The Israelites Confess Their Sins Nehemiah...

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Commentary by Ron Thomas Questions by John C. Sewell

The Israelites Confess Their Sins

Nehemiah 9:1-38

Landmark Publications, Inc., 1045 Maynor Street, Nashville, TN 37216, U.S.A., John C. Sewell, Ph.D., Editor.

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The Israelites Confess Their Sins Text: Nehemiah 9:1-38, 1. Now in the twenty and fourth day of this month the children of Israel were assembled with fasting, and with sackclothes, and earth upon them. 2. And the seed of Israel separated themselves from all strangers, and stood and confessed their sins, and the iniquities of their fathers. 3. And they stood up in their place, and read in the book of the law of the LORD their God one fourth part of the day; and another fourth part they confessed, and worshipped the LORD their God. 4. Then stood up upon the stairs, of the Levites, Jeshua, and Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani, and cried with a loud voice unto the LORD their God. 5. Then the Levites, Jeshua, and Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabniah, Sherebiah, Hodijah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah, said, Stand up and bless the LORD your God for ever and ever: and blessed be thy glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise. 6. Thou, even thou, art LORD alone; thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth, and all things that are therein, the seas, and all that is therein, and thou preservest them all; and the host of heaven worshippeth thee. 7. Thou art the LORD the God, who didst choose Abram, and broughtest him forth out of Ur of the Chaldees, and gavest him the name of Abraham; 8. And foundest his heart faithful before thee, and madest a covenant with him to give the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Jebusites, and the Girgashites, to give it, I say, to his seed, and hast performed thy words; for thou art righteous:




9. And didst see the affliction of our fathers in Egypt, and heardest their cry by the Red sea; 10. And shewedst signs and wonders upon Pharaoh, and on all his servants, and on all the people of his land: for thou knewest that they dealt proudly against them. So didst thou get thee a name, as it is this day. 11. And thou didst divide the sea before them, so that they went through the midst of the sea on the dry land; and their persecutors thou threwest into the deeps, as a stone into the mighty waters. 12. Moreover thou leddest them in the day by a cloudy pillar; and in the night by a pillar of fire, to give them light in the way wherein they should go. 13. Thou camest down also upon mount Sinai, and spakest with them from heaven, and gavest them right judgments, and true laws, good statutes and commandments: 14. And madest known unto them thy holy sabbath, and commandedst them precepts, statutes, and laws, by the hand of Moses thy servant: 15. And gavest them bread from heaven for their hunger, and broughtest forth water for them out of the rock for their thirst, and promisedst them that they should go in to possess the land which thou hadst sworn to give them. 16. But they and our fathers dealt proudly, and hardened their necks, and hearkened not to thy commandments, 17. And refused to obey, neither were mindful of thy wonders that thou didst among them; but hardened their necks, and in their rebellion appointed a captain to return to their bondage: but thou art a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and forsookest them not. 18. Yea, when they had made them a molten calf, and said, This is thy God that brought thee up out of Egypt, and had wrought great provocations; 19. Yet thou in thy manifold mercies forsookest them not in the wilderness: the pillar of the cloud departed not from them by day, to




lead them in the way; neither the pillar of fire by night, to shew them light, and the way wherein they should go. 20. Thou gavest also thy good spirit to instruct them, and withheldest not thy manna from their mouth, and gavest them water for their thirst. 21. Yea, forty years didst thou sustain them in the wilderness, so that they lacked nothing; their clothes waxed not old, and their feet swelled not. 22. Moreover thou gavest them kingdoms and nations, and didst divide them into corners: so they possessed the land of Sihon, and the land of the king of Heshbon, and the land of Og king of Bashan. 23. Their children also multipliedst thou as the stars of heaven, and broughtest them into the land, concerning which thou hadst promised to their fathers, that they should go in to possess it. 24. So the children went in and possessed the land, and thou subduedst before them the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, and gavest them into their hands, with their kings, and the people of the land, that they might do with them as they would. 25. And they took strong cities, and a fat land, and possessed houses full of all goods, wells digged, vineyards, and oliveyards, and fruit trees in abundance: so they did eat, and were filled, and became fat, and delighted themselves in thy great goodness. 26. Nevertheless they were disobedient, and rebelled against thee, and cast thy law behind their backs, and slew thy prophets which testified against them to turn them to thee, and they wrought great provocations. 27. Therefore thou deliveredst them into the hand of their enemies, who vexed them: and in the time of their trouble, when they cried unto thee, thou heardest them from heaven; and according to thy manifold mercies thou gavest them saviours, who saved them out of the hand of their enemies. 28. But after they had rest, they did evil again before thee: therefore leftest thou them in the land of their enemies, so that they had the dominion over them: yet when they returned, and cried unto thee,




thou heardest them from heaven; and many times didst thou deliver them according to thy mercies; 29. And testifiedst against them, that thou mightest bring them again unto thy law: yet they dealt proudly, and hearkened not unto thy commandments, but sinned against thy judgments, (which if a man do, he shall live in them;) and withdrew the shoulder, and hardened their neck, and would not hear. 30. Yet many years didst thou forbear them, and testifiedst against them by thy spirit in thy prophets: yet would they not give ear: therefore gavest thou them into the hand of the people of the lands. 31. Nevertheless for thy great mercies' sake thou didst not utterly consume them, nor forsake them; for thou art a gracious and merciful God. 32. Now therefore, our God, the great, the mighty, and the terrible God, who keepest covenant and mercy, let not all the trouble seem little before thee, that hath come upon us, on our kings, on our princes, and on our priests, and on our prophets, and on our fathers, and on all thy people, since the time of the kings of Assyria unto this day. 33. Howbeit thou art just in all that is brought upon us; for thou hast done right, but we have done wickedly: 34. Neither have our kings, our princes, our priests, nor our fathers, kept thy law, nor hearkened unto thy commandments and thy testimonies, wherewith thou didst testify against them. 35. For they have not served thee in their kingdom, and in thy great goodness that thou gavest them, and in the large and fat land which thou gavest before them, neither turned they from their wicked works. 36. Behold, we are servants this day, and for the land that thou gavest unto our fathers to eat the fruit thereof and the good thereof, behold, we are servants in it: 37. And it yieldeth much increase unto the kings whom thou hast set over us because of our sins: also they have dominion over our bodies, and over our cattle, at their pleasure, and we are in great distress.




38. And because of all this we make a sure covenant, and write it; and our princes, Levites, and priests, seal unto it. I. Introduction. Nehemiah 9:1-3, Now in the twenty and fourth day of this month the children of Israel were assembled with fasting, and with sackclothes, and earth upon them. And the seed of Israel separated themselves from all strangers, and stood and confessed their sins, and the iniquities of their fathers. And they stood up in their place, and read in the book of the law of the LORD their God one fourth part of the day; and another fourth part they confessed, and worshipped the LORD their God.

A. The 24th day of the 7th month (cf. Nehemiah 8:2, And the seed of Israel separated themselves from all strangers, and stood and confessed their sins, and the iniquities of their fathers.).

1. This seems to have been a special occasion. 2. Interestingly, as noticed by Yamauchi, the ninth chapter of Ezra, Nehemiah and Daniel all are chapters of confession.

B. In Leviticus 23 are recorded 3 feasts unto the Lord that the children of Israel were to attend.

1. These all took place in the 7th month.

a. Sabbath rest on first day of seventh month. This begins the FEAST of TRUMPETS (Leviticus 23:23-25, And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall ye have a Sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation. Ye shall do no servile work




therein: but ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord.). b. The tenth day is the DAY of ATONEMENT (Leviticus 23:26-32, And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement: it shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord. And ye shall do no work in that same day: for it is a day of atonement to make an atonement for you before the Lord your God. For whatsoever soul it be that shall not be afflicted in that same day, he shall be cut off from among his people. And whatsoever soul it be that doeth any work in that same day, the same soul will I destroy from among his people. Ye shall do no manner of work: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. It shall be unto you a Sabbath of rest, and ye shall afflict your souls; in the ninth day of the month at even, from even unto even, shall ye celebrate your Sabbath.). c. The fifteenth day is the FEAST of TABERNACLES (Leviticus 23:33-44, And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the feast of tabernacles for seven days unto the LORD. On the first day shall be an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein. Seven days ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD: on the eighth day shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD: it is a solemn assembly; and ye shall do no servile work therein.




These are the feasts of the LORD, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, to offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD, a burnt offering, and a meat offering, a sacrifice, and drink offerings, every thing upon his day: Beside the sabbaths of the LORD, and beside your gifts, and beside all your vows, and beside all your freewill offerings, which ye give unto the LORD. Also in the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when ye have gathered in the fruit of the land, ye shall keep a feast unto the LORD seven days: on the first day shall be a sabbath, and on the eighth day shall be a sabbath. And ye shall take you on the first day the boughs of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and ye shall rejoice before the LORD your God seven days. And ye shall keep it a feast unto the LORD seven days in the year. It shall be a statute for ever in your generations: ye shall celebrate it in the seventh month. Ye shall dwell in booths seven days; all that are Israelites born shall dwell in booths: That your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God. And Moses declared unto the children of Israel the feasts of the LORD.).

2. Other feasts of the Lord without specific time frame references (in Leviticus 23):

a. The Lord’s Passover on the 14th day. b. On the 15th day is the Feast of Unleavened Bread. c. The Feast of Firstfruits.




d. The Feast of Weeks. 50 days after the Passover.

C. A separation took place from foreigners.

1. Similar to the evens in Ezra 9 and 10. 2. Similar, but not specifically stated as the same. 3. The confession of sins were both for themselves as individuals, as a nation, and for their fathers.

II. Praise, Confession, Penitence. Nehemiah 9:4-38, Then stood up upon the stairs, of the Levites, Jeshua, and Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani, and cried with a loud voice unto the LORD their God. Then the Levites, Jeshua, and Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabniah, Sherebiah, Hodijah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah, said, Stand up and bless the LORD your God for ever and ever: and blessed be thy glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise. Thou, even thou, art LORD alone; thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth, and all things that are therein, the seas, and all that is therein, and thou preservest them all; and the host of heaven worshippeth thee. Thou art the LORD the God, who didst choose Abram, and broughtest him forth out of Ur of the Chaldees, and gavest him the name of Abraham; And foundest his heart faithful before thee, and madest a covenant with him to give the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Jebusites, and the Girgashites, to give it, I say, to his seed, and hast performed thy words; for thou art righteous: And didst see the affliction of our fathers in Egypt, and heardest their cry by the Red sea; And shewedst signs and wonders upon Pharaoh, and on all his servants, and on all the people of his land: for thou knewest that they dealt proudly against them. So didst thou get thee




a name, as it is this day. And thou didst divide the sea before them, so that they went through the midst of the sea on the dry land; and their persecutors thou threwest into the deeps, as a stone into the mighty waters. Moreover thou leddest them in the day by a cloudy pillar; and in the night by a pillar of fire, to give them light in the way wherein they should go. Thou camest down also upon mount Sinai, and spakest with them from heaven, and gavest them right judgments, and true laws, good statutes and commandments: And madest known unto them thy holy sabbath, and commandedst them precepts, statutes, and laws, by the hand of Moses thy servant: And gavest them bread from heaven for their hunger, and broughtest forth water for them out of the rock for their thirst, and promisedst them that they should go in to possess the land which thou hadst sworn to give them. But they and our fathers dealt proudly, and hardened their necks, and hearkened not to thy commandments, And refused to obey, neither were mindful of thy wonders that thou didst among them; but hardened their necks, and in their rebellion appointed a captain to return to their bondage: but thou art a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and forsookest them not. Yea, when they had made them a molten calf, and said, This is thy God that brought thee up out of Egypt, and had wrought great provocations; Yet thou in thy manifold mercies forsookest them not in the wilderness: the pillar of the cloud departed not from them by day, to lead them in the way; neither the pillar of fire by night, to shew them light, and the way wherein they should go. Thou gavest also thy good spirit to instruct them, and withheldest not thy manna from their mouth, and gavest them water for their thirst. Yea, forty years didst thou sustain them in the wilderness, so that they lacked nothing; their clothes waxed not old, and their feet swelled not. Moreover thou gavest them kingdoms and nations, and didst divide them into corners: so they possessed the land of Sihon, and the land of the king of Heshbon, and the land of Og king of Bashan. Their children also multipliedst thou as the stars of heaven, and broughtest them into the land, concerning which thou hadst promised to their fathers, that they




should go in to possess it. So the children went in and possessed the land, and thou subduedst before them the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, and gavest them into their hands, with their kings, and the people of the land, that they might do with them as they would. And they took strong cities, and a fat land, and possessed houses full of all goods, wells digged, vineyards, and oliveyards, and fruit trees in abundance: so they did eat, and were filled, and became fat, and delighted themselves in thy great goodness. Nevertheless they were disobedient, and rebelled against thee, and cast thy law behind their backs, and slew thy prophets which testified against them to turn them to thee, and they wrought great provocations. Therefore thou deliveredst them into the hand of their enemies, who vexed them: and in the time of their trouble, when they cried unto thee, thou heardest them from heaven; and according to thy manifold mercies thou gavest them saviours, who saved them out of the hand of their enemies. But after they had rest, they did evil again before thee: therefore leftest thou them in the land of their enemies, so that they had the dominion over them: yet when they returned, and cried unto thee, thou heardest them from heaven; and many times didst thou deliver them according to thy mercies; And testifiedst against them, that thou mightest bring them again unto thy law: yet they dealt proudly, and hearkened not unto thy commandments, but sinned against thy judgments, (which if a man do, he shall live in them;) and withdrew the shoulder, and hardened their neck, and would not hear. Yet many years didst thou forbear them, and testifiedst against them by thy spirit in thy prophets: yet would they not give ear: therefore gavest thou them into the hand of the people of the lands. Nevertheless for thy great mercies' sake thou didst not utterly consume them, nor forsake them; for thou art a gracious and merciful God. Now therefore, our God, the great, the mighty, and the terrible God, who keepest covenant and mercy, let not all the trouble seem little before thee, that hath come upon us, on our kings, on our princes, and on our priests, and on our prophets, and on our fathers, and on all thy people, since the time of the kings of Assyria unto this day. Howbeit




thou art just in all that is brought upon us; for thou hast done right, but we have done wickedly: Neither have our kings, our princes, our priests, nor our fathers, kept thy law, nor hearkened unto thy commandments and thy testimonies, wherewith thou didst testify against them. For they have not served thee in their kingdom, and in thy great goodness that thou gavest them, and in the large and fat land which thou gavest before them, neither turned they from their wicked works. Behold, we are servants this day, and for the land that thou gavest unto our fathers to eat the fruit thereof and the good thereof, behold, we are servants in it: And it yieldeth much increase unto the kings whom thou hast set over us because of our sins: also they have dominion over our bodies, and over our cattle, at their pleasure, and we are in great distress. And because of all this we make a sure covenant, and write it; and our princes, Levites, and priests, seal unto it.

A. Those who stood up and spoke.

1. On the stairs of the Levites.

a. By the “stairs (or scaffold) of the Levites” is to be understood an elevated platform from which they could better address and lead the people (compare Nehemiah 8:4, And Ezra the scribe stood upon a pulpit of wood, which they had made for the purpose; and beside him stood Mattithiah, and Shema, and Anaiah, and Urijah, and Hilkiah, and Maaseiah, on his right hand; and on his left hand, Pedaiah, and Mishael, and Malchiah, and Hashum, and Hashbadana, Zechariah, and Meshullam.) (Barnes, E-Sword).

2. These men cried out with a loud voice to the Lord.




a. “…these speakers were then engaged in expressing their deep sense of sin, as well as fervently imploring the forgiving mercy of God; and “crying with a loud voice” was a natural accompaniment of this extraordinary prayer meeting, as violent gestures and vehement tones are always the way in which the Jews, and other people in the East, have been accustomed to give utterance to deep and earnest feelings” (JFB, E-Sword).

B. God’s Majesty. Nehemiah 9:5-6, Then the Levites, Jeshua, and Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabniah, Sherebiah, Hodijah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah, said, Stand up and bless the LORD your God for ever and ever: and blessed be thy glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise. Thou, even thou, art LORD alone; thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth, and all things that are therein, the seas, and all that is therein, and thou preservest them all; and the host of heaven worshippeth thee.

1. His glorious name. 2. The only Lord. (Cf. Deuteronomy 6:4, Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord☺. 3. Creator of the heavens, its host, and all that is on the earth. 4. He preserves all. This assignment to God is stated much more clearly in the New Testament.

a. John 1:3, All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.;




b. Colossians 1:17, And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.; and c. Hebrews 1:3, Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;

C. Israel’s History and God’s Mercy. Nehemiah 9:7-31, Thou art the LORD the God, who didst choose Abram, and broughtest him forth out of Ur of the Chaldees, and gavest him the name of Abraham; And foundest his heart faithful before thee, and madest a covenant with him to give the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Jebusites, and the Girgashites, to give it, I say, to his seed, and hast performed thy words; for thou art righteous: And didst see the affliction of our fathers in Egypt, and heardest their cry by the Red sea; And shewedst signs and wonders upon Pharaoh, and on all his servants, and on all the people of his land: for thou knewest that they dealt proudly against them. So didst thou get thee a name, as it is this day. And thou didst divide the sea before them, so that they went through the midst of the sea on the dry land; and their persecutors thou threwest into the deeps, as a stone into the mighty waters. Moreover thou leddest them in the day by a cloudy pillar; and in the night by a pillar of fire, to give them light in the way wherein they should go. Thou camest down also upon mount Sinai, and spakest with them from heaven, and gavest them right judgments, and true laws, good statutes and commandments: And madest known unto them thy holy sabbath, and commandedst them precepts, statutes, and laws, by the hand of Moses thy servant: And gavest them bread from heaven for their hunger, and broughtest forth water for them out of the rock for their thirst, and promisedst them that they should go in to possess the land




which thou hadst sworn to give them. But they and our fathers dealt proudly, and hardened their necks, and hearkened not to thy commandments, And refused to obey, neither were mindful of thy wonders that thou didst among them; but hardened their necks, and in their rebellion appointed a captain to return to their bondage: but thou art a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and forsookest them not. Yea, when they had made them a molten calf, and said, This is thy God that brought thee up out of Egypt, and had wrought great provocations; Yet thou in thy manifold mercies forsookest them not in the wilderness: the pillar of the cloud departed not from them by day, to lead them in the way; neither the pillar of fire by night, to shew them light, and the way wherein they should go. Thou gavest also thy good spirit to instruct them, and withheldest not thy manna from their mouth, and gavest them water for their thirst. Yea, forty years didst thou sustain them in the wilderness, so that they lacked nothing; their clothes waxed not old, and their feet swelled not. Moreover thou gavest them kingdoms and nations, and didst divide them into corners: so they possessed the land of Sihon, and the land of the king of Heshbon, and the land of Og king of Bashan. Their children also multipliedst thou as the stars of heaven, and broughtest them into the land, concerning which thou hadst promised to their fathers, that they should go in to possess it. So the children went in and possessed the land, and thou subduedst before them the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, and gavest them into their hands, with their kings, and the people of the land, that they might do with them as they would. And they took strong cities, and a fat land, and possessed houses full of all goods, wells digged, vineyards, and oliveyards, and fruit trees in abundance: so they did eat, and were filled, and became fat, and delighted themselves in thy great goodness. Nevertheless they were disobedient, and rebelled against thee, and cast thy law behind their backs, and slew thy prophets




which testified against them to turn them to thee, and they wrought great provocations. Therefore thou deliveredst them into the hand of their enemies, who vexed them: and in the time of their trouble, when they cried unto thee, thou heardest them from heaven; and according to thy manifold mercies thou gavest them saviours, who saved them out of the hand of their enemies. But after they had rest, they did evil again before thee: therefore leftest thou them in the land of their enemies, so that they had the dominion over them: yet when they returned, and cried unto thee, thou heardest them from heaven; and many times didst thou deliver them according to thy mercies; And testifiedst against them, that thou mightest bring them again unto thy law: yet they dealt proudly, and hearkened not unto thy commandments, but sinned against thy judgments, (which if a man do, he shall live in them;) and withdrew the shoulder, and hardened their neck, and would not hear. Yet many years didst thou forbear them, and testifiedst against them by thy spirit in thy prophets: yet would they not give ear: therefore gavest thou them into the hand of the people of the lands. Nevertheless for thy great mercies' sake thou didst not utterly consume them, nor forsake them; for thou art a gracious and merciful God.

1. Abraham (Nehemiah 9:7-8, Thou art the LORD the God, who didst choose Abram, and broughtest him forth out of Ur of the Chaldees, and gavest him the name of Abraham; And foundest his heart faithful before thee, and madest a covenant with him to give the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Jebusites, and the Girgashites, to give it, I say, to his seed, and hast performed thy words; for thou art righteous.) .




a. Abram ‘s name was changed to Abraham (Genesis 17). b. A land covenant made because of a faithful heart.

2. Egypt (Nehemiah 9:9-12, And didst see the affliction of our fathers in Egypt, and heardest their cry by the Red sea; And shewedst signs and wonders upon Pharaoh, and on all his servants, and on all the people of his land: for thou knewest that they dealt proudly against them. So didst thou get thee a name, as it is this day. And thou didst divide the sea before them, so that they went through the midst of the sea on the dry land; and their persecutors thou threwest into the deeps, as a stone into the mighty waters. Moreover thou leddest them in the day by a cloudy pillar; and in the night by a pillar of fire, to give them light in the way wherein they should go.).

a. In their commentary on Exodus, Keil & Delitzsch said this “pillar” is not to be understood as two pillars, but as one pillar consisting of both cloud and fire. b. How this might have appeared is difficult to say. c. Perhaps the cloud was the first “layer” from the ground up and the fire would have been above that (light shinning through the cloud).

3. Mount Sinai (Nehemiah 9:13-15, Thou camest down also upon mount Sinai, and spakest with them from heaven, and gavest them right judgments, and true laws, good statutes and commandments: And madest known unto them thy holy sabbath, and commandedst them precepts, statutes, and laws, by the hand of Moses thy servant: And gavest them bread from heaven for their




hunger, and broughtest forth water for them out of the rock for their thirst, and promisedst them that they should go in to possess the land which thou hadst sworn to give them.).

a. This time frame marker is important to note. b. When Israel left Egypt and headed toward the mountain it was for the first time (Exodus 16) that God gave any indication of anyone is being obligated to observe the seventh day (the Sabbath). It was in Exodus 20 that God specially obligated the children of Israel to recognize the Sabbath in the form of the Decalogue (ten words, the Ten Commandments). c. Jesus used the occasion of His time in Capernaum to teach what the real lesson was to those who lived at this time (John 6:27-40, Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed. Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent. They said therefore unto him, What sign shewest thou then, that we may see, and believe thee? what dost thou work? Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat. Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world. Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread. And Jesus




said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. But I said unto you, That ye also have seen me, and believe not. All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.).

4. The wilderness wanderings (Nehemiah 9:16-21, But they and our fathers dealt proudly, and hardened their necks, and hearkened not to thy commandments, And refused to obey, neither were mindful of thy wonders that thou didst among them; but hardened their necks, and in their rebellion appointed a captain to return to their bondage: but thou art a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and forsookest them not. Yea, when they had made them a molten calf, and said, This is thy God that brought thee up out of Egypt, and had wrought great provocations; Yet thou in thy manifold mercies forsookest them not in the wilderness: the pillar of the cloud departed not from them by day, to lead them in the way; neither the pillar of fire by night, to shew them light, and the way wherein they should go. Thou gavest also thy good spirit to instruct them, and withheldest not thy manna from their mouth, and gavest them water for their thirst. Yea, forty years didst thou sustain them in the wilderness, so that




they lacked nothing; their clothes waxed not old, and their feet swelled not.) .

a. With all the mercy shown to the nation, it is remarkable that they would, as a nation, cast God behind them. But that is exactly what they did! b. In Nehemiah 9:17, the NKJV reads that “they refused to obey.” That really says it all. They considered what God did and said and they refused Him. The audacity! Still, the Lord is merciful. Exodus 34:6-7, And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth. Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation. c. In Nehemiah 9:20, the reference is, more than likely, to the events in Numbers 11, particularly verses 17 and 25.

5. The period of the Joshua (Nehemiah 9:22-27, Moreover thou gavest them kingdoms and nations, and didst divide them into corners: so they possessed the land of Sihon, and the land of the king of Heshbon, and the land of Og king of Bashan. Their children also multipliedst thou as the stars of heaven, and broughtest them into the land, concerning which thou hadst promised to their fathers, that they should go in to possess it. So the children went in and possessed the land, and thou subduedst before them the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, and




gavest them into their hands, with their kings, and the people of the land, that they might do with them as they would. And they took strong cities, and a fat land, and possessed houses full of all goods, wells digged, vineyards, and oliveyards, and fruit trees in abundance: so they did eat, and were filled, and became fat, and delighted themselves in thy great goodness. Nevertheless they were disobedient, and rebelled against thee, and cast thy law behind their backs, and slew thy prophets which testified against them to turn them to thee, and they wrought great provocations. Therefore thou deliveredst them into the hand of their enemies, who vexed them: and in the time of their trouble, when they cried unto thee, thou heardest them from heaven; and according to thy manifold mercies thou gavest them saviours, who saved them out of the hand of their enemies.).

a. This refers to the time of Joshua. God had prepared for them a land full of all the necessities of life. b. In Genesis 6 man’s inclination to sin brought God’s wrath upon the earth in the form of a massive and deadly flood.

1) Yet, He promised the earth would not be destroyed in this manner any longer (this would include His people). However, He did not say that He would not punish them for their rebellion. 2) Because God’s people cast His law behind them (note the language: they threw His law behind them as if it was not worthy of their consideration at all; it was junk!) and killed His messengers, He delivered them to those who were




of “like mind” and, thus, they were brutally carried off into degrading captivity.

c. Still, God was merciful.

6. A summary of Israel’s rebellious spirit during the period of the Judges (Nehemiah 9:28-31, But after they had rest, they did evil again before thee: therefore leftest thou them in the land of their enemies, so that they had the dominion over them: yet when they returned, and cried unto thee, thou heardest them from heaven; and many times didst thou deliver them according to thy mercies; And testifiedst against them, that thou mightest bring them again unto thy law: yet they dealt proudly, and hearkened not unto thy commandments, but sinned against thy judgments, (which if a man do, he shall live in them;) and withdrew the shoulder, and hardened their neck, and would not hear.. Yet many years didst thou forbear them, and testifiedst against them by thy spirit in thy prophets: yet would they not give ear: therefore gavest thou them into the hand of the people of the lands. Nevertheless for thy great mercies' sake thou didst not utterly consume them, nor forsake them; for thou art a gracious and merciful God.).

a. “Those who refuse to learn from history are doomed to repeat it!” b. They had rest. c. Dominion was exercised over them. d. Delivered according to God’s mercy.




i. An appeal by God for the people to repent and “go back to the law” (restoration). ii. But the people would not hear.

e. Into captivity they went. f. God’s mercy.

D. Israel’s Confession. Nehemiah 9:32-37, Now therefore, our God, the great, the mighty, and the terrible God, who keepest covenant and mercy, let not all the trouble seem little before thee, that hath come upon us, on our kings, on our princes, and on our priests, and on our prophets, and on our fathers, and on all thy people, since the time of the kings of Assyria unto this day. Howbeit thou art just in all that is brought upon us; for thou hast done right, but we have done wickedly: Neither have our kings, our princes, our priests, nor our fathers, kept thy law, nor hearkened unto thy commandments and thy testimonies, wherewith thou didst testify against them. For they have not served thee in their kingdom, and in thy great goodness that thou gavest them, and in the large and fat land which thou gavest before them, neither turned they from their wicked works. Behold, we are servants this day, and for the land that thou gavest unto our fathers to eat the fruit thereof and the good thereof, behold, we are servants in it: And it yieldeth much increase unto the kings whom thou hast set over us because of our sins: also they have dominion over our bodies, and over our cattle, at their pleasure, and we are in great distress.

1. God is faithful to His covenant and merciful.

2. Though You are just in that which has befallen us, please don’t let that which has befallen us be considered lightly.




a. The notion behind this sentiment is simply that Israel’s hardships were HARD, but the Lord’s MERCY had greater power to overcome man’s hardship. b. “Lord, listen and relieve.” c. John Gill offered this thought: “let not all the trouble seem little before thee; as if it was not enough; let it be judged sufficient, and no more be added, but mercy shown;” (E-Sword).

3. We are in the land you gave us and we are servants in it!

a. Where they should be free to serve the Lord, they have to serve their masters before they serve the Lord. b. Where the Lord has blessed them with produce, this increase belongs to the king over them.

E. Israel’s Repentance. Nehemiah 9:38, And because of all this we make a sure covenant, and write it; and our princes, Levites, and priests, seal unto it.




Questions

Nehemiah 9:1-38

(Questions based on NIV text.) 1. What feasts are mentioned in Leviticus 23? What was the purpose of each of these feasts? What did they commemorate? ________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 2. How are Ezra 9, Nehemiah 9 and Daniel 9 similar? ______________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 3. What sins did Israel confess in Nehemiah 9? ____________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 4. On the _____________ - _____________ day of the _____________ _____________ (which was _____________ and which is comparable to our ____________) the __________ gathered together, ___________ and wearing ____________ and having _______________ on their _______________.




5. What was the significance of this attire? Why were they dressed this way? _____________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 6. Why had the Israelites separated themselves from all foreigners? ____ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 7. Why did Israelites confess the wickedness of their fathers? Is it appropriate to confess the sins of others? ________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 8. How did the Israelites make use of the day? (See verse 3.) ________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 9. List the Levites named in verse 4. Where were they standing? What did they do? _______________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________




____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 10. List the Levites named in verse 5. What did they do? ____________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 11. Eight Levites were in each group. Who were listed in group 1, but not in group 2? Who were listed in group 2, but not in group 1? Who were listed in both groups? ____________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 12. Two Levites in group 1 had the same names. What were their names? Did any other Levites in verses 4 and 5 have the same names or did the same names indicate several different Levites were participants in both groups?__ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 13. “_______________ up and _____________ the _______________ your _____________, who is from _____________ to _____________.” 14. “_______________ be your _______________ _______________, and may it be _____________ _____________ above all ____________ and _______________. You alone are the _______________.”




15. For what great acts is God praised in verse 6? __________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 16. For what great acts is God praised in verses 7 and 8? ____________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 17. Identify the following: Canaanites ___________________________ __________________________________________________________ Hittites ____________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ Amorites __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ Perizzites__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ Jebusites __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ Girgashites ________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ 18. For what great acts is God praised in verses 9-12? _______________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________




19. For what great acts is God praised in verses 13-15? ______________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 20. You gave them _______________ and _______________ that are _______________ and _______________, and _______________ and _______________ that are _______________.” 21. “But they, our _______________, became _______________ and _______________ - _______________, and did not _______________ your _______________.” 22. “They _______________ to _______________ and _____________ to _______________ the _______________ you _______________ among them.” 23. “They became _________________ - ________________ and in their _______________ _______________ a _______________ in order to return to their _______________.” 24. How do you respond to God’s infinite goodness? _______________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 25. How did God respond to Israel’s ingratitude and rebellion? How does God respond to our ingratitude and rebellion? Be sure of your answer. ___________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________




______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 26. “ . . . they cast for themselves an _______________ of a _______________ and said, ‘This is your _______________, who brought you up out of _______________,’ “. . . they _______________ _______________ _______________.” 27. How did God show his great compassion to Israel during the wilderness, desert wanderings? ________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 28. What great acts did God perform on Israel’s behalf in regard to their enemies and the promised land? ________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 29. “But they were _______________ and _______________ against you; they put your _______________ behind their _______________. They ______________ your ______________, who had ____________ them in order to turn them back to you; they _______________ _______________ _______________.” 30. “So you handed them over to their _______________, who _______________ them.”




31. “But when they were _______________ they _______________ out to you. From _______________ you _______________ them, and in your _____________ _____________ you gave them _____________, who _______________ them from the _______________ of their _______________.” 32. “But as soon as they were at _______________, they again did what was _______________ in your _______________.” 33. Would you agree that those Israelites were very slow learners? Are you and I, our generation, very slow learners? Give reasons for your answer. ___________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 34. “Then you ____________ them to the hand of their _____________ so that they _______________ over them.” 35. “And when they ____________ out to you again, you ___________ from _____________, and in your ____________ you _____________ them _______________ after _______________.” 36. “You _______________ them to return to you _______________, but they became ___________ and ____________ your ____________. They _______________ against your _______________, by which a man will _______________ if he _______________.” 37. “_______________ they turned their _______________ on you, became _______________ - _______________ and _______________ to _______________.”




38. Does this describe this present generation? Has human nature changed? Explain your answer. _______________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 39. How did God react to Israel’s repeated rebellion? Why did God respond in this way? _________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 40. “In all that has happened to us, you have been _______________; you have _____________________ _______________, while we did _______________.” 41. “Our _____________, our _____________, our _______________ and our _____________ did not _____________ your _____________; they did not _____________ _____________ to your _______________ or the _______________ you gave them.” 42. “Even while they were in their _______________, enjoying your great _____________ to them in the ____________ and _____________ _______________ you gave them, they did not _______________ you or _______________ from their _______________ _______________.” 43. In your heart are you looking down on those ancient rebellious Israelites? _______________ If so, why do you feel you have a right to look down on anybody? ______________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________




______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 44. According to verses 36 and 37, what did all this rebellion profit Israel? ____________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 45. “In view of all this, we are making a ____________ ____________, putting it in ____________, and our ______________, our ______________ and our ______________ are _______________ their _______________ to it.” 46. What difference did this “binding agreement” make? Didn’t Israel crucify Jesus? ______________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________



The Israelites Confess Their Sins Nehemiah...

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