Nehemiah 9-10
Today, we are going to cover Nehemiah chapters 9 and 10. If you remember from last week in Nehemiah chapter 7, the wall had been completed in 52 days, a miracle of the Lord in the face of great opposition. God's blessing on the Israelites was so clear that it even demoralized their enemies. Then in chapter 8, the people of Israel had gathered together and Ezra read the Book of the Law of God from daybreak until noon. And, the people were weeping as they listened, but Nehemiah, Ezra, and the Levites stopped them and encouraged them to celebrate. The next day, they read of the feast of tabernacles or the feast of booths. Hearing that this feast should occur during the seventh month, they went out and prepared booths. Nehemiah 8:17 said “From the days of Joshua son of Nun until that day, the Israelites had not celebrated it like this. And their joy was very great.”
And so, the Israelites celebrated the feast with great joy through 8 days. According to Numbers 29, the feast would begin on the 15th day of the seventh month and last 8 days ending on the 22nd day of the seventh month. Now, we pick up at the beginning of chapter 9, just a couple of days after the feast.
On the twenty-fourth day of the same month, the Israelites gathered together, fasting and wearing sackcloth and having dust on their heads. Those of Israelite descent had separated themselves from all foreigners. Nehemiah 9:1-2
The Israelites have gone from weeping to celebrating and now to intense grief. Their grief is so great that they are displaying that attitude outwardly. Nehemiah does not tell us exactly how this corporate expression of grief came about, but it is clear that they have returned to the Word of God and they practiced what they heard regarding the feast of booths. Separating themselves from foreigners was another step in obedience. This act of separation is a multi-step or maybe even continual process for the Israelites. Remember at the end of Ezra, there was the process of dealing with intermarriage. Nehemiah has continued to deal with these family and business ties between Israelites and the other peoples living around Jerusalem. And again here we see that the people of Israelite descent had separated themselves from all foreigners.
They stood in their places and confessed their sins and the wickedness of their fathers. They stood where they were and read from the Book of the Law of the Lord their God for a quarter of the day, and spent another quarter in confession and in worshiping the Lord their God. Nehemiah 9:2-3
In response to their grief, they confess their sins and the sins of their fathers. I find it interesting that the words “they stood” appear twice. “They stood in their places” and “they stood where they were.” What is the customary reaction in an uncomfortable situation? Don't you tend to shift around? Maybe, you want to get up and leave? And yet, in this situation, the Israelites are standing and not moving around.
Three things are going on here. What are they? Confessing, reading, and worshiping.
Let's talk about confession since it appears twice in this list. What is confession? What does it mean to confess? The English word “confess” comes from the Latin and means to “speak thoroughly.” The Hebrew word translated confess means literally to throw stones or to cast against. The Hebrew verb tense used here is reflexive or indicates that the people are talking about themselves, so it means to throw stones against yourself or to demonstrate yourself as guilty.
I heard a funny story this week from a friend of mine. One of their kids had managed to get themselves into a bit of trouble. My friend afterward asks the child, “Why did you do that?” And after asking a few times, even though it was a young child, the answer was very revealing. The child answered, “It's a long story.” As both a parent and a child myself, I would agree that this pretty much sums up any response when a problem has happened. Almost every time I have to explain the trouble, I say, “Well, it started when … ” I've never tried it, but I suppose you could answer, “Well, it all started in the garden, and there was this tree, but God said don't eat from the tree, and well they did, and … and … and.” What is the reason for the long story? Usually, you're trying to deflect or spread the blame around. Right? My point is that is not confession. If it's a “long story,” it's probably not confession.
Confession is bold and accountable. This is what I did. I'm guilty. And the Israelites are not hemming and hawing. They are standing their ground and honestly confessing their sins and the sins of their fathers. Why the sins of their fathers?
Well, the law is pretty clear. It says four different places that the Lord is a jealous God punishing the sins of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of children. However, Ezekiel says,
The soul who sins is the one who will die. The son will not share the guilt of the father, nor will the father share the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous man will be credited to him, and the wickedness of the wicked will be charged against him. Ezekiel 18:20
So what's going on here? Does punishment go to the third or fourth generation, or is it each man's sin is on his own head? I think that we are predisposed to the sin of our parents. Whatever sin is prevalent in your family, it will be a snare for you. Think of David and Solomon. How many wives did David have? Eight. How many wives did Solomon have? 700 plus 300 concubines.
Genesis of course speaks about marriage as God designed it, that one man and one women would be joined together as one flesh. Not only that, the law speaks about marriage and kings.
[The king] must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray. Deutoronomy 17:17
And what happened to Solomon with his 700 wives?
He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines, and his wives led him astray. As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father had been. I Kings 11:3-4
And so, Solomon took for himself even more wives than David had. In that way, the sins of the father rested on the son. Solomon sinned on his own, but his sin was in the same pattern as his father before him.
At the beginning of the message, I said that Nehemiah had not explained the reason for this corporate time confessing sin. It was not a regular feast or holy day in the Law. However, the feast of booths is in Leviticus 23. Just three chapters later in Leviticus 26, it says,
“ 'But if they will confess their sins and the sins of their fathers--their treachery against me and their hostility toward me, which made me hostile toward them so that I sent them into the land of their enemies--then when their uncircumcised hearts are humbled and they pay for their sin, I will remember my covenant with Jacob and my covenant with Isaac and my covenant with Abraham, and I will remember the land. For the land will be deserted by them and will enjoy its sabbaths while it lies desolate without them. They will pay for their sins because they rejected my laws and abhorred my decrees. Yet in spite of this, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them or abhor them so as to destroy them completely, breaking my covenant with them. I am the Lord their God. But for their sake I will remember the covenant with their ancestors whom I brought out of Egypt in the sight of the nations to be their God. I am the Lord.' ” Leviticus 26:40-45
Likewise for us, I John 1:9 says,
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. I John 1:9
Let's go on with Nehemiah. At the end of verse 5 begins the longest prayer in the Bible. It is a good example for us as well.
Standing on the stairs were the Levites--Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani and Kenani--who called with loud voices to the Lord their God. And the Levites--Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah and Pethahiah--said: “Stand up and praise the Lord your God, who is from everlasting to everlasting. Blessed be your glorious name, and may it be exalted above all blessing and praise.
You alone are the Lord. You made the heavens, even the highest heavens, and all their starry host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to everything, and the multitudes of heaven worship you. Nehemiah 9:6
The prayer begins with adoration and praise of the Lord. I think we all are impressed by the amazing works of God in creation. Here I want to focus just on the phrase, “you give life to everything.” When was the last time you told God, “Thank you that I'm alive.” Just think about how your body is constantly working, and you never give it a thought. You don't have to constantly remind your heart to keep beating. You don't have to tell your stomach what to do with your breakfast. You don't have to lay awake at night telling your diaphragm breath in, breath out, breath in, breath out. All of this is from God, and He is worthy of our praise.
“You are the Lord God, who chose Abram and brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans and named him Abraham. You found his heart faithful to you, and you made a covenant with him to give to his descendants the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Jebusites and Girgashites. You have kept your promise because you are righteous.” Nehemiah 9:7-8
Now, we are going to get a quick overview of what God has done for the people of Israel, starting with Abraham from whom the Israelites are descended. I don't do a very good job of this, but I encourage you and me to write down your prayers and what God has done in your life. It is so encouraging to see God working and to remember his faithfulness in answering our prayers. Of course, we can all take delight in His Word remembering what He has done and is doing.
“You saw the suffering of our forefathers in Egypt; you heard their cry at the Red Sea. You sent miraculous signs and wonders against Pharaoh, against all his officials and all the people of his land, for you knew how arrogantly the Egyptians treated them. You made a name for yourself, which remains to this day. You divided the sea before them, so that they passed through it on dry ground, but you hurled their pursuers into the depths, like a stone into mighty waters.” Nehemiah 9:9-11
“By day you led them with a pillar of cloud, and by night with a pillar of fire to give them light on the way they were to take. You came down on Mount Sinai; you spoke to them from heaven. You gave them regulations and laws that are just and right, and decrees and commands that are good. You made known to them your holy Sabbath and gave them commands, decrees and laws through your servant Moses.” Nehemiah 9:12-14
“In their hunger you gave them bread from heaven and in their thirst you brought them water from the rock; you told them to go in and take possession of the land you had sworn with uplifted hand to give them.” Nehemiah 9:15
Several years ago, not long after I became a Christian, I read the book Too Busy Not to Pray by Bill Hybels. It is a short book and a quick read. It was very helpful for me to learn how to pray and that there are different kinds of prayers. I don't know about you, but my early prayers were pretty much all about me. God help me this, God help me that. If I knew of a need, I would pray God help someone else. These are not bad prayers and God tells us to cast our cares on Him because He cares for us. But these are only one type of prayer called supplication, or asking God to supply our needs. Here in Nehemiah, we've seen a different kind of prayer. This is a prayer of adoration or praise of what God has done. This next section, we will see a prayer of confession.
“But they, our forefathers, became arrogant and stiff-necked, and did not obey your commands. They refused to listen and failed to remember the miracles you performed among them. They became stiff-necked and in their rebellion appointed a leader in order to return to their slavery. But you are a forgiving God, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love. Therefore you did not desert them, even when they cast for themselves an image of a calf and said, 'This is your god, who brought you up out of Egypt,' or when they committed awful blasphemies.” Nehemiah 9:16-18
Ouch. I don't think you could do more to insult or blaspheme the Lord than to make an idol and attribute God's miracles to that idol.
“Because of your great compassion you did not abandon them in the desert. By day the pillar of cloud did not cease to guide them on their path, nor the pillar of fire by night to shine on the way they were to take. You gave your good Spirit to instruct them. You did not withhold your manna from their mouths, and you gave them water for their thirst. For forty years you sustained them in the desert; they lacked nothing, their clothes did not wear out nor did their feet become swollen.” Nehemiah 9:19-21
Likewise, God is compassionate to us. He knows our shortcomings. He knows our sin and our pride. All our sin was in the future when Jesus went to the cross to die for our sin. All your sin is paid for by Jesus death on the cross. Your sin before you became a Christian and your sin after you became a Christian. We need to confess our sins, but He is faithful and just to forgive our sins. And, He does not leave us in our sin. He has made a way for us to experience victory and have eternal life.
“You gave them kingdoms and nations, allotting to them even the remotest frontiers. They took over the country of Sihon king of Heshbon and the country of Og king of Bashan. You made their sons as numerous as the stars in the sky, and you brought them into the land that you told their fathers to enter and possess. Their sons went in and took possession of the land. You subdued before them the Canaanites, who lived in the land; you handed the Canaanites over to them, along with their kings and the peoples of the land, to deal with them as they pleased. They captured fortified cities and fertile land; they took possession of houses filled with all kinds of good things, wells already dug, vineyards, olive groves and fruit trees in abundance. They ate to the full and were well-nourished; they reveled in your great goodness.” Nehemiah 9:22-25
In the same way that God provided for the Israelites by giving them a land of their own. Jesus himself has give us a place of our own with Him.
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.” John 14:1-4
Continuing in Nehemiah:
“But they were disobedient and rebelled against you; they put your law behind their backs. They killed your prophets, who had admonished them in order to turn them back to you; they committed awful blasphemies. So you handed them over to their enemies, who oppressed them. But when they were oppressed they cried out to you. From heaven you heard them, and in your great compassion you gave them deliverers, who rescued them from the hand of their enemies.” Nehemiah 9:26-27
“But as soon as they were at rest, they again did what was evil in your sight. Then you abandoned them to the hand of their enemies so that they ruled over them. And when they cried out to you again, you heard from heaven, and in your compassion you delivered them time after time. You warned them to return to your law, but they became arrogant and disobeyed your commands. They sinned against your ordinances, by which a man will live if he obeys them. Stubbornly they turned their backs on you, became stiff-necked and refused to listen.” Nehemiah 9:28-29
“For many years you were patient with them. By your Spirit you admonished them through your prophets. Yet they paid no attention, so you handed them over to the neighboring peoples. But in your great mercy you did not put an end to them or abandon them, for you are a gracious and merciful God.” Nehemiah 9:30-31
Have you ever wondered what the point of the Old Testament is? Why did God take a chosen people to Himself? Just as Carl shared last week, the Jews were not chosen because they were special. Instead, they were special because they were chosen by God. In this brief snapshot in Nehemiah 9, we get a sweeping overview of the Old Testament. God is trying to establish a relationship with the people of Israel. But, they will have no lasting part in it. Continually, they abandon God, but they run to Him when bad things start to happen. In contemporary language, we would say that the Israelites are flirting with the Most High God.
The entire Bible Old and New Testament is written as a love letter to us. It shows us what God is like. The more we read it, the more we can see what He is like. Just as that last sentence says, “But in your great mercy …” God is gracious and merciful not just to the Israelites. He is gracious and merciful to the whole world. Hebrews chapter 10 says, “The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming – not the realities themselves … because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.” (v.1,4) Rather, God sent his Son as the perfect sacrifice making a way for us to come to eternal life in heaven. Have you ever thought about the fact that heaven has been changed on account of you and me? We've already read John 14 where Jesus says he went to prepare a place for us. Up until last night, I kind of had in mind that Jesus went to His Father's house and fluffed the pillows for us or something. But Jesus is humble, and there was a little more to the preparations than tidying up.
Hebrews 9 says, “For Christ did not enter a man-made sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God's presence … he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption … For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant … now that he has died as a ransom to set [us] free from the sins committed under the first covenant.” In addition, to bring this new covenant into effect, the heavenly temple has been purified by the sacrifice of Jesus. So when Jesus went to “prepare a place,” He actually fulfilled the new covenant and made things right between us and God. Jesus changed heaven so that you and I can enter. Isn't that amazing and humbling at the same time?
“Now therefore, O our God, the great, mighty and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love, do not let all this hardship seem trifling in your eyes - the hardship that has come upon us, upon our kings and leaders, upon our priests and prophets, upon our fathers and all your people, from the days of the kings of Assyria until today.” Nehemiah 9:31-32
This hardship they are talking about is exile from the promised land. The days of the kings of Assyria refers to the end of Israel or the ten tribes who were taken and scattered first. There is a sense of unity among the Israelites irrespective of tribe.
“In all that has happened to us, you have been just; you have acted faithfully, while we did wrong.” Nehemiah 9:33
Up to this point, they have been talking about what had happened before. Now, we reach the first occurrence of the word “we” in their confession.
“Our kings, our leaders, our priests and our fathers did not follow your law; they did not pay attention to your commands or the warnings you gave them. Even while they were in their kingdom, enjoying your great goodness to them in the spacious and fertile land you gave them, they did not serve you or turn from their evil ways.” Nehemiah 9:34-35
“But see, we are slaves today, slaves in the land you gave our forefathers so they could eat its fruit and the other good things it produces. Because of our sins, its abundant harvest goes to the kings you have placed over us. They rule over our bodies and our cattle as they please. We are in great distress.” Nehemiah 9:36-37
(Battle of Thermopylae) This is the end of their confession. Now, they are prepared to act.
“In view of all this, we are making a binding agreement, putting it in writing, and our leaders, our Levites and our priests are affixing their seals to it.
Those who sealed it were: Nehemiah the governor, the son of Hacaliah,
[List of Names] These were the priests.
The Levites: [List of Names] and their associates: [List of Names]
The leaders of the people: [List of Names]
The rest of the people – priests, Levites, gatekeepers, singers, temple servants and all who separated themselves from the neighboring peoples for the sake of the Law of God, together with their wives and all their sons and daughters who are able to understand –” Nehemiah 9:38-10:28
In all, 84 names are recorded. More importantly, “all the people who separated themselves from the neighboring people” are part of this covenant.
… all these now join their brothers the nobles, and bind themselves with a curse and an oath to follow the Law of God given through Moses the servant of God and to obey carefully all the commands, regulations and decrees of the Lord our Lord. Nehemiah 10:29
This sense of binding themselves with a curse and an oath has a kind of ominous feeling to it. On the one hand, they are still the people of Israel. They are already bound by curse and oath through the Law, so why take more curses and oaths? In addition, we've just read this long list of failings and confession regarding the people of Israel, how they ignored warnings and forgot miracles. I think it is clear that they still have not recognized their utter inability to follow the Law. They cannot attain to their end of this covenant in their own strength.
However, the Israelites have a corporate recognition of sin, confession of that sin, and realization of the consequences of that sin. They clearly see that their own sin has resulted in the difficult circumstances of their lives. This is a huge transformation that cannot be underestimated. God is working through everyone's circumstances for their own good. His heart is “patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.” (II Peter 3:9) And yet, if we persist in sin, our circumstances will become progressively more difficult. Proverbs 10:16 says, “The wages of the righteous bring them life, but the income of the wicked brings them punishment.”
In preparation for this message, I heard Ray Steadman tell this story about a man he knew. An unbeliever asked the man if he really believed in the miracles of Jesus, and the man answered yes. The unbeliever asked the man if he believed that Jesus really turned water into wine, and the man answered yes. The unbeliever asked how did Jesus turn water into wine. The man replied, “I don't know, but I believe he can because at my house, he turned beer into furniture.”
God is working through our circumstances, always. Let's move on to the covenant that the people signed. There are 3 main parts: marriage, the Sabbath, and the Temple of God.
“We promise not to give our daughters in marriage to the peoples around us or take their daughters for our sons.” Nehemiah 10:30
Carl covered this point very throroughly back in Ezra chapters 9 and 10. This has nothing to do with race. It has everything to do with devotion to the Lord. If you marry an unbeliever, you can be sure that it will result in tension and conflict at best. At worst, the believing spouse will be pulled away from the Lord just like Solomon was, even though he was the wisest man that ever lived.
“When the neighboring peoples bring merchandise or grain to sell on the Sabbath, we will not buy from them on the Sabbath or on any holy day. Every seventh year we will forgo working the land and will cancel all debts.” Nehemiah 10:31
This verse is primarily about trusting the Lord. Not working on the Sabbath and allowing the land to rest means that you trust the Lord to make up for the lost income or harvest during the times of rest. Now, we are no longer under the law. So what should our response be. Isaiah 30:15 says, “In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength.” We likewise can trust the Lord and rest. We should not be rushing around at a feverish pitch. Try and remember that as we enter the Christmas season.
The last portion of the covenant is the longest, but these agreements have to do with the Israelites' obligations to the temple.
1. Give a third of a shekel annually for services in the temple according to the Law.
2. Bring wood to burn on the altar of the Lord.
3. Bring firstfruits each year.
4. Bring firstborn sons and animals according to the Law.
5. Bring the tithe of all crops to the Levites.
6. Collect the tithe of crops properly, accompanied by a priest.
7. Store the tithe properly at the temple.
“We assume the responsibility for carrying out the commands to give a third of a shekel each year for the service of the house of our God: for the bread set out on the table; for the regular grain offerings and burnt offerings; for the offerings on the Sabbaths, New Moon festivals and appointed feasts; for the holy offerings; for sin offerings to make atonement for Israel; and for all the duties of the house of our God.” Nehemiah 10:32-33
“We – the priests, the Levites and the people – have cast lots to determine when each of our families is to bring to the house of our God at set times each year a contribution of wood to burn on the altar of the Lord our God, as it is written in the Law.”
“We also assume responsibility for bringing to the house of the Lord each year the firstfruits of our crops and of every fruit tree.” Nehemiah 10:34-35
“As it is also written in the Law, we will bring the firstborn of our sons and of our cattle, of our herds and of our flocks to the house of our God, to the priests ministering there.”
“Moreover, we will bring to the storerooms of the house of our God, to the priests, the first of our ground meal, of our grain offerings, of the fruit of all our trees and of our new wine and oil. And we will bring a tithe of our crops to the Levites, for it is the Levites who collect the tithes in all the towns where we work.” Nehemiah 10:36-37
“A priest descended from Aaron is to accompany the Levites when they receive the tithes, and the Levites are to bring a tenth of the tithes up to the house of our God, to the storerooms of the treasury.”
“The people of Israel, including the Levites, are to bring their contributions of grain, new wine and oil to the storerooms where the articles for the sanctuary are kept and where the ministering priests, the gatekeepers and the singers stay.”
“We will not neglect the house of our God.” Nehemiah 10:38-39
I've used up my time today on earlier verses. In the old testament, the temple was the place where God's glory dwelt. But Acts 7 says, “the Most High does not live in houses made by men.” And I Corinthians 3:16 says, “Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you?” So, in the new covenant that we have through Jesus, God's Spirit now lives in us, those who believe in Him. We are God's temple. Let's conclude with Hebrews 10:19-25 …
Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another-and all the more as you see the Day approaching. Hebrews 10:19-25
May we not neglect one another, God's temple in these last days.
Today, we are going to cover Nehemiah chapters 9 and 10. If you remember from last week in Nehemiah chapter 7, the wall had been completed in 52 days, a miracle of the Lord in the face of great opposition. God's blessing on the Israelites was so clear that it even demoralized their enemies. Then in chapter 8, the people of Israel had gathered together and Ezra read the Book of the Law of God from daybreak until noon. And, the people were weeping as they listened, but Nehemiah, Ezra, and the Levites stopped them and encouraged them to celebrate. The next day, they read of the feast of tabernacles or the feast of booths. Hearing that this feast should occur during the seventh month, they went out and prepared booths. Nehemiah 8:17 said “From the days of Joshua son of Nun until that day, the Israelites had not celebrated it like this. And their joy was very great.”
And so, the Israelites celebrated the feast with great joy through 8 days. According to Numbers 29, the feast would begin on the 15th day of the seventh month and last 8 days ending on the 22nd day of the seventh month. Now, we pick up at the beginning of chapter 9, just a couple of days after the feast.
On the twenty-fourth day of the same month, the Israelites gathered together, fasting and wearing sackcloth and having dust on their heads. Those of Israelite descent had separated themselves from all foreigners. Nehemiah 9:1-2
The Israelites have gone from weeping to celebrating and now to intense grief. Their grief is so great that they are displaying that attitude outwardly. Nehemiah does not tell us exactly how this corporate expression of grief came about, but it is clear that they have returned to the Word of God and they practiced what they heard regarding the feast of booths. Separating themselves from foreigners was another step in obedience. This act of separation is a multi-step or maybe even continual process for the Israelites. Remember at the end of Ezra, there was the process of dealing with intermarriage. Nehemiah has continued to deal with these family and business ties between Israelites and the other peoples living around Jerusalem. And again here we see that the people of Israelite descent had separated themselves from all foreigners.
They stood in their places and confessed their sins and the wickedness of their fathers. They stood where they were and read from the Book of the Law of the Lord their God for a quarter of the day, and spent another quarter in confession and in worshiping the Lord their God. Nehemiah 9:2-3
In response to their grief, they confess their sins and the sins of their fathers. I find it interesting that the words “they stood” appear twice. “They stood in their places” and “they stood where they were.” What is the customary reaction in an uncomfortable situation? Don't you tend to shift around? Maybe, you want to get up and leave? And yet, in this situation, the Israelites are standing and not moving around.
Three things are going on here. What are they? Confessing, reading, and worshiping.
Let's talk about confession since it appears twice in this list. What is confession? What does it mean to confess? The English word “confess” comes from the Latin and means to “speak thoroughly.” The Hebrew word translated confess means literally to throw stones or to cast against. The Hebrew verb tense used here is reflexive or indicates that the people are talking about themselves, so it means to throw stones against yourself or to demonstrate yourself as guilty.
I heard a funny story this week from a friend of mine. One of their kids had managed to get themselves into a bit of trouble. My friend afterward asks the child, “Why did you do that?” And after asking a few times, even though it was a young child, the answer was very revealing. The child answered, “It's a long story.” As both a parent and a child myself, I would agree that this pretty much sums up any response when a problem has happened. Almost every time I have to explain the trouble, I say, “Well, it started when … ” I've never tried it, but I suppose you could answer, “Well, it all started in the garden, and there was this tree, but God said don't eat from the tree, and well they did, and … and … and.” What is the reason for the long story? Usually, you're trying to deflect or spread the blame around. Right? My point is that is not confession. If it's a “long story,” it's probably not confession.
Confession is bold and accountable. This is what I did. I'm guilty. And the Israelites are not hemming and hawing. They are standing their ground and honestly confessing their sins and the sins of their fathers. Why the sins of their fathers?
Well, the law is pretty clear. It says four different places that the Lord is a jealous God punishing the sins of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of children. However, Ezekiel says,
The soul who sins is the one who will die. The son will not share the guilt of the father, nor will the father share the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous man will be credited to him, and the wickedness of the wicked will be charged against him. Ezekiel 18:20
So what's going on here? Does punishment go to the third or fourth generation, or is it each man's sin is on his own head? I think that we are predisposed to the sin of our parents. Whatever sin is prevalent in your family, it will be a snare for you. Think of David and Solomon. How many wives did David have? Eight. How many wives did Solomon have? 700 plus 300 concubines.
Genesis of course speaks about marriage as God designed it, that one man and one women would be joined together as one flesh. Not only that, the law speaks about marriage and kings.
[The king] must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray. Deutoronomy 17:17
And what happened to Solomon with his 700 wives?
He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines, and his wives led him astray. As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father had been. I Kings 11:3-4
And so, Solomon took for himself even more wives than David had. In that way, the sins of the father rested on the son. Solomon sinned on his own, but his sin was in the same pattern as his father before him.
At the beginning of the message, I said that Nehemiah had not explained the reason for this corporate time confessing sin. It was not a regular feast or holy day in the Law. However, the feast of booths is in Leviticus 23. Just three chapters later in Leviticus 26, it says,
“ 'But if they will confess their sins and the sins of their fathers--their treachery against me and their hostility toward me, which made me hostile toward them so that I sent them into the land of their enemies--then when their uncircumcised hearts are humbled and they pay for their sin, I will remember my covenant with Jacob and my covenant with Isaac and my covenant with Abraham, and I will remember the land. For the land will be deserted by them and will enjoy its sabbaths while it lies desolate without them. They will pay for their sins because they rejected my laws and abhorred my decrees. Yet in spite of this, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them or abhor them so as to destroy them completely, breaking my covenant with them. I am the Lord their God. But for their sake I will remember the covenant with their ancestors whom I brought out of Egypt in the sight of the nations to be their God. I am the Lord.' ” Leviticus 26:40-45
Likewise for us, I John 1:9 says,
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. I John 1:9
Let's go on with Nehemiah. At the end of verse 5 begins the longest prayer in the Bible. It is a good example for us as well.
Standing on the stairs were the Levites--Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani and Kenani--who called with loud voices to the Lord their God. And the Levites--Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah and Pethahiah--said: “Stand up and praise the Lord your God, who is from everlasting to everlasting. Blessed be your glorious name, and may it be exalted above all blessing and praise.
You alone are the Lord. You made the heavens, even the highest heavens, and all their starry host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to everything, and the multitudes of heaven worship you. Nehemiah 9:6
The prayer begins with adoration and praise of the Lord. I think we all are impressed by the amazing works of God in creation. Here I want to focus just on the phrase, “you give life to everything.” When was the last time you told God, “Thank you that I'm alive.” Just think about how your body is constantly working, and you never give it a thought. You don't have to constantly remind your heart to keep beating. You don't have to tell your stomach what to do with your breakfast. You don't have to lay awake at night telling your diaphragm breath in, breath out, breath in, breath out. All of this is from God, and He is worthy of our praise.
“You are the Lord God, who chose Abram and brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans and named him Abraham. You found his heart faithful to you, and you made a covenant with him to give to his descendants the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Jebusites and Girgashites. You have kept your promise because you are righteous.” Nehemiah 9:7-8
Now, we are going to get a quick overview of what God has done for the people of Israel, starting with Abraham from whom the Israelites are descended. I don't do a very good job of this, but I encourage you and me to write down your prayers and what God has done in your life. It is so encouraging to see God working and to remember his faithfulness in answering our prayers. Of course, we can all take delight in His Word remembering what He has done and is doing.
“You saw the suffering of our forefathers in Egypt; you heard their cry at the Red Sea. You sent miraculous signs and wonders against Pharaoh, against all his officials and all the people of his land, for you knew how arrogantly the Egyptians treated them. You made a name for yourself, which remains to this day. You divided the sea before them, so that they passed through it on dry ground, but you hurled their pursuers into the depths, like a stone into mighty waters.” Nehemiah 9:9-11
“By day you led them with a pillar of cloud, and by night with a pillar of fire to give them light on the way they were to take. You came down on Mount Sinai; you spoke to them from heaven. You gave them regulations and laws that are just and right, and decrees and commands that are good. You made known to them your holy Sabbath and gave them commands, decrees and laws through your servant Moses.” Nehemiah 9:12-14
“In their hunger you gave them bread from heaven and in their thirst you brought them water from the rock; you told them to go in and take possession of the land you had sworn with uplifted hand to give them.” Nehemiah 9:15
Several years ago, not long after I became a Christian, I read the book Too Busy Not to Pray by Bill Hybels. It is a short book and a quick read. It was very helpful for me to learn how to pray and that there are different kinds of prayers. I don't know about you, but my early prayers were pretty much all about me. God help me this, God help me that. If I knew of a need, I would pray God help someone else. These are not bad prayers and God tells us to cast our cares on Him because He cares for us. But these are only one type of prayer called supplication, or asking God to supply our needs. Here in Nehemiah, we've seen a different kind of prayer. This is a prayer of adoration or praise of what God has done. This next section, we will see a prayer of confession.
“But they, our forefathers, became arrogant and stiff-necked, and did not obey your commands. They refused to listen and failed to remember the miracles you performed among them. They became stiff-necked and in their rebellion appointed a leader in order to return to their slavery. But you are a forgiving God, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love. Therefore you did not desert them, even when they cast for themselves an image of a calf and said, 'This is your god, who brought you up out of Egypt,' or when they committed awful blasphemies.” Nehemiah 9:16-18
Ouch. I don't think you could do more to insult or blaspheme the Lord than to make an idol and attribute God's miracles to that idol.
“Because of your great compassion you did not abandon them in the desert. By day the pillar of cloud did not cease to guide them on their path, nor the pillar of fire by night to shine on the way they were to take. You gave your good Spirit to instruct them. You did not withhold your manna from their mouths, and you gave them water for their thirst. For forty years you sustained them in the desert; they lacked nothing, their clothes did not wear out nor did their feet become swollen.” Nehemiah 9:19-21
Likewise, God is compassionate to us. He knows our shortcomings. He knows our sin and our pride. All our sin was in the future when Jesus went to the cross to die for our sin. All your sin is paid for by Jesus death on the cross. Your sin before you became a Christian and your sin after you became a Christian. We need to confess our sins, but He is faithful and just to forgive our sins. And, He does not leave us in our sin. He has made a way for us to experience victory and have eternal life.
“You gave them kingdoms and nations, allotting to them even the remotest frontiers. They took over the country of Sihon king of Heshbon and the country of Og king of Bashan. You made their sons as numerous as the stars in the sky, and you brought them into the land that you told their fathers to enter and possess. Their sons went in and took possession of the land. You subdued before them the Canaanites, who lived in the land; you handed the Canaanites over to them, along with their kings and the peoples of the land, to deal with them as they pleased. They captured fortified cities and fertile land; they took possession of houses filled with all kinds of good things, wells already dug, vineyards, olive groves and fruit trees in abundance. They ate to the full and were well-nourished; they reveled in your great goodness.” Nehemiah 9:22-25
In the same way that God provided for the Israelites by giving them a land of their own. Jesus himself has give us a place of our own with Him.
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.” John 14:1-4
Continuing in Nehemiah:
“But they were disobedient and rebelled against you; they put your law behind their backs. They killed your prophets, who had admonished them in order to turn them back to you; they committed awful blasphemies. So you handed them over to their enemies, who oppressed them. But when they were oppressed they cried out to you. From heaven you heard them, and in your great compassion you gave them deliverers, who rescued them from the hand of their enemies.” Nehemiah 9:26-27
“But as soon as they were at rest, they again did what was evil in your sight. Then you abandoned them to the hand of their enemies so that they ruled over them. And when they cried out to you again, you heard from heaven, and in your compassion you delivered them time after time. You warned them to return to your law, but they became arrogant and disobeyed your commands. They sinned against your ordinances, by which a man will live if he obeys them. Stubbornly they turned their backs on you, became stiff-necked and refused to listen.” Nehemiah 9:28-29
“For many years you were patient with them. By your Spirit you admonished them through your prophets. Yet they paid no attention, so you handed them over to the neighboring peoples. But in your great mercy you did not put an end to them or abandon them, for you are a gracious and merciful God.” Nehemiah 9:30-31
Have you ever wondered what the point of the Old Testament is? Why did God take a chosen people to Himself? Just as Carl shared last week, the Jews were not chosen because they were special. Instead, they were special because they were chosen by God. In this brief snapshot in Nehemiah 9, we get a sweeping overview of the Old Testament. God is trying to establish a relationship with the people of Israel. But, they will have no lasting part in it. Continually, they abandon God, but they run to Him when bad things start to happen. In contemporary language, we would say that the Israelites are flirting with the Most High God.
The entire Bible Old and New Testament is written as a love letter to us. It shows us what God is like. The more we read it, the more we can see what He is like. Just as that last sentence says, “But in your great mercy …” God is gracious and merciful not just to the Israelites. He is gracious and merciful to the whole world. Hebrews chapter 10 says, “The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming – not the realities themselves … because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.” (v.1,4) Rather, God sent his Son as the perfect sacrifice making a way for us to come to eternal life in heaven. Have you ever thought about the fact that heaven has been changed on account of you and me? We've already read John 14 where Jesus says he went to prepare a place for us. Up until last night, I kind of had in mind that Jesus went to His Father's house and fluffed the pillows for us or something. But Jesus is humble, and there was a little more to the preparations than tidying up.
Hebrews 9 says, “For Christ did not enter a man-made sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God's presence … he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption … For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant … now that he has died as a ransom to set [us] free from the sins committed under the first covenant.” In addition, to bring this new covenant into effect, the heavenly temple has been purified by the sacrifice of Jesus. So when Jesus went to “prepare a place,” He actually fulfilled the new covenant and made things right between us and God. Jesus changed heaven so that you and I can enter. Isn't that amazing and humbling at the same time?
“Now therefore, O our God, the great, mighty and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love, do not let all this hardship seem trifling in your eyes - the hardship that has come upon us, upon our kings and leaders, upon our priests and prophets, upon our fathers and all your people, from the days of the kings of Assyria until today.” Nehemiah 9:31-32
This hardship they are talking about is exile from the promised land. The days of the kings of Assyria refers to the end of Israel or the ten tribes who were taken and scattered first. There is a sense of unity among the Israelites irrespective of tribe.
“In all that has happened to us, you have been just; you have acted faithfully, while we did wrong.” Nehemiah 9:33
Up to this point, they have been talking about what had happened before. Now, we reach the first occurrence of the word “we” in their confession.
“Our kings, our leaders, our priests and our fathers did not follow your law; they did not pay attention to your commands or the warnings you gave them. Even while they were in their kingdom, enjoying your great goodness to them in the spacious and fertile land you gave them, they did not serve you or turn from their evil ways.” Nehemiah 9:34-35
“But see, we are slaves today, slaves in the land you gave our forefathers so they could eat its fruit and the other good things it produces. Because of our sins, its abundant harvest goes to the kings you have placed over us. They rule over our bodies and our cattle as they please. We are in great distress.” Nehemiah 9:36-37
(Battle of Thermopylae) This is the end of their confession. Now, they are prepared to act.
“In view of all this, we are making a binding agreement, putting it in writing, and our leaders, our Levites and our priests are affixing their seals to it.
Those who sealed it were: Nehemiah the governor, the son of Hacaliah,
[List of Names] These were the priests.
The Levites: [List of Names] and their associates: [List of Names]
The leaders of the people: [List of Names]
The rest of the people – priests, Levites, gatekeepers, singers, temple servants and all who separated themselves from the neighboring peoples for the sake of the Law of God, together with their wives and all their sons and daughters who are able to understand –” Nehemiah 9:38-10:28
In all, 84 names are recorded. More importantly, “all the people who separated themselves from the neighboring people” are part of this covenant.
… all these now join their brothers the nobles, and bind themselves with a curse and an oath to follow the Law of God given through Moses the servant of God and to obey carefully all the commands, regulations and decrees of the Lord our Lord. Nehemiah 10:29
This sense of binding themselves with a curse and an oath has a kind of ominous feeling to it. On the one hand, they are still the people of Israel. They are already bound by curse and oath through the Law, so why take more curses and oaths? In addition, we've just read this long list of failings and confession regarding the people of Israel, how they ignored warnings and forgot miracles. I think it is clear that they still have not recognized their utter inability to follow the Law. They cannot attain to their end of this covenant in their own strength.
However, the Israelites have a corporate recognition of sin, confession of that sin, and realization of the consequences of that sin. They clearly see that their own sin has resulted in the difficult circumstances of their lives. This is a huge transformation that cannot be underestimated. God is working through everyone's circumstances for their own good. His heart is “patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.” (II Peter 3:9) And yet, if we persist in sin, our circumstances will become progressively more difficult. Proverbs 10:16 says, “The wages of the righteous bring them life, but the income of the wicked brings them punishment.”
In preparation for this message, I heard Ray Steadman tell this story about a man he knew. An unbeliever asked the man if he really believed in the miracles of Jesus, and the man answered yes. The unbeliever asked the man if he believed that Jesus really turned water into wine, and the man answered yes. The unbeliever asked how did Jesus turn water into wine. The man replied, “I don't know, but I believe he can because at my house, he turned beer into furniture.”
God is working through our circumstances, always. Let's move on to the covenant that the people signed. There are 3 main parts: marriage, the Sabbath, and the Temple of God.
“We promise not to give our daughters in marriage to the peoples around us or take their daughters for our sons.” Nehemiah 10:30
Carl covered this point very throroughly back in Ezra chapters 9 and 10. This has nothing to do with race. It has everything to do with devotion to the Lord. If you marry an unbeliever, you can be sure that it will result in tension and conflict at best. At worst, the believing spouse will be pulled away from the Lord just like Solomon was, even though he was the wisest man that ever lived.
“When the neighboring peoples bring merchandise or grain to sell on the Sabbath, we will not buy from them on the Sabbath or on any holy day. Every seventh year we will forgo working the land and will cancel all debts.” Nehemiah 10:31
This verse is primarily about trusting the Lord. Not working on the Sabbath and allowing the land to rest means that you trust the Lord to make up for the lost income or harvest during the times of rest. Now, we are no longer under the law. So what should our response be. Isaiah 30:15 says, “In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength.” We likewise can trust the Lord and rest. We should not be rushing around at a feverish pitch. Try and remember that as we enter the Christmas season.
The last portion of the covenant is the longest, but these agreements have to do with the Israelites' obligations to the temple.
1. Give a third of a shekel annually for services in the temple according to the Law.
2. Bring wood to burn on the altar of the Lord.
3. Bring firstfruits each year.
4. Bring firstborn sons and animals according to the Law.
5. Bring the tithe of all crops to the Levites.
6. Collect the tithe of crops properly, accompanied by a priest.
7. Store the tithe properly at the temple.
“We assume the responsibility for carrying out the commands to give a third of a shekel each year for the service of the house of our God: for the bread set out on the table; for the regular grain offerings and burnt offerings; for the offerings on the Sabbaths, New Moon festivals and appointed feasts; for the holy offerings; for sin offerings to make atonement for Israel; and for all the duties of the house of our God.” Nehemiah 10:32-33
“We – the priests, the Levites and the people – have cast lots to determine when each of our families is to bring to the house of our God at set times each year a contribution of wood to burn on the altar of the Lord our God, as it is written in the Law.”
“We also assume responsibility for bringing to the house of the Lord each year the firstfruits of our crops and of every fruit tree.” Nehemiah 10:34-35
“As it is also written in the Law, we will bring the firstborn of our sons and of our cattle, of our herds and of our flocks to the house of our God, to the priests ministering there.”
“Moreover, we will bring to the storerooms of the house of our God, to the priests, the first of our ground meal, of our grain offerings, of the fruit of all our trees and of our new wine and oil. And we will bring a tithe of our crops to the Levites, for it is the Levites who collect the tithes in all the towns where we work.” Nehemiah 10:36-37
“A priest descended from Aaron is to accompany the Levites when they receive the tithes, and the Levites are to bring a tenth of the tithes up to the house of our God, to the storerooms of the treasury.”
“The people of Israel, including the Levites, are to bring their contributions of grain, new wine and oil to the storerooms where the articles for the sanctuary are kept and where the ministering priests, the gatekeepers and the singers stay.”
“We will not neglect the house of our God.” Nehemiah 10:38-39
I've used up my time today on earlier verses. In the old testament, the temple was the place where God's glory dwelt. But Acts 7 says, “the Most High does not live in houses made by men.” And I Corinthians 3:16 says, “Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you?” So, in the new covenant that we have through Jesus, God's Spirit now lives in us, those who believe in Him. We are God's temple. Let's conclude with Hebrews 10:19-25 …
Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another-and all the more as you see the Day approaching. Hebrews 10:19-25
May we not neglect one another, God's temple in these last days.
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