WEBVTT - Nehemiah 9:24-38 - The Israelites Rededicate Themselves to God 0:00:02.680 --> 0:00:11.840 Life Audio. How do you faith listeners, and welcome to 0:00:11.840 --> 0:00:15.520 the Bible explained on this lovely, lovely Wednesday morning. I 0:00:15.560 --> 0:00:18.439 almost forgot what day it is. That's how my week 0:00:18.560 --> 0:00:20.920 is going so far. I hope you all have had 0:00:20.960 --> 0:00:23.120 a great start to your week, actually, and I'd love 0:00:23.160 --> 0:00:25.520 to hear from all of you. And if you ever 0:00:25.520 --> 0:00:28.120 have a prayer request, please don't hesitate to reach out. 0:00:28.160 --> 0:00:30.560 You're going to find my contact information listed in the 0:00:30.600 --> 0:00:32.760 description of this episode. And I do read all of 0:00:32.760 --> 0:00:34.600 my emails, so if you send me a prayer request, 0:00:34.600 --> 0:00:36.559 I will read it. I will write you down in 0:00:36.640 --> 0:00:38.639 my prayer journal, and I will pray for you for 0:00:38.840 --> 0:00:41.040 the week. But for today, we're going to be reading 0:00:41.120 --> 0:00:45.160 Niamiah chapter nine and finishing out this beautiful chapter, specifically 0:00:45.159 --> 0:00:49.000 the second half of this prayer that we discussed on Monday. However, 0:00:49.040 --> 0:00:51.120 before we get into this episode, please listen to this 0:00:51.200 --> 0:00:55.760 quick sponsored ad. Thank you everyone for listening to that 0:00:55.800 --> 0:00:58.960 sponsored ad. And now let's go ahead and read Namiah 0:00:59.080 --> 0:01:02.680 nine together and finish out this chapter. We'll be reading 0:01:02.800 --> 0:01:06.000 verses twenty four through thirty eight together. I'll be reading 0:01:06.000 --> 0:01:10.360 as usual from the web. So the children went in 0:01:10.400 --> 0:01:13.080 and possessed the land, and you subdued before them the 0:01:13.120 --> 0:01:16.360 inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, and gave them into 0:01:16.360 --> 0:01:19.160 their hands with their kings and the peoples of the land, 0:01:19.480 --> 0:01:22.000 that they might do with them as they pleased. They 0:01:22.000 --> 0:01:25.280 took fortified cities in a rich land, and possessed houses 0:01:25.319 --> 0:01:29.800 full of all good things, cisterns, dugout vineyards, olive groves, 0:01:29.840 --> 0:01:33.120 and fruit trees in abundance, so they ate were filled, 0:01:33.280 --> 0:01:37.720 became fat, and delighted themselves in your great goodness. Nevertheless, 0:01:37.800 --> 0:01:41.160 they were disobedient and rebelled against you, cast your law 0:01:41.240 --> 0:01:44.840 behind their back, killed your prophets that testified against them, 0:01:44.840 --> 0:01:48.480 to turn them again to you, and they committed awful blasphemies. 0:01:48.960 --> 0:01:52.000 Therefore you delivered them into the hand of their adversaries, 0:01:52.160 --> 0:01:54.800 who distressed them in the time of their trouble. When 0:01:54.800 --> 0:01:57.880 they cried to you, you heard from heaven, and according 0:01:57.920 --> 0:02:01.520 to your manifold mercies, you gave them saviors, who saved 0:02:01.560 --> 0:02:04.280 them out of the hand of their adversaries. But after 0:02:04.320 --> 0:02:07.560 they had rest, they did evil again before you. Therefore 0:02:07.600 --> 0:02:09.840 you left them in the hands of their enemies, so 0:02:09.919 --> 0:02:12.280 that they had the dominion over them. Yet when they 0:02:12.360 --> 0:02:15.040 returned and cried to you, you heard from heaven, and 0:02:15.160 --> 0:02:18.000 many times you delivered them according to your mercies, and 0:02:18.080 --> 0:02:21.000 testified against them, that you might bring them again to 0:02:21.080 --> 0:02:23.840 your law. Yet they were arrogant and didn't listen to 0:02:23.840 --> 0:02:27.280 your commandments, but sinned against your ordinances, which if any 0:02:27.280 --> 0:02:30.240 man does, he shall live in them turned their backs, 0:02:30.360 --> 0:02:33.800 stiffen their neck, and would not hear. Yet many years 0:02:33.800 --> 0:02:35.880 you put up with them and testified against them by 0:02:35.960 --> 0:02:38.840 your spirit through your prophets. Yet they would not listen. 0:02:39.320 --> 0:02:41.480 Therefore you gave them into the hand of the peoples 0:02:41.480 --> 0:02:45.040 of the lands. Nevertheless, in your manifold mercies, you didn't 0:02:45.120 --> 0:02:47.920 make a full end of them, nor forsake them. For 0:02:48.040 --> 0:02:51.359 you are a gracious and a merciful God. Now, therefore, 0:02:51.400 --> 0:02:54.280 our God, the Great and the Mighty and the awesome God, 0:02:54.480 --> 0:02:58.040 who keeps covenant and loving kindness, don't let all the 0:02:58.080 --> 0:03:00.880 travail seem little before you, that is on us, on 0:03:01.000 --> 0:03:03.920 our kings, on our princes, on our priests, and on 0:03:03.960 --> 0:03:06.720 our prophets, on our fathers, and on all your people, 0:03:07.080 --> 0:03:10.600 since the time of the kings of Assyria to this day. However, 0:03:10.919 --> 0:03:13.320 you are just in all that has come on us, 0:03:13.560 --> 0:03:17.160 For you have dealt truly, but we have done wickedly. Also, 0:03:17.200 --> 0:03:19.840 our kings and our princes, our priests, and our fathers 0:03:19.840 --> 0:03:23.359 have not kept your law, nor listened to your commandments 0:03:23.360 --> 0:03:26.920 and your testimonies with which you testified against them. For 0:03:27.000 --> 0:03:29.600 they have not served you in their kingdom and in 0:03:29.639 --> 0:03:31.720 your great goodness that you gave them, and in the 0:03:31.800 --> 0:03:34.520 large and rich land which you gave before them, they 0:03:34.560 --> 0:03:38.200 didn't turn from their wicked works. Behold, we are servants today. 0:03:38.600 --> 0:03:40.320 And as for the land that you gave to our 0:03:40.360 --> 0:03:43.240 fathers to eat its fruit and its good, behold, we 0:03:43.320 --> 0:03:46.200 are servants in it. It yields much increase to the 0:03:46.280 --> 0:03:48.760 kings whom you have set over us because of our sins. 0:03:49.360 --> 0:03:51.760 Also they have power over our bodies and over our 0:03:51.800 --> 0:03:55.000 livestock at their pleasure, and we are in great distress. 0:03:55.400 --> 0:03:58.400 Yet for all this we make a sure covenant and 0:03:58.520 --> 0:04:01.760 write it, and our princes, our levites, and our priests 0:04:01.920 --> 0:04:05.880 seal it. So this is the end of the beautiful 0:04:05.920 --> 0:04:08.960 prayer that all the Levites are saying to the assembly 0:04:09.080 --> 0:04:12.600 of the Israelites. And it's basically a prayer of repentance, 0:04:12.960 --> 0:04:16.839 a prayer of remembrance of the history of Israel and 0:04:16.880 --> 0:04:20.640 a prayer of reorientation of the heart, because you know, 0:04:21.440 --> 0:04:24.400 God is so good and the people have not been 0:04:24.440 --> 0:04:27.839 good to God. They've done everything they can essentially to 0:04:27.960 --> 0:04:31.040 sin against God. And so in the first half of 0:04:31.080 --> 0:04:34.600 this prayer it talks about the creation of the universe, 0:04:34.640 --> 0:04:36.839 how good God is, and how he is the creator, 0:04:37.320 --> 0:04:40.240 all the way to the beginning of the history of 0:04:40.240 --> 0:04:43.200 the Israelites, when they were taken out of Egypt by 0:04:43.240 --> 0:04:46.400 God's mighty hands, you know, by sending all those plagues 0:04:46.440 --> 0:04:49.120 on the Egyptians, and then we're commanded to go into 0:04:49.160 --> 0:04:51.360 the Promised Land and take it from themselves. But the 0:04:51.400 --> 0:04:54.800 Israelites were too afraid to go into the Promised Land, 0:04:54.839 --> 0:04:58.400 and they rebelled and fought against God in like the 0:04:58.440 --> 0:05:00.680 worst possible way that they could, by try to stone 0:05:00.720 --> 0:05:03.480 Moses and Aaron and make a leader for themselves that 0:05:03.520 --> 0:05:06.040 would take them back to Egypt to become slaves all 0:05:06.080 --> 0:05:10.520 over again. But yet even throughout all of that, through 0:05:10.560 --> 0:05:14.120 the rebellion of the people, God sustained them in the wilderness. 0:05:14.120 --> 0:05:15.760 He told them, Okay, you don't want to go into 0:05:15.760 --> 0:05:17.560 the Promised Land, then fine, you're going to die in 0:05:17.600 --> 0:05:19.839 the wilderness because that's what you told me you wanted. 0:05:20.640 --> 0:05:22.960 And in forty years, I will let your kids go 0:05:23.120 --> 0:05:26.960 in and take the Promised Land. But still God sustained 0:05:27.000 --> 0:05:28.880 them in the wilderness for that entire time. It actually 0:05:28.920 --> 0:05:32.360 says in this prayer that the Israelites still had food 0:05:32.400 --> 0:05:35.440 and water supplied by God. In fact, the entire time 0:05:35.440 --> 0:05:37.559 they were in the wilderness, every single day that manna 0:05:37.680 --> 0:05:40.880 was on the ground, and they also had their clothes 0:05:41.240 --> 0:05:44.080 like in pristine condition. God took care of their clothes 0:05:44.120 --> 0:05:47.200 on their back and the shoes on their feet. He 0:05:47.279 --> 0:05:50.400 was sustaining them in everything in spite of their rebellion. 0:05:50.720 --> 0:05:52.760 And so now in verse twenty four, where we left 0:05:52.760 --> 0:05:56.719 off on Monday, we talk about the children finally going 0:05:56.760 --> 0:06:00.160 into the Promised Land and taking it for themselves. So 0:06:00.200 --> 0:06:02.680 the children went in and possessed the land. And you 0:06:02.760 --> 0:06:05.960 subdued before them the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, 0:06:06.200 --> 0:06:08.400 and gave them into their hands with their kings and 0:06:08.440 --> 0:06:10.279 the peoples of the land, that they might do with 0:06:10.320 --> 0:06:12.280 them as they pleased. Now, I'm not gonna lie. When 0:06:12.320 --> 0:06:14.039 I first read that, I was really stuck on that 0:06:14.160 --> 0:06:17.560 last statement, which says that God would let them do 0:06:17.680 --> 0:06:20.400 whatever they pleased to the people of the land, because 0:06:20.440 --> 0:06:22.240 I was like, wait a second, God didn't say they 0:06:22.240 --> 0:06:27.000 could do whatever they pleased. Because if you read through Deuteronomy, 0:06:27.880 --> 0:06:30.680 I believe it's twenty and twenty one that's the rules 0:06:30.760 --> 0:06:34.880 for war and how the Israelites are to treat the 0:06:35.320 --> 0:06:39.120 Canaanites essentially, And here's what God says in Deuteronomy twenty 0:06:39.160 --> 0:06:42.360 starting in verse sixteen, and this is from the NIV version. However, 0:06:42.440 --> 0:06:44.600 in the cities of the nations that the Lorger God 0:06:44.640 --> 0:06:47.039 is giving to you as an inheritance, do not leave 0:06:47.080 --> 0:06:51.440 alive anything that breathes. Completely destroy them, the Hittites, the Amorites, 0:06:51.480 --> 0:06:55.120 the Canaanites, the Parizites, Hibites, and Jebusites, as the Lorger 0:06:55.160 --> 0:06:57.839 God has commanded you. Otherwise, they will teach you to 0:06:57.920 --> 0:07:00.800 follow all the detestable things that they do in worshiping 0:07:00.839 --> 0:07:04.240 their gods, and you will sin against the Lord your God. 0:07:04.720 --> 0:07:08.160 So God actually commanded the Israelites to completely wipe out 0:07:08.640 --> 0:07:11.800 the Hittites, Amrites, Canaanites, and all of these other people. 0:07:12.200 --> 0:07:13.840 And a lot of critics of the Bible get really 0:07:13.920 --> 0:07:16.640 upset about that because they consider it a genocide. But 0:07:16.680 --> 0:07:19.360 there's a few things I want you to remember. First 0:07:19.440 --> 0:07:23.040 that all of these people groups were incredibly evil, and 0:07:23.080 --> 0:07:25.320 you can read about some of the evils that they did. 0:07:25.680 --> 0:07:28.640 And one of the ways that God judges the nations 0:07:28.680 --> 0:07:32.600 is by having other nations come in and either dispossess 0:07:32.680 --> 0:07:35.200 the people or kill them. I mean, he did it 0:07:35.280 --> 0:07:38.320 even to the Israelites. He is not afraid to show 0:07:38.360 --> 0:07:41.960 his judgment on the nations. And these people were engaging 0:07:42.000 --> 0:07:46.720 in all sorts of corrupt practices, specifically child sacrifice in 0:07:46.920 --> 0:07:49.480 mass not to mention the way that they treated the 0:07:49.520 --> 0:07:52.760 Israelites when they were in the wilderness. They would kill 0:07:52.760 --> 0:07:56.560 the stragglers outside of the camp, who happened to be 0:07:56.680 --> 0:07:59.680 the elderly and the sick, and the women and the children. Says, 0:07:59.680 --> 0:08:03.240 they open the bellies of the pregnant women. This is 0:08:03.280 --> 0:08:05.800 how they are treating the Israelite people because they had 0:08:05.840 --> 0:08:08.280 no care for human life. So that's the first thing 0:08:08.440 --> 0:08:10.280 you got to remember with all of this is that 0:08:10.560 --> 0:08:13.800 God does not just judge people who are doing good things. 0:08:14.160 --> 0:08:16.800 These people were not doing good things, which is why 0:08:16.840 --> 0:08:19.600 he wanted the Israelites to go in there and completely 0:08:19.680 --> 0:08:22.200 take the land from these people. But the other thing 0:08:22.200 --> 0:08:24.640 you have to remember is that God actually said that 0:08:24.680 --> 0:08:27.600 he was going to drive these people out of the 0:08:27.680 --> 0:08:31.920 land before the Israelites even went in, and then whoever 0:08:32.080 --> 0:08:34.080 was left in that land who didn't listen to the 0:08:34.120 --> 0:08:36.800 call of God were to be killed. They were in 0:08:36.920 --> 0:08:41.920 direct disobedience of God. God was already fighting against these 0:08:41.960 --> 0:08:44.360 people to get them out of the land. It actually 0:08:44.360 --> 0:08:46.839 said God was going to drive them out. So not 0:08:46.920 --> 0:08:49.160 all of these people were going to get killed, but 0:08:49.240 --> 0:08:53.280 the ones who were in direct disobedience and judgment of 0:08:53.320 --> 0:08:56.560 God essentially. But going back to my original point, in 0:08:56.720 --> 0:09:00.240 Nehemiah nine twenty four, the person who is praying this 0:09:00.280 --> 0:09:03.760 prayer mentions that the Israelites could do with the Canaanites 0:09:03.800 --> 0:09:07.720 as they pleased. But again in Deuteronomy twenty and twenty one, 0:09:08.000 --> 0:09:11.240 it talks about the rules for war, and God did 0:09:11.280 --> 0:09:14.199 not say that the Israelites could do whatever they pleased 0:09:14.280 --> 0:09:16.520 to the people. And I was kind of stuck on 0:09:16.600 --> 0:09:19.080 this until I realized that I think it's worded a 0:09:19.080 --> 0:09:21.439 little bit funny. I don't think that the author is 0:09:21.480 --> 0:09:23.760 saying that the Israelites could do whatever they wanted to 0:09:23.760 --> 0:09:27.960 do without any care of God's laws, because don't forget 0:09:28.000 --> 0:09:30.400 you know, these people had just read through the entire 0:09:30.480 --> 0:09:33.240 law of God. Instead, I think that the person who 0:09:33.280 --> 0:09:37.080 is praying this prayer is saying that the Israelites were 0:09:37.160 --> 0:09:40.280 pleased to be able to go into the Promised Land 0:09:40.559 --> 0:09:43.000 and take it for themselves, because you do see that 0:09:43.280 --> 0:09:46.680 actually the second generation, not the first, but the second 0:09:46.679 --> 0:09:49.880 generation of Israelites from the wilderness, were very excited to 0:09:49.920 --> 0:09:52.400 go into that land, and they were gung ho about 0:09:52.400 --> 0:09:57.000 it and followed Joshua into war very happily. So they 0:09:57.000 --> 0:09:59.800 were pleased to take these people's lands and to take 0:09:59.800 --> 0:10:02.839 the people's homes, and to fulfill the judgment of God 0:10:02.960 --> 0:10:07.040 on these people, because now the Israelites finally have a 0:10:07.120 --> 0:10:10.800 home for themselves. They were traveling nomads. None of them 0:10:11.080 --> 0:10:14.800 actually had a permanent home. They were traveling around a wilderness. 0:10:14.800 --> 0:10:17.000 And that is what the second generation of Israelites grew 0:10:17.080 --> 0:10:20.840 up on, was that no mad type life. So they 0:10:20.840 --> 0:10:24.000 were pleased to go into that land and to enact 0:10:24.040 --> 0:10:26.280 the judgment of God and to possess all of these 0:10:26.280 --> 0:10:29.120 cities and the houses and everything else. And that's what 0:10:29.160 --> 0:10:32.280 it mentions. Next in verse twenty five, the Israelites took 0:10:32.280 --> 0:10:35.440 the fortified cities and the rich land, and possessed houses 0:10:35.520 --> 0:10:39.880 full of all good things. Cisterns dugout, vineyards, olive groves, 0:10:39.920 --> 0:10:42.920 and fruit trees in abundance, so they ate were filled, 0:10:43.080 --> 0:10:47.120 became fat, and delighted themselves in your great goodness. So 0:10:47.200 --> 0:10:52.200 basically God just handed them entire homes on silver platters. Essentially, 0:10:52.559 --> 0:10:54.280 the Israelites didn't have to do a lot of work 0:10:54.280 --> 0:10:57.080 because the Canaanites did the work beforehand. So all of 0:10:57.120 --> 0:11:00.600 the wells were dug, the fruit trees were already planted, 0:11:01.080 --> 0:11:03.960 the vineyards were full of grapes. In fact, that was 0:11:03.960 --> 0:11:05.840 one of the things that the spies brought into the 0:11:05.840 --> 0:11:10.000 wilderness to show all of the Israelites that the promised 0:11:10.080 --> 0:11:13.600 land was excellent. They brought these big bunches of grapes. 0:11:13.840 --> 0:11:16.400 These bunches were so big that it was too heavy 0:11:16.440 --> 0:11:19.640 for one man to carry, and that's what they were 0:11:19.679 --> 0:11:22.880 bringing back to the Israelites in the wilderness. But unfortunately, 0:11:23.400 --> 0:11:25.360 that was the first generation and they were too afraid 0:11:25.400 --> 0:11:27.400 to take that land, though they saw all the good 0:11:27.440 --> 0:11:30.800 things that they could have if they possessed that land. 0:11:31.559 --> 0:11:34.160 But again the second generation goes in and they take 0:11:34.200 --> 0:11:36.880 all that stuff for themselves, and they became fat on 0:11:36.960 --> 0:11:39.960 the goodness of the land, and they delighted themselves in 0:11:40.000 --> 0:11:45.280 God's abundant mercy and kindness toward them. Nevertheless, verse twenty six, 0:11:45.559 --> 0:11:49.120 they were disobedient and rebelled against you, cast your law 0:11:49.200 --> 0:11:52.760 behind their back, killed your prophets that testified against them, 0:11:52.840 --> 0:11:57.160 to turn them again to you, and they committed awful blasphemies. 0:11:57.800 --> 0:12:00.319 Therefore you delivered them into the hand of their advises, 0:12:00.360 --> 0:12:02.640 who distressed them. And in the time of their trouble, 0:12:02.880 --> 0:12:05.200 when they cried to you, you heard from heaven, and 0:12:05.240 --> 0:12:08.440 according to your manifold mercies, you gave them saviors who 0:12:08.480 --> 0:12:11.080 saved them out of the hands of their adversaries. So 0:12:11.160 --> 0:12:14.199 this is talking about just the repeated history of the Israelites. 0:12:14.840 --> 0:12:18.640 When things went well for the Israelites, they became complacent. 0:12:19.040 --> 0:12:23.240 They started forgetting about God, They started worshiping whatever idol 0:12:23.320 --> 0:12:25.840 they wanted to worship. They started making peace treaties with 0:12:25.920 --> 0:12:31.840 all of the nations, intermarrying with pagan families, worshiping the bales, 0:12:31.960 --> 0:12:35.680 worshiping the asheraphole, and I've talked about before on the 0:12:35.720 --> 0:12:38.439 podcast how crazy some of these cults were. They were 0:12:38.480 --> 0:12:43.040 sex cults, they were child sacrifice cults. The bail cult 0:12:43.160 --> 0:12:46.840 specifically was a poop cult. Okay, Like, these were really 0:12:46.920 --> 0:12:50.239 weird things that the people were worshiping, and they abandoned 0:12:50.240 --> 0:12:53.520 God during the good times in their lives for something 0:12:53.559 --> 0:12:56.960 that they felt was better. Because idolatry, you can make 0:12:57.040 --> 0:13:00.079 up whatever God you want, but Yahweh, you gotta fall 0:13:00.240 --> 0:13:03.800 his rules. Idolatry probably seemed easier and more fun for 0:13:03.840 --> 0:13:06.760 the people because they could do whatever they wanted to 0:13:06.800 --> 0:13:12.320 do instead of believing in God. Therefore, God delivered them 0:13:12.360 --> 0:13:14.800 into the hand of their adversaries, who distressed them. But 0:13:14.880 --> 0:13:16.960 in the time of their trouble, when they cried to you, 0:13:16.960 --> 0:13:19.280 you heard from heaven, and according to your manifold mercies, 0:13:19.280 --> 0:13:20.960 you gave them saviors who saved them out of the 0:13:20.960 --> 0:13:23.679 hand of their adversaries Verse twenty eight. But after they 0:13:23.720 --> 0:13:26.760 had rest, they did evil again before you. Therefore you 0:13:26.840 --> 0:13:28.840 left them in the hands of their enemies, so that 0:13:28.880 --> 0:13:31.719 they had dominion over them. Yet when they returned and 0:13:31.720 --> 0:13:34.280 cried to you, you heard from heaven, and many times 0:13:34.320 --> 0:13:37.760 you delivered them according to your mercies, and testified against 0:13:37.800 --> 0:13:40.320 them that you might bring them again to your law. 0:13:40.760 --> 0:13:42.640 All of that is mentioned in the Book of Judges, 0:13:42.640 --> 0:13:44.320 which is one of my favorite books in the entire 0:13:44.360 --> 0:13:46.880 Bible to this day. I love the Book of Judges 0:13:46.920 --> 0:13:50.200 because it shows the wonderful mercies of God. You know, 0:13:50.200 --> 0:13:51.840 a lot of people think that the Book of Judges 0:13:51.920 --> 0:13:54.160 is really depressing, and it is. It's one of the 0:13:54.160 --> 0:13:57.120 most graphic books in the entire Bible. But it's really 0:13:57.280 --> 0:14:01.760 amazing to see God's manifold old mercy. As the person 0:14:01.760 --> 0:14:05.160 who's praying this prayer says, the manifold mercy of God 0:14:05.640 --> 0:14:09.239 constantly coming down on the Israelites when they were always 0:14:09.320 --> 0:14:12.880 in rebellion against God. In fact, here's what Judges ten 0:14:13.360 --> 0:14:16.000 eleven through sixteen says. It says, Yahweh said to the 0:14:16.080 --> 0:14:18.880 children of Israel, didn't I save you from the Egyptians 0:14:18.920 --> 0:14:21.680 and from the Amorites, from the children of Amen, and 0:14:21.720 --> 0:14:25.200 from the Philistines. The Sedonians also, and the Amalekites and 0:14:25.240 --> 0:14:27.920 the Mayonites oppressed you, and you cried to me, and 0:14:28.000 --> 0:14:30.360 I saved you out of their hand. Yet you have 0:14:30.440 --> 0:14:33.320 forsaken me and served other gods. Therefore I will save 0:14:33.400 --> 0:14:36.080 you no more. Go and cry to the gods which 0:14:36.120 --> 0:14:38.560 you have chosen, let them save you. In the time 0:14:38.600 --> 0:14:41.960 of your distress. The children of Israel said to Yahweh, 0:14:42.160 --> 0:14:44.800 we have sinned due to us. Whatever seems good to you, 0:14:44.920 --> 0:14:48.160 only deliver us please today. And they put away the 0:14:48.200 --> 0:14:50.600 foreign gods from among them and served Yahweh. And his 0:14:50.640 --> 0:14:54.640 soul was grieved for the misery of Israel. And the 0:14:54.680 --> 0:14:57.080 reason that portion cracks me up is because, you know, 0:14:57.160 --> 0:14:59.880 again the Israelites sinned against God, and they're like, God, 0:15:00.080 --> 0:15:04.160 you know, please help us this time too. And God's like, no, 0:15:04.680 --> 0:15:08.800 the gods that you chose, have them help you. And 0:15:08.840 --> 0:15:11.480 the people are like, no, God, no, We're gonna not 0:15:11.640 --> 0:15:14.280 worship these gods anymore. And so they get rid of 0:15:14.280 --> 0:15:17.960 all of the gods. And God, in his manifold mercy, 0:15:18.840 --> 0:15:23.120 was grieved for the misery of Israel, and he ends 0:15:23.200 --> 0:15:25.400 up saving them once again. And that is what the 0:15:25.440 --> 0:15:28.360 author of this prayer, and Neemiah says as well. It 0:15:28.440 --> 0:15:30.920 says God did this so that he might bring them 0:15:30.920 --> 0:15:33.760 again to your law. Yet they were arrogant and didn't 0:15:33.800 --> 0:15:37.360 listen to your commandments, but sind against your ordinances, which 0:15:37.400 --> 0:15:39.880 if a man does, he shall live in them turned 0:15:39.920 --> 0:15:43.440 their backs, stiffen their necks, and would not hear. Yet 0:15:43.480 --> 0:15:45.880 many years you put up with them and testified against 0:15:45.920 --> 0:15:48.400 them by your spirit through your prophets. Yet they would 0:15:48.440 --> 0:15:50.720 not listen. Therefore you gave them into the hand of 0:15:50.720 --> 0:15:53.960 the peoples of the lands. So God kept sending the 0:15:53.960 --> 0:15:57.040 prophets over and over and over again to the people, saying, 0:15:57.320 --> 0:16:00.760 stop what you're doing, turn back to me, and I 0:16:00.840 --> 0:16:03.360 will bless you once again. But the people would not listen. 0:16:03.360 --> 0:16:07.120 And actually says that the people killed the prophets right 0:16:07.160 --> 0:16:11.080 here in verse twenty six. They killed your prophets that 0:16:11.200 --> 0:16:13.840 testified against them to turn them again to you, and 0:16:13.880 --> 0:16:19.960 they committed awful blasphemies. So God finally after centuries, delivered 0:16:19.960 --> 0:16:24.640 them over to the Babylonians, where they remained for seventy years. 0:16:25.040 --> 0:16:27.280 And now this is right after that. The people are 0:16:27.320 --> 0:16:31.200 finally back in the Promised Land. And that is what's 0:16:31.240 --> 0:16:33.760 mentioned right here in verse thirty one. Nevertheless, in your 0:16:33.760 --> 0:16:36.120 manifold mercies, you didn't make a full end of them, 0:16:36.400 --> 0:16:38.800 nor forsake them, for you are a gracious and a 0:16:38.840 --> 0:16:43.280 merciful God. And now the author of this prayer brings 0:16:43.320 --> 0:16:47.000 it all home. He says, Now, therefore, our God, the Great, 0:16:47.120 --> 0:16:51.080 the Mighty, the awesome God, who keeps covenant and loving kindness, 0:16:51.560 --> 0:16:54.320 don't let all the travail seem little before you that 0:16:54.360 --> 0:16:56.760 has come on us, on our kings, on our princes, 0:16:56.760 --> 0:16:59.200 on our priests, on our prophets, on our fathers, and 0:16:59.240 --> 0:17:01.840 on all your people since the time of the Kings 0:17:01.840 --> 0:17:04.720 of Assyria to this day. So he asks again for 0:17:04.840 --> 0:17:08.399 God's mercy. Remember why the people are gathering here with 0:17:08.960 --> 0:17:13.160 all of this. They are gathering because they realized, after 0:17:13.240 --> 0:17:16.800 reading the law front to back, that they weren't following it. 0:17:17.480 --> 0:17:22.280 They needed forgiveness. They understood now that the Israelites, their ancestors, 0:17:22.400 --> 0:17:25.080 had not followed the laws of God, and that's why 0:17:25.080 --> 0:17:27.600 they kept getting into trouble over and over again. And 0:17:27.640 --> 0:17:30.320 now this group of people doesn't want to repeat those 0:17:30.359 --> 0:17:32.360 same mistakes, at least not in this moment of time. 0:17:32.359 --> 0:17:34.720 They don't want to repeat them, which is why they 0:17:34.800 --> 0:17:39.640 had this service to come to a moment of forgiveness 0:17:39.680 --> 0:17:44.360 and repentance before God and to again make a vow 0:17:44.480 --> 0:17:48.400 to keep God's covenant with themselves and with their family members. 0:17:49.040 --> 0:17:51.280 And now in verse thirty three, it says, however, you 0:17:51.320 --> 0:17:53.560 are just in all that has come on us, for 0:17:53.640 --> 0:17:56.800 you have dealt truly, but we have done wickedly. So 0:17:56.840 --> 0:17:59.359 they say we have deserved all of the punishment for 0:17:59.400 --> 0:18:02.720 the sins that we have committed. Also, our kings verse 0:18:02.760 --> 0:18:05.280 thirty four, Our princes, our priests, and our fathers have 0:18:05.400 --> 0:18:08.320 not kept your law, nor listened to your commandments and 0:18:08.320 --> 0:18:11.840 your testimonies with which you testified against them. For they 0:18:11.840 --> 0:18:13.879 have not served you in their kingdom and in your 0:18:13.880 --> 0:18:16.439 great goodness that you gave them, and in the large 0:18:16.440 --> 0:18:19.000 and rich land which you gave before them, they didn't 0:18:19.000 --> 0:18:21.920 turn from their wicked works. So they're saying, our fathers, 0:18:22.320 --> 0:18:26.040 our kings, our priests, all of the people that came 0:18:26.080 --> 0:18:29.960 before us took for granted everything you gave them and 0:18:30.080 --> 0:18:33.480 did not listen to you. Yahweh. So now we want 0:18:33.520 --> 0:18:36.080 to come together and we want to actually listen to you. 0:18:36.840 --> 0:18:40.000 Verse thirty six. Behold, we are servants today and for 0:18:40.080 --> 0:18:42.480 the land that you gave to our fathers to eat 0:18:42.480 --> 0:18:45.720 its fruit and it's good. Behold, we are servants in it. 0:18:46.200 --> 0:18:48.920 So they are humbling themselves before God. They're not even 0:18:48.960 --> 0:18:52.639 saying that they deserve the land. They're saying, God, you 0:18:52.720 --> 0:18:55.000 gave it to our ancestors, who took it for granted, 0:18:55.160 --> 0:18:58.760 who destroyed it in many ways, and now you've brought 0:18:58.800 --> 0:19:00.760 us back into it. But we are not going to 0:19:00.760 --> 0:19:04.800 take any credit for that. We are servants in this land. 0:19:05.040 --> 0:19:08.080 And actually technically they were servants in the land because 0:19:08.119 --> 0:19:12.679 they were under the reign of the Persian king. Israel 0:19:12.800 --> 0:19:15.680 was not its own entity at this point, and unfortunately 0:19:15.880 --> 0:19:18.719 the Israelites are recognizing that they did that to themselves. 0:19:19.480 --> 0:19:23.000 It says, this land yields much increase to the kings, 0:19:23.040 --> 0:19:26.160 whom you have set over us because of our sins. 0:19:26.440 --> 0:19:29.680 So the Persian kings also they have power over our 0:19:29.760 --> 0:19:32.879 bodies and over our livestock at their pleasure, and we 0:19:33.000 --> 0:19:36.520 are in great distress. And they were because you know, 0:19:36.600 --> 0:19:38.720 I'm sure the Persian kings were not very nice to them, 0:19:38.760 --> 0:19:42.720 first and foremost. Secondly, all the nations around them, as 0:19:42.760 --> 0:19:46.360 we've been talking about, hated that the Israelites were back 0:19:46.400 --> 0:19:48.840 in the land, and we're trying to do everything they 0:19:48.880 --> 0:19:51.879 could to kill them and get them back out of 0:19:51.920 --> 0:19:54.080 the land. I mean, the Israelites at this moment in 0:19:54.119 --> 0:19:57.440 time were in deep distress. They can't even take the 0:19:57.560 --> 0:19:59.919 yield of the land to give it to their own family, 0:20:00.560 --> 0:20:02.920 because it all has to go back to the king. 0:20:03.200 --> 0:20:06.120 But they recognize that this is their own fault. They 0:20:06.119 --> 0:20:09.120 have made themselves the servants, and in verse thirty eight 0:20:09.160 --> 0:20:11.679 it says, yet for all of this, we make a 0:20:11.720 --> 0:20:15.240 sure covenant, and we write it, and our princes, our levites, 0:20:15.280 --> 0:20:18.800 and our priests seal it. So they decide that they 0:20:18.840 --> 0:20:21.840 are going to make a covenant with Yahweh once again. 0:20:22.440 --> 0:20:25.399 They are going to follow the Old Testament laws, and 0:20:25.440 --> 0:20:27.360 they are going to write it, and they are going 0:20:27.400 --> 0:20:31.120 to seal it with their own hands. So basically, they're 0:20:31.160 --> 0:20:35.600 making a promise to dedicate their lives to God once again, 0:20:36.119 --> 0:20:39.800 similarly to how their ancestors did both in the Wilderness 0:20:39.960 --> 0:20:43.160 and also with Joshua. At the end of the Book 0:20:43.200 --> 0:20:45.800 of Joshua, they made promises to God that they would 0:20:45.880 --> 0:20:51.000 keep his laws and statutes forever. But unfortunately the Israelites, 0:20:51.040 --> 0:20:54.199 though they make these promises, never really do end up 0:20:54.280 --> 0:20:57.359 keeping them. But this was the end of Me and 0:20:57.400 --> 0:20:59.840 Maiah chapter nine. And I hope you guys enjoyed this 0:21:00.040 --> 0:21:03.320 prayer that we covered smack dab in the middle of Nehemiah, 0:21:03.400 --> 0:21:05.320 and it really is, in a lot of ways a 0:21:05.440 --> 0:21:08.840 very beautiful prayer because it's a humble prayer talking about 0:21:08.840 --> 0:21:12.400 their sins and how they need forgiveness from God. Faithful listeners, 0:21:12.520 --> 0:21:14.359 thank you so much for staying with me to the 0:21:14.480 --> 0:21:17.240