Week 22 Nehemiah
If someone found out I was reading through the bible and he put me on the spot by saying he wanted a brief synopsis of the OT what would I say? Other than: Uhhhhhhh……………………?
If my mental faculties were operating anywhere near full capacity I’d be smart to refer to Nehemiah. In chapter nine there’s a thirty-three verse public prayer & review of history section that covers lots of the major topics – from Genesis 1 to the return of the exiles.
Reading nine this year the thing that really registered was how many times the Lord is mentioned as being the Major Player in Israel’s history. There are thirty-seven references to the Lord doing things all along the way. For example:
You preserve and give life
You displayed miraculous signs
You came down on Mount Sinai
You gave them bread from heaven
You helped our ancestors conquer great kingdoms
You sent them deliverers
You rescued them repeatedly
You sent your Spirit
You showered your goodness on them
Like that.
37-actions in 33-verses. What’s that? 1-action every .9-verses?
Can’t really get around it. If I want to synopsize the OT the Lord’s intervention is a big part of the synopsis.
Note: quotes from Nehemiah 9:6, 10, 13, 15, 22, 27, 28, 30, 35 (NLT). End of month reading note: I finished Nehemiah and the book of Psalms today. My reading total is 931-pages. So I’m staying ahead.