This is our last week in the book of Nehemiah! We have come a long way since we began in January. We have heard Nehemiah's first prayer and confession to the Lord, his appeal to the King of Persia, his survey and plans for the wall, the people's response as they joined in the work, attack after attack from the enemy, and the celebration when the wall was completed. Our final sermon and study covers the last three chapters, Nehemiah 9-11.
Just as we began the book with a prayer and a confession, we end the book the same way. Nehemiah started in the first chapter with a prayer that confessed the sins of himself, his father's family, and all the people of Israel. "We have acted very wickedly toward you. We have not obeyed the commands, decrees and laws you gave your servant Moses," (Neh 1:7). He then reminds God that He promised that if the people repent and return to the Lord, He would have mercy and restore them. Obviously, God answered that prayer with power!
Now, in Nehemiah 9, the people repeat the same kind of prayer to the Lord. They recall all the history of Israel, starting in the days of Abraham, and they confess how many times they turned away from God. They also remind the Lord, "When they cried out to you again, you heard from heaven, and in your compassion you delivered them time after time," (Neh 9:28). Now they ask the Lord once again to have mercy upon them.
After this prayer of confession in Nehemiah 9, they then take it one step further in Nehemiah 10. They renew the covenant with the Lord by writing it in a binding agreement. They commit to living holy lives, ridding themselves of idolatry, paying their full tithe of crops and money, and honoring the worship of the Lord. The agreement ends with this line, "We will not neglect the house of our God," (Neh 10:39).
If the Lord had given up on the Israelites the first time - or the hundredth time - they stumbled, what hope would we have? But time and time again, the Lord does have mercy. Four hundred years after Nehemiah, we see the people crying out again for help. And this time, God doesn't just send redemption, He sends the Redeemer. Jesus is the one who is able to fulfill the covenant finally and perfectly. It is by His perfect fulfillment of the law, through His life, death, and resurrection, that the way is opened for us to be reconciled to God. We have nothing but filthy rags until Christ offers us His robes of righteousness.
How many times have you fallen and failed? It is so easy to be defeated with the weight of our shame and guilt. May God remind you this week of His infinite grace and mercy. He forgives seventy times seven... times seven billion. He loves you and delights in you and rescues you. All He wants is for us to turn our faces toward Him, to repent, and He will do all the rest. May He make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you, and may He lift up the light of His countenance upon you and give you peace.
Blessings,
Pastor Carolyn
