GOD’S FORGIVING LOVE. Nehemiah 9:16-25 The next section describes God’s forgiving love even as they rebelled, yet He brought them into the land of Canaan. God remained with His people despite their failures, pride, and stubbornness. His patience with them demonstrated His love, grace, and forgiveness time and again. He was ready and willing to forgive them when they repented, confessed their sins, and returned to Him. They were like disobedient children who were caught doing wrong, and their bad behavior was corrected.
But it was only a short time, and in their willfulness, they turned again to the ways of the worldly people around them. They chose to be like those who worshipped idols and to resist obeying God as obedient children do – they even made idols of their own, beginning with a golden calf in the wilderness.
But then there comes an awareness of what we have heard and of the fact that it calls for a response from me personally. I have heard God's word explained in context, with interpretation and some applications. Now what am I going to do with this knowledge? What effect am I expecting, and what changes am I willing to make? We haven't really learned anything unless there is evidence of the application of truth in my own life. True learning has a significant effect on my mind, will, emotions, and life.
When God's people come together to enjoy fellowship, praise, and worship, it is possible to experience a momentary spiritual high that fades as we leave and return to our normal daily lives. There is great benefit to the Lord's people when we gather together in fellowship for spiritual refreshment and for learning from the reading and expounding of the Scriptures.
Then we stand together in fellowship, in praise and worship of God. The company of God's people gathers to hear, read, and respond to God's word. Honesty lifts our spirits, and we give praise to God's patience and grace. He speaks through His word, and we hear it; we raise our voices in joy and honor.
It is a fundamental teaching of Scripture that our God is not one among many gods or ideas people have about God. He alone is the living God. He is “The Lord, the God,” eternal in His existence and infinite in every characteristic of His nature. He is the One True God. His love, mercy, grace, holiness, justice, and judgment are perfect, infinite, and endless. This becomes evident to us in a personal way when we read the scripture in times of persecution [v.11] and go to the Lord, drawing on His grace for strength, endurance, and sometimes sustenance and survival.
Times of rest often foster a sense of independence; times of trial, hardship, and suffering foster dependence on God, trust in His unfailing grace, extraordinary faith on our part, and the understanding that His grace is always sufficient for our needs.
A heartfelt response to the truth produces true and lasting change among the people of God. Our faith is not a casual acceptance of what we have been taught. It is a personal, unreserved trust in our God and His word, which reveals His will for us. "Blessed are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled." This leads to a knowledge of what it means to be part of the long line of faith and of those who love the Lord.
Like those in Nehemiah's day, we stand, identify with people of faith, and wait to hear what God our Lord will say to us in His word. Our separation is not temporary, and our confession is real. Our worship is in spirit and in truth, and our confidence is in our Lord, not in ourselves. Reading Scripture yields understanding. The response to the truth is change. The joy of obedience is restored, and fellowship with God and His people is shared.
How grateful we are to know that when we confess and forsake our sins and sinful ways, our gracious Father is ready to forgive us and instruct us by His Spirit and Word. When we realize how much and how often our Father is willing to forgive us, we want to avoid any sin that separates us from fellowship with Him, and we also recognize how important it is to forgive those who sin against us as often as necessary.