Participants:
Series Code: LGS
Program Code: LGS019407A
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00:01 Hello I'm Mel Olson and this is Let God Speak. We continue our
00:04 study in the book of Nehemiah. The city is rebuilt and secure 00:08 and the leaders have reintroduced their formal worship. Today we 00:12 are looking at what followed these celebrations. 00:17 ♪ ♪ 00:41 On our panel today we have Nathan Tasker and Rod Butler. 00:44 Welcome to our panel today. We should commence our talk today 00:49 with prayer. Let's bow our heads Heavenly Father, as we review 00:53 the journey of the Israelites and as they confessed their sins 00:57 and came closer to You, we want to reflect on our lives and come 01:02 closer to you as well. So thank you for this opportunity of 01:06 sharing God's word again today, we ask this in Your Name, Amen. 01:10 Amen, amen. So throughout the religious festivals that they'd 01:14 been following through as the book of Nehemiah unfolds all of 01:18 this, is a reading of God's word. A lot of that was done 01:23 during this period of time and reassurance of God's love. 01:26 and I'm reading Nehemiah chapter eight and the last part of verse 01:31 10. Do not sorrow for the joy of the Lord is your strength. So 01:37 Nathan, how does Nehemiah describe the last week of 01:41 celebrations? 01:43 Well there some somber moments but this is obviously a very 01:47 exciting time to catch up with friends and family and in 01:50 Nehemiah 8:17 at the end there it says: There was very great 01:56 gladness. This isn't just like a party, let's all go out and get 01:59 plastered but this is a let's really reflect and think and be 02:03 grateful for the past, more like an Anzac day, a kind of a 02:08 reflection perhaps. 02:11 Yes, all right, and so they read from the book of the Law of 02:14 God during this period of time? 02:15 That's right. 02:16 And they had a sacred assembly which followed on from there. 02:20 So there was a notable change after this sacred assembly 02:23 a couple of days later. So what was that change, Rod? 02:30 When we read in chapter nine and verse one. It says, Now on the 02:33 24th day of the month the children of Israel were 02:35 assembled with fasting and with sackcloth and earth upon 02:39 them. Apparently where they've come from, they've just had 02:42 eight days of sitting listening to the Law being read, that had 02:46 had a powerful _They realized how holy God was and 02:50 how sinful they were and it brought them to humble 02:53 themselves. Nehemiah, two days later, he calls a sacred 02:57 assembly and they've humbled themselves for that. 02:59 Yes, I understand that they had sackcloth on, they had ashes 03:05 and dirt on their head. So these were outward tokens of 03:09 mourning and sadness, weren't they? Yes. They were 03:11 demonstrated in their dress as well as in their hearts. So what 03:16 two events followed the humbling of themselves? 03:19 Pick up chapter nine verse two; It says: Then those of Israelite 03:25 lineage separated themselves from foreigners and they stood 03:29 and they confessed their sins and the iniquity of their 03:33 fathers. Now I was just thinking about that. Sometimes in a 03:37 modern context, we think of separation, we think of 03:40 exclusiveness. Now I 'm over here you're over there so we'll just 03:44 steer clear and I'm going to be holier than you. But this is a 03:46 different kind of separation. This is a separation that 03:50 involves a focus. Like when a pilot's flying an airplane and 03:53 he says all right, final approach, time to concentrate, 03:57 time to focus. Everybody in the plane's important but I've got a 04:00 special important priority here. So I think the separation here 04:03 is one of focus and awareness, not one of exclusivity. 04:08 Yes. The sins of course that were being confessed were the sins 04:13 their own sins and the sins of their nation and those 04:17 foreigners in that environment weren't actually a part of that 04:20 sinful process. 04:22 Yes it's a bit of a choice if you look at verse three they stood 04:25 up and their place and read from the book of the Law of the Lord 04:29 their God for one-fourth of the day and it goes on. Obviously 04:33 when there was the circumcision and the Sabbath that had been 04:36 instituted earlier, God made that available for all people 04:40 but only for those that were committed to picking out the 04:44 stranger who was just visiting and just checking the place out 04:47 his heart wasn't in it, he wasn't involved. But those that 04:51 had the backgrounds that had chosen your God will be my God 04:55 they were included I believe. 04:57 Yes. What were the activities that actually took place on that 05:00 day? 05:01 So yes on the first part of the day it says here the first 05:04 quarter and I could be corrected on this but my understanding 05:06 this is a 12-hour day from sunrise to sunset so the first 05:09 quarter meaning three hours, they were reading the word 05:12 together as we discussed and the part that I find 05:15 very interesting, 05:17 the next quarter of the day, it says here if you look at verse 05:21 three, they spent that time confessing and worshipping the 05:25 Lord. I'm thinking three hours that's a long time to be sitting 05:29 down to do anything. You're watching a movie or something 05:31 like that, but three hours to think how can I be 05:34 right with God, how can I be right with my neighbor. That's 05:37 a serious reflection time. They must have been really engaged 05:41 deeply for like three hours to do that. 05:43 So they were really taking an inward look at their own 05:46 selves during 05:47 this period of time. Yes during this... Yes that's right. 05:52 Yes. So Rod do you see a link between reading the Torah and 05:57 confession, the first five books of the Bible? 05:58 Absolutely I do. When you read the Law of God it changes 06:05 us. It's the word of God. In this particular case, they had 06:10 so much time hearing it read to them could have had a big impact 06:13 upon them 06:15 and when you consider, too, the Holy Spirit was very active back 06:18 then. If you turn to Nehemiah 9:20. It says: Thou gavest also 06:25 Thy good Spirit to instruct them Now the Hebrew word for 06:32 instruct there is sachau which means to understand, be 06:34 prudent and be 06:36 wise. So the Holy Spirit was actually working on their hearts 06:38 as well as convicting of sin. I read now in John 16:8, it says: 06:44 When He is come He will convict us of sin, the world of sin. 06:49 so hearing the word and the Holy Spirit working on the hearts it 06:53 convicted them of sin and they were brought to confession. 06:57 Okay. So the Holy Spirit was active in the Old Testament 06:59 as well. 07:01 He absolutely was. 07:02 Sometimes we think when Jesus said I'll send the Comforter 07:04 it's a New Testament event. But this is an Old Testament event 07:07 isn't it? And the Holy Spirit was very active in the lives and 07:10 the minds of those people. 07:12 That's a good point because many people don't think that the Holy 07:14 Spirit was working back in the Old Testament. 07:17 It jumped out at me not only is God asking us to be forgiving 07:20 and gracious to others but He's actually providing us the 07:23 the mechanisms and the support to achieve that, He's helping us 07:26 in this act of forgiveness. That's wonderful. 07:29 Yes, it's a support Ron isn't it? So I read back in Nehemiah 8:9 07:33 that the people had been reading the word of God and then they 07:37 wept. What would cause them to weep, Rod? 07:39 Well, again let's just go back to chapter eight and read verses 07:44 eight and nine: Verse eight So they read in the book 07:47 in the Law of God 07:49 distinctly and gave the sense and caused them to understand 07:52 the reading. And verse nine: And Nehemiah, which is the governor 07:57 and Ezra the priest the scribe and the Levites that taught the 08:00 people, said unto all the people This day is holy unto the Lord 08:04 you God; mourn not, nor weep. For all the people wept, when 08:09 they heard the words of the law. 08:10 So they're saying don't weep and yet they wept. 08:15 Oh yeah and this the impact of what the word does to us because 08:18 on the one hand yes it convicts us of sin and confession 08:22 and on the other 08:24 hand we can weep with joy We see the goodness and graciousness 08:26 and longsuffering of God who is always ready to forgive but on 08:30 the other hand we see our sinfulness and how far we've 08:34 deviated from God's requirements for us, our disobedience. 08:37 It's really powerful there when we talk about God is always 08:39 willing to forgive 08:41 Yes. Very much so. So in Nehemiah chapter nine and verse four we 08:46 start this very long prayer that is prayed on this occasion. And 08:52 they cry out to the Lord with a loud voice to the Lord their 08:56 God. So what do they ask the people to do, Nathan? 08:59 We could just read that together Nehemiah 9:5. These are Levites 09:06 in support of Ezra of guiding the people in I guess a praise 09:12 ceremony and they're saying, this is Nehemiah 9:5: Stand up 09:17 and bless the Lord your God forever. Blessed be your 09:21 glorious name which is exalted above all blessing and praise. 09:30 So they're not only thinking about themselves and the 09:33 challenges and the opportunities to move forward spiritually with 09:36 God but they're also thinking now hang on a minute, what kind 09:39 of a God is this? What has this God done for us? And they begin 09:44 begin after this passage and realize this is a God who has 09:47 actually done a lot of creating and a lot of protection for us. 09:52 We're going to pray and discuss in a few moments... 09:53 This is the kind of God that we want to 09:55 draw attention to. So they're turn now from themselves 09:57 to their God. 09:59 Yeah, they used the word blessed there a few times in that 10:02 particular text. So blessing God I guess it's praising God 10:05 isn't it? Thanking God part of that process. 10:09 You know, I looked to impart something significant like here 10:12 God is a gift or a prize but here's a recognition from us 10:16 thank you God for what you've done. 10:17 Thanks. Yes. So what description of God did they add to this 10:22 that they'd already offered Him? 10:24 So this is quite a good passage. Maybe we could use it in our own 10:28 worship services. This is a God, verse six: You alone are the 10:32 Lord; You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens with all their 10:35 hosts, the earth, the seas, everything that's in them and it 10:39 goes on to outline this is the God that made things, everything 10:44 Everything? Heaven? Heaven? Everything. 10:49 Heaven though the skies.. Heavenly hosts? 10:51 Those angels I guess, earth, sea? 10:54 And everything that's in those places. 10:59 We're covering a lot there aren't we? He's the creator 11:00 God as well as 11:02 a forgiving God, yes this is the Creator God. All right so 11:06 does the New Testament, Rod, support this concept of God the 11:09 Creator? 11:11 Yes it does. A very good text to cover that is Colossians one 11:14 verses 16 and 17. And that says: For by Him were all things 11:23 created that are in heaven and on the earth, visible and 11:26 invisible, whether they be thrones or dominions or 11:30 principalities, or powers: all things were created by Him and 11:33 for Him. And verse 17 says: And He is before all things and by 11:37 Him all things consist. 11:39 Okay, so, that's supporting the Creator God isn't it. Yes indeed 11:43 I noticed in chapter 9:6 that Nathan read you've got the 11:49 words and You preserve them talking about the creation in 11:52 that context. You preserve them. Rod, can you unpack that a bit 11:56 more for us. What does it mean that God preserves His creation? 12:02 Chapter nine and verse six we've got there. 12:05 Yeah, it's the last part of chapter nine verse six: and 12:08 I preserved them all and the host of heaven worshiped Thee. 12:11 Now it's one thing, you know, say in business it's one thing 12:14 to make a million bucks, it's another thing to keep it. And 12:19 This is not only the God who has created all things but He 12:22 sustains it. He doesn't just create it and then walk away 12:25 and let it sort of just fend for itself. He's maintaining it He's 12:30 making, He's providing life to it. That word preserve is quite 12:35 interesting because in the Hebrew word it's the word 12:39 kayel which means basically to have life, remain in life. 12:45 The NIV for 12:47 example translates that you give life to everything. And 12:51 other versions have different ways of putting it. Some say 12:53 that you keep them all alive, you keep giving them life but 12:57 the emphasis is that God is the sustainer. 12:59 So creation is ongoing. Is that right? 13:05 I think that there is a dependency there that's 13:06 that's possible that the children of Israel 13:08 had remembered God as their creator but they may have 13:11 forgotten to realize that each day, each breath, every crop 13:16 that they harvested, everything was also a recurring gift of 13:21 of creation and perhaps this is a reminder corporately here 13:25 Hey this is the God that not only made everything but also He gave 13:28 us continuing life support. 13:30 Absolutely+- +. Yes? 13:31 Another thing which is important is verse six where it's 13:34 emphasizing that God is the creator, everything. How 13:37 relevant is that for us today. We live in a world where we're 13:41 told that we all just happened by chance, we've evolved and 13:45 here is a message. No, no, no we weren't. We were created by 13:47 a God who created everything. 13:49 In this prayer, Abraham was introduced there, Nathan. Why 13:53 is that significant? 13:55 I guess that's not so clear to us today but for the context 14:00 the people were talking about when they would hear the name 14:02 Avram, Abram, Abraham this was their ancestor, this was their 14:08 founding father. This is the one that's received the promise from 14:12 God so this is I guess their background, their reference 14:16 point and also their example. Because Abram or Abraham as we 14:21 know did not always live an exemplary life. He had to lie 14:27 about his wife on a couple of occasions. The same fault was 14:29 repeated and I guess Abraham was on a journey himself of faith. 14:33 And I guess as these people were thinking about their ancestor 14:36 they're thinking not only did God select him and help him but 14:40 God also forgave him and God was generous with him, even with his 14:45 flaws. Maybe God can be the same way for us. 14:47 He even made a covenant with them didn't He. And I'll bless 14:50 you and I'll bless the nations that follow you. Yes. Very 14:53 powerful. So give us 14:54 a little bit of the journey. The the prayer that covers some 14:57 of the journey now. 14:58 Nathan, can you just a few brief highlights. 15:01 So if you have your Bibles there for our viewers Nehemiah chapter 15:05 nine, there's an extended... I guess it's a summary really 15:09 of the way God has lead His people over the last few years 15:13 and you can skip through in your own leisure but it 15:16 recalls the way 15:18 that God lead Abram out of his homeland, how they were brought 15:24 to a new land. They had famine. They find themselves in Egypt 15:27 where they were sustained. Things turned bad there. God 15:30 rescued them from Egypt, brought them through the wilderness and 15:35 preserved them in that wilderness. This is a God who 15:38 has repeatedly stepped into their history and they're giving 15:40 I guess a summary report of the way God has led in the last few 15:45 generations. 15:47 Yes and all of that happened in spite of the fact that they 15:49 failed so often with God and yet He still continues to be a 15:55 forgiving God doesn't He. through all of that. 15:56 It's very, very important there. So we've covered the history 16:01 there but tucked into verse 17, Rob, is a very powerful text. I 16:06 think it's the crux of the whole prayer. Would you like to share 16:09 Yeah it is, it is Verse 17 says, this is chapter nine verse 17: 16:14 And refused to obey, neither were mindful of Thy 16:16 wonders that Thou didst among them, but hardened their necks, 16:20 and in their rebellion appointed a captain to return to their 16:22 bondage: but thou art a God ready to pardon, gracious and 16:27 merciful, slow to anger and of great kindness, and forsook 16:31 them not. These are people who were terribly disobedient. They 16:35 were given all the requirements and they had stiff necks, they 16:38 turned their back and yet God was always there to, to forgive 16:45 basically. And it seems to me when you go through that because 16:49 though they read the description of God 16:51 being ready to pardon, gracious and merciful. 16:55 If you go to Exodus 34 verse six it talked about God 17:00 describes himself. And I'll just turn to that now and I'll read 17:02 that because that's a very, very important text. Exodus 34:6 says 17:08 And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed... this is 17:11 passing before Moses, the back of him anyway, The Lord, the 17:15 Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in 17:18 goodness and truth. So that's the description of God by 17:21 Himself. And here we have now Nehemiah's prayer. I remember 17:26 this calling upon that attribute of God. 17:28 So earlier we talked about them confessing their sins, so what 17:34 does the confession like a hand in a glove, Rod, What's another 17:38 activity there? 17:40 Confession usually brings on repentance. And repentance is 17:45 very important. In fact, if we just turn back to verse three 17:50 in chapter, sorry, chapter three and verse 19. Acts 3:19. 18:01 It says: Repent ye therefore and be converted that your sins 18:03 may be blotted out when the times of refreshing shall come 18:07 from the presence of the Lord. So we're called to repent. 18:13 And this is mandatory because God requires us to repent. If we 18:22 turn to another text, turn to 2 Peter and we'll look at verses 18:27 chapter 3 and verse 9, 2 Peter chapter 3 and verse 9 and it 18:35 says: The Lord is not slack concerning His promise as some 18:38 men count slackness, but He is longsuffering to usward, not 18:42 willing that any should perish but that ALL should come to 18:46 repentance. Not some but all of us. So confession brings on 18:50 repentance. 18:51 Thank you. So in Nehemiah chapter nine verses 23-31 there 18:56 is a statement there that the children of Israel they 18:59 delighted themselves in the Lord Could this have been both a 19:02 positive and a negative situation, Nathan? 19:05 I guess the double edged sword of being really blessed and end 19:09 up with lots of wonderful things and if we were to go through 19:15 that passage, I guess time is a bit short on us today, but 19:17 Nehemiah 9:24-31 outlines the manifold ways that God had 19:22 blessed and I suppose speaking from my personal experience when 19:26 things go really well for me it's really hard to require 19:29 myself to be dependent upon somebody or something or 19:33 someone else. And I suppose the danger of being so well blessed 19:37 and I guess the Israelites and myself struggled with this is 19:40 then God wasn't so much a necessary part of their daily 19:43 life. He was an accessory that was, I guess, optional. And we 19:48 know how that works. 19:49 Yeah, yes the word remember comes in in the text there in 19:53 the commandment doesn't it? It says remember because you are 19:56 likely to forget so it could be negative. I read in Leviticus 20:00 18:5 these words: Ye shall therefore keep my statutes, and 20:04 my judgments: which if a man does, he shall live by them; 20:08 I am the Lord. These words come up again. Rod, what do you think 20:15 about this or is that Nathan's question? 20:17 I'm happy to (indistinct). This is Nehemiah 9:29 speaking about how 20:25 they got on a bit of a negative path there. It says: Yes they 20:28 acted proudly and they did not heed Your commandments, but 20:32 they sinned against Your judgments and then it's the 20:34 quote you just read which if a man does he shall live by them. 20:38 And they shrugged their shoulders and stiffened their 20:40 necks. So evidently the spot the encouragement in 20:43 Leviticus 18:5, there had been a forgetfulness, amnesia if you 20:48 like, and I suppose as this is being read this helps us 20:51 understand why these people were cut to the heart, why they were 20:55 a little bit somber this time because they've been reminded 20:58 of what they should have remembered earlier. 21:00 Yes, it is. Okay so the conclusion of the prayer 21:04 of confession turns to praising God. How did they address God 21:09 and what request did they make Rod? 21:11 Well if we look in verse 32 of chapter nine it says: Now 21:16 therefore, our God, the great, the mighty, and the terrible God 21:19 who keepest His covenant and mercy, let not all the trouble 21:22 seem little before thee, that has come upon us, on our kings, 21:26 on our princes, and on our priests, and on our prophets, 21:30 and on our fathers and on all our people since the time of the 21:33 kings of Assyria unto this day. This prayer of confession they 21:38 recognized God is a mighty God, he's a terrible God if you're on 21:42 the wrong side of Him. He's a holy God. 21:43 Could another word for terrible be awesome. Awesome yes. 21:47 Yes that's a fairly modern word for that, yes. 21:50 And but notwithstanding all that they've got some requests. 21:55 They've been pounded over the time for their disobedience and 21:57 they're calling upon God to answer their prayer. 22:02 Yes, it's a real cry isn't it? 22:05 They're after God's blessing. 22:07 They were after God's blessing, yes indeed. And during that 22:10 process they had actually described God and they're saying 22:14 listen to me, listen to me. I guess they'd been estranged 22:18 somewhat from God and now they want to make sure that God is 22:22 actually hearing this time. So while they're reviewing their 22:26 history what conclusion do they come to about God's treatment 22:29 of them. I think Nathan. 22:32 Turn to Nehemiah chapter nine verse 33. I suppose I would see 22:38 this as a point of encouragement I'll just read out the passage 22:42 here. It says: However you are just in all that has befallen us 22:48 for You have dealt faithfully but we have done wickedly. 22:53 Now I thought to myself, at least in my life and experience, 22:57 oftentimes love or forgiveness can be a business contract. Now 23:02 if you do this, I'll do that. If you don't forgive me, I won't 23:03 forgive you. You hit me first, I'll hit you back and this is a 23:07 one way street. God is saying no matter what happens whether 23:11 you guys are faithful or not, I'm going to stand up and do 23:15 the right thing by you. At least people are acknowledging 23:16 God you have done the right thing by us. We may not have 23:18 done our job, but you have done the right thing by us and we are 23:23 very grateful for that. There's also a promise in Isaiah, Isaiah 23:31 chapter 59 verse one. Isaiah 59:1 is a promise that I'd like 23:38 to cash in on. It says this: Behold the Lord's hand is not 23:44 shortened that it cannot save nor His ear heavy that it cannot 23:50 hear. There's are powerful promises 23:52 there. Can you elaborate a little bit more on that. 23:56 Well I suppose that in the idea of the context here that 24:01 people are really struggling and the question is are we deep 24:04 enough that God can't find us? Are we far enough away that God 24:07 can no longer hear our cry for help. And this author here is 24:12 saying you know it doesn't matter how far you think you are 24:16 God doesn't have limitation. You might think you're too far away 24:19 from God but He can still reach, He can still hear and rescue. 24:22 I just want to emphasize that some of those words were for You 24:25 have dealt faithfully. Now in reality they had been 24:30 separated, they had been put into slavery and back again, 24:34 had been put in foreign countries and they're saying 24:38 You dealt faithfully. Really? 24:44 Well I suppose it really points out to us the fact that they 24:47 realized what their just desserts were and they realized 24:51 that they had not been short-changed. 24:54 Uh-huh, also too God said in Deuteronomy 28 He said very 24:57 clearly if they were disobedient what would happen and God was 25:00 faithful, it happened. 25:01 Okay. So it was not a surprise to them the journey they 25:05 had taken because God had said this will happen and now they 25:10 could see it has happened. And so God was just and he was also 25:14 faithful. Very powerful recognition wasn't it? After 25:19 their confession of sin and so on. Very, very powerful. So 25:21 as the enormity of their findings were accepted, 25:23 they had given 25:24 themselves a new title. What's this, Nathan? 25:27 Well I guess it's the recognition of their true 25:29 position in relation to God. If we turn here to Nehemiah chapter 25:34 nine verse 36, it says: Here we are servants today and the 25:42 land that you gave our fathers to eat it's fruit and it's 25:44 bounty. Here we are, servants in it. So it sounds to me, and we 25:51 could talk about the Hebrew word servant there, it's not really 25:55 a slave, it's more someone who is a custodian or manager who's 26:00 taking care of an asset, an asset that belongs to somebody 26:03 else. In this case, they recognize hey God we thought 26:06 this was all about us but we realize once again we're 26:08 dependent upon You. We are Your servants looking out for Your 26:11 assets. We going do our duty with pleasure because you're 26:14 a good God to work for. 26:16 Okay and Jesus, of course, challenged us didn't He 26:20 to follow Him, to 26:22 serve Him, to become His servants indeed as followers 26:25 of Jesus Christ. Yes, that's good. So, Rod, I asked you a 26:29 question earlier from Nehemiah chapter nine verse 17. Now 26:33 there was crux a whole lot. What do you... Come back to that 26:38 because I really think it summarizes this whole prayer. 26:41 Well you're right. Again it says that Thou art a God ready to 26:46 pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and of great 26:50 kindness. Here we are, sinful humans. We keep making 26:57 mistakes, we keep falling by the wayside, but God is there every 27:01 time we want to have His intervention, we just have to 27:04 pray, He hears us and He always forgives. 27:07 What a God! What a God. And people have woken up to this 27:11 whole process of reconversion. All right, so I think that's 27:15 probably about our time. As the people opened their hearts to 27:19 God in praise and confession, they were blessed. We too can 27:22 receive the same blessings as they experienced. Thank you for 27:26 joining us on Let God Speak. You can view all past programs 27:30 and the teacher's notes on our website 27:32 3abnaustralia.org.au. You can e-mail us on 27:37 lgs@3abnaustralia.org.au. God bless and please join us 27:43 again next week. 27:46 ♪ ♪ |
Revised 2020-02-06