Nehemiah 9:1-38
Look up / Look
Back / Look Forward
There
are two themes in the Book of Nehemiah – the first deals with the rebuilding of
the Wall around Jerusalem – Ch.1-6
A) The
2nd deals with the rebuilding of the people – Ch.7-13
B) When the Wall was
completed and the people came together we saw that one of the first things they did was turn
to the Word
C) Ch.8 V.1-12 They spent
their first day hearing the word being
taught and explained –
1)
there was a priority placed on the word – [ The Law]
D) Reaction: Wept –Conviction it brought: But Nehemiah and the Leaders instructed the
people to rejoice – For the Joy of the Lord is their
strength !
E) The Fact that God was
rejoicing over them – that was to carry them –
1)
that was to be their sense of confidence and strength
F) SO the people went home
and celebrated
On
the second day they gathered again – to hear from the word –
A) It was then they
discovered that there was a celebration they had been neglecting
B)
The feast of Tabernacles – or Booths
[ Explain –
reminder of wandering yrs – reminder that their real home is in heaven ]
C) So they spent the next 7 days celebrating the feast of
Tabernacles – V.17 of Ch.8 tells us there was very
great gladness among the people.
Why?
1) They were getting back in
touch with their God – with their heritage – they were feeling closer to God/
D)Rejoicing
in the goodness of God / His Joy over them
E) Revival had broken out
the people were EXCITED to serve the Lord, they were ENCOURAGED in the Lord.
YET as we come to
Ch.9 there is a marked change in the people. It is now the 24th day
of the month
A) There is no longer
CELEBRATION, there is HUMILIATION
B) No longer are they bubbling in the Lord/ now They
are BROKEN
before the Lord. -
1) Their FEASTING has turned
into FASTING:
Why the Change !
C) Was God calling the people to FAST rather than feast?
1) Was God calling the
people to CONFESSION rather than celebration?
D)
The Scriptures don’t say THAT TO BE THE CASE: 1) there
was no instruction giving that they should cease from celebrating and feasting
E) So the Lord was not
calling for this – BUT it seems
that the people were feeling a need for
it!
In that is an
important understanding & insight –
A)The Lord is calling us to
JOY and to experience His GRACE. The Lord is calling us to bask in his goodness
B) As we do that, and as we
get CLOSER to the Lord,
1) we become more
aware, painfully aware of HOW
FAR we are from the Lord.
C) THAT is the inevitable
response of getting nearer to the Lord.
D) Remember Isaiah I Saw the Lord
high & lifted up ..
1) Woe is you – Woe is me !!!!
E) Peter great hall – Depart from me I am a sinful man
When you get close to the Lord it is
inevitable that
you become aware of far you are from
being like
Him.
Alan
Redpath was right when he said
“How often the
discovery of something new in the loveliness of the Lord Jesus has brought with
it the discovery of some new corruption in our own hearts. . . . God will never
plant the seed of His life upon the soil of a hard, unbroken spirit. He will
only plant that seed where the conviction of
His Spirit has
brought brokenness, where the soil has been watered with the tears of
repentance as well as the tears of joy.”
A) So even in this time of
rejoicing / renewal and
revival the people fall
before the Lord in
CONFESSION before the Lord.....
Neh 9:1-3
Now on the twenty-fourth day of this month the children of Israel
were assembled
with fasting, in sackcloth, and with dust on their heads. 2 Then
those of Israelite lineage separated themselves from all foreigners; and they
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 one-fourth of the day; and for another fourth they confessed and worshiped
the LORD their God.
B) So the People come together in Brokenness &
Humility and confession before the Lord –
C) But what
happens next is interesting the Levites encourage the People to Reflect on the
Lord’s goodness & Faithfulness
4 Then
Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani stood on the
stairs of the Levites and cried out with a loud voice to the LORD their God.5
And the Levites, Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabniah, Sherebiah, Hodijah,
Shebaniah, and Pethahiah, said:
"Stand up and bless the LORD your
God
Forever and ever! "Blessed be Your glorious name,
Which is exalted above all blessing and
praise!
NKJV
Personal Revival usually involves these 3
things
A)CONFESSION before the
Lord, REFLECTION with the Lord and REDEDICATION to the Lord.
B) That is what we see
happen in this Chapter –
C) They look UP at the Lord – See themselves in light of Him
: Confession is made of their sinfulness
1) They Look BACK on their life in the Lord and all
that he has done
2) They look FORWARD to the yrs
ahead and all that the Lord has for them :
D) Which results in a
Rededication of their lives and Covenant to the Lord
Most of this
Chapter deals with their Look Back – They are encouraged to Look Back in
Thanksgiving – Bless & Exalt the Lord
A) In this section V. 6-37 comprises one of the longest prayers in the
Bible in which 8 reasons are given to be thankful as they look back
B) Eight things that reveal the Lord’s Faithfulness in the Lives of his
people.
#1 God is praised as
the Creator and Maker of everything.
6 You alone are the LORD; You have made
heaven, The heaven of heavens, with all their host, The earth and everything on
it, The seas and all that is in them, And You preserve them all. The host of
heaven worships You.
A) Our God is an Artist: He created this
earth for our enjoyment – As a testimony of His Glory –
Psalm
19:1-6 NLT
The
heavens tell of the glory of God. The skies display
his
marvelous craftsmanship.
2 Day after day they continue to speak; night
after night they make him known.
3 They speak without a sound or a word; their
voice is silent in the skies;
4 yet their message has gone out to all the
earth, and their words to all the world.
The sun lives in
the heavens where God placed it.
5 It bursts forth like a radiant bridegroom
after his wedding.
It rejoices like
a great athlete eager to run the race.
6 The sun rises at one end of the heavens and
follows its course to the other end.
Nothing can
hide from its heat.
B) Everyday God is declaring to us – His
Glory and His Love – He made this world for us to enjoy & to live in !
1) Two Summers ago – we took
advantage of the Low Low – interest rates and Refinanced our home – Put in a
Swimming Pool.
C) All summer long – come home – see my
kids playing in the Pool
1) Or My wife relaxing by the Pool or
sleeping on her mat in the Pool – I was so blessed.
D) That is what I envisioned in my mind
– when I made it!
1) They would spend the summers enjoying
it
That is how I think the Lord feels – when He sees us
enjoying his Creation
A)
Every sunset that we take in – every time we take a walk at night and admire a
full moon –
He
is blessed – Behold in wonder his handiwork
B) Remembering that – Creation gives us a small picture of
his glory and Power !
1)
Little
girl to her Dad – Star studded night – Dad
if the wrong side of Heaven looks this Beautiful – just think what the right
side is going to look like!
C) So the Place where they begin
Praising and Reflecting is with the greatness of God in Creation.
#2 Praise Him for calling us out to be His People. RD
V.7-8
A) It was an act of pure grace when God chose Abram
and revealed Himself to him, for Abram was an idolater in a pagan city
B) Eventually, God changed his name from Abram
(“exalted father”) to Abraham (“father of a multitude”),
1) because He had promised to make him a great
nation
C) Though Abraham had occasional lapses of faith,
for a century he trusted the Lord and walked in obedience to His will.
1) His obedient faith was made especially evident
when he was willing
to offer up his son Isaac on
the altar (Gen. 22)
D) God made a Covenant with Abraham which was the
basis for all that God did with and for Abraham and his descendants.
E) It was God’s purpose that all the world be
blessed through Israel, and He did this in the sending of His Son, Jesus Christ
(Gal. 3:8).
Abraham and His descendents were a called out people
A) Blessed in
Christ as they looked forward to what God would do thru the sending of his Son
B) The Church today is the Ultimate fulfillment
of God’s promise to Israel
C) God still has a special place in his heart –
for Abe’s Physical descendants the Jewish nation –
1) But the ultimate fulfillment is scene in Abe’s
spiritual descendants – He is the Father of Faith –
2) Father of all those today who have placed faith
in Christ
C) We learn from Abe – about the Life of Faith – We
too are called out ones –
1) called to live by faith in the Promises of God .
D) Abe looked forward to the coming of Christ and what He
would accomplish
1) We look BACK at the work of Christ and what He
did do /
2) We look forward like Abe to a City made without
human hands – who’s builder & maker is God.
E) We are to live life like Abe as a Called out People !
Chosen By God to be his very own –
1) His own Special people – A holy nation – set
apart unto God !
F) So they praised him for calling them out to be
His own special people.
#3 Then they praised God as the Deliverer from sin and its
enslavement. RD V. 9-12
A) After Abe’s family was established – Isaac and
then Jacob and his 12 sons –
B)God led them into Egypt – time for the nation to
grow
1) They went in as a family group of under 100 –
2) and emerged after 400yrs as a people group of over 3
Million.
C) Part of that time in Egypt was a time of slavery
– under the tough task masters of Egypt !
1) Their enslavement in Egypt is a picture of
mankind’s enslavement to sin !
God delivered them with a mighty outstretched hand – Showed
Pharaoh signs and wonders –
A) Finally
divided the Red Sea – Army of Egypt destroyed
B) The Power that Pharaoh had over them was completely
obliterated right before their very eyes on that day.
C) So too
2,000 yrs ago with two outstretched arms of God – our enemy was defeated –
right before their very eyes
1) It happened when God hung on a Cross – { Looked weak / He looked defeated as He hung
there beaten and Bruised
D) But in the
Spiritual realm – All the power of the enemy / Mankind’s capture was being
Broken –
1) The chains of Sin & guilt and wickedness were
coming undone as Jesus Paid the price that day for the sins of Humanity
E) A work that
was culminated on the 3rd day w/ His Resurrection
So they look back at the greatness of God in Creating the
Universe
At
the Grace of God in calling them to be His own special people.
And at the Goodness of God in delivering them out of their
enslavement
A) When is the
last time that you took the time to look back and Praise the Lord for those
three things
B) The world that He made for you to enjoy! –
1) the fact that He has called chosen you to be His C
2) And for doing what was
necessary to make that possible by sending his son to die on the Cross of your
sins!
C) We could stop right there and it would be enough
– but it goes on there is more so much more as they LOOK BACK
#4 They praise God for his providential
care RDv.13-15
A) God’s care for them consisted of two things: 1st
Spiritual direction
B) He gave to them His ordinances and laws – He gave
them instruction on how to live – what they were to avoid – what they were to
do!
C) He taught
this people how to live in the midst of great wickedness.
1) He knew he was sending them into a land inhabited
by a people who were morally degraded to a degree that is even appalling to us
today.
D) They openly indulged in lewd practices.
1) They offered their children to the god Molech by
throwing them alive into a furnace of fire.
2) The Israelites
were going to be surrounded by these type of people.
So God taught them how to avoid defilement and contamination from those
things.
A)He taught them how to be friends with these
people, but not be destroyed by their immorality.
B) That is exactly the situation we are called to
live in today.
1) God has given us this wonderful Book that teaches
us the rules of life, health, salvation, deliverance
2) and the inner strength that can resist the temptations
that abound all around us.
C) So first his
Providential care involved their spiritual life –
1) But it also involved their Physical needs -
15 You gave them
bread from heaven for their hunger, [MANNA]
And brought them water out of the rock for
their thirst, And told them to go in to possess the land Which You had sworn to give them.
D) God also supplied their Physical needs. He gave
them bread to eat when there was none.
1) He gave them water from the rock in the middle of
the desert.
E) As I look back at my life I am so blessed at how
God has always taken care of my Physical needs and even more so – So many of my
Wants
So Looking back they Praised God as their:
1) Creator
2) The
one who called and Chosen them
3) Their
Deliverer
4) Their
Provider
#5 They Praise Him for His patience and forgiveness.
RD
V.16-21
A) In looking back at the History of Israel after
God had been so great to them
B) Miracle after Miracle – Provision after Provision
– at how they could doubt - How they could lack in faith
1) How they could even think about wanting to go
back to Egypt
C) But don’t we so often do the same thing?
1) God meets a need and we praise Him – but as soon
as another need arises we start to think that it is the end of the word- How
are we going to get thru this.
D) We try to take matters into our own hands – and
God lets us – to bring us to the end of ourselves
1) So that finally when we cry out to him –
2) He is there ready to pardon – ready to show mercy
– read to bless and to provide
E) Can you look back today at the many times that you have
failed God /
1) the many times that you have forsaken Him –
2) And Join
with Israel in praising Him for His Patience and forgiveness in your life ! –
F)
Our God is so Faithful and true !
After Praising Him for His Forgiveness and Patience #6 they
Praise Him for the Victories He brought them. RD
v 22-25
A) Here they
reflect back on the greatness of God in helping them to get settled in the land of Promise and drive out the Giants
& the inhabitants …..
B) Think back
to your life – after coming to Christ and as you have walked with Him –
1) the giants
that have been overcome
C) For some it
was the giant of Addiction
1) For others it was the giant of bitterness and
unforgiveness – the Lord helped you to get over a hurtful past
D) Still others it was the giant of Failure – Left you in
debt / broken
1) But God has
restored you in every way.
E) There are so many testimonies represented in this room
right now of How God has worked to bring the Victory !
1) Look back today: My Journal
So Looking back they Praised God as their:
#1 Creator
#2 The one who called and Chosen them
#3 Their Deliverer
#4 Their Provider
#5 For His Patience and Forgiveness
#6 For giving them Victory
#7
The Praised God for His CHASTENING
RD v.26-31
In studying the History of the People of Israel a
reoccurring cycle emerges
A) The cycle begins with God showing His goodness to
His people:
You gave them kingdoms and nations, God’s people are being
blessed.
B) But then, in the time of comfort and abundance,
Gods’ people turn
from Him: Nevertheless they were disobedient and rebelled against You
(26).
C) SO God brings correction - a “wake-up call” to His
people:
Therefore
You delivered them into the hand of their enemies
D) God’s people then turn back to Him: They cry out
to Him and He hears from Heaven – and delivers them out of Bondage !
1) Blessings Follow – the
people get fat and complacent and turn again.
E) God brings Chastening
again – Another nation comes in to correct them
1) Over and over the cycle
goes
As Nehemiah and
the People look back they are thankful that the Lord never completely forsook
the people of Israel .
A) If He did no one would have questioned it – They
were deserving
B) This just further Magnifies the Love /Patience / grace and mercy of God.
1) However in His Love – He is not going to allow us
to just do whatever
C) There are consequences to sin ! – Sin hurts and
rebellion needs to be corrected –
1) That is what God did
with them – That is what He will do with you! When you rebel – Chastening will
result
D) Whom the Lord
loves He chastens – No Chasten – not God’s Kid!
1) He doesn’t want to see
your life completely destroyed by sin – so He will bring some form of
Chastening influence into your life.
E) His Goal is to Bring
you back !!!!
Two ways to learn – One is the hard way: Rebel do your own thing and suffer
the consequences – that = scars
A) EH Didn’t listen to Denise – 1 thorn in my side {
That is how we can be w/ God: Don’t listen don’t follow – Result SCARS -
B) The other is God’s way: Just follow His leading /
His direction / His word = smiles
C) So Looking back they Praised God for His
Chastening Hand –
Finally #8 Looking Back They Praised God for His
Restoration. RDV 32-37
A) Notice that they are no longer talking in the
Past tense – they / their / them
But now it is the present tense – we / us.
B) They have looked back at the God’s past dealings
with the nation of Israel
1) That brought them to this current place –
C) Back in the land – back in a rebuilt city – back in the
good graces of God
D) Looking back -
now inspires them to Look FORWARD – v.38 tells us of how they sought to Rededicate themselves to the Lord
38 "And because of all this,
We make a sure covenant and write it;
Our leaders, our Levites, and our
priests seal it."
D) That Covenant – involved 4 things – Focus of our study next time