Turning to God (Nehemiah 9:1-37)

Bible Passage: Nehemiah 9:1-37

In this section of Nehemiah, the people of Israel are back in Jerusalem and they have come together to worship. As part of this, they have gathered for a festival and have heard Ezra the priest preach from the book of the law. In these verses we see the response of the people to that preaching as they turned back to God.

Recounting the Story. The bulk of this chapter is taken up with the prayer that the people prayed. This prayer recounts the story of how God had dealt with their people in the past, how he has been faithful to his promises to them, and how Israel has turned away. A lot of the time when we turn from God, we start living life according to a different story. Here we see from the Israelites the importance of reaffirming that the story of God is the story by which we will live.

Confessing Our Sins. In verse 2, we see that they confessed both their own sins and those of their ancestors, and these themes come through in their prayer. If is important that we are honest with God about where we have sinned, and it is often appropriate to name those sins to others as well (see James 5:16). When it comes to confessing the sins of those who have gone before, this is not about standing in judgement over others, nor about taking culpability for what others have done. Instead, they are acknowledging the ways their people have turned away from God and how their own present practices have been shaped by these choices. It is only as we can name the ungodly dynamics around us that we can begin to turn away from those things and live differently.

Crying Out to God. The prayer was not simply an academic exercise or a religious ritual. We are told in verse 4 that it was a cry to God. Throughout the prayer, references are made to their present situation, and connections are made between the ways God has shown mercy in the past and their own present distress (see verses 36-37). As we come to God and respond to his word, it is not simply about recognising where we have fallen short, but also crying to God for his mercy in whatever distress we are experiencing.

Potential Applications:

• You could follow the sermon with a time of open prayer, inviting people to call out to God in ways that pick up some of the themes discussed.
• You might also want to take communion as a way of drawing our attention to the cross, where our sins are paid for and where we can find the mercy of God.