expository meditations on the book of nehemiah

THERE is no doubt that Christians in general do not give praise to God as much as they should. Even the best of us fail in the service of praise we offer to God. The Israelites had been failures in this direction, and it contributed to their spiritual dereliction that had brought them to the low ebb which is seen in their being in exile. Praise is stimulated and encouraged by remembering God and all his great love, grace and goodness to us, and praise brings us close to God, because as we praise we seek to dwell in God and God in us.

The Israelites were being encouraged to praise, and so dwell in God and with God, by being called to remember all that God had done for them, and was still doing for them. In these four verses we can see them being reminded of God�s Fatherly care for them, and encouraged to praise him for his care; for what he did in the past, he will do and is doing for them now. God is always our heavenly Father, and his loving care is constant, if only we would realise it and notice it.

In these verses, as with the ones that follow, there is something specially to notice. It is the constant repetition of the fact that we owe everything to the care of God. The personal pronoun �You� is constantly repeated, bringing out the fact that it is to God we owe all things. Let us see how much we have to praise God for his Fatherly care, and seek to feel this care, as well as understand it, so that our praise to God may be an ever growing expression of our hearts and minds to God.

Father watching over us.

Our verses open with the words concerning God - You saw. God was not unmindful of the sufferings of the Israelites in Egypt during the time of Moses. He saw their pain and how the Egyptians exploited them and abused them. This is how we should remember the past, in order to see the hand of God in our lives watching over us.

In times of suffering it is very easy to feel that God has forgotten us, or has rejected us. Often, for those with a tender conscience, there may be a feeling that God is judging, when sufferings and afflictions bear down upon us. The truth, however, is not that God has forgotten or left us, but that he is watching over us. He sees every pain we experience, and experiences it with us. He sees, understands, and is caring. It is a perplexing question why God should allow his people to suffer, and why instead, at the first moment, step in to prevent the suffering happening, but when we stop and think we do know that suffering has a beneficial effect on us, not least in our spiritual growth. Paul mentions this in Romans 5:3 where he tells us "Not only so, but we rejoice in our suffering, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope ....."

What Israel was reminded of was the fact that when they were suffering in Egypt, God saw their suffering. He was still their heavenly Father loving them and caring for them, as was proved by subsequent history. God watches over us too, and this is a subject of great praise.

God hears.

The next wonderful source for praise is the fact that God hears our prayers and does respond in care and love to them. Israel was reminded of this for praise in verse 9. Here, it is the moment when they were escaping from their bondage in Egypt, and they had arrived at the Red Sea. The sea was in front of them impeding their advance, and the Egyptians were coming up fast behind them to take them again into slavery. The Israelites cried to God in terror. There was not much faith or thanksgiving in their cries, but in spite of this God was attentive to their prayer, and he answered it in a spectacular and powerful way.

Here is a great and important subject for praise, which will not only stimulate our love for God, but also our trust in him. God does hear our prayers, and cries for help. Even though those cries are very often couched in words and expressions that are not only complaining and offensive, but often given with accusation. God�s love for us is so very wonderful. He loves us as we are with all our sin, and in spite of the awfulness of our attitude to him, expressed often in our prayers, he still hears and answers

It is important to remember this fact, but also to remember that the answer we may want to our prayers is not always the answer God knows is the best answer to our request. We often feel God has not answered our prayers because we are looking for an answer we want, and so miss the answer God has given, which is an answer that is best for us.

God�s answering and caring acts.

The next source of praise given in the verses before us is in verse 10, which is the action God takes to answer our prayers. Here the remembering goes back a bit in the history of Israel to the time when God came to obtain their release from the slavery in Egypt. God sent Moses to speak to Pharaoh and persuade him to release the Israelites. When Pharaoh refused, God sent the plagues to punish the Egyptians, and demonstrate his power and determination engaged in the business of obtaining the release of the people from slavery.

When God answers our prayer, and comes to our aid, many and various are the ways this help is given, but behind all of them is the determination of God that we will remain in his love and purpose, and the almighty power of God to achieve his will. The Israelites were praising God here for the remembrance of the fact that all the might of Egypt, the most powerful nation at that time, could not thwart the will of God for his people Israel.

We need to note God�s answers to prayer, and praise him for them, and that he does answer prayer, and that there is nothing too difficult for him to do for us, if this is his good and perfect will.

God knows all things.

Here is another wonderful source for praise. Israel was reminded that God could read their enemy, the Egyptians, like a book. We are told here that God knew of the arrogance of the Egyptians towards the Israelites.

When we are in trouble, or difficulties are experienced in our lives, what we need to remember is that God knows all about us, and every detail of our difficulties, all the intricacies of those problems, and all about the difficulty of solving them. Further God knows the best way to solve the difficulty, specially where the problem is more about what to do in a situation, rather than the power to perform an action.

When we pray sometimes it is so difficult to put into words what we want to say. We find it so difficult to explain, for we do not always fully understand the thing we are trying to express, or interpret our feelings and thoughts. God still knows all about us and the problem, and even when we can�t express in words and thoughts what our need is, yet God already knows. Surely this is behind the assurance Paul gives in Romans 8:26 "In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express."

How we should praise God that he knows all about us, and this knowledge is behind all his love and action on our behalf.

God glorifies himself before us.

There is nothing that so much stimulates praise as the contemplation of the glory and greatness of God. This stimulation is applied here when the Israelites were caused to remember the glory of God shown in their deliverance from captivity in Egypt.

At the end of verse 10 we read "You made a great name for yourself, which remains to this day." God�s glory shone through all the mighty acts he performed when he took on the might of Egypt for the release of his people from slavery. His glory shone through all the plagues, and how the king of Egypt was brought to submit and to let the people go, but this is not remembered today, and nor do I think Israel remembered this glory of God at the time of Nehemiah. It was probably just a fact of history they were more ready to ignore.

The name which God made for himself at that time is the glory shown in the Passover, which the Jews still remember, and the Israelites remembered in the time of Nehemiah. The glory is the holiness of God demonstrated in the judgement of sin seen in the destroying angel, who went through Egypt at that time, and killed all the first born sons in the whole of Egypt. It was seen also in the fact that the first born sons in all the people of Israel were passed over, because the Israelites were hiding behind the blood of the sacrifice which was made for the atonement of sin. It was a demonstration of the glory of God�s grace in forgiving love, seen in the fact that he provided an atonement for sin for his believing people, where the death we deserve is taken by another. The Israelites were saved from the judgement, because in killing the Passover lamb, the judgement they deserved had been already taken by the lamb slain for them. Here is the glory of God�s grace, the great name he made for himself, in the provision of Christ, whom he gave as the sacrifice for sin for us.

How we need to praise God for this great name he has won for himself in the gift of Christ as the sin-bearer and Saviour of the world.

God is our Salvation.

So following on for this we are told in verse 11 of God being the Saviour of his people, demonstrated in the fact that at that moment when the Red Sea was in front of them, and the Egyptians were behind them, God saved his people by opening up the sea for them to go over on dry land, and then when the Egyptians tried to follow, causing the water to come back and drown all the enemies of his people.

This follows on from the thought of the great name of God as Saviour seen in the eternal salvation He has provided in Christ. God is our Saviour. God is our Salvation. He has bought us by the expensive price of the life of his only begotten Son, and he keeps us in his love throughout this earthly life. This is the promise that nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.

But notice, our praise is because our salvation is all of God, and the fact that it is his power alone that saves. God divided the waters so the people could cross safely, and God hurled their pursuers into the depth of the sea. We praise God for this marvellous fact, that God has taken on alone our salvation, and this means that salvation is sure and certain.

God Leads.

The last thing mentioned here of God�s fatherly care is that he leads his people. Our Father is one who stays by our side and leads us through life, so that the journey will be safely accomplished, and the glorious goal is reached, which is to enter the everlasting glory of heaven.

This is spoken of here as a source of praise for Israel. After the people had been saved from being slaves in Egypt, God did not leave them on their own, but by day and night he led them. This reveals that God is with his people to give light to the journey of life, and direction as to the way forward, and that he is there to protect us as we follow his leading.

This is the same picture as Christ gives us in John 10, where he speaks of himself as the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd, not only gives his life to save the sheep, but also stays with them to lead them safely on life�s journey. David also expresses this truth in Psalm 23.

How praise should spring to our lips, and leap into our minds, as we remember that God leads us. Jesus said to his disciples "I am with you, even to the end of the age.".

Conclusion.

Let us praise God from deep down with in our hearts for his Fatherly care.