September 20
Nehemiah 8:13-10:39
It was time to celebrate. A Jewish remnant had returned and the walls of Jerusalem were rebuilt. As Ezra read the Book of the Law, they realized it was time to observe the Feast of Tabernacles. They prepared their tents with branches to recall how their ancestors lived in tents when God brought them from Egypt to the promised land. The peoples’ “joy was great” at this celebration because the remnant returning from captivity could relate to the excitement of the first Jews coming into the land. Their prayer of praise and confession reviewed the history from the Egyptian exile to their present times. They praised the Lord for choosing them and becoming their covenant God. They thanked him for protecting them from the Egyptians at the Red Sea and for his constant visible presence with them in the pillar of cloud and fire. They thanked him for providing houses with good things, wells filled with water, and vineyards abounding with fruit (9:25). They admitted they put God’s law “behind their backs” which describes an act of brazen disobedience.
God was “gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, and abounding in love” (9:17). Their prayer was full of God’s protection and provisions and their confessions. Let’s pray like the remnant: praise him for his character, bountiful provisions, and then confess our willful sins.
God, your compassion and love swallow me in your abiding peace. Forgive me when my ego takes control of your position in my life. Amen.
How about joining me in praising and confessing like the Jewish remnant?
It was time to celebrate. A Jewish remnant had returned and the walls of Jerusalem were rebuilt. As Ezra read the Book of the Law, they realized it was time to observe the Feast of Tabernacles. They prepared their tents with branches to recall how their ancestors lived in tents when God brought them from Egypt to the promised land. The peoples’ “joy was great” at this celebration because the remnant returning from captivity could relate to the excitement of the first Jews coming into the land. Their prayer of praise and confession reviewed the history from the Egyptian exile to their present times. They praised the Lord for choosing them and becoming their covenant God. They thanked him for protecting them from the Egyptians at the Red Sea and for his constant visible presence with them in the pillar of cloud and fire. They thanked him for providing houses with good things, wells filled with water, and vineyards abounding with fruit (9:25). They admitted they put God’s law “behind their backs” which describes an act of brazen disobedience.
God was “gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, and abounding in love” (9:17). Their prayer was full of God’s protection and provisions and their confessions. Let’s pray like the remnant: praise him for his character, bountiful provisions, and then confess our willful sins.
God, your compassion and love swallow me in your abiding peace. Forgive me when my ego takes control of your position in my life. Amen.
How about joining me in praising and confessing like the Jewish remnant?
Recent
Archive
2025
January
January 1January 2January 3January 4January 5January 6January 7January 8January 9January 10January 11January 12January 13January 14January 15January 16January 17January 18January 19January 20January 21January 22January 23January 24January 25January 26January 27January 28January 29January 30January 31
February
March
Categories
no categories
No Comments