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. 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 (Nehemiah 10:38-39).

Today, we read about tithes, the tenth of the produce of the ground that was to be brought to the Levites. What is more, there was to be a tenth of the tenth the Levites received that was to be brought to the "chambers of the storehouse" for the priests. Thus, there was a responsibility for the people and for the Levites. This provides some insight into a passage like Malachi 3:

Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob me. But you ask, ‘How are we robbing you? In tithes and offerings. You are under a curse—your whole nation—because you are robbing me. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house (Malachi 3:8-9).

I have already shown elsewhere that the context strongly suggests that the Levites were the primary audience addressed in the book of Malachi. The presumption should, therefore, be that the Levites were again addressed in Malachi 3; however, in light of our insight on tithes, they may not be the only ones addressed.

There may have been a two-prong rebuke in Malachi. The text speaks of the "whole tithe," which likely means that it includes both the tenth that belongs to the Levites as well as the tenth of the tenth that belongs to the priests. It is unlikely that it means all the tithes that the nation gave because every description of the storehouses suggests that they would be too small to contain such a tithe. In other words, the reference is to just the amount that supplied food for those that served at the Temple, but it is "whole" in the sense that it included both the portion for the Levites and for the priests that served there.

We learn from Nehemiah, who was a contemporary of Malachi, that the absence of these tithes from the people caused the Levites to stop serving at the Temple and to return to their own homes and fields to care for their needs (cf. Nehemiah 13:10). Thus, the people neglected their duty to give to the Levites who served at the Temple. And then the Levites, in turn, also neglected their duty to give to the priests who served at the Temple.

Friends, if there is a principle here, perhaps it is the interconnectedness of the people of God. The people gave tithes to the Levites, who in turn, gave tithes to the priests. In Paul's letter to the Corinthians we learn that the Body of Christ has a similar interconnectedness:

But now indeed there are many members, yet one body. And the eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you”; nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” No, much rather, those members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary. And thosemembers of the body which we think to be less honorable, on these we bestow greater honor; and our unpresentable parts have greater modesty, but our presentable parts have no need. But God composed the body, having given greater honor to that part which lacks it, that there should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another. And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it (1 Corinthians 12:20-26).

In other words, every member of the Church is important and interdependent. We ought not to imagine our acts of service are any less or more important than the acts that others do. Instead, let us humbly and faithfully serve, knowing that just as our faithfulness helps the faithfulness of others, our failure may be a stumbling block to others faithfully doing their work.

[The people] 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 our Lord (Nehemiah 10:29).

Making vows (or taking oaths) was a practice under the Old Covenant. When you survey the instances of such throughout the Old Testament, they hardly ever turn out well for those that make them. In fact, Jesus teaches in the Sermon on the Mount that people should not make them:

You have also heard that our ancestors were told, ‘You must not break your vows; you must carry out the vows you make to the Lord.’  But I say, do not make any vows! Do not say, ‘By heaven!’ because heaven is God’s throne. And do not say, ‘By the earth!’ because the earth is his footstool. And do not say, ‘By Jerusalem!’ for Jerusalem is the city of the great King. Do not even say, ‘By my head!’ for you can’t turn one hair white or black. Just say a simple, ‘Yes, I will,’ or ‘No, I won’t.’ Anything beyond this is from the evil one (Matthew 5:33-37).

Why does Jesus say not to make vows? Simply put, it is because when you make such vows, you are bound to keep them or else bring judgment on yourselves. You are powerless to free yourselves from them and you needlessly bind yourselves on pain of judgment. There is no benefit from a vow and only harm. God is not pleased with those who make them but does judge those that make and then break them. Thus, Jesus says, all such vowing is really the invention of "the evil one." 

James teaches the same thing:

 But most of all, my brothers and sisters, never take an oath, by heaven or earth or anything else. Just say a simple yes or no, so that you will not sin and be condemned (James 5:12).

Those that take oaths and make vows are setting themselves up for sin and condemnation.

In the case of the post-exilic people, notice how quickly they broke their vows in the following chapters of Nehemiah. God never asked them to make such vows, but they took it upon themselves to do it, and so exposed themselves to God's curse when they broke their vows. 

I encourage you, brothers and sisters, as far as it depends upon you, don't make any vows. Don't take any oaths, even if it is for something good like the "Forty Days of the Purpose Driven Life" campaign. If you want to do it, just say, "Yes" or "No." Don't swear or make promises on the basis of anything. Why hang a noose around your own neck? 

Now, this is not to say that you should not make any commitments whatsoever. For what is a commitment except a dedication to try your best to do something. At best it is simply a strong "Yes." But you are not promising anything or swearing by anything. Even so, some of you won't commit to anything because you think that you are violating Jesus' command against taking oaths. But this is not a right way to think. Remember, Jesus said to let your "Yes" be "Yes" and your "No" be "No." Don't you see that Jesus is teaching commitment here. If I might paraphrase Jesus's words. He is simply saying, "Be true to your word." When you say "Yes," your words should carry trustworthiness and responsibility, so that people can trust that your "yes" doesn't mean "no" or "maybe" but simply "yes," that you will do your best to do as you said you would. The same would go for your "no." What is this if not commitment? Therefore, while Jesus commands us not to take oaths or make vows, He does command us to be committed in our response to things. 

 Let us not boast of ourselves, but boast about how great our God is, how great is His loving kindness, how great is His mercy, how great is His faithfulness

The entire chapter of #10 records the rededication of the Israelites to the Law that had been given to them through Moses. As we all know that, their determination did not last long and became corrupted by being ignorant of God's righteousness, being unable to recognize God's new covenant given through His Son, Jesus, and establishing their own righteousness. It saddened my heart to see how fragile we are and how meaningless our efforts are without God's intervention. It only brings frustration and depression. Our total dependence on God is not something we can have as an option for a better life but our life itself. I pray that I'd rather want God to take away my corrupted free will and be a God's robot so that I may please Him in all I do. I know that God doesn't want me to be His robot but to choose Him with the gift of free will. Praise Him forever who has overcome this world!

Friends, in Nehemiah 10:29 we read that the people "entered into a curse and 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 the LORD our Lord, and His ordinances and His statutes." This is not the new covenant but a reaffirmation and recommitment to the old covenant, which is the Law of Moses, that is, the Ten Commandments, along with the Books of the Law that interprets these commandments for various situations. Understand that there are curses and blessings associated with disobedience and obedience to the provisions of this old covenant. If they obeyed, they would be blessed with health and prosperity. If they disobeyed, they would be cursed with sickness and loss. Many in the prosperity movement have truly misunderstood the nature of the old covenant, which has been made obsolete through the cross of Christ (Hebrew 8:13).

As you read about this post-exilic community in Israel, I would encourage you to suspend your reaction to their act of devotion. It would not be long before Nehemiah leaves, and the people will return to all the sins of their former lives prior to making this recommitment. What you realize is that the people have not much changed. If anything, whenever you see such an oath taken to the LORD, statistics would support more a presumption of failure rather than of success. Therefore, the lesson here may not be to mimic what on first view looks to be an admirable proclamation of rededication but to humbly recognize how deeply depraved are even our good intentions, how truly fragile are our sincere expressions of devotion, and how desperately all of us are in need of God's sovereign grace, for apart from Him, we can do nothing (John 15:5). While God's dealings with people have changed from the old to the new covenant, the sinful hearts of people have not much changed.