Further Thought: Read Ellen G. White, “Confession”, pages 37-41, in Steps to Christ.

In Nehemiah 9:25, the Hebrews talked about how their ancestors “delighted themselves” (NKJV) in God’s great goodness. The verbal root is the same as the name Eden, as in the “garden of Eden” (Gen. 2:15). Perhaps, the best translation would be “they edenized themselves” if only edenized were a verb.

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The gospel is, after all, restoration, and what better symbol can there be than Eden to represent what we are ultimately to be restored to? God raised up the Hebrew people and brought them to the crossroads of the ancient world in order to create the closest reflection of Eden that could exist on a fallen earth. Even after the captivity and return, the potential was still there. “For the LORD will comfort Zion, He will comfort all her waste places; He will make her wilderness like Eden” (Isa. 51:3, NKJV).

Yes, the people enjoyed the material blessings that the Lord had promised them, blessings that, to whatever degree possible in a fallen world, were reminiscent of the abundance of Eden. And that was fine. They were supposed to enjoy them. God created the physical world precisely in a way that humans could enjoy, and ancient Israel — blessed of God — enjoyed it, too. Their sin was not in “edenizing themselves” in God’s great goodness but in forgetting the Lord (Ezek. 23:35), whose goodness they were enjoying. The blessings became an end in and of themselves instead of a means to an end, which was to reveal God to those around them.

Discussion Questions:

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Read Nehemiah 9:32-38. What is the focus of the conclusion of the prayer of confession?

Once again the prayer turns to praising God for who He is: great, mighty, and awesome, one who keeps the covenant and mercy. They seem sincere in their acknowledgment of God’s goodness to them.

Petition

They also bring a petition in the form of making a covenant with God, which is described in detail in chapter 10. What is their petition?

“Now therefore, our God, the great, the mighty, and awesome God, who keeps covenant and mercy: do not let all the trouble seem small before You that has come upon us” (Neh. 9:32, NKJV).

The community has to pay tribute to the kings who are over them. Oppression from every side is plaguing the small company of Israelites, and they are tired of it. They have had to endure one tyranny after another, and they are hoping for a reprieve.

Interestingly, they call themselves “servants”. After outlining the infidelity of their nation, they end by referring to themselves with that word. Servants, of course, obey those who are over them. The use of this term, then, implies that they realize they need to obey the Lord in ways that those who came before them didn’t. This is an expression of their desire to be faithful to the Lord and His commandments. And, as servants of God, they are asking Him to intervene in their behalf.

The community of Ezra and Nehemiah describe their current experience as being “in great distress” (Neh. 9:37), which can be compared to the affliction the Israelites experienced in Egypt (Neh. 9:9). Their prayer praises God for seeing their affliction in Egypt and not overlooking it. The community is now asking God to intervene just as He had in the past, even though they don’t deserve it, because no one — kings, princes, priests or prophets, or fathers — was faithful. Thus, they are relying only on God’s grace and mercy to them, and not on themselves or in their ancestors’ works, in hopes that the Lord will intervene in their behalf.

Read Romans 5:6-8. How do these texts reflect what the Israelites were asking of God? What comfort can we draw from what the Israelites were asking and what Paul was saying in Romans?

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Read Nehemiah 9:23-31. How are the Israelites described in comparison to God’s “great goodness” (Neh. 9:25)?

This next section of the prayer/sermon focused on life in Canaan as the Israelites possessed the land that God had given them. They had been handed land, cities, vineyards, and fields ready for use, but they had taken it all for granted. At the end of verse 25, we are told that “they ate and were filled and grew fat” (NKJV). Growing fat is an expression that is found only a few times in the Bible (Deut. 32:15 and Jer. 5:28), and each time it has a negative connotation.

Hearing the Law

The people might have “delighted themselves in Your great goodness” (NKJV) but theirs wasn’t a delight in God but, instead, in all they had. Apparently having everything doesn’t produce a close walk with God. Many times we think, “If only I had this or that, then I would be happy”. Unfortunately, we see that the Israelites had everything from God, and yet their “happiness” in those things only made them less devoted to God. Too often it’s too easy for us to focus on the gifts while forgetting about the Giver. This is a fatal deception.

Of course, this doesn’t mean that we cannot be happy for the things that God has given us. He desires that we rejoice in His gifts, but this joy in the things He gives doesn’t guarantee a relationship with God. In fact, if we are not careful, these things can become a stumbling block.

Nevertheless, in this chapter, the leaders now confessed the ways that they had been unfaithful to God. As they looked through their history, they specifically named transgressions they had committed as a nation. A couple of aspects emerge as especially important, because they are repeated: 1 Israel cast God’s law away, and 2 they persecuted the prophets.

In other words, they realized that God’s law and His prophets were essential to their development as a godly nation and as individuals. The prayer emphasizes this conclusion by stating that “if a man does” God’s commandments, “he shall live by them” (Neh. 9:29, NKJV; direct quote from Lev. 18:5) and by highlighting that it is the Spirit that spoke through the prophets. God has given us His commandments for an abundant life, and He sent His prophets to guide us in our understanding of His truth. What we do with these gifts is the essential question for us all.

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Key Thought: Our God is a forgiving God Who is always working to restore us back into a right relationship with Him. 

November 16, 2019 

1. Have a volunteer read Nehemiah 9:1-3. 

1. Ask class members what is the main point of this passage. 
2. Why did they confess the sins of their ancestors?  Hint: Matthew 23:29-36 
3. Personal Application: If these people confessed their sins for hours, how thorough and specific should we be in confessing our sins?
4. Case Study:  While you are supervising the school playground, little Bobby tells you little Johnny has hit  him again. This is the third time this week Johnny has done this. Each time he claims he already said, “sorry” and thinks Bobby should just forget about it each time. What do you tell Johnny? Hint: Proverbs 28:13, Luke 19:8. 

2. Have a volunteer read Daniel 9:4-19.

Image © Pacific Press

1. Ask the class what is the main point of this passage.
2. How has Israel sinned, according to Daniel’s prayer?
3. Personal Application: When we see the sins going on in our community and even our church, do we point the finger, or like Daniel include ourselves as part of the sin problem? 
4. Case Study: A fellow class member points out that Daniel is confessing they have not listened to the prophets sent to them, and then asks, if we have listened to the prophets that have been sent to us. How do you respond to your fellow class member?

3. Have a volunteer read Colossians 1:16-17. 

1. Ask the class what is the main point of this passage.
2. What gives God the right to demand our obedience according to this passage?
3. Personal Application: When you feel like you are about to self destruct because of your own sins, what hope do you find in verse 17?
4. Case Study: Your grade school nephew asks you, “Did Jesus know before He created us that we would all sin and turn away from Him, causing Him to die for us? If so, why did He even bother creating us?” What do you tell your nephew? 

4. Have a volunteer(s) read Nehemiah 9:9-38 (If time is an issue then read Nehemiah 9:16-21). 

1. Ask the class what is the main point of this passage.
2. Why were the people repeating what happened so long ago to their ancestors? What did that have to do with them now?
3. Personal Application: Do you want your children and grandchildren to know about your worse sins and mistakes? Why or why not? 
4. Case Study: You get a call this week from your friend who teaches Sabbath School in the other church in your district. After years of being nicotine free she had a traumatic or stressful incident this week, and picked up a package of cigarettes.  She does not feel worthy to teach the class this coming Sabbath, and is too embarrassed to talk to anyone in her church about it. She asks you to come over this Sabbath and teach the class as her guest. What is your response? 

Conclusion: Encourage your class to share this message with someone this week. Remember, “Truth that is not lived, that is not imparted, loses its life-giving power, its healing virtue. Its blessings can be retained only as it is shared.”Ministry of Healing, p. 148

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You can view an in-depth discussion of “Our Forgiving God” in the Hope Sabbath School class led by Pastor Derek Morris. Click on the image to view:

You may download an MP4 video file, and audio file or a PDF lesson outline from the HopeSS site.

With thanks to Hope Channel – Television that will change your life.

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