it's gonna be good enough because that's what I got.