Setting – Israel fasted, confessed their sins and reviewed Israel’s past history of blessings & unfaithfulness.
Content – After their celebration festival (v. 9b NLT) “This time they fasted and dressed in sackcloth and sprinkled dust on their heads”. The Book of the Law was read (v. 3 NLT) “The Book of the Law of the LORD their God was read aloud to them for about three hours”, then they (v. 3b NLT) “Then for three more hours they took turns confessing their sins and worshiping the LORD their God”. They magnified what God had done, (v. 6 NLT) “You alone are the LORD. You made the skies and the heavens and all the stars. You made the earth and the seas and everything in them. You preserve and give life to everything, and all the angels of heaven worship you”. Then they reviewed what God had done for Israel, (v. 9 NLT) “You saw the sufferings and sorrows of our ancestors in Egypt, and you heard their cries from beside the Red Sea”, (v. 10 NLT) “You displayed miraculous signs and wonders against Pharaoh”, (v. 11 NLT) “You divided the sea for your people so they could walk through on dry land”, etc. I like how the end of verse 10 states it, “You have a glorious reputation that has never been forgotten” They also stated how Israel was unfaithful (v. 16 NLT) “But our ancestors were a proud and stubborn lot, and they refused to obey your commands”, (v. 17a NLT) “They refused to listen and did not remember the miracles you had done for them”, etc. But God kept His promise and blessed them once they were faithful again, (v. 22 NLT) “Then you helped our ancestors conquer great kingdoms and many nations, and you placed your people in every corner of the land”, (v. 23 NLT) “You made their descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and brought them into the land you had promised to their ancestors”. They became rebellious again, but God still showed mercy (v. 31 NLT) “But in your great mercy, you did not destroy them completely or abandon them forever. What a gracious and merciful God you are!”
They were slaves in their land (v. 36 NLT) “So now today we are slaves here in the land of plenty that you gave to our ancestors! We are slaves among all this abundance!” Even though they were in their plight (v. 38 NLT) “Yet in spite of all this, we are making a solemn promise and putting it in writing. On this sealed document are the names of our princes and Levites and priests.”
Application – God is faithful. Even though we are rebellious God remains faithful to us. We should review how God has blessed us and is blessing us. God has provided the “Promise Land” to me and my family, which we thank Him for just about daily. We need to remain faithful regardless, but we need to take heed not to become comfortable and forget our commitment to Him. The sad reality is that our past sins are plenty, just like Israel’s. But this doesn’t mean we forfeit the goal to shun sin. We can be a blessing to God and we need to take this relationship seriously and with heartfelt commitment.
Israel reviewed their father’s sins and committed to not repeat them, we need to do the same.
Content – After their celebration festival (v. 9b NLT) “This time they fasted and dressed in sackcloth and sprinkled dust on their heads”. The Book of the Law was read (v. 3 NLT) “The Book of the Law of the LORD their God was read aloud to them for about three hours”, then they (v. 3b NLT) “Then for three more hours they took turns confessing their sins and worshiping the LORD their God”. They magnified what God had done, (v. 6 NLT) “You alone are the LORD. You made the skies and the heavens and all the stars. You made the earth and the seas and everything in them. You preserve and give life to everything, and all the angels of heaven worship you”. Then they reviewed what God had done for Israel, (v. 9 NLT) “You saw the sufferings and sorrows of our ancestors in Egypt, and you heard their cries from beside the Red Sea”, (v. 10 NLT) “You displayed miraculous signs and wonders against Pharaoh”, (v. 11 NLT) “You divided the sea for your people so they could walk through on dry land”, etc. I like how the end of verse 10 states it, “You have a glorious reputation that has never been forgotten” They also stated how Israel was unfaithful (v. 16 NLT) “But our ancestors were a proud and stubborn lot, and they refused to obey your commands”, (v. 17a NLT) “They refused to listen and did not remember the miracles you had done for them”, etc. But God kept His promise and blessed them once they were faithful again, (v. 22 NLT) “Then you helped our ancestors conquer great kingdoms and many nations, and you placed your people in every corner of the land”, (v. 23 NLT) “You made their descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and brought them into the land you had promised to their ancestors”. They became rebellious again, but God still showed mercy (v. 31 NLT) “But in your great mercy, you did not destroy them completely or abandon them forever. What a gracious and merciful God you are!”
They were slaves in their land (v. 36 NLT) “So now today we are slaves here in the land of plenty that you gave to our ancestors! We are slaves among all this abundance!” Even though they were in their plight (v. 38 NLT) “Yet in spite of all this, we are making a solemn promise and putting it in writing. On this sealed document are the names of our princes and Levites and priests.”
Application – God is faithful. Even though we are rebellious God remains faithful to us. We should review how God has blessed us and is blessing us. God has provided the “Promise Land” to me and my family, which we thank Him for just about daily. We need to remain faithful regardless, but we need to take heed not to become comfortable and forget our commitment to Him. The sad reality is that our past sins are plenty, just like Israel’s. But this doesn’t mean we forfeit the goal to shun sin. We can be a blessing to God and we need to take this relationship seriously and with heartfelt commitment.
Israel reviewed their father’s sins and committed to not repeat them, we need to do the same.
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