Nehemiah 9 Study Notes

 This chapter teaches us primarily about four things:

1.       The character of effective prayer

2.       The character of the Bible

3.       The nature of humanity

4.       The nature of God

 

I.          Effective Prayer

What kind of prayer is included in this chapter? Is it honest? (Yes.) What is the source of the content of this prayer? (The Bible and Redemptive History.) Does this prayer include confession and repentance? (Yes.) Does it include adoration of God? (Yes.) Does it include thanksgiving? (Yes.) Does it include supplication (direct petitions for God to act)? (No, it focuses on the actions of people–recommitment to the covenant.) Compare this prayer to advertising, social media, or a resume. How often do you see an accurate description of centuries of failure, rebellion, and lawbreaking in these other resources? (Never.) This is not a press release, a myth, or a fairy tale. This is what Alan Jackson sang about in the song, “Here in the Real World.” Raw, unvarnished true truth is what we find in the Bible and what we find in effective prayer. Confession of sin requires honesty and not mislabeling or downplaying how harmful the sin and rebellion was. This is a corporate public prayer by the spiritual leaders of the assembly.

II.        The Bible

Nehemiah uses a number of terms to describe sections of the Bible.

·        Upright judgments (mishpatim) Civil laws [vs. 13]

·        True Laws (torah) moral instructions that can be taught with a story as well as direct commandment (e.g. Noah, Lot, Nadab, Abihu–consequences of drunkenness) [vs. 13]

·        Good statutes (ḥōq) purity regulations and worship rules {Ceremonial law} [vs. 13]. See the end of Leviticus 26.

·        Commandments (mitsvah) moral laws which include the Ten Commandments [vs. 13]

·        Holy Sabbath (shabbat) The 7^th day, Friday 6pm to Saturday 6pm, a day of rest and worship, but the command also required work on the other 6 days [vs.14]

·        God commanded (verb) commandments (mitsvah), statutes (ḥōq), law (torah). Using these three terms together is for all the content of the first four books of the Bible written by Moses. [vs. 14]

·        Testimonies (edut) technical term for the Ten Commandments

Nehemiah believed the Bible made clear how a person could please God. He believed its witness that Yahweh created the universe in seven days. He believed all the prophets’ descriptions of the behavior of the people. The Bible is a reliable source of truth in a world of falsehoods and errors. Good leaders, such as Nehemiah and Jesus, trust the Bible.

III.     The Nature of Humanity

A. Compromising with pagans, sinning (intentional and unintentional), committing iniquities (directly violating commandments)

B. Act presumptuously (rebelliously proud), stiff-necked, refusing to listen, forgetting God’s wondrous deeds

C. Idol makers, blasphemers, disobedient, rebellious, throwing God’s word away, murdering God’s prophets, returning to do evil, sinning against civil laws

D. Stubborn shoulder and stiff-necked (rebellious), acting wickedly, not following biblical instruction, not paying attention to moral laws, especially the Ten Words

E. Not serving Yahweh (obeying, following, worshipping), not repenting of their evil deeds (U-turn)

IV.    The Nature of God–W. Wiersbe, commentary, Chapter 9: “Amazing Grace”

A. The Greatness of God vs. 1-6 (W. 120-123)

1.  He receives our worship

2. He is God alone

3. He created the universe

4. He providentially cares for His creation

5. The angels of heaven worship Him

B. The Goodness of God vs. 7-30 (W. 123-127)

1) Forming the nation of Israel

2) Leading the nation of Israel

3) Discipling the nation of Israel

C. The Grace of God vs. 31-38 (W. 127-129)

1) Abundant compassion (raḥamim) [noun] Only used 39 times (1Kgs 3:26), often used as kindness, favor, mercy, or merciful love, once for a mother’s love for a baby [vs. 19, 27, 28, 31]

2) Gracious (ḥannun) [adj.] Used only 13 times but related to the noun in Gen 6:8 (ḥan) “Noah found grace in the eyes of Yahweh”

3) Compassionate (raḥum) [adj.] Used only in 13 verses

4) Keeps covenant (berit) [noun] faithful no matter what [used in 265 verses]

5) Lovingkindness (ḥesed) [noun] faithful love, covenant love, volitional gracious kindness [used in 239 verses]