Once the people heard Ezra and the Levites expound the Word of God, they repented of their sins, and prepared themselves to enter into covenant with God (Neh. 9:38). This was a serious matter. The people had just heard the history of their ancestors how they were constantly rebellious and disobedient (Neh. 9:26-28). Would they be like their forefathers and be unfaithful to the Lord? Or would they be faithful to the Lord as He had been faithful to them throughout their history?
“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 the Lord our Lord, and his judgments and his statutes And that we would not give our daughters unto the people of the land, nor take their daughters for our sons” (Neh. 10:29-30). In essence, the people were devoting their lives unto the Lord. In order to do so, they would separate themselves from all the nations around them, which was the stumbling block of previous generations.
Repentance is more than just asking forgiveness. It’s about changing your ways. John the Baptist said, “Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance” (Matt. 3:8). The fruit of repentance is forsaking your sin and former way of living. You can’t turn to God without turning from something else. Beloved, when you turn to Jesus Christ you have to turn away from sin and the world.