Throughout the Book of Nehemiah, the Lord has been faithful to His people; and His people have been trying to be faithful to Him. They had been exiled to Babylon, and the Lord had brought them home to Jerusalem again. The Temple and the city wall had both been rebuilt, the Book of the Law had been read in their presence, and the city had been repopulated. And now they make a promise to bring in the firstfruits.

But talk is cheap! Will they keep that promise? They did! Yet there was an even harder challenge in store for them. God's Word told them to separate themselves from the heathen -- and they did that too! What great wonders the Lord had been doing for His people! No wonder that this was such a time of great rejoicing for them!

What a great story! But the Lord has done something even better still! By nature, we were once outside of the Lord's covenant. Paul tells us that Christ is the Firstfruits of the resurrection; and just as these people brought their firstfruits into the Temple, He has brought us into the spiritual Temple! He has torn aside the veil; and He calls us to enter into His presence, in the heavenly Holy of holies.