Iayos mo - Part 18

Our passage today is quite long… But I believe it is necessary for us to read and go through it…

Our passage is like a general overview of Old Testament history, theology, and theme...

This contains

So this is worth reading...

Nehemiah 9:1–37 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. And the Israelites separated themselves from all foreigners and stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers. 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. On the stairs of the Levites stood Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani; and they cried with a loud voice to the Lord their God. Then the Levites, Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah, said, “Stand up and bless the Lord your God from everlasting to everlasting. Blessed be your glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise. “You are the Lord, you alone. You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them; and you preserve all of them; and the host of heaven worships you. You are the Lord, the God who chose Abram and brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans and gave him the name Abraham. You found his 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. “And you saw the affliction of our fathers in Egypt and heard their cry at the Red Sea, and performed signs and wonders against Pharaoh and all his servants and all the people of his land, for you knew that they acted arrogantly against our fathers. And you made a name for yourself, as it is to this day. And you divided the sea before them, so that they went through the midst of the sea on dry land, and you cast their pursuers into the depths, as a stone into mighty waters. By a pillar of cloud you led them in the day, and by a pillar of fire in the night to light for them the way in which they should go. You came down on Mount Sinai and spoke with them from heaven and gave them right rules and true laws, good statutes and commandments, and you made known to them your holy Sabbath and commanded them commandments and statutes and a law by Moses your servant. You gave them bread from heaven for their hunger and brought water for them out of the rock for their thirst, and you told them to go in to possess the land that you had sworn to give them. “But they and our fathers acted presumptuously and stiffened their neck and did not obey your commandments. 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. Even when they had made for themselves a golden calf and said, ‘This is your God who brought you up out of Egypt,’ and had committed great blasphemies, you in your great mercies did not forsake them in the wilderness. The pillar of cloud to lead them in the way did not depart from them by day, nor the pillar of fire by night to light for them the way by which they should go. You gave your good Spirit to instruct them and did not withhold your manna from their mouth and gave them water for their thirst. Forty years you sustained them in the wilderness, and they lacked nothing. Their clothes did not wear out and their feet did not swell. “And you gave them kingdoms and peoples and allotted to them every corner. So they took possession of the land of Sihon king of Heshbon and the land of Og king of Bashan. You multiplied their children as the stars of heaven, and you brought them into the land that you had told their fathers to enter and possess. So the descendants went in and possessed the land, and you subdued before them the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, and gave them into their hand, with their kings and the peoples of the land, that they might do with them as they would. And they captured fortified cities and a rich land, and took possession of houses full of all good things, cisterns already hewn, vineyards, olive orchards and fruit trees in abundance. So they ate and were filled and became fat and delighted themselves in your great goodness. “Nevertheless, they were disobedient and rebelled against you and cast your law behind their back and killed your prophets, who had warned them in order to turn them back to you, and they committed great blasphemies. Therefore you gave them into the hand of their enemies, who made them suffer. And in the time of their suffering they cried out to you and you heard them from heaven, and according to your great mercies you gave them saviors who saved them from the hand of their enemies. 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. And you warned them in order to turn them back to your law. Yet they acted presumptuously and did not obey your commandments, but sinned against your rules, which if a person does them, he shall live by them, and they turned a stubborn shoulder and stiffened their neck and would not obey. 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. Nevertheless, in your great mercies you did not make an end of them or forsake them, for you are a gracious and merciful God. “Now, therefore, our God, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who keeps covenant and steadfast love, let not all the hardship seem little to you that has come upon us, upon our kings, our princes, our priests, our prophets, our fathers, and all your people, since the time of the kings of Assyria until this day. Yet you have been righteous in all that has come upon us, for you have dealt faithfully and we have acted wickedly. Our kings, our princes, our priests, and our fathers have not kept your law or paid attention to your commandments and your warnings that you gave them. 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. Behold, we are slaves this day; in the land that you gave to our fathers to enjoy its fruit and its good gifts, behold, we are slaves. And its rich yield goes to the kings whom you have set over us because of our sins. They rule over our bodies and over our livestock as they please, and we are in great distress.

1Noong ika-24 na araw ng buwan ding iyon, nagtipon ang mga Israelita upang mag-ayuno. Nagsuot sila ng damit-panluksa at naglagay ng abo sa kanilang ulo upang ipahayag ang pagsisisi sa kanilang mga kasalanan. 2Lumayo sila sa mga dayuhan. Tumayo sila upang ipahayag ang kanilang mga kasalanan at ng kanilang mga ninuno. 3Nanatili silang nakatayo sa kanilang kinaroroonan sa loob ng tatlong oras samantalang binabasa sa kanila ang Kautusan ni Yahweh na kanilang Diyos. Pagkatapos, tatlong oras din silang nagpahayag ng kanilang mga kasalanan at sumamba kay Yahweh na kanilang Diyos. 4Noo'y nasa isang entablado ang mga Levitang sina Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Sebanias, Buni, Serebias, Bani at Kenani at nananalangin nang malakas kay Yahweh na kanilang Diyos. 5Sina Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hasabneias, Serebias, Hodias, Sebanias at Petahias ay nanawagan sa mga tao upang sumamba. Sabi nila:

“Tumayo tayo at purihin ang Diyos nating si Yahweh.

Purihin siya ngayon at magpakailanman!

Purihin ang kanyang dakilang pangalan,

na higit na dakila sa lahat ng papuri!”

What is happening here?

The celebration of the Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles) were finished on the 21st of that month… so few days after, they gathered again...

This time it is less celebratory compared to Feast of Tabernacles but they are somehow in a mourning state...

Fasting

Wearing sackcloth

Dust on their head (abo)

Next is a long recollection of the past…

6At ang lahat ay sama-samang nanalangin ng ganito:

“Yahweh, ikaw lamang ang Panginoon;

ikaw ang lumikha ng kalangitan

at ginawa mo ang lupa, ang langit ng mga langit,

ang lahat ng bituin doon, at lahat ng narito;

ang dagat at ang lahat ng naroroon.

Binibigyang buhay mo sila,

at ika'y sinasamba ng buong kalangitan.

7Ikaw, Yahweh, ang Diyos na pumili kay Abram.

Ikaw ang tumawag sa kanya mula sa bayan ng Ur, sa Caldea

at pinangalanan mo siyang Abraham.

8Nakita mo siyang tapat sa inyo

at gumawa ka ng kasunduan sa kanya.

Ipinangako mo sa kanya at sa kanyang magiging mga anak

na ibibigay sa kanila ang lupain ng mga Cananeo,

ng mga Heteo, Amoreo, Perezeo, Jebuseo at Gergeseo.

Tinupad mo ang iyong pangako sa kanila sapagkat ikaw ay tunay na matapat.

9“Nakita mo ang paghihirap ng aming mga ninuno sa Egipto.

Narinig mo ang pagtangis nila sa Dagat na Pula.

10Gumawa ka ng mga himala at mga bagay na kamangha-mangha laban sa Faraon,

laban sa kanyang mga lingkod at sa mga mamamayan ng kanyang lupain,

sapagkat alam mong pinagmalupitan nila ang aming mga ninuno.

Ang pangalan mo'y tanyag magpahanggang ngayon.

11Sa kanilang harapa'y hinati mo ang dagat,

at sa gitna nito'y dumaan sila sa tuyong lupa.

Ang mga humabol sa kanila'y nilunod mong lahat,

parang mga batong lumubog sa nagngangalit na dagat.

12Pinatnubayan mo sila ng haliging ulap kung araw,

at haliging apoy kung gabi, upang matanglawan ang kanilang paglalakbay.

13Mula sa langit ay bumabâ ka sa Bundok Sinai

at kinausap mo ang iyong bayan.

Binigyan mo sila ng mga tuntuning makatarungan,

mga batas na maaasahan at mabubuting kautusan.

14Itinuro mo sa kanilang ipangilin ang Araw ng Pamamahinga

at ibinigay mo sa kanila ang iyong Kautusan sa pamamagitan ni Moises na iyong lingkod.

15“Nang sila'y magutom, binigyan mo sila ng pagkaing mula sa langit;

at nang sila'y mauhaw, pinainom mo ng tubig mula sa bato.

At sa kanila'y sinabi mo na sakupin ang lupaing

sa kanila'y ipinangako mong ibigay.

16Ngunit naging palalo ang aming mga ninuno,

nagmatigas sila at sinuway ang mga utos mo.

17Hindi sila sumunod at nilimot ang mga himalang iyong ginawa para sa kanila.

Naging matigas ang kanilang ulo at naglagay ng pinuno

na mangunguna sa kanila pabalik sa pagkaalipin sa Egipto.

Ngunit ikaw ay Diyos na mapagpatawad at mahabagin,

hindi madaling magalit at sagana sa wagas na pag-ibig,

kaya't sila'y hindi mo itinakwil.

18Gumawa rin sila ng diyus-diyosang guya,

at sinabing iyon ang diyos na naglabas sa kanila mula sa Egipto.

Labis ka nilang nilapastangan!

19Ngunit hindi mo pa rin sila pinabayaan sa ilang,

sapagkat walang kapantay ang iyong kahabagan.

Hindi mo inalis ang haliging ulap

na patnubay nila sa paglalakbay sa araw

at ang haliging apoy na tumatanglaw sa kanila pagsapit ng dilim.

20Pinatnubayan mo sila ng iyong Espiritu, upang turuan sila ng dapat nilang gawin.

Patuloy mo silang pinakain ng manna, at binigyan ng tubig na pamatid uhaw.

21Apatnapung taon mo silang kinalinga sa ilang,

kaya't sa anuman ay hindi sila nagkulang.

Hindi nasira ang kanilang mga kasuotan,

ni namaga man ang kanilang mga paa sa paglalakad.

22“Pinasakop mo sa kanila ang mga kaharian at bayan,

ang lupaing sakop ni Haring Sihon ng Hesbon

at ang lupain ni Haring Og ng Bashan.

23Pinarami mo ang kanilang mga anak tulad ng mga bituin sa langit.

Dinala mo sila sa lupain

na ipinangakong sasakupin ng kanilang mga ninuno.

24Pinasok nga nila at sinakop ang lupain ng Canaan,

sa harap nila'y tinalo ang mga Cananeong naninirahan doon.

Ibinigay ninyo sa kanila ang kanilang mga hari at ang lahat ng mamamayan sa lupain

upang sa kanila'y gawin ang anumang naisin.

25Pinasok nila at sinakop ang mga may pader na lunsod.

Nakuha nila ang matataba nilang lupain, at sinamsam ang kanilang mga ari-arian:

mga bahay na puno ng kayamanan,

mga balon, mga ubasan, taniman ng olibo at mga bungangkahoy.

Sagana sila sa pagkain at lumusog ang kanilang katawan,

at tuwang-tuwa sila sa iyong dakilang kabutihan.

26“Ngunit kinalaban ka pa rin nila,

at tinalikuran nila ang iyong Kautusan.

Pinatay nila ang iyong mga propeta

na isinugo mo upang sila'y panumbalikin sa iyo.

Patuloy ka nilang hinahamak.

27Dahil sa ginawa nila, pinabayaan mong sakupin sila ng kanilang mga kaaway,

ipinaalipin mo sila at pinahirapan.

Ngunit nang sila'y tumawag sa iyo,

pinakinggan mo pa rin sila mula sa langit.

Sa habag mo sa kanila,

binigyan mo sila ng mga pinunong sa kanila'y magliligtas.

28Ngunit nang ang buhay nila'y naging matiwasay, muli silang nagkasala laban sa iyo,

kaya't pinababayaan mo silang muling matalo ng kaaway.

Ngunit kapag sila'y muling nagsisi at humingi ng tulong,

pinapakinggan mo sila mula sa langit

at paulit-ulit mo silang inililigtas sapagkat ikaw ay mahabagin.

29Binabalaan mo silang manumbalik sa iyong Kautusan,

ngunit sa kanilang kapalalua'y lalo nilang nilabag ito.

Kahit na ang Kautusan mo ay nagbibigay-buhay,

sa katigasan ng kanilang ulo'y sinuway nila iyon.

30Maraming taon na pinagtiisan mo sila,

at binalaan ng iyong Espiritu sa pamamagitan ng mga propeta,

ngunit hindi pa rin sila nakinig.

Kaya't ipinasakop mo na naman sila sa mga dayuhan.

31Ngunit dahil sa iyong labis na kahabagan,

hindi mo rin sila ganap na nilipol at itinakwil.

Ikaw ay mapagpatawad at mahabaging Diyos!

32“O aming Diyos, napakadakila mong Diyos,

kakila-kilabot ang iyong kapangyarihan.

Tumutupad ka sa iyong kasunduan at mga pangako.

Mula pa nang kami'y sakupin ng mga hari ng Asiria,

hanggang ngayo'y labis ang aming paghihirap.

Naghirap ang aming mga hari at pinuno,

mga pari, mga propeta, at ang mga ninuno.

Ang iyong buong bayan ay dumanas ng kahirapan,

kaya't alalahanin mo ang aming pagdurusa.

33Makatuwiran ka sa iyong pagpaparusa sa amin;

naging tapat ka sa kabila ng aming pagkakasala.

34Ang aming mga ninuno, hari, pinuno at pari

ay hindi sumunod sa iyong Kautusan.

Sinuway nila ang iyong mga utos at babala.

35Sa gitna ng kasaganaang kanilang tinatamasa, sa ilalim ng mabuting pamamahala ng kanilang mga hari,

sa kabila ng malalawak at matatabang lupaing kanilang minana,

hindi pa rin sila naglingkod sa iyo at nagsisi sa kanilang mga kasalanan.

36Ngayon, sa lupaing ito na iyong ipinamana,

sa lupaing ito na ang pagkain ay sagana, kami'y busabos at alipin.

37Ang dahilan ay ang aming pagkakasala,

kaya ang nagpapasasa sa ani ng bukid ay ang mga haring sa ami'y lumupig.

Nasusunod nila anumang gustuhin, pati mga kawan nami'y inaangkin.

O sukdulan na itong hirap namin!”

Most headings of this particular chapter is about the Israelites Confessing their Sin...

but today, I believe this is more about the Israelites FACING THE TRUTH.

FACING THE TRUTH

THEY FACED THE TRUTH

The first truth is about their Sins

Look at these list of verses.

•The people’s hardening of their necks (16–17a)

— Pagmamatigas ng kanilang ulo at pagiging palalo… kinalimutan nila ang mga ginawa ng Panginoon sa kanila...

•The people’s hardening of their necks (16–17a)

•The people’s idolatry (18)

•The people’s idolatry (18)

— naghanap sila ng ibang Diyos.

•The people’s disobedience (26)

•The people’s disobedience (26)

— After God gave the promise land, sumuway sila sa mga kagustuhan ni Yahweh...

•The people’s evil (28a)

•The people’s evil (28a)

— “Ngunit nang ang buhay nila'y naging matiwasay, muli silang nagkasala laban sa iyo,”

•The people’s stiff necks (29)

•The people’s stiff necks (29)

Binabalaan mo silang manumbalik sa iyong Kautusan,

ngunit sa kanilang kapalalua'y lalo nilang nilabag ito.

These are recognizing hard truth...

Not trying to explain away from the mistakes done...

Our society today, sometimes, when we deal with mistakes or sin, we soften it by explaining it...

Family background… (Ang tatay nya kasi… ang asawa nya kasi)

Society.. (Ang kapitbahay nya kasi… mahirap kasi ang buhay...)

Everybody doing it… (ganyan naman talaga)

But in that time of … they did not sugar coat what happened in their history… they made lots of mistakes in front of God...

But praise God, the highlight of this passage is NOT really about sin… the main stage is not about their failures, but it is about God...

THEY FACED THE TRUTH…

The Second truth is about the goodness, the mercy, and the everlasting love of God.

The Second truth is about the goodness, the mercy, and the everlasting love of God.

Look at the pattern of what we just read in connection to the first truth.

•God’s greatness in creation, covenant, redemption (6–15)

•The people’s hardening of their necks (16–17a)

•God’s grace (17b)

•The people’s idolatry (18)

•God’s mercies (19–25)

•The people’s disobedience (26)

•God’s discipline and salvation (27)

•The people’s evil (28a)

•God’s deliverance (28b)

•The people’s stiff necks (29)

•God’s patience, judgment, and mercy (30–31)

Since it is the Lord who forgives, forgets, and wipes out sins, let us confess our sins to him in order to obtain pardon. He is the physician; therefore, let us lay bare our wounds to him. It is he who is hurt and offended; from him let us seek peace. He is the discerner of hearts, the one cognizant of all thoughts; let us has ten to pour out our hearts before him. He it is, finally, who calls sinners: let us not delay to come to God himself. - John Calvin

Briscoe, Stuart. The Preacher's Commentary Series, Volumes 1-35: Genesis - Revelation (Kindle Locations 76718-76722). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.

I really like that phrase, “He is the physician.”

Both of my children was born by CS delivery procedure.

For me, at the back of my mind has some anxiety… I am not in the medical field, so I cannot contemplate the medical procedure…

But one thing that somehow gives me assurance is about the doctor herself...

They have done this before for hundreds of times already…

The same is true with our God.

In our series, Iayos Mo… the goal is to have our lives put into order according to the plan our God in our lives...

Whatever shortcomings, imperfections, problems, bad scenario, whatever SINS that is defiles us, God can fix it…

He has done this already for hundreds of thousands and thousands of lives throughout the centuries...

And God can do it again in your life...

You just need to come to God, without delay… and face the truth...

that we are messed up… there are some parts of our lives that are really messed up..

We might have reasons to defend ourselves why it is like this or like that...

But we need to face the truth that whatever reasons we have, we are really messed up...

And we need God… who is merciful… who is kind… who is patient… who forgives… who loves us with an everlasting love… that he even gave his Son, Jesus, to die on the cross… so that whoever believes in him will not perish… but have everlasting life… will have hope… will have a life that is abundant… not lacking of anything...

Will you come to God… and face the truth?

Lalapit ka ba sa Diyos… upang harapin ang katotohanan… at para maging maayos ang mga bagay na hindi maayos sa iyong buhay?

Here is my Heart by Martin Nymstrom