Our Declaration of Dependence

“In view of all this, we are making a binding agreement, putting it in writing, and our leaders, Levites and our priests are affixing their seals to it.”  Nehemiah 9:38 

In the summer of 1776, fifty-six men signed a paper declaring themselves and their thirteen colonies free from British rule.  Years of conflict with the crown over taxation without representation resulted in this “Declaration of Independence.”  The members of the Continental Congress who picked up the pen were so serious about the subject that they signed their names, leaving a public record of their protest and their plans.  With their signatures now in ink, not one of them could deny their commitment to the cause, and the revolution charged full-steam ahead. 

The men in Nehemiah’s day also signed a script, but their declaration was of dependence not independence and of recommitment instead of revolt.  A review of God’s faithfulness and their failures caused them to understand their current distress and the consequences of disobedience, so “in view of all this, we are making a binding agreement, putting it in writing, and our leaders, Levites and our priests are affixing their seals to it”(Neh. 9:38).

Eighty-four men signed with their seals, and “the rest of the people…joined their brothers the nobles, and bound themselves with a curse and an oath to follow the Law of God…and to obey carefully all the commands, regulations, and decrees of the Lord our God”(Neh. 10:28-29).

The people knew they needed God’s help, they knew obedience brought his blessing, and they knew that taking care of God’s house was a priority over their own, so they publicly committed to love God and live it out.  They were so serious about the subject that they “bound themselves with a curse and an oath” and promised to not let their daughters marry heathens, to not work on the Sabbath day or the seventh year, and to provide supplies for the temple.  “We will not neglect the house of our God”(Neh 10:39).  By stamping their seals on the scroll, the men and their families would now be held accountable by God and by others to keep their word—and His. 

These days we rarely sign our names to something spiritual, but recently filling out our family’s commitment card to help build a new outreach center at our church and then reading this passage today has started me thinking.  Perhaps there are times when, at least privately, we should review God’s faithfulness in the past and His promises for the future and should literally write down our recommitment to love the Lord our God completely, to love others unselfishly, and to live for His glory. 

Sometimes our signature helps make something more serious.  Search your soul, confess your sin, celebrate God’s grace, and sign away. 

In view of all He has done, how can we do less?

Revelry

“They reveled in your great goodness.”  Nehemiah 9:25

We should rarely stop smiling.

From the time we wake till we rest again—and even when we’re sleeping—we’re continually bombarded with divine blessings.  Air to breathe, food to eat, a place to lay our head, family to love, friends to cherish, freedom to come, go, worship, and work, and the unfailing and unending grace of our Heavenly Father.  No wonder our grins shouldn’t go away. Each day of our lives we should “revel in God’s great goodness”(Neh 9:25).

That’s what God’s people did when He brought them into the Promised Land.  In Nehemiah’s prayer of confession and commitment, he recounts that in Canaan, the Israelites “captured fortified cities and fertile land; they took possession of houses filled with all kinds of good things, wells already dug, vineyards, olive groves and fruit trees in abundance.  They ate to the full and were well-nourished; they reveled in your great goodness”(Neh 9:25).

To revel means to take great pleasure and delight, to exult in merry amazement, to rejoice in boisterous festivity and celebration, to be so absolutely overwhelmed by something so incredibly astounding that all you can do is simply bask in the blessing.  That’s what God’s people did then, and that’s what God’s people should do now.  Yes, difficult times will come. Yes, the future will seem uncertain.  Yes, storms will blow and seas will rage.  Yes, we will face sickness and sorrow. The routine will be monotonous and menial.  We will be disappointed, discouraged, and feel defeated, but in the middle of all the mess and marvels of life, God’s constant goodness is cause for merry amazement, boisterous celebration, and grateful basking.

Today, and every day, rejoice in God’s grace, rely on His love, and revel in His great goodness!

 

Never Alone

“Because of your great compassion you did not abandon them in the desert.”  Nehemiah 9:19

Many times in life we deserve to be deserted in the desert.

Our refusal to walk in God’s right sets us on a path of wandering and waywardness, and we end up doing circles, getting nowhere fast.  Outright obstinance isn’t always to blame for the sand between our toes; often our carelessness and laziness cause us to ignore God’s Word and choose the easier and seemingly more exciting way of the world.  On occasion, our fear finds us shaking our heads at God’s call and His commands, and because we say no, we can’t go—and so we wander. But even in our rebellious drifting, “because of His great compassion, God does not abandon us in the desert”(Neh. 9:19).   

Repeatedly in Nehemiah’s prayer of confession and commitment, he acknowledges that God’s mercy and grace are what keep Him from casting His people away.  As Nehemiah praises God for His power in creation and then masterfully condenses Israel’s history from its beginning with Abraham to its current state of “great distress,” he admits that though God miraculously rescued the Jews from slavery in Egypt, revealed Himself to them on Mt. Sinai through His laws,  and promised to give them victory in their new land, “they became arrogant and stiff-necked, and did not obey your commands…They refused to listen and failed to remember the miracles you performed among them”(Neh 9:16-17).  This rebellion and lack of belief turned a two-year journey into a forty-year excursion, yet every day while they wandered in the wilderness due to their disobedience, God’s “pillar of cloud did not cease to guide them on their path, nor the pillar of fire to shine by night…You did not withhold your manna from their mouths, and you gave them water for their thirst.  For forty years you sustained them…they lacked nothing, their clothes did not wear out nor did their feet become swollen”(Neh 9:19-21).

For four decades in the desert, God’s great compassion—His deep love and care for His people—caused Him to provide for their needs and to guide them with His presence, though they deserved no such grace at all.

Perhaps you’re in the desert right now and are experiencing a time of barren wandering.  Maybe your own choices brought you there, or it could be that the sins of others landed you in this wasteland (remember that lots of kids were born during those forty years who hadn’t rebelled against God).  However you ended up in desolation, don’t get down.  “Because of His great compassion, God does not abandon us in the desert.”  Though we deserve no such grace at all, God protects and provides.  He heals and He helps, and, day or night, He is always with us.

When you are truly His, you are never abandoned and you are not alone.

God won’t dump you in desert or desert you in distress; His great compassion keeps Him close and holds us close.

“Blessed be your glorious name, and may it be exalted above all blessing and praise!”  Nehemiah 9:5

'Fess Up!

They stood in their places and confessed their sins and the sins of their fathers.”  Nehemiah 9:3

If confession is good for the soul, then some of our souls might not be faring so well.  Since honest and humble admission of our faults and failures seems unpleasant, we often skip it or skimp on it—hitting only the highlights (or rather, the lowlights) but not acknowledging the true scope of our transgressions.

But we shouldn’t.  As God’s children, we are called and commanded to confess our sins, and God’s assurance of forgiveness awaits our admission of guilt.  “If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness”(1 John 1:9).  Over and over and over, without fail, God will forgive our authentic owning up.  Such complete and recurring cleansing is possible through the faithfulness of His character and the justice of the cross.

The importance of confession was so evident to Nehemiah and his fellow countrymen that they put it on the calendar. “On the twenty-fourth day of the same month, the Israelites gathered together…They stood in their places and confessed their sins and the sins of their fathers”(Neh 9:1,3).  As a physical reminder and indication of their contrition, the people fasted, dressed in rough sackcloth, and dumped dust on their heads.

There was nothing private about their confessions.  They all knew that they all had sinned, and they all said so—and even included the offenses of their ancestors.  For several hours, they poured out their hearts to God, acknowledging and agreeing with God about their wrong.  “They read from the Book of the Law of the Lord their God for a quarter of a day, and spent another quarter in confession and in worshiping the Lord their God”(Neh 9:3). 

They obviously had much to confess because they hadn’t kept current in their coming clean!  Don’t let sin sit too long before you say you’re wrong.  Our confession should be like the voting mantra of a corrupt Chicago mayor—early and often.  God already knows all we’ve done.  We’re the ones who are miserable trying to keep it in and cover it up.  Please don’t.  Confession isn’t comfortable, but it’s cleansing, so own up to your wrong, and let God make you right.

Schedule a time of confession, and make it today.

The Difference of a Day

“The just shall live by faith.”  Romans 1:17

Some days make a big difference.  On July 4, 1776, American colonists stood against tyranny and for independence.   On June 6, 1944, Allied troops stood against tyranny and for freedom.  And on October 31, 1517, Martin Luther stood against tyranny and for truth.

Luther was a German monk and priest (and professor of theology) who through his own study of Scripture and spiritual struggles realized that several teachings and practices of his Catholic church were not Biblical.  On October 31, 1517, Luther wrote a letter to his bishop protesting one of the Church’s greatest offenses—the abuse of indulgences.  Indulgences were “supposed forgiveness” which could be bought as penance for one’s own sins or for the sins of loved ones suffering punishment in purgatory.  “As soon as the coin in the coffer rings, the soul from purgatory springs” was the famous buy-line of indulgence sellers whose profits funded the building of St. Peter’s cathedral and padded the pockets of church officials.  Luther’s letter contained 95 points of dispute centered on two principles of truth—the Bible is our spiritual authority  and people are saved from an eternity without God by their faith and not their deeds.

Luther also posted his list of grievances on the door of All Saints’ Church in Wittenberg, Germany, as an invitation to fellow scholars to debate and discuss the issues, but such an event never took place because Luther’s 95 Theses were soon translated from Latin into German, widely distributed, and the uproar had begun.

The spiritual and cultural reformation resulting from this stand for truth changed the course of the world history and shaped where and how we live today.  In reality, neither July 4, 1776, nor June 6, 1944, would have happened if a brave German monk hadn’t picked up his quill—and then his hammer.

A raging fire starts with a spark.

May the truth of God’s grace blaze brightly in our lives and make a big difference today.

 

First Response

“Do not grieve for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”  Nehemiah 8:10

What do you do with what you’ve heard?  When, by sight or sound, God’s Word comes your way, what do you with it?  What is your response to His revelation?

When the Jews around Jerusalem heard God’s Word, the first thing they did was start crying.  “Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who were instructing the people said to them all, ‘Do not mourn or weep.’ For all the people had been weeping as they listened to the words of the Law”(Neh 8:9).  Their grief was great because they realized God’s holiness and their own helplessness.  This attitude of humility and brokenness was beautiful, and their repentant hearts led Nehemiah to offer calm and comfort.  “Do not grieve for the joy of the Lord is your strength”(Neh 8:10). 

But God’s people didn’t stop at simply acknowledging their failures and enjoying God’s forgiveness, they took the next step and complied with God’s commands.  When the leaders gathered the next day “to give attention to the words of the Law”(vs 13), they discovered that God had established a week-long campout to commemorate His faithfulness during their ancestors’ exodus from Egypt and journey to the Promised Land.  So Nehemiah and company spread the word, and everyone gathered branches and built huts to stay in for the seven days.  All around town, on roofs, in courtyards, by the temple, and in the city’s squares, “the whole company that had returned from exile built booths and lived in them”(Neh 8:17).

As crazy as it sounds, instead of causing them frustration or irritation, this obedience to God’s Word triggered great celebration.  “From the days of Joshua son of Nun until that day, the Israelites had not celebrated like this.  And their joy was very great”(Neh 8:17).  Even when we don’t fully understand the why’s of God’s commands, obedience to His Word will bring blessing—the blessing of joy, the blessing of peace, and the blessing of celebration.

God does not speak to hear His own voice.  He speaks so that we will listen to His Word and then live it out.  Don’t ignore the conversation.  With a humble heart, let His Word bring you to tears, calm your fears, call you to obey, and cause you to celebrate.   

Listen to God’s Word, and let it break you.

Obey God’s Word, and let Him bless you.

And celebrate with great joy.

 

The Gift of God's Word

“On the first day of the seventh month Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly…He read it aloud from daybreak till noon.” Nehemiah 8:2-3

This morning my “regular” Bible which normally sits on the dresser by my bed wasn’t there, so I reached for my study Bible on the table.  I could have gone to the car and found a compact Scripture in the glove box. Or I could have walked to the bookshelf and retrieved several different Bibles in several different versions.  And, if for some bizarre reason all my printed books happened to have disappeared, I could have read the holy script in electronic form on various devices belonging to my family. 

Most likely your home is a lot like mine—well-stocked with God’s Word.  But though God’s Word is readily accessible, is it rightly appreciated?  Do we love it, long for it, listen to it, and are we willing to do whatever it takes to have it and hear it?

 “On the first day of the seventh month Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly…He read it aloud from daybreak till noon”(Neh 8:2-3).  The people of Israel didn’t have scrolls of Scripture at their disposal.  They couldn’t read God’s Word whenever they wanted. The only way to have God’s Word in their homes was to hide it in their hearts, so “all the people listened attentively to the Book of the Law”(Neh 8:3).

When Ezra opened the book, they rose to their feet in respect and then bowed down in worship.  Hour after hour after hour, from the time it got light until lunch, men, women, and all the kids able to understand stood up and soaked in God’s Word.  Hearing God’s Law (remember they only had the first five books) was a gift—a present they relished.  With eager excitement, they opened their ears and their hearts to what God said.

The same approach would be wise for us.  We don’t have to wait for a certain day to hear God’s Word—it’s close by any time we wish.  We aren’t asked to stand in the sun for hours to listen—we can read in climate-controlled comfort.  So let’s not let the ease of access and the luxury in which we listen lessen our appreciation and intensity for God’s Word.  With eager excitement, may we open our ears and heart to what God says each day.

God’s Word is a gift. 

Open, listen, and enjoy.  Often.