Just Come Back to God
Nehemiah 9:1–2 (ESV) 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 separated themselves from all foreigners and stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers.
Nehemiah 9:3 (ESV) 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.
If you read the chapter, you will see they literally go chapter by chapter through the narrative of their nation starting with Abraham. They move right through the history of Egypt, the wilderness, the judges, the monarchy, and their eventual end at the hand of the Babylonians. It's really a summation of the Old Testament narrative thus far. But there's a repeated theme they return to over and over again. And that theme is simple: in spite of what they or their fathers did against the Lord, the Lord honored His covenantal promises to this people.
Let's run down the verses that make reference to the highlight moments:
First, Abraham's covenant.
Nehemiah 9:8 (ESV) You found his (Abraham's) 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.
Second, the wilderness rebellion.
Nehemiah 9:17 (ESV) 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. But you are a God ready to forgive, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and did not forsake them.
Third, the time of the Judges.
Nehemiah 9:28 (ESV) 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.
Nehemiah 9:30–31 (ESV) 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.
Fourth, the time of the monarchy.
Nehemiah 9:35 (ESV) 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.
Now here the pattern ends. The narrative about their rebellion during the monarchy turns from remembering God's gracious acts of restoration in spite of their sin to hopeful prayer that he will restore them in spite of their sin. They stipulate God's justice and appeal to His mercy:
Nehemiah 9:33 (ESV) Yet you have been righteous in all that has come upon us, for you have dealt faithfully and we have acted wickedly.
Nehemiah 9:38 (ESV) “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.
The resolve to come back whole-heartedly to the Lord as one people. And you know what happens? In the annals of history, these people survive through one empire after another. The walls survive wars and strife and rebellions and self-assuming messiahs. The temple survives and one day Jesus comes into that Temple and commands they repent one more time.
The chapter is a reminder of two important truths. That God is always more gracious than we deserve, and that our primary responsibility in trouble is to turn and repent. No matter how far or how many times you've blown it, turn and repent. God is waiting, He has at this moment kept the door open for you. See the Lord Jesus extending His hand to say come home.
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