Nehemiah 9:1

ISRAEL'S CONFESSION OF THEIR SINS AND THEIR OATH OF ALLEGIENCE TO THE GOD OF THEIR FATHERS

This chapter seems rather long, but no chapter could be long enough for an adequate record of the repeated apostasies of God's Chosen People. Nevertheless, this abbreviation of them, along with the earnest confession of all the people, appears as one of the redeeming moments in the history of Israel, and as one of the stars in their crown of glory.

Despite all the wretched sins and shortcomings of Israel, there was indeed a righteous remnant that included the blessed apostles and prophets of the New Testament who were able, through the grace and blessing of God, to resist and effectually defy the brutal godlessness of the Three False Shepherds (Zechariah 11) and the hapless majority of racial Israel, led by the Pharisees, Sadducees and Herodians, and to welcome the Dayspring from on High. That glorious Righteous Remnant of Israel ushered in the Kingdom of God on the first Pentecost after the resurrection of Jesus Christ. In this wonderful chapter, we doubtless have some of the ancestors of that Righteous Remnant.

THE LEVITES LEAD ISRAEL IN CONFESSING THEIR SINS

"Now in the twenty and fourth day of this month the children of Israel were assembled with fasting, and with sackcloth, and earth upon them. And the seed of Israel separated themselves from all foreigners, and stood and confessed their sins, and the iniquities of their fathers. And they stood up in their place, and read in the book of the law of Jehovah their God a fourth part of the day; and another fourth part they confessed, and worshipped Jehovah their God. Then stood up upon the stairs of the Levites Jeshua, and Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani, and cried with a loud voice unto Jehovah their God."

All of this great outpouring of grief and confession took place as a result of reading God's law. "They had clearly desired to do this earlier (Nehemiah 8:9); but it would have been inappropriate during the feast."[1] Therefore, they rallied for that purpose on the twenty fourth day of that same seventh month, the next month after the wall was built; and "This was only the second day after the conclusion of the Feast of Tabernacles."[2]

A very important revelation of this chapter is that it was the Levites, and not the priests, who led Israel in this penitential prayer of confession and praise of God. From the Book of Malachi, we learn of the near total apostasy of the Jewish priesthood; and in Zechariah, they are clearly revealed as the false shepherds who destroyed the nation. There is not a word in this chapter that even hints of any priestly participation in this great repentance, confession and prayer. Some of them were even traitors in the employ of Tobiah and had even conspired to murder Nehemiah.

"The seed of Israel separated themselves from all foreigners" (Nehemiah 9:2). Keil noted that, "This is not primarily a reference to the dissolution of illegal marriages, but it is rather a voluntary renunciation of all connection with the heathen and of heathen customs."[3]

"Then stood up upon the stairs ... Levites" (Nehemiah 9:4). "The stairs mentioned here are those leading up to the platform or podium, which had been used for the reading of the Law."[4]

There follows at this point in the chapter a rather long prayer, ending in the solemn commitment of the people to be faithful to the God of Israel.