Nehemiah 9:19-38
Q.1. How well did God look after His people in their wilderness journeys? Did this stop after their conquest of the Promised Land? – (Neh.9:19-25)
God generously provided for His people in their wilderness journeys for forty years. They were led supernaturally and had sufficient food and clothing (Neh.9:19-21). God gave them victory over all their enemies and – You made their sons numerous as the stars of heaven, and You brought them into the land which You had told their fathers to enter and possess (Neh.9:23). This provision continued even after they entered the Promised Land – They captured fortified cities and a fertile land. They took possession of houses full of every good thing, hewn cisterns, vineyards, olive groves, fruit trees in abundance. So they ate, were filled, and grew fat, and revelled in Your great goodness (Neh.9:25).
Q.2. How did Israel show their appreciation to God? What attitudinal pattern did Israel display? Why did God not make an end of them? – (Neh.9:26-31)
You would expect appreciation. Instead, Israel rebelled. When God sent His servants to bring them back, they killed their prophets (Neh.9:26). What followed was a pattern of crying to God for deliverance, then divine intervention, then turning back to a life of sin and idolatry (Neh.9:27-30). Their continuance in the land was a reflection of God – … in Your great compassion You did not make an end of them or forsake them, for You are a gracious and compassionate God (Neh.9:31).
Q.3. How was God justified in the way He had treated the past generations? What was the reason for the Covenant the people were entering into? – (Neh.9:32-38)
Nehemiah acknowledged God’s justice in the captivity of His people – You are just in all that has come upon us; For You have dealt faithfully, but we have acted wickedly (Neh.9:33). He blamed past kings, leaders, priests, and people for their failure to respond to God’s admonitions, thus forfeiting God’s abundant land (Neh.9:34-35). The present generation had also departed from God’s directions. Now they were entering into a Covenant to return to the Lord and His ways – “Now because of all this we are making an agreement in writing; And on the sealed document are the names of our leaders, our Levites and our priests.” (Neh.9:38). This was a serious attempt to correct the sins of the past.