Today I read Nehemiah 9, in which the Israelites fasted, repented, and made a covenant with God. Today I considered that everyone sins and makes mistakes but then we need to repent and recommit ourselves to following God.
Repenting and Recommitting to the Covenant
After feasting the Israelites fasted, repented, went over the blessing God gave them and created a covenant (Nehemiah 9:1-38). Then the children of Israel gathered wearing sackcloth, fasting, separating from strangers, and confessing their sins. Each day some of the book of the law was read and then they confessed their sins and worshiped God. Levites cried out to God, had the people stand and praised God. Levites described God choosing Abram, God’s 10 plagues, and God leading and freeing them from Egypt. Levites talked about God giving the Israelites laws through Moses, giving manna, giving water from a rock, being with them for 40 years in the wilderness even after they sinned, multiplying their children, giving them the promised land and subduing the inhabitants of that land, and giving them rich land to eat and grow fat. Repeatedly they sinned against God’s law so God let their enemies have control over them until they cried out to God for help and received saviors. Levites are asked God to consider their current bondage and trouble and the leaders wrote a covenant and sealed it.
Questions and Thoughts for Today
As a group they heard God’s word, repented of sins, and agreed to a covenant with God. They had to read God’s word to the people for them to know what to repent about. After repenting, the leaders created a covenant and sealed it.
Can you describe a leadership that actually did this in our current times?
Regardless of leadership doing this in your place of worship, we as individuals can read God’s word and repent each time we know we did wrong. Then work to not commit the same sin again.