Nehemiah 9:9-38 - Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible

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Bible Comments

The Levites' Plea On The Basis Of God's Past Mercies (Nehemiah 9:9-38).

The Levites now reminded God that He had been faithful to His covenant throughout their history, declared their recognition of His constant goodness, and of His continuing munificence towards them, confessed their own failures and the failures of their fathers, which had occurred again and again, and reminded Him how He had continued faithful, clearly expressing the hope that He would continue to do so.

The confession was made in great detail. It was not just a reiteration of their history. Every agonised verse was spoken from the heart. They felt the great burden of guilt that was on them as a result of their nations behaviour and attitude towards God. The words may well have been spoken with weeping. We are not to see them as just a liturgical formula. They were a deep felt confession of sin every step of the way, and a continual acknowledgement of how good God had been towards them as His people.

Themes lying behind their words include the fact:

· That men had continually ‘dealt proudly', both the Egyptians (Nehemiah 9:10) and their own fathers (Nehemiah 9:16; Nehemiah 9:29), in being flagrantly disobedient to God;

· That God had given His people ‘possession of the land' (Nehemiah 9:15; Nehemiah 9:22-24).

· That God had constantly supplied them with an abundance of good things both before and after entering the land (Nehemiah 9:15; Nehemiah 9:20-21; Nehemiah 9:25; Nehemiah 9:35-37).

· That God had constantly watched over them and protected them (Nehemiah 9:12; Nehemiah 9:19).

· That God had constantly sent His Spirit in His prophets with them to guide and inspire them (Nehemiah 9:20; Nehemiah 9:26; Nehemiah 9:30).

· That God had constantly instructed them in His Law (Nehemiah 9:13-14; Nehemiah 9:20; Nehemiah 9:26; Nehemiah 9:29).

· That the people had nevertheless constantly rebelled against Him (Nehemiah 9:16; Nehemiah 9:18; Nehemiah 9:26; Nehemiah 9:28; Nehemiah 9:30; Nehemiah 9:34) so that He had to endure great provocations (Nehemiah 9:18; Nehemiah 9:26).

· That God had constantly in turn delivered them (Nehemiah 9:10-11; Nehemiah 9:27-28; Nehemiah 9:31).

· Each central main section ends with the thought that God had not forsaken them (Nehemiah 9:17; Nehemiah 9:31).

In the light of this they cried to God to now observe their present situation, indicating that while they acknowledged how as a people they had rebelled constantly against Him, refusing to keep His Law and observe His commandments, yet they His people were but servants in a land that should have been theirs, ruled over by others who partook of its fruits. They did not possess the land as He had promised Abram.

The passage is divided up into three main sections, which can then be divided into subsections. The dividing points between these three sections are indicated by expressions of worship to God, which include the thought that he had not forsaken them.

· The first section depicts God's gracious activity on behalf of His people, and the fact that nevertheless they had rebelled against Him, and ends with the words, ‘you are a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abundant in covenant love, and forsook them not' (Nehemiah 9:17 b).

· The second section reiterates God's gracious activity on behalf of His people, and again repeats how they had continually rebelled against Him, and ends with the words, ‘nevertheless in your manifold mercies you did not make a full end of them, nor forsake them, for you are a gracious and merciful God' (Nehemiah 9:31).

· The final section commences with the words ‘now therefore our God, the great, the mighty and the terrible God, who keeps covenant and covenant love', confesses the more recent failure and rebellion of their fathers, and reminds Him that because of it they stand before Him as those who are servants of an alien monarch, who takes the best of what the land produces. While living in the land, they do not possess the land. It and they are ruled over by another. And it ends with the assurance that they are nevertheless about to make a covenant with Him (Nehemiah 9:38).

We must now look at these sections in more detail:

1). Seeing His people in affliction in Egypt God had delivered them with great power from the hand of the foreign oppressor Pharaoh, had granted them His covenant at Sinai, had continually made wonderful provision for them, and had commanded them to ‘go in and possess the land' (Nehemiah 9:9-15). Nevertheless in their arrogance they had rebelled against Him, and had determined rather to go back into bondage (Nehemiah 9:16-17).

(We can compare with this how the returnees were also in affliction (Nehemiah 1:3), and were under the hand of a foreign oppressor (Nehemiah 9:36-37), but they yet awaited full deliverance, for while God had brought them safely to the land, in their case they did not possess it. Yet it was now their intention to make a covenant hoping that God would respond (Nehemiah 9:38). They did not want to remain in bondage).

2a). In spite of the fact that their fathers had rebelled against Him in the wilderness in the matter, for example, of the golden calf, God did not withdraw His covenant mercy from them, but sustained them throughout their time in the wilderness, and subdued kings before them so that they could possess the land. The result was that ‘the children of Israel went in and possessed the land' and prospered greatly. God's promises and purposes were coming to fruition in spite of His people's failures (Nehemiah 9:16-25).

2b). But even when they were settled in the land they had rebelled again and again, had neglected His Law and had slain His prophets. Nevertheless God was faithful and raised up deliverers for them, and sought to bring them back to His Law. Yet they still rebelled against His life-giving judgments, and rejected the work of His Spirit through the prophets, not being willing to listen, and were therefore given into the hands of the peoples of the lands. God, however, did not make a full end of them, because He is a gracious and merciful God (Nehemiah 9:26-31).

3). That the great, mighty and terrible (awesome) God Who had constantly kept covenant and mercy would not overlook the afflictions of His people since the time of the Assyrians (their first experience of ‘world' empire). Not that they blamed Him for it, for they acknowledged that they had received what was just because of their disobedience. But they prayed that He would observe their present position, in the land which He had promised to Abraham, in that it provided its fruit to others than God's people, so that they were subservient to them. Nevertheless they wanted Him to observe that they were now about to renew the covenant (Nehemiah 9:32-38).

Notice that the first section ends with the arrogance of their fathers which had caused them not to listen to God's commandments, with the consequence that they had not been mindful of His wonders, but had rather been arrogant (notice the repetition of ‘hardened their neck'), and in their arrogance had appointed their own ‘captain' in order to return to their bondage. The second section ends with their refusal to hear the voice of His Spirit, with the result that they were given into the hands of the peoples of the lands. And both these are contrasted with the returnees themselves, who, while suffering for the disobedience of their fathers, and being servants in a land which did not belong to them, were nevertheless about to renew the covenant with Him.

Related Commentaries of Nehemiah 9:9

Nehemiah 9:9-38

9 And didst see the affliction of our fathers in Egypt, and heardest their cry by the Red sea;

10 And shewedst signs and wonders upon Pharaoh, and on all his servants, and on all the people of his land: for thou knewest that they dealt proudly against them. So didst thou get thee a name, as it is this day.

11 And thou didst divide the sea before them, so that they went through the midst of the sea on the dry land; and their persecutors thou threwest into the deeps, as a stone into the mighty waters.

12 Moreover thou leddest them in the day by a cloudy pillar; and in the night by a pillar of fire, to give them light in the way wherein they should go.

13 Thou camest down also upon mount Sinai, and spakest with them from heaven, and gavest them right judgments, and truec laws, good statutes and commandments:

14 And madest known unto them thy holy sabbath, and commandedst them precepts, statutes, and laws, by the hand of Moses thy servant:

15 And gavest them bread from heaven for their hunger, and broughtest forth water for them out of the rock for their thirst, and promisedst them that they should go in to possess the land which thou hadst sworn to give them.

16 But they and our fathers dealt proudly, and hardened their necks, and hearkened not to thy commandments,

17 And refused to obey, neither were mindful of thy wonders that thou didst among them; but hardened their necks, and in their rebellion appointed a captain to return to their bondage: but thou art a Godd ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and forsookest them not.

18 Yea, when they had made them a molten calf, and said, This is thy God that brought thee up out of Egypt, and had wrought great provocations;

19 Yet thou in thy manifold mercies forsookest them not in the wilderness: the pillar of the cloud departed not from them by day, to lead them in the way; neither the pillar of fire by night, to shew them light, and the way wherein they should go.

20 Thou gavest also thy good spirit to instruct them, and withheldest not thy manna from their mouth, and gavest them water for their thirst.

21 Yea, forty years didst thou sustain them in the wilderness, so that they lacked nothing; their clothes waxed not old, and their feet swelled not.

22 Moreover thou gavest them kingdoms and nations, and didst divide them into corners: so they possessed the land of Sihon, and the land of the king of Heshbon, and the land of Og king of Bashan.

23 Their children also multipliedst thou as the stars of heaven, and broughtest them into the land, concerning which thou hadst promised to their fathers, that they should go in to possess it.

24 So the children went in and possessed the land, and thou subduedst before them the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, and gavest them into their hands, with their kings, and the people of the land, that they might do with them as they would.

25 And they took strong cities, and a fat land, and possessed houses full of all goods, wellse digged, vineyards, and oliveyards, and fruit trees in abundance: so they did eat, and were filled, and became fat, and delighted themselves in thy great goodness.

26 Nevertheless they were disobedient, and rebelled against thee, and cast thy law behind their backs, and slew thy prophets which testified against them to turn them to thee, and they wrought great provocations.

27 Therefore thou deliveredst them into the hand of their enemies, who vexed them: and in the time of their trouble, when they cried unto thee, thou heardest them from heaven; and according to thy manifold mercies thou gavest them saviours, who saved them out of the hand of their enemies.

28 But after they had rest, they didf evil again before thee: therefore leftest thou them in the hand of their enemies, so that they had the dominion over them: yet when they returned, and cried unto thee, thou heardest them from heaven; and many times didst thou deliver them according to thy mercies;

29 And testifiedst against them, that thou mightest bring them again unto thy law: yet they dealt proudly, and hearkened not unto thy commandments, but sinned against thy judgments, (which if a man do, he shall live in them;) and withdrewg the shoulder, and hardened their neck, and would not hear.

30 Yet many years didst thou forbearh them, and testifiedst against them by thy spirit in thy prophets: yet would they not give ear: therefore gavest thou them into the hand of the people of the lands.

31 Nevertheless for thy great mercies' sake thou didst not utterly consume them, nor forsake them; for thou art a gracious and merciful God.

32 Now therefore, our God, the great, the mighty, and the terrible God, who keepest covenant and mercy, let not all the troublei seem little before thee, that hath come upon us, on our kings, on our princes, and on our priests, and on our prophets, and on our fathers, and on all thy people, since the time of the kings of Assyria unto this day.

33 Howbeit thou art just in all that is brought upon us; for thou hast done right, but we have done wickedly:

34 Neither have our kings, our princes, our priests, nor our fathers, kept thy law, nor hearkened unto thy commandments and thy testimonies, wherewith thou didst testify against them.

35 For they have not served thee in their kingdom, and in thy great goodness that thou gavest them, and in the large and fat land which thou gavest before them, neither turned they from their wicked works.

36 Behold, we are servants this day, and for the land that thou gavest unto our fathers to eat the fruit thereof and the good thereof, behold, we are servants in it:

37 And it yieldeth much increase unto the kings whom thou hast set over us because of our sins: also they have dominion over our bodies, and over our cattle, at their pleasure, and we are in great distress.

38 And because of all this we make a sure covenant, and write it; and our princes, Levites, and priests, sealj unto it.