Week 23 Nehemiah 9
Chapter 9 is mostly a review of the History of Israel and the main part of the passage is a reminder of the key historical events.
But a secondary idea that’s hard to miss is what Nehemiah says about the Lord.
What the Lord is actually like is a pretty important thing to know and so I write down the words that describe him. The Lord:
…made everything
…preserves everything
…gives life to everything
…sees & hears & speaks to people
…does a lot of supra-natural things
…gives people directions/instructions
…forgives people
…is gracious & good & practices mercy
…takes a long time to get angry
…is unfailingly loving
…helps & takes care of people
…is patient & great & mighty & awesome
…only resorts to punishment after a long time and as a last resort.
One of the reasons I read the bible is to try to figure out what the Lord is like. So this is a really productive chapter with lots of useful data.
Mostly it’s a nice consolatory reminder of the Kindly Lord (which is nice since the OT – just like the NT – also has edgier & off-putting & stern-and-serious qualities of the Lord).
I know that the happier picture of the Lord is non-comprehensive – that there’s a bigger picture it fits into. But it’s a legitimate & genuine part. And it’s a nice thing to be reminded about.
Note: see the features in Nehemiah 9:6 9 10-12 13-14 17 20-21 22-25 30 32 33 35.