Yea, forty years didst thou sustain them in the wilderness, so that they lacked nothing ,.... As not for food, so neither for raiment, as follows: their clothes waxed not old, and their feet swelled not ; of which see Deuteronomy 8:4 . read more
Moreover, thou gavest them kingdoms and nations ,.... The two kingdoms of Sihon and Og, and the seven nations of Canaan: and didst divide them into corners ; or "corner"; into every corner of the land of Canaan, so that they possessed the whole of it, a few cities excepted; Jarchi interprets it of one corner, that they might not be mixed with the people of the land, but be all together in one place; but Aben Ezra understands it of the Canaanites, of their being divided and scattered into... read more
Their children also multipliedst thou as the stars of heaven ,.... Fulfilling the promise made to Abraham, Genesis 15:5 their number when they came out of Egypt, and just before they entered into the land of Canaan, being upwards of 600,000 men, besides women and children, Exodus 12:37 and broughtest them into the land, concerning which thou hadst promised to their fathers, that they should go in to possess it ; the land of Canaan, promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and their... read more
Their clothes waxed not old - See the note on Deuteronomy 8:4 . read more
The land of Og king of Bashan - It is most evident that Sihon was king of Heshbon. How then can it be said that they possessed the land of Sihon, and the land of the king of Heshbon? The words the land of the king of Heshbon are wanting in two of De Rossi's MSS. In another MS. the words and the land of are wanting; so that the clause is read, They possessed the land of Sihon, king of Heshbon. The Septuagint has the same reading; the Arabic nearly the same, viz., the land of... read more
A prayerful review of Divine goodness as manifested in the facts of human life. I. This is a prayerful review of the Divine NAME . "And blessed be thy glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise" ( Nehemiah 9:5 ). 1 . It views God as the Creator of all things ( Nehemiah 9:6 ). 2 . It views God as electing his people ( Nehemiah 9:7 ). 3 . It views God as covenanting with the faithful ( Nehemiah 9:8 ). 4 . It views God as delivering his people in... read more
Confession. The feast of tabernacles, held in such wise as Israel had not known since the days of Joshua ( Joshua 8:17 ), concluded, "according unto the manner" of that festival, with a " solemn assembly" on the eighth day ( Joshua 8:18 )—"the last day, that great day of the feast" ( John 7:37 ). After one day's interval, when nothing unusual was done, "on the twenty-fourth day of the month the children of Israel were assembled with fasting" (verse l), and a very great day was... read more
The solemn fast of assembled Israel. Notice three features in the people's religious life. 1 . Their confession of sin. 2 . Their external reformation. 3 . Their solemn adoption of the written word of God as the law of their life. Take these as representative, universal. I. HUMILIATION AND CONFESSION . 1 . Public and united as well as private and solitary. Great impressiveness in numbers. The heart needs the stimulus of contact with great waves of feeling. There... read more
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Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Nehemiah 9:4-38
We have here an account how the work of this fast-day was carried on. 1. The names of the ministers that were employed. They are twice named (Neh. 9:4, 5), only with some variation of the names. Either they prayed successively, according to that rule which the apostle gives (1 Cor. 14:31; You may all prophesy one by one), or, as some think, there were eight several congregations at some distance from each other, and each had a Levite to preside in it. 2. The work itself in which they employed... read more