Prayer: Father, my heart is prepared to learn, my ears are prepared to listen. Teach me from the historical account of Your nation, Israel. Amen.
Reading: Nehemiah 9 key: vs. 1-6a “Now on the twenty-fourth day of this same month, Bnei-Yisrael gathered together, fasting and wearing sackcloth and putting dust on their heads.
The offspring of Israel separated themselves from all foreigners, standing and confessing their sins and the iniquities of their fathers. They stood in their place and read in the scroll of the Torah of Adonai their God for a quarter of the day; and for another quarter they were confessing and prostrating themselves before Adonai their God.
Then the Levites —Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani —stood on the platform and cried out with a loud voice to Adonai their God. The Levites—Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah—said: “Stand up! Bless Adonai your God, from everlasting to everlasting! May Your glorious Name be blessed; may it be exalted above all blessing and praise. You alone are Adonai.” TLV
Attention: Philosopher George Santayana is credited with saying, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”
This is the value of what Ezra did in assembling the children of Israel and reading the Torah to them. He was recounting all that Adonai had done for the nation, “You saw the affliction of our fathers in Egypt and heard their cry (vs. 9); You gave signs and wonders (vs. 10); You made a name for Yourself (vs. 10b); You divided the sea (vs. 11); You led them with a pillar of fire by night (vs. 12); You descended on Mount Sinai and spoke with them from heaven (vs.13a); You gave them judgements, reliable laws, and good statutes and mitzvot (vs. 13b); You gave them bread from heaven for their hunger, and brought them water from the rock for their thirst (vs. 15); You told them to go in and possess the land that You had sworn to give them (vs. 15b).”
Then Ezra recounted their ancestor’s response; “They became arrogant; They stiffened their neck and did not obey Your mitzvot (vs. 16); They refused to obey and did not remember Your wonders that You did among them (vs. 17); (they) appointed a leader in order to return to their bondage (vs. 17b).”
“But You are a God of forgiveness, merciful and compassionate, slow to anger, and abounding in love. Therefore You did not abandon them, even when they made a cast image of a calf (vs. 17b-18a).”
By the time of Ezra’s reading of the scriptures, the Children of Israel had repeated this behavior numerous times in the book of Judges, Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles. God had many times heard their cries, rescued them by sending a deliverer, giving them years of peace, only to have them fall back into their rebellion and complacent ways.
We all need a reminder of what God has brought us through in delivering us from the bondage of sin.
I will testify that in seventy years of life with God, He has been faithful, even when I have not. I do not deserve the grace and mercy which He has shown me. I have had to learn many hard lessons my own way, rather than learning from scripture. I hope that this journal can help you avoid the mistakes I have made and learn from the mistakes of the Hebrew nation. This is the value of keeping yourself in the Word daily.
Action: I choose to live a Berean lifestyle of daily time in the Word.
Yield: I choose to yield to the scriptures and live obediently to God’s Word.
Engage: I choose to engage with the Holy Spirit in living obediently to God’s Word.
Relationship: I choose to live in intimacy with God.
Prayer: Father, I thank You for Your tender mercies which You have extended to me. I humbly bow to You as my Sovereign King and Lord. Amen.
Memory Verse: 1 Corinthians 10:11 “Now these things happened to them as an example, and it was written down as a warning to us—on whom the ends of the ages have come.” TLV
Music Video: Hillsongs—When I Think About the Lord https://youtu.be/vWxkSAG9vGw?si=nVDRg0aQ3PftGgcL
Remember, “Abide in Yeshua, today!”