Nehemiah 1: 5 - 7, 11
There are several lessons that speak to me in these few verses. One is that our God is a covenant-keeping God. And His covenant is one of love. That leads me to consider the covenant relationships that I am currently in. What kind of covenant-keeper am I? Can I be depended upon? Am I faithful to the covenant? What about you? Also, do I fully trust God as a covenant-keeper? If you have been born again by the Spirit of God, you are in a covenant relationship with the God of the universe. Trust Him ... He keeps His covenants of love!
In verses 6 - 7, I see again that confession is both personal and communal. We are a part of a larger whole - the body of Christ, a country, a family, etc. We are connected to one another. When I fall, my family and my church are affected. We don't like to think about that. We are products of the "I am a rock, I am an island" kind of thinking (thank you Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel!) and it is just not true. We are not islands - standing alone. Nehemiah understood that. Are you willing to confess the sins of the larger whole as your own? Remember, confession is agreeing with God and His value system. It is not merely my likes and dislikes. That requires my familiarity with God's values.
I love verse 11! I love that Nehemiah was fervent in prayer, specific in asking for success and favor in the presence of King Artaxerxes. However, he did not tell God how to answer his request! He laid the need out before his God ... but did not tell God what to do. That is beautiful trust. That is acknowledging the need and allowing God to be God, accepting that God's wisdom and paths are better than mine. Do I do that? Do you? Or are we more prone to tell God exactly how He needs to move in response to our requests? God is wiser than we are. God knows the whole picture, not just the tiny scene in which I appear. Our primary need? TRUST HIM ... remember, He keeps His covenant of love!
In verse 5, notice that God keeps His covenant of love with those who love Him and obey His commands. Our obedience is the hinge for our being and remaining in covenant relationship with God. He keeps His end of the bargain, so if we're not as close to Him as we have been, it is because we -- not God -- have moved.
ReplyDeleteQuestions: In what areas am I not 100% obedient?
In which direction am I moving, in relation to God?
You have made the point before that praise is often the most neglected part of our spoken prayers... so Nehemiah's reminder to delight in revering [God's] name is timely!
Psalm 37:4 "Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart."
You said: "Are you willing to confess the sins of the larger whole as your own?"
ReplyDeleteThat made me think about the reparation for slavery proposal that children of former slaves should be compensated for the free labor of their ancestors. But Deuteronomy 24:16 sounds like it says individuals are just responsible for their own wrongdoing. I think there's alot about "group guilt" or guilt by association we don't get. Can you tell us more?
You are right about the Deuteronomy reference. "Fathers are not to be put to death for their children nor children put to death for their fathers; each is to die for his own sin." This reference is in a judicial context. Moses is establishing the laws for the governing of the people. In an "eye for an eye" judicial system, one person will not pay the penalty for another. As much as a father might want to, he cannot carry a death sentence that is on his child. (Only God ...)
ReplyDeleteThat, to me, is very different from what we observe Nehemiah doing. And remember, "confession" means that we stand in agreement with God - no excuses, no weaseling (is that a word?) about, no justifications. Nehemiah, as part of the Israelite people, says to God, "Lord, this is what we have done ... and it is sin against You."
Some opinions: While I do not believe scripture says that I carry guilt for the sins of others, I do feel a sense of burden for the far reaching effects of the sin of "my" people (and that applies to all sorts of groups - my race, my church, my country, etc). And I freely confess to God what have been atrocities before His throne. Can I repay them? We learn from AA that it is imperative to make amends for offenses when possible. I know of churches and Christian universities that have publically confessed their role in feeding prejudices and practicing exclusion based on race. I respect them for that. As far as paying reparation ... how American of us to think that money solves all ills! I am not surprised that in this litigious culture, "we" would try to make amends by paying it out. Should it be done? Far brighter minds than mine will have to figure that one out. While I do not feel "guilt" over the sins of my ancestors ... I do carry burden and I do carry consequences.
Thanks, it makes a little more sense now. Like saying "our parents did _______ but we know that was wrong, and we want to get back on the right track"?
ReplyDeleteYes ... it is acknowledging sin and accepting consequences. It is amazing to consider the far reaching consequences of sin - on the people immediately around and on subsequent generations. In confession, we agree with God about the offense before Him. And repentence says, I don't want to continue on that course.
ReplyDeleteWow -- one more reminder to deal seriously with any spiritual "junk" in my life and get it cleared out so that my kids don't have to deal with the fallout somewhere down the road... with consequences incurred not by their own actions, but by mine! I was thinking today about the principle of inertia... the resistance of an object to a change in its state of motion... and how a similar dynamic comes into play once we establish our "life direction." When the force that is being applied reverses direction, how much time/energy will be expended just slowing down and stopping the "mass" before it can begin to move in a new direction?
ReplyDelete