Nehemiah 9 – But God…
Nehemiah 8:17–18 (ESV)
17 And all the assembly of those who had returned from the captivity made booths and lived in the booths, for from the days of Jeshua the son of Nun to that day the people of Israel had not done so. And there was very great rejoicing. 18 And day by day, from the first day to the last day, he read from the Book of the Law of God. They kept the feast seven days, and on the eighth day there was a solemn assembly, according to the rule.
Feast of Tabernacles – 8 day festival beginning on the 15th of the month
Nehemiah 9:1-3 (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.
Nehemiah 9:36-37
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.
24th day –
Repentance, mourning over sin – but “the joy of the Lord is your strength” – Tabernacles is time to rejoice, but now there is a time to mourn and weep.
Sackcloth and ashes – purpose? Often made of coarse black goat hair (wear black as sign of mourning)
GOT QUESTIONS -”Very simply, sackcloth and ashes were used as an outward sign of one’s inward condition. Such a symbol made one’s change of heart visible and demonstrated the sincerity of one’s grief and/or repentance. It was not the act of putting on sackcloth and ashes itself that moved God to intervene, but the humility that such an action demonstrated (see 1 Samuel 16:7). God’s forgiveness in response to genuine repentance is celebrated by David’s words: “You removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy” (Psalm 30:11).[1]
Sackcloth – uncomfortable reminder to oneself and outward expression to the world.
SACKCLOTH is the opposite of numbing or escaping
Must enter into the mourning to process it – so yes, enter, don’t run from it.
Matthew 5:3–4 (NLT)
3 “God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him,
for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.
4 God blesses those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
Poor in spirit – not just poor –
Mourning – mourning over their sin.
Nehemiah 9:2 (ESV)
2 And the Israelites separated themselves from all foreigners and stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers.
Separate from all foreigners – read the law and realized they had broken God’s law about intermarrying, embracing the customs and gods of the lands
Confessed – THEIR SINS
INIQUITIES OF THEIR FATHERS
Multiple people confess sins of their fathers –
Nehemiah 1, Daniel 9, others
Context is “our fathers disobeyed and we followed…”
Is this them breaking a generational curse?
Exodus 20:5–6 (CSB)
5 Do not bow in worship to them, and do not serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, bringing the consequences of the fathers’ iniquity on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me, 6 but showing faithful love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commands.
Monkey see, monkey do. Chip off the old block -
Generational curse – if grandparents were masons or in the occult, you need to repent of that and some of your hangups may be because of blood oaths or curses they brought on themselves – THAT IS THE BELIEF
Ezekiel 18:1–2 (ESV)
1 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “What do you mean by repeating this proverb concerning the land of Israel, ‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge’?
Ezekiel 18:1–2 (NLT)
1 Then another message came to me from the Lord: 2 “Why do you quote this proverb concerning the land of Israel: ‘The parents have eaten sour grapes, but their children’s mouths pucker at the taste’?
Ezekiel 18:3–4 (ESV)
3 As I live, declares the Lord God, this proverb shall no more be used by you in Israel. 4 Behold, all souls are mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is mine: the soul who sins shall die.
STOP IT!!!
Ezekiel 18:20 (ESV)
20 The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not suffer for the iniquity of the father, nor the father suffer for the iniquity of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.
John 9:1–2 (ESV)
1 As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
John 9:3 (ESV)
3 Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.
Galatians 3:10–13 (ESV)
10 For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.” 11 Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.” 12 But the law is not of faith, rather “The one who does them shall live by them.” 13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”—
YES – prior to coming to Jesus we were all under the curse of the Law, but in Jesus we have been set from - set free from the curse of the Law!
Generational Curse theology then is really an attack on the GOSPEL!
It is saying you are not really free in Jesus until you say this special prayer or renounce the sins of your ancestors.
The GOSPEL says YOU ARE FREE!
Practically… you can still be influenced by your family of origin.
Alcoholism – if you grow up with it, you see it and unless you fight against it you may embrace it as the escape for your problems.
It only affects you in as so far as you AGREE with it – make covenant with it.
Whether your great grandmother was a witch is irrelevant. HAVE YOU MADE COVENANT WITH THE OCCULT?
Exodus 20:5–6 (CSB)
5 Do not bow in worship to them, and do not serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, bringing the consequences of the fathers’ iniquity on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me, 6 but showing faithful love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commands.
Nehemiah 9:3-5 (ESV)
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.
Public repentance, national revival often accompanied by worship!
Longest prayer in the Bible recounting 1000+ years of Bible history
Nehemiah 9:6-8 (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.
BEGIN RECOUNTING THE PROMISES AND BLESSINGS OF GOD – HIS FAITHFULNESS.
Recite, rehearse, remember God’s promises
Do you have a promises or answered prayer book?
Ebenezer stone – 1 Samuel 7:12 – stone of help
Write the miracle/answered prayer, and date
Nehemiah 9:9-11 (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.
Rehearsing God’s miracles
God saw their affliction, God performed signs and wonders, made a name for yourself.
V> 11 – verse is the basis of the chorus for the song, “No Longer Slaves”
You split the sea so I could walk right through it; my fears were drown in perfect love.”
Song writers – spend time soaking up the word and let it be your inspiration
Nehemiah 9:10b
And you made a name for yourself, as it is to this day.
Nehemiah 9:12-15 (ESV)
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.
SO MUCH – God’s faithfulness, providing for their every need (and even some wants).
Manna
Water from the rock
The Law, commandments, sabbath
Told to go in possess the land
Nehemiah 9:16-17 (ESV)
16 “But they and our fathers acted presumptuously and stiffened their neck and did not obey your commandments. 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.
Stiffened their neck – they had seen the miracles, but they didn’t trust
Remember the 12 spies – and 10 gave bad report – giants, can’t overcome,
Only 2 good report (Joshua and Caleb) –
Stiff necked – I’m not going to look where you want me to look
I’m not going to humble myself before You
Nehemiah 9:17b
But you are a God ready to forgive, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and did not forsake them.
RECOUNTING THE CHARACTER OF THE LORD!
Nehemiah 9:18-21 (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. 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.
2nd time mentioning the cloud by day, pillar of fire by night and manna and water –
God still provides, even when we walk in disobedience,
Even when we are unfaithful, GOD REMAINS FAITHFUL,
The Goodness of God!
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 again – blessed in so many ways
Nehemiah 9:26- (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.
Time of judges – constant back and forth
Killed the prophets who were sent to warn them!
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. 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. 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.
God still gracious – but He disciplines His kids –
Sent into captivity
Stubborn shoulder and stiffened neck –
Are we listening and dependent on the Lord?
Nehemiah 9:32-33 (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.
Recognize what we have done, our fathers, etc. – YOU HAVE BEEN RIGHTEOUS
One of the signs of NOT TRULY Repenting – is blaming others
Here they say:
Nehemiah 9:33 (ESV)
Yet you have been righteous in all that has come upon us, for you have dealt faithfully and we have acted wickedly.
Nehemiah 9:34-37 (ESV)
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.
We are ONCE AGAIN – slaves – to the kings of this land, in bondage, through our own fault – in the land that you had given us.
Nehemiah 9:38 (ESV)
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.
Next chapter goes on to outline their commitment and covenant with God.
EVER FELT LIKE YOU’VE SINNED AGAIN AND WONDERING IF GOD WILL FORGIVE… AGAIN?! HE WILL AND DOES IN JESUS!
What is God calling you to repent of?
Are there things in your past that you have not repented of?
Divorce
Abuse
Abortion
Drugs/alcohol
Gossip/slander
Are you showing repentance, showcasing repentance or ignoring repentance?
Do you need to rehearse and remember God’s faithfulness? Do you need to tell it to your kids?
Do you need to repent of marrying the world?
People struggle with repentance because they either don’t think they can change, don’t think it’s that big of a deal, or are unwilling to make complete sacrifice. Remember the four soils: only three bore fruit that last
“The self-sufficient do not pray. The self satisfied will not pray. The self righteous cannot pray.” - Leonard Ravenhill
Our failure is met by God‘s forgiveness and God‘s faithfulness
Romans 7:14–8:1 (NLT)
14 So the trouble is not with the law, for it is spiritual and good. The trouble is with me, for I am all too human, a slave to sin. 15 I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate. 16 But if I know that what I am doing is wrong, this shows that I agree that the law is good. 17 So I am not the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.
18 And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can’t. 19 I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. 20 But if I do what I don’t want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.
21 I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. 22 I love God’s law with all my heart. 23 But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. 24 Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? 25 Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin.
1 So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.
[1] Got Questions Ministries, Got Questions? Bible Questions Answered (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2002–2013).