Nehemiah 10:28

GENERAL ACCEPTANCE OF THE COVENANT AND TERMS THEREOF

"And the rest of the people, the priests, the Levites, the porters, the singers, the Nethinim, and all they that had separated themselves from the peoples of the lands unto the law of God, their wives, their sons, and their daughters, every one that had knowledge and understanding; they clave to their brethren, their nobles, and entered into a curse, and into an oath, to walk in God's law, which was given by Moses the servant of God, and to observe and do all the commandments of Jehovah our Lord, and his ordinances and his statutes; and that we would not give our daughters unto the peoples of the land, nor take their daughters for our sons; and if the peoples of the land bring wares or any grain on the sabbath day to sell, that we would not buy of them on the sabbath, or a holy day; and that we would forego the seventh year, and the exaction of every debt."

In this paragraph, four provisions of the covenant are given: (1) A strict promise to abide by all the divine commandments as revealed in the Law of Moses (Nehemiah 10:29); (2) the prohibition against mixed marriages with the pagans (Nehemiah 10:30); (3) strict observance of the sabbath day (Nehemiah 10:31); and (4) the honoring of the seventh year and its requirement of forgiving all debts (Nehemiah 10:31).

"Restriction against marriage with pagans." Ezra had dealt with this problem (Ezra 9-10); but the problem persisted, and there was constant need to address it.

"Keeping the sabbaths." " Jeremiah 17:21,22, and Amos 8:5 indicate clearly that trading on the sabbath day was prohibited."[6]

"The sabbatical year a time of release of debts."; Deuteronomy 15 required that all debts (among Israelites) be canceled, although that release did not apply to foreigners. Also, the fields were to lie fallow and remain uncultivated on the seventh year (Leviticus 25:2-7). "Such provisions would have greatly alleviated the distress in Jerusalem and all Judea (described in Nehemiah 5:1-4), but these regulations had apparently not been observed in Israel until this point."[7]