Nehemiah 9 records a prayer of confession by the people of Israel. On the twenty-fourth day of the seventh month, the Israelites again gathered together for a time of confession, prayer, and fasting.
Once again, the day begins with reading from the Book of the Law. The immersion in the Word of God is convicting; corporately the people turn to God in repentance. However, they are not just repenting of their sins of the moment but of the nation’s sins throughout their history.
They recount all that the nation has done since the time of Abraham in failing to follow God. It shows a pattern of struggling to walk with God, even abandoning Him. Yet, God comes to them again and again and rescues them. Amazingly, the readings in the Torah lead them to piece together a story of human failure and God’s triumph. The prayer begins and ends with praises to God, while also petitioning Him to once again intervene in their behalf.
They were reminded that just as God has been faithful in the past, He will continue to take care of them now. Despite the hardships they endure in their homeland as they rebuild the temple, the walls, and the city, God sees them and will not forsake them. In the end, they commit to signing a covenant with God.
Part II: Commentary
Structure of Nehemiah 9
1. The people read from the Book of the Law (Neh. 9:1–3).
2. Prayer of confession (Neh. 9:4–38)
1. Praising God (Neh. 9:4–8)
2. God’s faithfulness in spite of Israel’s unfaithfulness in Egypt and in the wilderness (Neh. 9:9–22)
3. God’s goodness in spite of Israel’s unfaithfulness in the land of Canaan (Neh. 9:23–31)
4. Praising and petitioning God (Neh. 9:32–38)
Reading From the Book of the Law
The occasion was well organized: the Levites read from Scripture for a fourth of the day and then, for another several hours, the people confessed their sins and wrongs and worshiped God. Imagine the powerful experience of reading the Bible or listening to it for many hours straight, followed by confession and praises to God for several additional hours, which seems almost unbelievable for such a large assembly. Such devotion would require incredible focus and an amazing thirst for God.
Perhaps what drove the people to seek God with perseverance was a desire to see God act. They were worried. Their anxiety is demonstrated by the petition in their prayer, “Do not let all the trouble seem small before You that has come upon us” (Neh. 9:32, NKJV). In other words, the people are pleading for God not to overlook all that has been happening to them: they are not welcomed in their own land by the surrounding nations; they have endured persecution; and they are doing hard work, trying to rebuild their beloved city. They ask God to intervene, to act, to see and hear, and respond. At the end of their time together, the leaders invite the whole assembly to rise. Then they begin to cry to the Lord and pray the prayer recorded for us in Nehemiah 9:5–38, which belongs among the best prayers recorded in the Bible.
Prayer of Confession
The corporate public prayers and confession, recorded in Nehemiah 9, demonstrate a deep understanding of the nature of sin, as well as a consciousness of their insufficient love for their neighbor. The people fasted and put dust on their heads, outward signs of humbling oneself before God. The humble approach to the past sins of the nation showed that the returned captives realized how easily they could fall into the same pattern of disobedience and unfaithfulness to God as their forefathers. They did not want the cycle to continue.
The Israelites acknowledged the sins of their nation that had led them into exile. They had pushed God out of their lives, in effect saying, “God, we don’t want You!” Because God respects our wishes and does not force Himself on His subjects, He let His people experience the consequences of their rejection of Him. Perhaps the best description of what happens when we push God out is in the book of Ezekiel. Ezekiel paints the picture of God moving out of Israel after sending warning after warning to the people (Ezek. 5:11, Ezek. 8:6). When the people do not want Him, God moves out. His throne moves toward the Mount of Olives, and as His presence leaves Jerusalem, destruction hits (see also Matt. 23:37 and 38). When God’s protection is withdrawn, Satan moves in, for he “is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour” (1 Pet. 5:8, CSB).
Now the people of Israel look back at everything they had done as a nation. They are horrified at how badly they had followed God. Moreover, every individual was aware of his or her own insufficiency in walking with God.
Yet, they also saw a pattern in God’s faithfulness. As in the book of Ezekiel, their story does not end with God moving out of Jerusalem (Ezek. 43:1–5, Ezek. 48:35). But when they are exiled to Babylon, God moves with them to Babylon. He would never leave His people. He let them go for a little while in order to awaken them and draw them back to walking with Him, but He never let go of them. At the end of the book of Ezekiel, He promises to take them back to Jerusalem and moves back there with them. The returned captives experienced the movement of God back to the land of Israel. He was with them.
In Nehemiah 9:20, the people point out that God gave His “good Spirit” to them to instruct (sakhal) them. The word already appeared in chapter 8; it means “to understand, to be prudent, and wise.” God gives the best gifts. The Holy Spirit is given not only to the believers in the New Testament but also to believers in the Old Testament. The Holy Spirit was given to them to teach them and to make them wise. That is what the Holy Spirit does for us when we allow Him to “instruct” us. God gave the Israelites everything they wanted and “needed” (the Holy Spirit, food, water, kingdoms, land, victory in war, cisterns, vineyards, olive groves, and fruit trees). Yet, the people delighted themselves only in the things that God gave them instead of in God Himself. Amazingly, when hard times hit and the people cried out to God, He heard them again. Why? Because of His great mercy.
The prayer begins with addressing God—“You” (Neh. 9:5, 6)—and ends with “we,” as the people cry out to God in their despair and fragility (Neh. 9:37, 38). The contrast between God’s goodness and faithfulness and human sinfulness cannot be overemphasized. Confession of sins changes the situation. After identifying with the sin of their forefathers, they finally stated: “We acted wickedly” (Neh. 9:33, NIV).
Although the theme of repentance for sin is woven throughout the prayer, the theme of God’s mercy is emphasized. The word for mercy is rakhamim, meaning “compassion, mercy and pity.” It comes from the word rekhem, which means a mother’s womb. Just as a mother nurtures and has love for her child, so the word rakhamim demonstrates that God has love and compassion for His children. The word for mercy is repeated six times in Nehemiah 9 (Neh. 9:17, 19, 27, 28, twice in 31). Additionally, the word khesed appears twice (see Neh. 9:17 and 32). Khesed usually is translated as steadfast love but also can be translated as kindness or mercy. The idea of God’s mercy and love is contrasted with the people’s unfaithfulness. The people attributed all they had to their own achievements, and yet God did not forsake them. They chose to worship other gods, and yet God did not desert them. As Nehemiah 9:17 states: “But thou art a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and of great kindness, and forsookest them not.” Our God is always ready to forgive and to transform our lives.
Another phrase the Levites repeat in the prayer is “You heard from heaven” (Neh. 9:27, 28, NKJV). Whenever the people cried to God, He always heard them. God waits for us to call on Him. Whenever we do, He hears. He does not ignore our tears or pleas. It may sometimes seem to us that God is silent because we do not have the answers we want; however, He stops every time we call just as He stopped for the blind man Bartimaeus, who kept calling out to Jesus because he wanted to see (Mark 10). God came down on Mount Sinai in order to speak with the people, even though they rejected Him afterward and instead chose a golden calf to worship. Why does God pursue us so endlessly? It is because He longs to be close to us. The Israelites claimed the promise that God always hears us. Because He heard their ancestors, they have faith that He now also will hear them and answer. And He does.
Part III: Life Application
Just as the Israelites realized that they could learn from the experiences and failures of their forefathers, so we also can learn from the Israelites today.
1. Which of the actions of the Israelites delineated in their prayer stands out to you as something we need to be mindful of today, as well?
2. What has God done in your past? Write it out on a piece of paper or graph a time line of His intervention in your life, following the instructions below:
a. Outline your family’s life and their walk with God. Draw the ups and downs and label them. Go as far back as you can remember, graphing what happened within the family. Label the points at which different family members accepted Christ. What do you notice from the drawing?
b. Now do the same for your own life on a piece of paper.
(1) Write in at which points you can clearly see God’s guidance.
(2) Do you see any patterns? If so, what are they?
Although our failures are real, the hope we have is that Jesus has mercy on us and gives us His righteousness to cover us. Just as the Israelites had the promise of God’s great mercy, we have it today, as well. What can you put in God’s hands, knowing that God is full of mercy and love for you?
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Key Text: Nehemiah 9:17
Study Focus: Nehemiah 9
Nehemiah 9 records a prayer of confession by the people of Israel. On the twenty-fourth day of the seventh month, the Israelites again gathered together for a time of confession, prayer, and fasting.
Once again, the day begins with reading from the Book of the Law. The immersion in the Word of God is convicting; corporately the people turn to God in repentance. However, they are not just repenting of their sins of the moment but of the nation’s sins throughout their history.
They recount all that the nation has done since the time of Abraham in failing to follow God. It shows a pattern of struggling to walk with God, even abandoning Him. Yet, God comes to them again and again and rescues them. Amazingly, the readings in the Torah lead them to piece together a story of human failure and God’s triumph. The prayer begins and ends with praises to God, while also petitioning Him to once again intervene in their behalf.
They were reminded that just as God has been faithful in the past, He will continue to take care of them now. Despite the hardships they endure in their homeland as they rebuild the temple, the walls, and the city, God sees them and will not forsake them. In the end, they commit to signing a covenant with God.
Part II: Commentary
Structure of Nehemiah 9
1. The people read from the Book of the Law (Neh. 9:1–3). 2. Prayer of confession (Neh. 9:4–38) 1. Praising God (Neh. 9:4–8) 2. God’s faithfulness in spite of Israel’s unfaithfulness in Egypt and in the wilderness (Neh. 9:9–22) 3. God’s goodness in spite of Israel’s unfaithfulness in the land of Canaan (Neh. 9:23–31) 4. Praising and petitioning God (Neh. 9:32–38)
Reading From the Book of the Law
The occasion was well organized: the Levites read from Scripture for a fourth of the day and then, for another several hours, the people confessed their sins and wrongs and worshiped God. Imagine the powerful experience of reading the Bible or listening to it for many hours straight, followed by confession and praises to God for several additional hours, which seems almost unbelievable for such a large assembly. Such devotion would require incredible focus and an amazing thirst for God.
Perhaps what drove the people to seek God with perseverance was a desire to see God act. They were worried. Their anxiety is demonstrated by the petition in their prayer, “Do not let all the trouble seem small before You that has come upon us” (Neh. 9:32, NKJV). In other words, the people are pleading for God not to overlook all that has been happening to them: they are not welcomed in their own land by the surrounding nations; they have endured persecution; and they are doing hard work, trying to rebuild their beloved city. They ask God to intervene, to act, to see and hear, and respond. At the end of their time together, the leaders invite the whole assembly to rise. Then they begin to cry to the Lord and pray the prayer recorded for us in Nehemiah 9:5–38, which belongs among the best prayers recorded in the Bible.
Prayer of Confession
The corporate public prayers and confession, recorded in Nehemiah 9, demonstrate a deep understanding of the nature of sin, as well as a consciousness of their insufficient love for their neighbor. The people fasted and put dust on their heads, outward signs of humbling oneself before God. The humble approach to the past sins of the nation showed that the returned captives realized how easily they could fall into the same pattern of disobedience and unfaithfulness to God as their forefathers. They did not want the cycle to continue.
The Israelites acknowledged the sins of their nation that had led them into exile. They had pushed God out of their lives, in effect saying, “God, we don’t want You!” Because God respects our wishes and does not force Himself on His subjects, He let His people experience the consequences of their rejection of Him. Perhaps the best description of what happens when we push God out is in the book of Ezekiel. Ezekiel paints the picture of God moving out of Israel after sending warning after warning to the people (Ezek. 5:11, Ezek. 8:6). When the people do not want Him, God moves out. His throne moves toward the Mount of Olives, and as His presence leaves Jerusalem, destruction hits (see also Matt. 23:37 and 38). When God’s protection is withdrawn, Satan moves in, for he “is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour” (1 Pet. 5:8, CSB).
Now the people of Israel look back at everything they had done as a nation. They are horrified at how badly they had followed God. Moreover, every individual was aware of his or her own insufficiency in walking with God.
Yet, they also saw a pattern in God’s faithfulness. As in the book of Ezekiel, their story does not end with God moving out of Jerusalem (Ezek. 43:1–5, Ezek. 48:35). But when they are exiled to Babylon, God moves with them to Babylon. He would never leave His people. He let them go for a little while in order to awaken them and draw them back to walking with Him, but He never let go of them. At the end of the book of Ezekiel, He promises to take them back to Jerusalem and moves back there with them. The returned captives experienced the movement of God back to the land of Israel. He was with them.
In Nehemiah 9:20, the people point out that God gave His “good Spirit” to them to instruct (sakhal) them. The word already appeared in chapter 8; it means “to understand, to be prudent, and wise.” God gives the best gifts. The Holy Spirit is given not only to the believers in the New Testament but also to believers in the Old Testament. The Holy Spirit was given to them to teach them and to make them wise. That is what the Holy Spirit does for us when we allow Him to “instruct” us. God gave the Israelites everything they wanted and “needed” (the Holy Spirit, food, water, kingdoms, land, victory in war, cisterns, vineyards, olive groves, and fruit trees). Yet, the people delighted themselves only in the things that God gave them instead of in God Himself. Amazingly, when hard times hit and the people cried out to God, He heard them again. Why? Because of His great mercy.
The prayer begins with addressing God—“You” (Neh. 9:5, 6)—and ends with “we,” as the people cry out to God in their despair and fragility (Neh. 9:37, 38). The contrast between God’s goodness and faithfulness and human sinfulness cannot be overemphasized. Confession of sins changes the situation. After identifying with the sin of their forefathers, they finally stated: “We acted wickedly” (Neh. 9:33, NIV).
Although the theme of repentance for sin is woven throughout the prayer, the theme of God’s mercy is emphasized. The word for mercy is rakhamim, meaning “compassion, mercy and pity.” It comes from the word rekhem, which means a mother’s womb. Just as a mother nurtures and has love for her child, so the word rakhamim demonstrates that God has love and compassion for His children. The word for mercy is repeated six times in Nehemiah 9 (Neh. 9:17, 19, 27, 28, twice in 31). Additionally, the word khesed appears twice (see Neh. 9:17 and 32). Khesed usually is translated as steadfast love but also can be translated as kindness or mercy. The idea of God’s mercy and love is contrasted with the people’s unfaithfulness. The people attributed all they had to their own achievements, and yet God did not forsake them. They chose to worship other gods, and yet God did not desert them. As Nehemiah 9:17 states: “But thou art a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and of great kindness, and forsookest them not.” Our God is always ready to forgive and to transform our lives.
Another phrase the Levites repeat in the prayer is “You heard from heaven” (Neh. 9:27, 28, NKJV). Whenever the people cried to God, He always heard them. God waits for us to call on Him. Whenever we do, He hears. He does not ignore our tears or pleas. It may sometimes seem to us that God is silent because we do not have the answers we want; however, He stops every time we call just as He stopped for the blind man Bartimaeus, who kept calling out to Jesus because he wanted to see (Mark 10). God came down on Mount Sinai in order to speak with the people, even though they rejected Him afterward and instead chose a golden calf to worship. Why does God pursue us so endlessly? It is because He longs to be close to us. The Israelites claimed the promise that God always hears us. Because He heard their ancestors, they have faith that He now also will hear them and answer. And He does.
Part III: Life Application
Just as the Israelites realized that they could learn from the experiences and failures of their forefathers, so we also can learn from the Israelites today.
1. Which of the actions of the Israelites delineated in their prayer stands out to you as something we need to be mindful of today, as well?
2. What has God done in your past? Write it out on a piece of paper or graph a time line of His intervention in your life, following the instructions below:
a. Outline your family’s life and their walk with God. Draw the ups and downs and label them. Go as far back as you can remember, graphing what happened within the family. Label the points at which different family members accepted Christ. What do you notice from the drawing?
b. Now do the same for your own life on a piece of paper.
(1) Write in at which points you can clearly see God’s guidance.
(2) Do you see any patterns? If so, what are they?
Although our failures are real, the hope we have is that Jesus has mercy on us and gives us His righteousness to cover us. Just as the Israelites had the promise of God’s great mercy, we have it today, as well. What can you put in God’s hands, knowing that God is full of mercy and love for you?