God Speaks
Ezra Leads in Reading the Scriptures in a Public Meeting; the People Repent and Celebrate; a Long Prayer; the People Pledge to Obey God
Verse of the Day: [May we confess our sinful history to the LORD and claim His loving forgiveness as Ezra led people to do.] “But they, our ancestors, became arrogant and stiff-necked. and they did not obey Your commands. They refused to listen and failed to remember the miracles You performed amonng them. Theyy became stiff necked and appointed a leader in order to return to their slavery. But You are a forgiving God, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love. Therefore You did not desert them, . . . Because of Your great compassion You did not abandon them in the wilderness. (Nehemiah 9:16-17, 19a NIV 2011)
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We Respond
Reflection: Consider the following questions regarding Nehemiah 8-10:
1. What does this chapter tell me about God?
2. What does this chapter tell me about the human beings He created?
Here is one possible answer to each of these questions. Ask the Holy Spirit if there are any others for you personally to ponder.
Nehemiah 8
1. God wants people to know what He expects of them and to be living joy-filled lives as a result of their obedience.
2. All the people able to understand are to gather together to listen to the Book of the Law, hear it explained, and then go and joyfully live it out.
Nehemiah 9
1. God is praise-worthy, creator, initiator of relationships with people, rescuer, lawgiver, provider, forgiving, gracious, merciful, slow to become angry and rich in love, sustainer, liberator, promise-keeper, and the ultimate just judge.
2. People (apart from God’s grace and mercy) are proud, stubborn, rebellious, ungrateful, blasphemous, murderers, thieves, adulterers, covenant breakers, and wicked.
Nehemiah 10
1. God wants people to commit themselves to following His laws and commands, but He also knows that they cannot do this apart from His mercy and grace.
2. People can sincerely pledge to follow God and His ways, but they cannot do so apart from the forgiveness Jesus Christ made available and the power of the Holy Spirit living in them.
Prayer:
3. How might I pray regarding Nehemiah 8-10?
O gracious and awesome God, it is Your desire for people to know You and what You expect of us. You really want us to be living joy-filled lives as a result of our obedience and love for You (and each other). Please help all the people who are able to understand to gather together to read or listen to the Bible. When we hear it explained, may we go and joyfully live it out. LORD God, You are worthy of all our praise. You are the Creator of the universe and everything in it. You initiate our relationships with You and with other people. You are our rescuer, provider, protector, and guide. You are eternally forgiving, gracious, merciful, slow to become angry, and rich in love. You are the ultimate liberator, sustainer, promise-keeper, and just judge. Apart from Your mercy and grace, O God, people are proud, stubborn, and rebellious. We are ungrateful. We blaspheme Your holy name, murder the innocent, and rob even the poor. We are adulterers, covenant breakers, and liars. There is no hope for us apart from You, LORD God. All You want us to do is cry out and turn back to You. We must admit that we cannot follow Your laws and commands apart from the forgiveness You made available through Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection and through the power of the Holy Spirit living in us. Then we will be able to keep our pledge to follow You and all Your ways and bring You glory, LORD, both on earth now and in Heaven forever. AMEN
Action: (Ask God, the Holy Spirit, if He wants you to work on one of the suggestions below or something else more personal that He points out.)
4. What action does the LORD want me to take in response to Nehemiah 8-10? With the help of God’s Holy Spirit:
- I will study and apply the Bible to my daily life so that I’ll know how to experience a joy-filled life.
- I will use a concordance to make a list of the names and/or attributes of God, then use them in prayer or in describing Him to others.
- I will admit my sins (anything that is apart from or contrary to God and His ways) both privately and in public.
- I will thank God for His great mercy and grace in my life and on behalf of my family and nation.
Share: I plan to share what I’ve learned with __________.