Nehemiah 9

“Our kings, our leaders, our priests and ancestors did not keep Your Torah, pay attention to Your commands, or heed the warnings You gave them. Even when they ruled their own kingdom, even when You prospered them greatly, in the great rich land You gave them, they did not serve You; nor did they turn back from their wicked deeds. So here we are today, slaves. Yes, in the land you gave our ancestors, so that they could eat what it produces and enjoy its good – here we are in it, slaves! Its rich yield now goes to the kings you have set over us because of our sins: they have power over our bodies, they can do what they please to our livestock, and we are in great distress!” Nehemiah 9:34-37 (CJB)

My grandfather, Virgil, was born in 1905. He was a very sharp guy up till the day he died in his mid-90s. For instance, when Virgil turned 90 years old, the State of Arkansas renewed his driver’s license! A year before he passed away, I had the opportunity to visit with Virgil and ask about his upbringing and what it was like living through the Great Depression. He smiled and said, “We can’t choose when, where, or to whom we are born. We can only choose how we live in response.” The returning Israelite exiles did not have the option to choose to be born in a time of God’s disfavor towards their parents or to be born into Babylon slavery. They only had the choice of how they’d worship.

If I could give today’s chapter a title, I would call it “How Our Actions Affect Others.”  With all of Israel assembled in the garments of humility, sackcloth, and ashes, Nehemiah led the people in a national confession. The confession was not just for the personal sins of the people in the assembly; it was also a confession of the sins of Israel’s forefathers, sins for which their descendants were still suffering the consequences. They were acknowledging how personal sin brought down an entire nation.

National sin begins when one person decides to step outside of God’s Word. Unless repentance comes quickly, a lawless mindset quietly spreads throughout the whole community. Compromised communities become compromised cities. Compromised cities infect a state, then a nation, and eventually the World. Recall how one bite of “forbidden fruit” has affected all mankind with a horrible sinful aftertaste. That is distressful news, and when confronted with it, the returned exiles had a choice to make. Would they continue fueling God’s disfavor or reverse it within their generation to set up their descendants to win? They chose God.  

Israel returned to God’s favor by retracing their parents’ steps back to the Lord. Instead of departing from God’s Word, they sought it. Instead of denying their sin and rebelling against God, the returned exiles humbly confessed their sins. As a result, personal holiness affected the community, cities, states, and nation, as it were.

Friends, America is in trouble, and the future looks bleak. The source of its woes is not financial; it is spiritual. We have departed from God’s Word and sold ourselves into credit and moral bondage. So, how should we respond to the revelation of God’s Word in our time? We should humble ourselves by personally repenting & turning back to the Lord. Your personal holiness can set national revival into motion.