Wednesday, October 14, 2009

 

God is a God of redemption - even when we have to pay

While Nehemiah is certainly about rebuilding walls and overcoming obstacles, the centerfold of the book is the revelation, conviction, repentance, confession, blessing & rejoicing that took place around the feast of Booths.

In Chapter 8, Ezra read the law to the people. The prayer of repentance and the re-establishing of the relationship with God is an incredible example of this. The praise that comes to God (9:5) is above all blessing and praise! They recognize that the they were sent into exile because of sins of their fathers, but also that they now are receiving renewal because (v17) God is a God of forgiveness - gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness!

What an incredible meditation when in need of restoration! Even when we're paying the price for our sins, God is going to use the obstacles in journey back to bring greater glory to Him.

They knew they were punished for their sins, and yet they knew also that they could pray "do not let all the hardships seem insignificant before You." (10:32)

Nehemiah ends the book with a prayer to God "remember me for good."

This is such an amazing picture of the journey, even on a personal level, from spiritual exile back to restoration. The key? 9:17 - Because of Who God is. He did not forsake them. Same message for me today: "I will never leave you nor forsake you." and "even if we remain faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself!"

Comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]





<< Home

This page is powered by Blogger. Isn't yours?

Subscribe to Posts [Atom]