November 28, 2023

Right responses to God's Word are typically marked by repentance.

Nehemiah 9

Krista McCoy
Tuesday's Devo

November 28, 2023

Tuesday's Devo

November 28, 2023

Tuesday's Devo

November 28, 2023

Tuesday's Devo

November 28, 2023

Big Idea

Start with prayer.

Key Verse | Nehemiah 9:3

And they stood up in their place and read from the Book of the Law of the LORD their God for a quarter of the day; for another quarter of it they made confession and worshiped the LORD their God.

Nehemiah 9

The People of Israel Confess Their Sin

1 Now on the twenty-fourth day of this month the people of Israel were assembled with fasting and in sackcloth, and with earth on their heads. 2 And the Israelites 1 9:2 Hebrew the offspring of Israel separated themselves from all foreigners and stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers. 3 And they stood up in their place and read from the Book of the Law of the LORD their God for a quarter of the day; for another quarter of it they made confession and worshiped the LORD their God. 4 On the stairs of the Levites stood Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani; and they cried with a loud voice to the LORD their God. 5 Then the Levites, Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah, said, “Stand up and bless the LORD your God from everlasting to everlasting. Blessed be your glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise.

6  2 9:6 Septuagint adds And Ezra said You are the LORD, you alone. You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them; and you preserve all of them; and the host of heaven worships you. 7 You are the LORD, the God who chose Abram and brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans and gave him the name Abraham. 8 You found his heart faithful before you, and made with him the covenant to give to his offspring the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Jebusite, and the Girgashite. And you have kept your promise, for you are righteous.

9 And you saw the affliction of our fathers in Egypt and heard their cry at the Red Sea, 10 and performed signs and wonders against Pharaoh and all his servants and all the people of his land, for you knew that they acted arrogantly against our fathers. And you made a name for yourself, as it is to this day. 11 And you divided the sea before them, so that they went through the midst of the sea on dry land, and you cast their pursuers into the depths, as a stone into mighty waters. 12 By a pillar of cloud you led them in the day, and by a pillar of fire in the night to light for them the way in which they should go. 13 You came down on Mount Sinai and spoke with them from heaven and gave them right rules and true laws, good statutes and commandments, 14 and you made known to them your holy Sabbath and commanded them commandments and statutes and a law by Moses your servant. 15 You gave them bread from heaven for their hunger and brought water for them out of the rock for their thirst, and you told them to go in to possess the land that you had sworn to give them.

16 But they and our fathers acted presumptuously and stiffened their neck and did not obey your commandments. 17 They refused to obey and were not mindful of the wonders that you performed among them, but they stiffened their neck and appointed a leader to return to their slavery in Egypt. 3 9:17 Some Hebrew manuscripts; many Hebrew manuscripts and in their rebellion appointed a leader to return to their slavery But you are a God ready to forgive, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and did not forsake them. 18 Even when they had made for themselves a golden 4 9:18 Hebrew metal calf and said, ‘This is your God who brought you up out of Egypt,’ and had committed great blasphemies, 19 you in your great mercies did not forsake them in the wilderness. The pillar of cloud to lead them in the way did not depart from them by day, nor the pillar of fire by night to light for them the way by which they should go. 20 You gave your good Spirit to instruct them and did not withhold your manna from their mouth and gave them water for their thirst. 21 Forty years you sustained them in the wilderness, and they lacked nothing. Their clothes did not wear out and their feet did not swell.

22 And you gave them kingdoms and peoples and allotted to them every corner. So they took possession of the land of Sihon king of Heshbon and the land of Og king of Bashan. 23 You multiplied their children as the stars of heaven, and you brought them into the land that you had told their fathers to enter and possess. 24 So the descendants went in and possessed the land, and you subdued before them the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, and gave them into their hand, with their kings and the peoples of the land, that they might do with them as they would. 25 And they captured fortified cities and a rich land, and took possession of houses full of all good things, cisterns already hewn, vineyards, olive orchards and fruit trees in abundance. So they ate and were filled and became fat and delighted themselves in your great goodness.

26 Nevertheless, they were disobedient and rebelled against you and cast your law behind their back and killed your prophets, who had warned them in order to turn them back to you, and they committed great blasphemies. 27 Therefore you gave them into the hand of their enemies, who made them suffer. And in the time of their suffering they cried out to you and you heard them from heaven, and according to your great mercies you gave them saviors who saved them from the hand of their enemies. 28 But after they had rest they did evil again before you, and you abandoned them to the hand of their enemies, so that they had dominion over them. Yet when they turned and cried to you, you heard from heaven, and many times you delivered them according to your mercies. 29 And you warned them in order to turn them back to your law. Yet they acted presumptuously and did not obey your commandments, but sinned against your rules, which if a person does them, he shall live by them, and they turned a stubborn shoulder and stiffened their neck and would not obey. 30 Many years you bore with them and warned them by your Spirit through your prophets. Yet they would not give ear. Therefore you gave them into the hand of the peoples of the lands. 31 Nevertheless, in your great mercies you did not make an end of them or forsake them, for you are a gracious and merciful God.

32 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. 33 Yet you have been righteous in all that has come upon us, for you have dealt faithfully and we have acted wickedly. 34 Our kings, our princes, our priests, and our fathers have not kept your law or paid attention to your commandments and your warnings that you gave them. 35 Even in their own kingdom, and amid your great goodness that you gave them, and in the large and rich land that you set before them, they did not serve you or turn from their wicked works. 36 Behold, we are slaves this day; in the land that you gave to our fathers to enjoy its fruit and its good gifts, behold, we are slaves. 37 And its rich yield goes to the kings whom you have set over us because of our sins. They rule over our bodies and over our livestock as they please, and we are in great distress.

38  5 9:38 Ch 10:1 in Hebrew Because of all this we make a firm covenant in writing; on the sealed document are the names of 6 9:38 Hebrew lacks the names of our princes, our Levites, and our priests.

Footnotes

[1] 9:2 Hebrew the offspring of Israel
[2] 9:6 Septuagint adds And Ezra said
[3] 9:17 Some Hebrew manuscripts; many Hebrew manuscripts and in their rebellion appointed a leader to return to their slavery
[4] 9:18 Hebrew metal
[5] 9:38 Ch 10:1 in Hebrew
[6] 9:38 Hebrew lacks the names of

S2:232 Nehemiah 9

Listen Now

Dive Deeper | Nehemiah 9

As we've been reading through the Old Testament, it's not foreign to us that the Israelites were fickle and folly. If you haven't been reading with us, welcome! This passage will sum up where we've been.

There have been times I've read this passage thinking, "The Israelites had it easy! Look at all of God's miracles! How did they not get it?" or "Again? Haven't they learned?" I am quickly reminded that I'm no different from the Israelites.

In 2018 I went through re:generation. I walked in blaming my sin on circumstances rather than acknowledging my depravity. Little did I know, a few months later I would spend six weeks praying through Scripture daily, taking an inventory of where I had sinned against God. I prayed Psalm 139:23-24 ("Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts!") repeatedly as the Lord continued to reveal my disobedience. 

I learned that my disobedience highlighted God's faithfulness. Reread Nehemiah 9:3. The Israelites read God's Word, and the Lord revealed where they had disobeyed Him. We continually see Israel's disobedience to the One True God. However, we also see God providing, protecting, and delivering His people. God didn't view the Israelites how I viewed them; instead, He was "ready to forgive, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and did not forsake them." (Nehemiah 9:17; see also Exodus 34:6)

As I grow in my walk with Christ and spend more time in His Word, I learn that God isn't surprised by my sin. He isn't rolling His eyes saying, "Again, Krista?" He reminds me of what He did, sending His Son to die on the cross for me, raising Him from the grave three days later, and defeating sin and death. I am no longer enslaved to sin, but set free because of Jesus!

This month's memory verse

16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

– 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Discussion Questions

1. Is there anything holding you back from walking in freedom in Christ? Unconfessed sin? The last 2% that you thought you would never tell anyone? If so, what is your next faithful step?

2. What is your view of God? How do you think He responds to your sin? Do your circumstances shape your view of Him? What truths from God's Word shape your view of Him? 

3. Just like the Israelites reflected on God's faithfulness, where have you seen God's faithfulness in your life? 

4. How has God transformed your life through His Word? What is He currently teaching you about Himself? 

As we gear up to release even more features for Join The Journey in 2025, our staff team, unfortunately, no longer has the margin to continue to support the comment functionality. We have big things in store for Join The Journey 2025. Stay tuned!

HS

Hugh Stephenson

Good morning, Krista! Love this devo. What a great testimony you have. Thanks be to God for your faithfulness in turning to Him. As I read your devo, I see the parallel to your note. And with my own back story of my faithlessness and God’s faithfulness. Q1-Q4 see below. -------------------------------------------------------------- Short summaries from the ESV SB. Neh. 8:1–10:39 The Reading of the Law and Covenant Renewal. In this long section, the Book of the Law is solemnly read, the Feast of Booths is kept, and a great act of covenant renewal is performed. For the first time in this book, Ezra enters the narrative. This section shows the unity of his and Nehemiah’s projects. With the walls securely in place, the centrality of the Mosaic law is once again made prominent, since it is not security alone that is essential to the life of the community, nor even the temple, but trust in God and obedience to God’s Word as revealed through Moses. The whole passage has Leviticus 23 especially in mind. Neh. 9:1–38 A Prayer of Confession, Penitence, and Covenant Commitment. The next phase in the great act of covenant renewal is a prayer of praise, confession, and petition. And from Constable- "The ninth chapter of Nehemiah is one of the most eloquent recitals of God's marvelous acts in Israel's history. Along with Moses' 'Song of the Sea' (Ex. 15), 'The Song of Moses' (Deut. 32), 'Deborah's Song' (Judg. 5), 'Hannah's Song' (1 Sam. 2), and David's 'Song of the Bow' (2 Sam. 1), this poem is one of the great psalms in Scripture."[167].
HS

Hugh Stephenson

In a journey of faith there are many milestone moments. For some it’s the altar call as a young person. For others maybe it came at a Christian summer camp. For others perhaps in a college ministry. Or in a pre-marriage engagement session. Or an after-marriage workshop. For thousands of us one of the biggest milestone moments is steps 4 and 5 in a Christ based twelve step recovery program. Step 4 is the writing down of a lifetime inventory of every fear, every resentment, every harm by me and every harm to me. . Every instance of sexual sin. And every issue of my recovery struggle. Here is a link from the re gen web site of an example of a completed inventory- https://assets.ctfassets.net/c3d0bpe1ab9r/60BZFXMavdQwUCt0YBMen1/dae548b55b13d17366210d2e86d470d1/Inventory_Example.pdf Then the most powerful step- step five. A public confession of each item to God and to at least one other person. I can’t imagine anything more powerful than the cleanse that comes from a confession. Especially one done in the re:gen 12 step process. Now maybe you have a better understanding of the term “fearless and searching moral inventory”. My first inventory had well over 100 different lines. And then I added to them in subsequent trips through re:gen. What makes the recovery process last a long time is doing a daily inventory. And confessing it to your spouse or a close friend who understands the process. And then you supercharge it by working your way through step 6, perhaps the gem of the program. It’s the repentance plan where you identify in detail when where and how these sins happen- then develop a plan to prevent them or to deal with them when the temptation comes. The design is that you have a recovery partner you can call when tempted or feeling overwhelmed. And then the ask for forgiveness in step 8 and the offer of amends for step 9. I can tell you all that there is no feeling like the lightness of being and the elevation of the soul that comes from this process. You just defused every bomb that Satan helped plant and that he would detonate at some point. You know you’re free. And that the same power that raised Jesus from the grave is with you and in you to defend you in all spiritual battles. You now have put on the full armor of God. And will continue to bolster and train your defenses. In chapter 9 I see the inventory of the people of God form Genesis up through the end of 2 Kings. Repeated sin, ingratitude, grumbling, apostasy, idolatry, sexual sin, blasphemy, rebellion, and resistance. In each instance God response with patience, mercy, and grace. All without any merit of any kind. As one teacher put it, the history in the OT is of constant faithfulness of God met with nearly constant faithlessness of the people. Yet, there he stands. Just like the father of the prodigal son in Luke 15. Standing on the hill waiting for us to choose to come back to him. Lous Giglio calls it “the greatest story ever told”. Here’s his 35 minute message on it. I PROMISE it will bless you. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqF6DNi_9y4
HS

Hugh Stephenson

From the notes- Neh. 9:6–37 The prayer resembles in part Ezra’s prayer of confession upon his discovery of the problem of mixed marriages (Ezra 9:6–15). It has even more in common with certain psalms of confession (such as Psalm 78; 105– 106), which interweave confession with memories of God’s grace, and notes of petition. The prayer follows the biblical story as told in Genesis–Kings. Neh. 9:25 a rich land. See Deut. 6:10–11; 8:7–10. The prospect of a plentiful land was accompanied in Deuteronomy by warnings that wealth could lead to abandonment of God (Deut. 6:12–15; 8:11–20). This is precisely what happened. Neh. 9:38 To mend the situation, the people will now enter a solemn covenant (Hb. ’amanah). The word used is not the usual word for “covenant,” which is berit, but a rarer one that emphasizes faithfulness; the people pledge to keep faithfully what they now undertake. It is especially helpful to read this prayer through the eyes of the returned exiles. They had experienced many of the same things that their forefathers had. Christians, too, can identify with their appreciation of God's grace, since we have seen these things in God's dealings with us. Notice how often the leader in prayer spoke of God doing this or that for His people ("You did ...," "You have ...," etc.). Also, the verb "give" or its equivalent appears numerous times in this prayer. This is one of the great prayers of the Old Testament. It praises God for His character and His conduct. It begins, as the Bible does, by describing God's greatness seen in His creation of the cosmos (v. 6), and then His grace and faithfulness in calling Abraham, promising him the land of Canaan, and fulfilling that promise (vv. 7-8). The returned exiles could identify with God's miraculous deliverance of their forefathers when they were slaves in Egypt (vv. 9- 11). The returnees could also appreciate God's supernatural guidance of them, and His faithful provision for them, until He brought them to the Promised Land (vv. 12-15). They also voiced thanks to God for choosing them and for giving them His Law (vv. 13-14). While the second Exodus motif is strong in the biblical writers' concept of the restoration, the idea of pilgrimage and procession to Zion is equally strong. In spite of their forefathers' rebellion (vv. 16- 17a): -God forgave them and graciously guided them (v. 19), -provided for their physical needs (vv. 20-21), -and gave them victory over their enemies (v. 22). -He also multiplied them (v. 23), -brought them into the Promised Land (vv. 24-25a), -and established them there (v. 25b). -During the period of the judges ,and during the monarchy, the Israelites disobeyed and rebelled many times. Nevertheless, God delivered them when they repented (vv. 26-29), -and He sent the prophets to turn them back to Himself (v. 30). -This shows God's further grace and compassion toward His people (v. 31). -The returned Jews then called on God to remember their sufferings in exile (v. 32). -They acknowledged that the exile was a consequence of their disobedience to God's Word (vv. 33-34). -Even in exile, most of the Israelites had not returned to God (v. 35). -Consequently, much of the Jewish nation was still in bondage to its Persian rulers (vv. 36- 37). -Then the promise of the people in verse Finally, verse 38 – -Nonetheless, now they, the faithful remnant of returnees, were ready to make a formal commitment to obey Yahweh again.
SB

Sue Bohlin

Super devo, Krista! Thanks for sharing the power of re:generation, particularly what a great tool for discipleship it is. Today's chapter in Nehemiah reflects some of the "power tools" of re:gen: focusing on the character of God, and the power of public confession. ("Public" meaning sharing with at least one other person, not standing on a stage to announce all one's sins!) It is SO GOOD to look back at the many instances of God's faithfulness in order to recalibrate our self-focus and our tendency to develop wrong filters through which we interpret life. I loved encountering the psalm-like structure of this chapter as the Levites recounted God's goodness to Israel.
MS

Michael Scaman

The prayer of repentance was deep and frank "... they were disobedient and rebelled against you and cast your law behind their back and killed your prophets, who had warned them ..." . There are two histories of Israel in the book of Psalms: Psalm 78 and 106 and both uncomplimentary. Psalm 78 calls for a hope in God and teaching the next generation, this despite an unfaithful history. That is in the midst of other psalms in book 3 about the fall of Jerusalem and starts by introducing a man who has parables and is a parable (aka Jesus). The other one is Psalm 106 . Psalm 105 is a history on the faithfulness of God. Psalm 106 is another history on the unfaithfulness of Israel, ending Psalms book 4. This is as if to say in a way that man is in sin in need of redemption. This sets the stage for Psalms book 5, coming home, where it opens with God flattening a world of reasons keeping a variety of people from coming home to Him, starting with Psalm 107 gethering people from the east and west and north and south, redeeming them from trouble.
GJ

Greg Jones

Nehemiah 9 is very similar to Joshua 24. Joshua 24 takes place at Shechem previous to the building of the temple and city walls. For me Matthew 5-7 is to Nehemiah 9 what Nehemiah 9 is to Joshua 24. On a high place, outside, the temple and walls Jesus teaches the law Matthew 5:17-20. They shall besiege you in all your towns, until your high and fortified walls, in which you trusted, come down throughout all your land. And they shall besiege you in all your towns throughout all your land, which the Lord your God has given you. Deuteronomy 28:52 This happens if you don’t keep the law and gives me some clarity on how Jesus is engaging his Jewish audience. Jesus ends with  “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.” Matthew 7:24-27 There is a mindset concerning the law and the keeping of the law that will cause the Romans to besiege Jerusalem. You can hear echos of it Nehemiah. 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. Our kings, our princes, our priests, and our fathers have not kept your law or paid attention to your commandments and your warnings that you gave them. Even in their own kingdom, and amid your great goodness that you gave them, and in the large and rich land that you set before them, they did not serve you or turn from their wicked works. Nehemiah 9:32-35 Ezra and Nehemiah’s charges recognizing the past. The present view of their reality. Behold, we are slaves this day; in the land that you gave to our fathers to enjoy its fruit and its good gifts, behold, we are slaves. And its rich yield goes to the kings whom you have set over us because of our sins. They rule over our bodies and over our livestock as they please, and we are in great distress. That seems contrary to the support that they’ve received up to this time. Because of all this we make a firm covenant in writing; on the sealed document are the names of our princes, our Levites, and our priests. Nehemiah 9:38 A scribe wrote that and later scribes would read it aloud. And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes. Matthew 7:28-29 Jesus sees within his charges a higher view of them than what they see of themselves. And a higher view of some they perceive as an enemy.
AL

Amy Lowther

1. No, Christ is good. 2. God loves everyone and helps everyone when they do good and when they do bad. God responds to sin with forgiveness of the mistake(s) and encouragement to do what is right. Attending church service, reading the Bible, and living daily life helps shape my views of God. As it says in Psalm 119:105, “The word of God is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path.” 3. God’s faithfulness shows in the sun rising everyday. He never leaves us in total darkness. 4. God helps me have hope when there is none. God is currently teaching me to continue believing in Him in every aspect of life.