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Nehemiah 9 describes a scene of revival. God was working collectively and personally to bring about reflection, ownership, repentance, and obedience.
There is something to be said about reflecting on our history with God. As we think back, we undoubtedly will find that although we have not been faithful to God, He has been faithful to us. Nehemiah 9 is a beautiful recap of Israel’s relationship with God. It was necessary to trudge back through this history in order to bring about ownership of their sin. They didn’t gloss over it or minimize it. They fully embraced it and verbalized it to both God and their community.
All this led to what God desires most from us. Humility and repentance. Although the people reflected and repented of their past, this was not a case of confessing “generational sin.”
“This does not mean there was some type of “generational curse” that had to be broken. God does not punish the children for their father’s sin, and it is evil to say He does (Ezekiel 18). We do recognize that those raised in an environment of sin may very well repeat those same sins, but not because they must – but because their environment made it an easy choice to make.”
David Guzik
The people repented of their glorification of their forefathers. Sometimes we tend to justify our own behavior by comparing ourselves to others or by keeping traditions and rituals. The people were sick and tired of repeating the same sins over and over so they decided to do something about it.
Our commitment to obedience is important. It’s not something that just happens to us as we sit around and wait and it’s also not something we can entirely control in our own strength. But when the Holy Spirit convicts, we must follow through on our end just as the Israelites did. They were not just content to feel bad and confess. They desired to follow and obey!