July 22nd
Nehemiah 9

And they stood up in their place and read from the Book of the Law of the LORD their God for a quarter of the day; for another quarter of it they made confession and worshiped the LORD their God. (Neh. 9:3)

What an instructive scene we find in Nehemiah 9, as these returned Jewish exiles confess together before the Lord. We can learn at least four lessons here about confession of sin.

1. Confession grows from conviction by God’s word. We cannot read chapter 9 apart from chapter 8, in which these people at the start of this same month gathered in Jerusalem to be read and taught the Book of the Law (the Pentateuch). This chapter also begins with reading of the Law (Neh. 9:3). In this part of Nehemiah, the word goes in, does its work by the Spirit, and comes out again in the people’s prayers: this long prayer in chapter 9 basically follows events throughout the history of Israel. They have heard the word, and it has convicted them. God’s word will do that.

2. Confession is made by God’s people. It can and must also be made individually. But this scene of corporate confession in Nehemiah 9 is significant, as “the people of Israel were assembled with fasting and in sackcloth” before the Lord (v. 1). Our sins are part of a big story of a people needing God’s cleansing and forgiveness. Our sins affect others in the body of Christ. When we make corporate confession together regularly in worship, we present ourselves before God as his repentant and forgiven people, cleansed by the blood of Christ. We help each other to confess, to turn from sin, and to trust God’s forgiveness.

3. Confession depends not on us but on the character and work of God. This prayer begins by praising God for who he is (vv. 5–6). It repeatedly affirms his mercy and grace (vv. 17, 19, 28, 31). It recalls his acts of provision and deliverance—from slavery in Egypt, through the Red Sea, with manna and water in the wilderness, from surrounding enemies, and on and on. All this gracious deliverance points ahead to the promised deliverer, Jesus Christ, and the final deliverance from sin and death accomplished on the cross and in the resurrection. The confession of God’s people depends finally on that grace and that deliverance provided for us by God himself.

4. Confession involves saying what we turn from and what we turn toward. It’s not just a feeling of regret. These people say clearly, “We have acted wickedly” (v. 33), and they enumerate the ways. They end by making a covenant with God (v. 38; see also ch. 10), committing themselves to obey his Law. Of course, these people were not perfect after this scene—far from it! They needed the promised perfect deliverer—and so do we. Praise God for his merciful forgiveness and deliverance of us, through his Son.

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