Nehemiah 9

CHAPTER 9

The Israelites Confess Their Sins (9:1–38)

1–4 A week or so after their celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles (Nehemiah 8:1618), the Israelites gathered together again to publicly confess their sins. In order to demonstrate to God their deep sorrow and distress, they fasted, wore sackcloth, and put dust on their heads—all expressions of humility, mourning and repentance (verse 1).

5–6 The rest of this chapter consists of a beautiful and moving prayer, probably spoken by Ezra. In the prayer, the speaker describes how God had been faithful to His covenant with the Israelites throughout their history, in spite of their own repeated unfaithfulness to Him. The speaker begins his prayer of confession by praising the One who alone is Lord, who created the universe and everything in it, and who is worshiped by the multitudes of heaven—that is, by ANGELS (verses 5–6). True confession begins with a renewed sense of God’s greatness and goodness. As one reflects on God’s HOLINESS and love, one’s heart becomes broken and contrite (Psalm 51:17); God is always pleased to hear the confession of such a heart.

7–31 In these verses, the speaker reviews God’s gracious dealings with the nation of Israel at every stage of its history. He describes the calling of ABRAHAM (verses 78), the deliverance from EGYPT (verses 911), the forty years in the wilderness (verses 12–21), the conquest of Canaan (verses 2225), the period of the judges (verses 26–28), and the final warnings of the PROPHETS before the Exile (verses 29–31). Throughout his prayer, the speaker highlights the abounding love of God for His disobedient people.²¹

32–35 Now therefore . . . Here the speaker turns to the present and acknowledges that God has been completely just in His dealings with the Israelites (verse 33). In these verses, the speaker pours out his confession to God for the sins committed by the people of Israel.

36–37 The speaker ends his prayer with a reference to the present plight of the Jews: “. . . we are slaves today” (verse 36). They were “slaves” in their own promised land that had been given by God to their forefathers. They were slaves because they were a people subject to the kings of Persia (Ezra 9:9), who took as taxes much of the land’s abundant harvest (verse 37).

38 The people agreed with the speaker’s prayer of confession; this confession, together with the reading of the Law, was an essential step in the spiritual restoration of the people. The people, through their leaders, were now ready to renew their covenant with God: “In view of all this, we are making a binding agreement.” For people to be truly restored, all three of these elements need to be present: the study of God’s word, the confession of sin, and the making of a commitment—a commitment to obey God’s covenant commands.²²

But there is a fourth element necessary for true spiritual restoration, and that is the actual keeping of the commitments one makes. That’s the hard part; only by keeping our commitments can we demonstrate the genuineness of our FAITH (James 2:14,17–18).Too many times we go to church services and conferences and are moved and blessed, but then we do not obey what we have heard. God wants our good intentions to be translated into changed behavior, changed lives; then we will know that we belong to Him (Matthew 7:21).