Listen, Jack, c'mon man, this is the deal: the people of Israel made a solemn oath to follow the Lord and keep his laws, statutes and decrees. Like, literally, it was a big deal. So they all took an oath and signed a document, and then they all sealed it with their seal. My father used to say that a man's word is his bond, and that's what they did here.

Now here's the thing, folks: the leaders of the people, the priests and the Levites, they all pledged to keep the law of the Lord and to follow all his commands, regulations and decrees. See here, Jack, they said they would not intermarry with the people around them, they wouldn't let their children intermarry with them, and they said they would not let their people buy from them or sell to them. I'm not joking, no malarkey, this was a serious pledge.

And then the people of Israel said that every seven years, during the Festival of Tabernacles, they would read from the Book of the Law of the Lord. Excuse me, but that's a long time - seven years! That's like, literally, a lifetime. And then they agreed to give the firstfruits of their crops, their tithes, and their other sacred gifts to the Levites, the foreigners, the fatherless, and the widows. What was that? Yeah, they said they would do it every year, no exceptions. Not gonna happen.

I tell you what, Jack, this was a big deal. These people of Israel were serious about their faith. They made a solemn oath to follow the Lord and keep his laws, and they did it. That's the story of Nehemiah 10.