Confession Response

Introduction

Confession

Nehemiah 9:1–5 ESV

1 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. 3 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. 4 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. 5 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.

Nehemiah 9:

Prayer of Praise

We are walking into a section of Scripture that is the most comprehensive storyline of the OT in the OT.

Nehemiah 9:1 ESV

1 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.

Nehemiah 9:6–15 ESV

6 “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. 7 You are the Lord, the God who chose Abram and brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans and gave him the name Abraham. 8 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. 9 “And you saw the affliction of our fathers in Egypt and heard their cry at the Red Sea, 10 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. 11 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. 12 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. 13 You came down on Mount Sinai and spoke with them from heaven and gave them right rules and true laws, good statutes and commandments, 14 and you made known to them your holy Sabbath and commanded them commandments and statutes and a law by Moses your servant. 15 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.

Nehemiah 9:

Nehemiah 9:6 ESV

6 “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.

Creation is seen starting with God as Yahweh. The first sentence mirrors . “Hear, O Isreal: Yahweh our God, Yahweh is one.” There is but one God and he stands alone. This is the basis for prayer and praise.

Creation is seen starting with God as Yahweh. The first sentence mirrors . “Hear, O Isreal: Yahweh our God, Yahweh is one.” There is but one God and he stands alone. This is the basis for prayer and praise.

Then there is a quick summary of in the rest of verse six. Praise of God begins by acknowledging that He alone deserves credit for this fantastic world. Right now think of how beautiful the trees have been during their transition from summer to winter. How magnificent their beauty, how amazing is the tree that it seemingly dies every year and comes back to life. And I get annoyed at how many of God’s testimonies I have to clean up. God deserves praise more than we give Him.

Nehemiah 9:7 ESV

7 You are the Lord, the God who chose Abram and brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans and gave him the name Abraham.

Nehemiah

The Covenant with Abraham is next in the storyline recalled. How God calls us and recreates us.

Nehemiah 9:8 ESV

8 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.

Nehemiah 9:

Speaking of Abraham he was found faithful. puts it this way, “And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness. We have an important connection here. If you don’t believe that God is the one to be obeyed, you will not carry out the duties given to you. Faithfulness comes when we believe the one who is over us. Abraham was righteous by faith and that faith proved itself in action. He did what God said because He believed God.

How are we doing at believing God is who He says He is? How are we at being found faithful in action because we trust the one giving us the commands?

Then notice a key theme through this section of praise…You have kept your promise, for You are righteous. God does all that He says he will do.

This is where belief and faith come together for us. If we believe God will do all that he says He will do then we will obey all that He says. Do we trust God and do we believe His promises? Does your life support your answer?

Next we have the Exodus and Wilderness Wondering.

Nehemiah 9:9–15 ESV

9 “And you saw the affliction of our fathers in Egypt and heard their cry at the Red Sea, 10 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. 11 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. 12 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. 13 You came down on Mount Sinai and spoke with them from heaven and gave them right rules and true laws, good statutes and commandments, 14 and you made known to them your holy Sabbath and commanded them commandments and statutes and a law by Moses your servant. 15 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.

Nehemiah 9:9 ESV

9 “And you saw the affliction of our fathers in Egypt and heard their cry at the Red Sea,

Nehemiah 9:9-

One of the most historically significant moments for Israel is the deliverance God provided from captivity and the way he guided them to the promised land.

And their history is our history. We are the people of God. He did this to our ancestors in the faith. Deliverance is a key theme in the bible. Do not allow us to read this story detached. REMEMBER: this is a prayer of praise where Nehemiah and the people, and we God’s people as well recall the faithfulness of God.

As we move on through the rest of Israel’s and our history in this storyline summary of the Old Testament. Let us not forget that we too have a history of unfaithfulness. And perhaps it would be beneficial for us to recall where we come from and how amazing it is that God has brought us to the place where we are.

What makes us worthy of God’s grace? What makes us worthy of forgiveness? What made Israel worthy? Yet God is gracious. So as we walk through this next section think of how you are like the people in this retelling of the OT and see how good and gracious God is.

Nehemiah 9:16 ESV

16 “But they and our fathers acted presumptuously and stiffened their neck and did not obey your commandments.

Nehemiah

The idea of presumptuously in the verse should be understood as arrogantly. It is the same word used to describe Egyptians attitudes during the plagues and captivity of the nation of Israel. What happened the became stiff necked and did not obey God’s commands.

Now remember this society was primarily one of agriculture. The word picture is of a cow or mule becoming abstinent, refusing to obey the farmer.

Perhaps a good illustration for us is the man or woman refusing to make eye contact when you need to merge in traffic. Or perhaps it could be compared to the kid who gives you the million mile stare while refusing to heed any command you have given them.

I cannot help but think this imagery is intentional as the golden calf worship will soon be mentioned.

Nehemiah 9:17 ESV

17 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.

They refused to obey still and take stock of all that God had done for them.

Do you feel conviction over sin? If not, might I say bluntly that you are doing what the people of God did in this passage. You are stiff necked, refusing to obey, and not mindful of what God has done for you.

Perhaps the best thing that can be done at this point is for all of us to take stock of all that God has done for us. Starting from the beginning…God has made you in His image. What all has He done for you in your life? I know this much…He has allowed you to have another day to feel your way towards Him. Recounting all the good things God has done for us brings to bear how heinous all our sin is.

God freed His people from slavery and their response was to appoint a leader and head back to slavery. This makes no sense

And this is exactly how sin is. Sin is stupid. It lures us back with empty promises. Then sin causes us to be worse off then we were. What sin do you struggle with? What seems so good that you keep going back to it?

But we have this beautiful picture of God.

God is ready to forgive, gracious and slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love, not forsaking them.

Don’t believe the lie that God won’t forgive, that His anger burns white hot at you. Rather replace the lies with truth. God is ready to forgive…as Isreal heard this, it must have brought comfort, as you hear it, you should be comforted.

In this prayer of praise the Levites leading the people will repeat the cycle of how good God is, how sinful we are, because this pattern is the truth they want the people to grasp. Life is a struggle with sin, letting it go and embracing the new life we have in Christ.

Nehemiah 9:18–19 ESV

18 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, 19 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.

Nehemiah 9:18-

Nehemiah 9:19

Nehemiah 9:19–21 ESV

19 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. 20 You gave your good Spirit to instruct them and did not withhold your manna from their mouth and gave them water for their thirst. 21 Forty years you sustained them in the wilderness, and they lacked nothing. Their clothes did not wear out and their feet did not swell.

Notice the sin of the people and the goodness of God. Though they worshipped an image made by their own hands, God led them.

In what ways is God still gracious to us? What do you have that you don’t deserve? What have you done that entitles you to anything you have?

At this point in the storyline, the Levites have summarized the first 5 books of the OT. Now they will move on to Joshua.

Nehemiah 9:22–25 ESV

22 “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. 23 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. 24 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. 25 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.

God’s goodness and faithfulness are on display. God gave them all that they could want here on earth.

What more could God give us on earth? Think of how we eat, and how we live…we complain about technology not working, and bills stacking up…but we aren’t concerned about how are we going to make it through today…because we have it better than any other generation before us…or do we?

The levites in recalling all this are setting the people of God, both in Nehemiah’s day and us up to be reminded of how we treat God’s graciousness.

Nehemiah 9:26–27 ESV

26 “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. 27 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.

Nehemiah 9:26-

Now the book of Judges is summarized. Though God gave them the land, they rebelled and were conquered. But judges were given to deliver the people from their oppression. They were saved by God providing “saviors” to deliver them from the hand of their enemy.

How has God continuously delivered you? What situations do you get yourself in by disobeying God, suffering the consequences, and then crying out to God? Relational disharmony…Financial trouble…Spiritual Growth trouble?

Nehemiah 9:28 ESV

28 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 9:28

Do we see the pattern in us and in Israel. God delivers us from our situation, we are grateful, but soon after go back into disobeying God. We get in a bad place and cry out to God, He delivers us from our situation, we are grateful, but soon after go back to disobeying God.

Now this next section of the storyline of the OT recalled takes us through the prophets during the reign of the kings.

Nehemiah 9:29–30 ESV

29 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. 30 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.

Nehemiah

I want to point out one key truth. This section along with the others are not saying that legalism to the law is right. Rather to enjoy the blessings of the covenant God has made, this is what is required. The only way for you and I to be faithful to God is through His faithfulness to us.

Why do I strive to keep the commands of Jesus because I want the blessings of being an adopted son. I love to do what God asks, because God first loved me through the life, death, burial, and resurrection of His Son.

The final section covers the exile they are partially in.

Nehemiah 9:31 ESV

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.

What we should hear from this verse as Israel did is, “Don’t be discouraged by disobedience in your life.” Rather let the amazing and abundant mercy of God highlight how great he is. Celebrate His forgiveness, don’t mourn the fact you need forgiveness again.

Think just for a moment about the just and right penalty for your sin. If we were to be altogether found out…everything we have said, done, or thought put out their…what would we deserve from God? WE would be ended…there is no loop hole to get us out of the kind of trouble we would be in.

A Plea of Repentance

We need to be reminded the turning from sin is not a one time thing. We are forgiven once for all, but we must acknowledge our sin as apart of our sanctification.

Imagine growing up in your family and the first major blow up you had with someone else you apologized and then had the expectation at the next blow up that the last apology covered this new blow up. While families always love each other, we still need to be humble acknowledge our part even though our membership in the family is not at stake.

Nehemiah 9:32–38 ESV

32 “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. 33 Yet you have been righteous in all that has come upon us, for you have dealt faithfully and we have acted wickedly. 34 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. 35 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. 36 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. 37 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. 38 “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.

Here is the current situation of Israel. How should we repent?

Notice that their plea of repentance starts with honoring God. He is great, mighty and awesome. He keep covenant and steadfast love. He has been righteous, He has dealt faithfully...

First, If you don’t see your sin it is because you don’t see God in proper perspective.

I remember a comedian telling the story about mom always getting the brunt of the antic his brother and he would get into. And his mother would yell the threat, “You just wait till you dad gets home!” And his response was, “My dad always came home!”

If you don’t see gossip as an issue, your view of God is too small. If little lies are not problem, your view of God is too small. If cheating on your spouse is fine, your view of God is too small. If losing your temper at trivial things like traffic is an issue, your view of God is too small.

Second, Confess fully and completely.

In verses 34-37, Israel admits to what they have done wrong from the greatest to the least and the consequences they have suffered because of their sin.

when is the last time you detached from your current situation and asked what part of this difficulty is a result of my sin?

Third, they made a commitment in the form of a document.

starts then with the list of those who signed the document. the obligations they made in Chapter 10 are what they are promising to do to prove their repentance.

Can we be honest…the hardest part of repenting or apologizing is the behavior change needed to prove we are sorrowful.