Nehemiah 1:8-9 "Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandedst thy servant Moses, saying, If ye transgress, I will scatter you abroad among the nations: (9) But if ye turn unto me, and keep my commandments, and do them; though there were of you cast out unto the uttermost part of the heaven, yet will I gather them from thence, and will bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set my name there."
Yesterday, we saw Nehemiah in a position of mourning due to the state of the
city of Jerusalem. He had to sit down after hearing the news and he began to
weep. But his weeping was not the only response to the news. We saw that
the weeping process led to his fasting and praying unto God.
It would be good to go back to verses 5-7 to see the beginning of Nehemiah's
prayer. He confessed to God that all that had fallen upon the city was because
of the sin and negligence of the people. But as he confessed their sins, he was
depending upon God's promised mercies. He quoted Moses in today's text, but I'm
sure he also was remembering God's answer to Solomon's prayer. See 2
Chronicles 7:14-15. We quote it often.
Nehemiah was not simply quoting the promises, he was dependent upon those
promises. He was humbling himself. He was praying. He was seeking God's face.
He was preparing himself, and the nation, to turn from their sinful ways back
to God. The promise of God is that He will hear and He will heal when His
people truly turn back to Him.
This is a nice history lesson from a time in the nation of Israel. But it is
so much more than that. It seems the walls of our nation are being broken
down. The walls of dependency upon the Lord have decayed. But the gate is still
open if we will turn our hearts, minds, and actions back to God. He still
hears. He still heals. His mercy endures forever.