Nehemiah 9:8-18

8 You found that his heart was faithful to you. You made a promise to him to give the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Jebusites, and Girgashites to his descendants. You kept your promise because you are fair.
9 You saw how our ancestors suffered in Egypt, and you heard them crying at the Red Sea.
10 You performed miraculous signs and did amazing things to Pharaoh and all his servants and all the people in his land because you knew how arrogantly they were treating our ancestors. You made a name for yourself, a name which remains to this day.
11 You divided the sea in front of them so that they could walk through the sea on dry ground. You threw into deep water those who pursued your people as someone throws a stone into raging water.
12 You led them during the day by a column of smoke and during the night by a column of fire to give them light to see the way they should go.
13 You came from heaven to Mount Sinai and spoke with them from heaven. You gave them fair rules, trustworthy teachings, and good laws and commandments.
14 You taught them about your holy day of worship. You gave them commandments, laws, and teachings through your servant Moses.
15 You gave them bread from heaven to satisfy their hunger and made water flow from a rock to quench their thirst. You told them to take possession of the land that you swore you would give them.
16 But they--our own ancestors--acted arrogantly. They became stubborn and wouldn't obey your commands.
17 They refused to listen. They forgot the miracles you performed for them. They became stubborn and appointed a leader to take them back to slavery [in Egypt]. But you are a forgiving God, one who is compassionate, merciful, patient, and always ready to forgive. You never abandoned them,
18 even when they made a metal statue of a calf for themselves and said, 'This is your god who took you out of Egypt.' They committed outrageous sins.

Nehemiah 9:8-18 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO NEHEMIAH 9

In this chapter we have an account of a fast kept by the Jews, which was observed, as by outward acts of humiliation, so by confession of sin, reading the law, and worshipping the Lord, Ne 9:1-3 and of a long prayer that the Levites made, in which they celebrate the divine perfections, take notice of various instances of the goodness of God to the people of Israel, acknowledge their manifold transgressions, observe the Lord's correction of them for them, in which they own he was righteous, Ne 9:4-38.

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