Year 5, Day 56: Nehemiah 9

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Forgiveness

• Forgiveness: Forgiveness is when our sins are absolved by God.  We do not deserve this forgiveness, but God grants it to us anyway.  We cannot earn forgiveness, but God gives it to us anyway.  As we are forgiven by God, He also asks us to forgive others.  In fact, Jesus Himself teaches us to pray for our forgiveness in the Lord’s Prayer when He says, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”

I think I’m going to focus on forgiveness for another day.  As we recount this passage in Nehemiah 9, it is clear that the one consistent attribute that God is always employing is forgiveness.  Yes, God is many things.  But every time God interacts with humanity there is an element of forgiveness within.

Look at the history of the Hebrew people.  God was good to Abraham and his offspring.  But by the time of Jacob, God was already being put into the back burner.  Among Jacob’s 12 sons, God was not a priority in most of their lives.  By the time they get to Egypt, God is really only important as they cry out in bondage.  Then there are the wilderness Hebrew people, who die in the wilderness because of their rebellion.  The Hebrew people during the time of the Judges are no better.  Then there are the Hebrew people who come after Solomon when the general decline really takes hold.  Practically the whole time of relationship between God and His people has required Him to be forgiving before the relationship could even exist!

Forgiveness is actually where I think most of the other expressions of faith originate.  Because God is forgiving, we can worship Him.  Because God is forgiving, we can love Him.  Because God is forgiving we can love one another.  Because God is forgiving we do service to reflect His love to others.  Most of what we do is ultimately a response to God’s initial forgiveness.

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