Our Confession

Nehemiah 9:1-33

Today’s lesson brings us to a climax in the story of God According to God. God sits down and gets a chance to review what has transpired in the Old Testament. With a gathering of God's people to review their story and remember God‘s faithfulness here in chapter 9. Here in Nehemiah, we have the longest prayer recorded in the entire Bible. This prayer is a review of the children of Isreal. thus The whole story between God and his people. The timing here is perfect chronologically speaking we are at the very end of the Old Testament and the Israelites decide that it’s a good day to look back.

What if you could read a book with all the major stories of your life? What if in those stories the book told you about God’s work at every step? His word spoken to you, His mercies, His hands of faithfulness, longsuffering, keeping His promise to you. How would that book affect you?

But now imagine that book wasn’t just your story, but your parents and their parents. And many Generations before that. Your very roots, a book that recorded the work of God in each generation of your family, some who followed and others who turned away. Imagine hearing that book read aloud as you stand together with your extended family. What a surreal experience that would be! The question I have for you that God posed to His people” What happens when you remember me” Here in Nehemiah 9 that’s just about what it was like.

Now let's stop and provide a little back story to how we got to chapter 9.

Due to the poor leadership outside pagan influence, and unfaithful hearts, slowly the people drew father and father from God. God had enough from the northern kingdom and the southern kingdom. God‘s covenant and patience eventually wore off. God granted power to the Babylonians and power to King Nebuchadnezzar. The Babylonians, overthrew Judah, destroyed the city of Jerusalem, demolished God’s holy temple, and took the Jews to Babylon as their captives. ( Kings 25:8-21) for their lack of faithfulness, God sentenced the Jews to 70 years of captivity in a foreign land. This meant that God’s people were without a home. They no longer enjoyed the physical blessings that they experienced in the promised land. Most importantly, they spent 70 years in spiritual disgrace, with no ability to worship their God at his holy temple, no sacrifices for their sins, and no joy in knowing they were God's chosen people on Earth. This was the darkest most depressing period of Jewish history. The Babylonian empire gave way to the rise of the mighty Persians and the Jews, finding themself captive under new management. By the mid-5th century BC, captivity had ended, and God had stirred the hearts of a few of His faithful servants. Two great spiritual leaders rose to the occasion, a priest named Ezra and Nehemiah, the personal cupbearer to the Persian king Artaxerxes I. Some say Nehemiah was considered a governor for Judah and the city of Jerusalem. The books of Ezra and Nehemiah are so related to one another that, in the original Hebrew bible they were both lumped together in one book under the title Ezra. It wasn’t until the 4th century A.D.,, that Jerome compiled the new Latin translation of the bible and the one book became two. These two works are truly meant to be read together. As for today, we’re going to focus on Nehemiah 9 but later we will do a series that deals with Ezra and Nehemiah. A series called “ Building of the Word”

Now back in chapter 8, Ezra read the Bible for six hours, then followed up with more reading each day for the next week. And an average of about 3 hours. How eager would you be to make sure you are on time to hear the word of God. This was a very long Bible study. So you can’t talk about our two hour a week Bible class. For them, the Bible is not just history. It was their story and God’s story all the way back to Abraham. It’s like God and the children of Israelites are sitting down and looking at photo albums, memoirs of the past, and how they got here. The Israelites listened to their story one generation after another judging from the reaction the experience made an impact. So how did the Israelites respond in chapter 8 they wept, why because they were broken by the stories of their sin, In Ezra chapter 3:10-13

How do we react or feel about our sins after reading the word of God? but Nehemiah turn their morning into joy and God‘s grace called for a celebration that lasted a whole week. Here in chapter 9 a couple more weeks have passed by and the Israelites gather again.

Verse 1, On October 31[a] the people assembled again, and this time they fasted and dressed in burlap and sprinkled dust on their heads. 2 Those of Israelite descent separated themselves from all foreigners as they confessed their own sins and the sins of their ancestors. 3 They remained standing in place for three hours[b] while the Book of the Law of the Lord their God was read aloud to them. Then for three more hours, they confessed their sins and worshiped the Lord their God.

For a quarter of the first of the day you read the Bible for another quarter of it, they made confessions and worshiped the Lord their god. So the Israelites around Jerusalem gathered together again, and the scene was a serious one. Wearing sackcloths and putting dirt on their heads were signs of mourning and they had some pretty serious stuff going on in their hearts. Once again the gathering was centered around the reading of the Bible this time they spent three hours in the Word, and then another three hours confessing sins, not only their own, but the sins of generations past so what was going on that compelled the Israelites to spend a lot of time in the Bible? Whatever it was it appears that the truth was starting to sink in. The stories they heard were not just sad history. There were reasons of explanation for the broken lives that they were living in their war-torn city. As the Jews began to connect the dots, they got together in Jerusalem to “get right with God.” Getting right with God involved a few things that day fasting, repentance, separating themselves from bad influence. More time in the word, and some serious confession. Three hours worth. Confession is a powerful Action. Confessing is to speak what you know is true about yourself and about God

it’s like stepping into the light and telling God all right this is who I really am. I know you knew that, but I guess I had myself fooled for a while.

Psalm 13:1–6 (NKJV)

How long, O Lord? Will You forget me forever?

How long will You hide Your face from me?

How long shall I take counsel in my soul,

Having sorrow in my heart daily?

How long will my enemy be exalted over me?

Consider and hear me, O Lord my God;

Enlighten my eyes,

Lest I sleep the sleep of death;

Lest my enemy say,

“I have prevailed against him”;

Lest those who trouble me rejoice when I am moved.

But I have trusted in Your mercy;

My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation.

I will sing to the Lord,

Because He has dealt bountifully with me.

Confession is a brutal and beautiful mix of honesty, responsibility and the fear of the lord.

The confessions of the Jews were many and lasted for three hours. But they recorded one in particular that summed it all up, Levites for spiritual leaders for the people in verse 4 they stood up on stairs and cried with loud voices unto the Lord their God. Their loud confession takes the rest of the chapter. It starts not with a confession of sin, but a confession of who God is, let’s read verse 6 you are the Lord you alone you have made heaven heavens of heavens with all their host, the Earth, and all that is on it, sees it all that is in them, and you preserve all of them, and the host of heaven worships you. This declaration of God's nature is an excellent starting place for an honest confession. It starts with acknowledging God, In all your ways acknowledge them, and he will direct your path Proverbs 3:6 acknowledging

God in confession, puts everything else in perspective...

and keeps you from hiding and it reminds you of his mercy.

In Verse 7, the Levites go all the way back to the beginning of the story for the nation of Israel, the story started with God, and with one man. Verse 7 for you are the Lord, the God, who chose Abram and brought him out of Ur the Chaldeans, and gave him the name Abraham. So Verse 7 starts with Abraham and the rest of the Confession Follows the rest of the story in the Bible. From Genesis Exodus, right on through to the present day in Nehemiah. Now as you read through this historical review, there is one prominent theme that you can’t miss. It is probably this very thing that struck the Israelites as they listened to Ezra read the Bible to them you’ll find it as you follow two keywords. (You and they) the you refers to God that’s who this prayer is directed to. Every part of the Confession, declares the faithfulness and forgiveness of the lord, at the end of verse 8, And you have done what you promised, for you are always true to your word. As the Confession moves forward to Exodus story in verses 9-15, you saw, you heard, you sent, you divided the sea, you lead with a pillar you came down to Sinai you spoke and you brought manna you gave them water.

Then verse 16 brings out the other side of the story but they and their fathers acted presumptuously and stiffened-necks, and did not obey your Commandments. The part of the story, So Sorry refers to the Israelites of generations past, they refused to obey.

They failed to remember they rebelled and put God’s law behind their backs, yet for every failure on their part, God‘s mercy showed up again and again it is really astounding when you put the whole story together in one place at the end of verse 28 the Levites declared. In your compassion, you delivered them time after Time. God‘s love endures so much. It just took some serious Bible study for His people to realize it. What about the testimony of your life? Have you ever taken some real time aside to consider just how many times the Lord has been faithful to you and how many times has His mercy seen you through?

in verse 32 the confession takes a turn in a new direction. The Jews declared their sin, and they remembered God‘s forgiveness and now they call on God’s compassions, one more time. And now, our God, the great and mighty and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of unfailing love, do not let all the hardships we have suffered seem insignificant to you. Great trouble has come upon us and upon our kings and leaders and priests and prophets and ancestors—all of your people—from the days when the kings of Assyria first triumphed over us until now.

verse 33. The Israelites began to ask for help they made the connection between the sin of their past in the hardship of their present and asked God for compassion. Don’t let our hardship seem little to you Lord. The word covenant here is an important one. The entire story of the Israelites was a testimony to God‘s faithfulness to keep his covenant with them even the wording they chose to address. God reflects that Covenant our god is at the heart of it. He would be there. God, they would be his people God kept his covenant he never broke a single promise. In verse 33 the confession takes another turn with a subtle change that makes all the difference they stop using the word they and switch to we. verse 33 Every time you punished us you were being just. We have sinned greatly, and you gave us only what we deserved.

that verse summarizes the heart of the whole prayer and that switch from they to we seals the deal on their confession. It's an act of humility and responsibility.

In Nehemiah 9 Nehemiah was trying to restore when you think of the word restore it means, bringing back or reestablishing a previous, right, practice, or situation. To repair or renovate a building, work of art, etc. so as to return it to its original condition. It’s clear by looking at Nehemiah’s efforts, he wasn’t merely trying to reform a broken religion by making improvements. Rather, Nehemiah worked tirelessly to fully restore the Jewish faith back to the original form, function, and attitude that God originally intended for His people. Like Nehemiah, it must be our primary goal to constantly focus on restoring our Christianity back to God, original intent, rather than being content, with minor reforms, and changes here and there

take some time to review the grand epic of these real-life journeys with their God and marvel at God's enduring mercies. When you finish the chapter, I would encourage you to take some time aside with God to look back on your own life. Maybe today maybe sometime this week if you have a journal read through some of the pages ask God to show you his hand on your story and remember his compassion that never failed you perhaps you have some confessing to do if so step into the light call on his mercy of God and remember to change your they to we.