Today in God's Word—April 2023
East Tallassee Church of Christ
April 22, Nehemiah 9
”Now, therefore, our God, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who keeps covenant and steadfast love, let not all the hardship seem little to you that has come upon us, upon our kings, our princes, our priests, our prophets, our fathers, and all your people, since the time of the kings of Assyria until this day. Yet you have been righteous in all that has come upon us, for you have dealt faithfully and we have acted wickedly.” - Nehemiah 9:32-33
Sometimes people tell me they want what they read in the Bible to be "relevant.” They want messages that deal with their real life situations. Since we are all sinners, I know of nothing that would be more relevant to more of us than an example that teaches us how to confess our sins and seek mercy from God. Paul said that the things that were recorded about Israel's successes and failures were written down for our instruction. This chapter teaches a lesson about how to confess sin.
A couple of days after the Feast of Booths ended, the assembled people were fasting and mourning. They had listened intently to the word of God as Ezra and the others read it to them daily. The commands, promises and warnings in the Law convicted them. We might have expected the priests to take the lead in this confession. But the text only mentions Levites in the narrative about this occasion. We know from the prophets Malachi and Zechariah that the priesthood was corrupt by this time. They had even conspired with Tobiah to assassinate Nehemiah. So a group of Levites called the people to bless the Lord, and then spoke the words of this great prayer. The people had pledged to separate themselves from the heathen culture around them. They promised to separate from their association with pagan customs and practices.
The Levites began the prayer by praising God. They magnified the LORD as the only God and Creator of all. They praised God for his great
promise-making and promise-keeping. They recounted the favor God had shown and the blessings he had given Israel when the LORD brought them out of Egypt, and through the years he sustained and led them in the wilderness. They confessed that their fathers had been arrogant and disobedient in spite of God's goodness to them. But God was faithful and did not abandon them or destroy them for their rebellion and idolatry.
God kept his promise to bring them to their own land, and to drive the enemy nations out before them. Even though he richly blessed them, they were still prone to idolatry and all the evils that accompanied the pagan worship of the fertility gods. God punished them and allowed the neighbors to overtake them and enslave them. But when the people cried out to God from their suffering, he was compassionate and forgave them time after time. Their repentance never seemed to last very long and the cycle would start over again. The only thing more remarkable than their persistent hard- heartedness toward God was his tender- hearted compassion toward Israel. He was willing to restore them so many times!
As the Levites led them, the people confessed their sins and mourned their consequences. They confessed that they deserved the punishments God sent their way. They asked for forgiveness and deliverance once again, and pledged to do better. God would forgive them, but there would be no more glorious kingdom of Israel. They would be dominated by a succession of empires. There would be no more prophetic voices for 400 years, until the time of John the Baptist. But they would be sustained as a people, and the Messiah would come as God had promised Abraham. But Israel forfeited so many blessings and suffered so much needless pain because of their stubborn refusal to obey God.
This chapter should help every person who struggles with sin. Maybe you've stumbled and
failed so many times you wonder if God is still willing to forgive you. God’s long-suffering and his desire to restore his people shines in this chapter. Yes, as Solomon had written, the way of transgressors is hard. But God wants to bless, not curse his people. We ought to welcome the convicting word from God into our hearts. When we humbly confess and genuinely turn to God, he will be merciful. We should never presume upon God's mercy and patience as permission to sin. But we can rejoice in confidence that the blood of Jesus is powerful enough to cleanse and forgive us whenever we humble ourselves and return to God through him.
Copyright © 2023 by Michael B. McElroy. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Yorumlar