Nehemiah 9:1-38

There is a stark contrast between the faithfulness of God and the faithfulness of God’s people.  As the returns from the exile are exposed to the Word of God and the history of their nation, it becomes very clear to them that they are a part of a very sinful nation that deserved the exile under which they are currently suffering.  They respond to this information by recognizing their sin and by rehearsing God’s faithfulness.  When we become aware of our sin as we compare ourselves to the Lord and His standard the result should be that we fall on our faces before the Lord and worship Him.  God has certainly provided all that we need to live our lives in a way that pleases Him and is consistent with the Scriptures.  When we fail to do so, we must be quick to recognize that fact and then turn from our sin to worship God and God alone.

THE PEOPLE RECOGNIZE THEIR FAILURES: When the people compared the law of the Lord with the history of their people; they had no choice but to recognize how far away from the Lord their nation had strayed.  They could consistently see how their nation had failed to respond to the Lord’s many instructions and warnings.  They could see how their ancestors had been influenced by the idolatrous nations around them and had repeatedly turned from worshiping God to worshiping idols.  They could see how, in the short time that they had been back from exile, they too had been rebellious against the commands of Scripture.  This recognition of sin led them to a profound sense of guilt and sadness.  They came before the Lord in sackcloth and ashes with dirt on their heads as a sign that they recognized their guilt before God and were now humbling themselves before the Lord.

THE PEOPLE REMEMBER GOD’S FAITHFULNESS: We sometimes have a tendency to justify our sins before God or even blame our sins on God.  We rationalize that “if” God would have done something, then we would have been able to obey Him more easily.  These are not the thoughts of the truly repentant.  The nation of Israel that returned from exile did not engage in this blame game before God.  Instead, they worshiped God by remember all of His faithfulness throughout all of the generations of Israel.  As the people read the historical account of their nation they had no other choice but to recognize God’s constant and undeserved grace as well as His generous and miraculous provision of all that the people needed.  We all need to take time to remember God’s faithfulness in each of our lives.  As we count the many blessings of God in our lives we cannot help but be filled with gratitude and then worship Him.


THE PEOPLE REQUEST GOD’S FORGIVENESS: The comparison of their failures with God’s forgiveness could only lead to one request and that was simply a request that God would once again forgive them of their sin.  They recognized that their current difficulties were well deserved as a result of their sin.  They did not question God’s justice or make excuses about their own sinfulness; instead they simply sought God’s forgiveness.  Every single one of us finds ourselves in this same position.  None of us can excuse our sin or blame our sin upon the Lord.  As long as we try to do that we will continue to dig ourselves deeper into the tragic consequences of sin.  The only hope we have and the only proper response to our recognition of sin is to repent before the Lord and simply ask Him to forgive us.

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