Title Neh 1:4-11 For Jerusalem
Contents
Neh 1:4~11 For Jerusalem Topic: 14. Prayer and Answer 2005. 7. 17.
◎ Introduction: When Nehemiah heard of the tragic situation of Jerusalem, he wept and prayed to God. Like Ezra (Ezra 9) and Daniel (Dan 9), there is deep sorrow and contrition for the reality of the nation, and a thorough confession of one's sins, along with a prayer with a deep understanding of God's economy
※ The returnees from Judah who returned to Jerusalem from Babylon during the second return period were few and without a wall to protect them, so they were exposed defenseless to the attacks of the enemies. As a result, they receive insults and attacks from their foreign enemies.
Depressed and defeated, the walls of Jerusalem fell, and the gates of Jerusalem were burned.
1. Nehemiah mourns and prays (4)
※ When Nehemiah heard that the people of Judah had been insulted and that the city of Jerusalem had been destroyed and abandoned, he fell into great sorrow beyond his control. I mourned and prayed.(4)
※ Continues for 4-5 months from the month of hearing the news (Kislow month = November to December) to the month of Nisan (March to April) of the year following the petition to the king
became
One). Nehemiah's Response to Tragic Facts About Jerusalem
① Sit down
② Sad for days
③ Fasting and praying (Praying day and night = 6)
2). Nehemiah's reaction shows that
① Cherish the glory of God the most
② More concerned about the future of the nation than the individual
③ Seeing the pain of the community as one's own pain
④ First, confess to God.
2. Pray with clear awareness of God's disposition (5)
※ Nehemiah's prayer was not just a cry of sorrow. His prayers recognize the character of God,
It was a prayer that was thoroughly prayed on that basis.(5)
※ What kind of God is the God Nehemiah speaks of?
① The God of heaven.
② The great and fearful God.
③ The one who keeps the covenant with those who love the Lord
④ He who has mercy on those who keep the commandments of the Lord
※ Only Nehemiah can solve the miserable condition of the people of Israel and the desolation of Jerusalem.
It was the only God I knew.
When a believer approaches God, the most important thing is to know what kind of person He is.
Knowing Him rightly can give you confident confessions and supplications.
① General attributes of God
: Almighty. omnipotent. omnipresent. forever perfect. immutable. infinite. unique. be yourself.
② God's Ethical Attributes
: Holy. Faithful. goodness. Be truthful. Righteousness. be patient. be kind. fairness. mercy abounds.
3. Confession of one's sins (6-7)
※ What is noteworthy in his prayer is the fact that before asking God for anything, the people of Israel, including himself, are intensively confessing their sins to God.
※ Confession of sin is the center of prayer. It is a natural response of a person who has truly looked back on himself before God, and it is a thorough acknowledgment of sin without making excuses.
① The children of Israel sinned before the Lord
② Me and my father's house sinned
③ to do very bad things toward the Lord
④ Failure to keep “commands, ordinances, and ordinances”※ Nehemiah's intensive confession to God is because he recognized what caused the present difficulties.
When both the prophet Daniel (Dan 9:4-6) and the scholar Ezra (Ezra 9:6-15) offered intercessory prayers, first of all, they confessed their sins and prayed for confession.
※ If those who pray before God do not confess their sins while covering up their sins or making excuses, they will never receive an answer.
(Psalm 32:5, Proverbs 28:13, 1 John 1:8-10)
4. Relying on God's Word (8-9)
※ Nehemiah prayed by relying on the word of God's promise. (8~9)
※ Appointment
: When the people of Israel sin, they will scatter them among the nations, and repent and obey the word of God.
If you keep them, you will gather them back out of the nations and bring them back to “the place chosen to put the name of God” (Jerusalem).
that it will
① When the people sin, they will be scattered among the nations (8) (Leviticus 26:33, Deut 28:64)
② If the people repent and keep the word of God, they will gather back to their own country (Leviticus 26:42-44, Deut 4:29-31, 30:2-4)
Prayer is not asking for your own satisfaction, but the ultimate purpose is to hope that God’s will and promises will be fulfilled on this earth. (Luke 22:42, 1 John 5:14, Psalm 66:18-19)
5. Relying on a special relationship with God (10)
※ Another thing to note is that his prayers were thoroughly based on God's special relationship with the people of Israel. That is, the people of Israel belonged to God.(10)
※ Only through the redemption of Jesus Christ, we can cling to God by relying on the relationship of possessions, which means we are in a special relationship with God (even without righteousness or merit). (John 14:13~14, 15:16, 23~ 24, Ephesians 3:12, Hebrews 4:16)
6. Asking humbly (11)
※ What is noteworthy is his humble attitude. His supplication was not a request for "Please do this", but with the fear of what the humble slave would tell his master. (11)
※ As “the king’s wine officer”, he could ask the king to solve a problem without praying. Nevertheless, Nehemiah
I prayed to God. This is because Nehemiah acknowledged the sovereignty of God.
Application: Pray to God first in the face of difficulties. The moment of forgetting God is dangerous (power, wealth, friends, political tricks.
own plan. help from neighbors).
(1 Chronicles 16:11, Psalm 9:10, 32:6, 37:4-5, 91:15; Proverbs 3:6; Jeremiah 29:12-13; Matthew 18:19; Philippians 4:6)
◎ Conclusion: