“And you saw the affliction of our fathers in Egypt and heard their cry at the Red Sea…”

Nehemiah 9:9a (ESV)

Last time we saw the reason God’s covenant with Abraham was kept: because of the Righteous Seed. Today we recount more of Yahweh’s faithfulness to His people.

And You saw – raah – considered, were aware, examined, exposed, inspected, observed, public, provided, surely saw, took into consideration, understood, showed self, sight of others, vision.

“You were aware and examined the affliction and poverty of our forefathers in Egypt. You inspected and considered it, and publicly exposed the situation.”

Our worshipful verses have skipped ahead a few hundred years in Israel’s history from the covenant with Abraham. So let’s back up a tad.

After Abraham obeyed God in the act of circumcision, God allowed Sarah to conceive, showing this family Who was the fruitful One. Abraham and Sarah have Isaac, who has Jacob, who has many sons, the favorite of which is Joseph.

Because he is openly favored by their father, and because he runs his mouth, the brothers of Joseph sell him into slavery. From there, in a series of miracles, he becomes second in command to Pharaoh, king of Egypt. Joseph helps save Egypt from a famine and when his family comes for grain, he forgives and the family is reunited in Egypt with his authority as protection.

However, after a few generations, a pharaoh comes on the scene who does not know Joseph, and was terrified of being displaced by the numerous people of Israel. So he enslaves them and makes their lives bitter.

And this is what God saw – observed and took into consideration. We can know Covenant Yahweh didn’t become aware of this slavery suddenly – as He already knew they would be there 400 years. But He was aware, observing, considering the entire situation, everyone involved, the whole time. Not once was He oblivious or uncaring. And just because He is all-knowing and knew it would happen, does not mean He liked it. Sin was not His idea.

The word for anguish here is oniy – misery, affliction, poverty. It comes from anah – to defile, bow down, deny/humble self, chasten, browbeat.

Remember, God knew the Israelites would come back to Canaan when the sin of the Amorites had reached its full measure. In the same way He was being patient in judgment in Canaan, we can rest assured He gave those in Egypt enslaving Abraham’s descendants time to repent. Interestingly, the word here for Egypt is Mitsrayim – son of Ham, of N.W. Africa. The people group in Torah referred to as Egyptians are the descendants of Ham.

As God would have it, my son read the story of Noah cursing Ham yesterday. He was confused because the curse refers to his son, Canaan, and “the son didn’t do anything.” Ah, generational sin. Those sins of the father visiting the next generation. Not because the son dies for the sins of his father, for God is not unjust, but because what is considered normal is passed on until someone says, “this stops with me.”

But please hear me, this curse of Ham has been used to justify atrocities across the globe. And if white supremacy is ever defended by using the Word of God, please know it is from the pit of hell.

But back to God being patient in judgment with those oppressing others in Egypt: we can know, because of His perfect character, that when people are causing “misery, poverty, defilement, and affliction” to His creation, it will not go unavenged. He sees it, friends. Raah.

Take it personal: “…for You saw (raah) my affliction and knew the anguish of my soul.” (Psalm 31:7) He saw it. He considers and understands everything that has happened to you or your ancestors, your people group. It has been considered, examined, exposed, taken into consideration with a vision for how we join together with Him in repentance and reparations so He can use it for His glory and our good.

Long before the Egyptians were enslaving the Israelites, Abraham was complicit in abusing and mistreating an Egyptian maidservant. And she, Hagar, pursued by the God of justice and mercy, is the only one who names God: El Roi (from raah) – The God Who sees me.

“I have seen the One Who sees me.”

Yes, friends. We serve a God Who sees it all. Including all the divisiveness and injustice, chaos and confusion of our current times. Please know if you are on the receiving end of injustice, He sees and acts. And if you are on the giving end, He sees and acts. Nothing in all creation is hidden from His sight.

But, praise Him, he doesn’t only see, he hears. “You heard their cry.” Heard is our word shama – to listen with intent to obey. Of course in the case of Yahweh Elohim, some of the other phrases in the definition better apply: gave heed, listened attentively, witnessed, proclaimed, sounded.

God saw His people’s affliction and heard their cry (zeaqah – outcry, lamentation, crying, shriek). Forced to work with no pay, treated with whips when not pleasing masters, most likely raped or otherwise abused at whim. Yes, such treatment calls for the kind of lamentation that can come out as shrieks. Praise Him, He hears.

He listens attentively to our lament. There’s a whole book in His Word with such a name – He is witness to it. A significant portion of the Psalms models it – He gives it proclamation. No, He doesn’t enable petty complaints or self-righteous demands, but He gives heed to honest hearts crying out at injustice.

I love that this section is included as the Levites recount with the returned exiles His faithfulness over the generations. Sometimes we need to remind ourselves what He has done in the past to trust Him in the present.

He sees and hears and will act.

“…to give [the land] to his descendants…

…You have kept your promise because you are righteous.”

Nehemiah 9:8b

Last time we dug more deeply into the Promised Land and how God is the Owner of all. Today we see why the promise will surely come true.

“…to give [the land] to his descendants (zera – seed, offspring, grain, children, posterity, race, fruitful)…”

Abraham was with whom God made the original covenant, but those who would come after him were the ones who received the inheritance – both the first round and the returned exiles. It was to his offspring, posterity, race.

We live in a deeply divided time. Those languishing under abhorrent government rulings and incomplete theology are the ones who must pay. When we view these verses solely about national borders and current conflicts and even focusing on the nation state of Israel, we can miss the larger point. And repeat the same mistakes in other policies which seek to displace, humiliate, and lord power over those who are indigenous or seek asylum.

If we take verses about giving the land and try to apply them in a colonized sense in our day, assuming wealth or power means the favor of God, we will mock the Cross, trample upon His image bearers, and miss the overall Story of love, redemption, service, and majesty of a God of Justice.

Those who claimed being of Abraham’s seed as their righteousness tended to be the ones to whom Jesus – God in the flesh – confronted with righteously angry words. Hear me, not those of Jewish descent, those who, in pride, viewed themselves above others and, because of that, thought it their right to treat others beneath them.

Those who realized only He could bridge the gap between their brokenness and His perfection were welcomed, celebrated, ate among, made examples of, and followed Him to their own deaths because of their new lives.

Everyone has behaved in the prideful way described at one time or another. We all have moments of looking down our nose at others and feeling superior, treating others accordingly, if only in our thoughts. We are all guilty and all have the opportunity to repent.

But God forgive us, on this MLK Day and every day, if we use any part of His Word or ways to humiliate others, take what is not ours, believe in our rights over relationship, or reject those in need.

In contrast, those of Abraham’s spiritual seed, of which we non-Jews now belong because of Christ, inherit the promise.

“…You have kept (qum – to arise, stand, brighter, confirm, establish, fulfill, restore, surely stand, succeed) your promise (dabar – word, proposal, edict, idea, oath) because you are righteous (tsaddiq – just, blameless, Righteous One)….”

Now we arrive to the reason the promise was sure: Because He kept it. Kept here is confirm, establish, surely stand, succeed. Arise, stand, brighter.

Yes, this is what the One Righteous Seed accomplished. He kept the Law we could not keep. He succeeded in obeying the covenant perfectly where we failed. He surely stood before God as the perfect sacrifice we could never supply.

And why? Because He is righteous – just, blameless, the Righteous One. One of my favorite names of God is Jehovah-tsidkenu, the Lord Our Righteousness. Even in the midst of the old covenant and sacrifices and law, He was His peoples’ righteousness. It has always been Him, from first to last.

A literal rendering of this final section of “kept your promise” is “performed Your words.”

Yes, friends, what He says, He does.

Is God a human, that He should lie? A human being that He should change His mind? When He speaks, He acts. And what He promises, He fulfills.

The returned exiles, led by the Levites, were right to praise Jehovah-tsidkenu: both in His past and present faithfulness and His coming Righteous Seed, shining ever brighter.

“…a covenant to give him the land of the Canaanites,
    the Hittites, and the Amorites,
The Perizzites, Jebusites, and Girgashites…”

Nehemiah 9:8a MSG

Last time we settled in with some of the specific praises due to Covenant Yahweh – including his choosing of Abram, changing his name to reflect fruitfulness, and a covenant guaranteed to come to pass because of the Author of it. Today we see some more specifics of this covenant.

“…a covenant (berith – ally, treaty) to give (nathan – bestow, commit, entrust, grant, issue, pledge, present) the land…”

The treaty, this covenant, was to give Abram something. To bestow and entrust to him what would be required of a father of multitudes: land.

In our real estate driven society, we typically think of land in relation to what we desire to build upon it. Whether houses or businesses or the latest strip mall, we see what we can use the land for, rather than what the land itself provides for us.

In Abraham’s agrarian society, land was everything. Perhaps kings would think of mansions to build, but the majority of folk would think of cattle to feed, sheep to graze, and crops to harvest, consume, and trade.

And it was a vast land which would be committed to Abraham and his descendants. But first some history.

“…the land of the Canaanites…” You may notice from the map below the “land of Canaan” looks an awful lot like maps of Israel. That’s because it is the same land, as taken by faith in the book of Joshua. But before we get upset that God promised land that had to be taken from others, let’s review some Holy Writ info.

If you remember, God had destroyed the world with a great flood, save Noah’s family – his wife, his sons, and their wives. So when it was time to repopulate the earth, the responsibility landed on Shem, Ham, and Japheth, the three sons of Noah, and their wives. (See Genesis 10 for all those details.)

One of the sons of Ham was named Canaan (which means “land of purple”) and in fact is associated with “pedlar, merchant, mercantile caravans.” Scholars tell us the city of Canaan became a major producer and exporter of purple dye (source).

Contrast this with the sons of Shem, listed in Genesis 11:10-32, where we find a man named Terah who was the father of Abram. This is the line through which God chose to work His plan of redemption for the whole world. It was through the line of Shem, the Shemites, later shortened to Semites. Yes, where Semitic (or, sadly, anti-Semitic) comes from.

An interesting tidbit from a Study Bible also revealed another name by which Abram and his descendants were known. In Genesis 14:13, Abram is called “Abram the Hebrew.” This title Hebrew tends to be used by non-Israelites in a disparaging sense in the Old Testament. And “outside Torah, people known as Habiru/Apiru are referred to as propertyless, dependent, immigrant social class.” (source)

So from the start we have these contrasts: a family from Canaan with land and goods and a settlement, and another family associated with propertyless outsiders. And this is where Yahweh shines.

Because the propertyless, dependent ones were through whom He chose to display His glory. In contrast, Canaanite religious practices were hideous and included child sacrifice, idolatry, religious prostitution, and divination.(source)

And before we get too defensive about those living in the land of Canaan not having a chance to know better, verses like Genesis 15:16 can help calm our hearts: “In the fourth generation your [Abram’s] descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure.”

Rather than picturing an unfair, punishing God sitting around waiting to squash a group of people until they get really bad, could we instead get to know a Creator God of flawless character Who is slow to anger, abounding in love, and desiring that all repent so none would perish? But One Who knows where there is no justice, there is no love? He was being patient in His judgment here, friends. And always.

But let’s look closer at some of the specific names listed in today’s verses. First up, the Hittites whose name comes from chathath – to be shattered, dismayed, terrified; to prostrate in a negative way by violence or fear. In an ironic twist, this is the same word used by God to Joshua centuries later when commanding him to take this same Promised Land: “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or chathath.”

The Hittites were powerful people who dominated much of Canaan. And when our returned exiles are being led by the Levites to worship God, they make sure to name this people group who likely terrified their ancestors.

What terrifies you? What could shatter you or, in violence, tempt you to bow down to it instead of Him? The answer to this question is only abstract until something happens in our lives that touches this area. It is then we can take it to heart that God is not out to chathath us. He doesn’t seek to dismay or terrify or shatter in a violent way. The fear of God is a healthy, powerful fear, which leads to the worshipful kind of bowing. If you are in a dismayed season, please know He is the God Who gives strength no matter how powerful or dominating your battle seems.

The next group listed is the Amorites, known as mountain-dwellers who settled west of Babylon. Their name comes from the Hebrew word amar – to say. When looking at all the uses of this word, I was struck by how it was used for each day of creation in Genesis: God said, “let there be light,” God said, “let the waters gather,” God said, “let there be vegetation.” Then only two chapters later, the serpent hissed to Eve, “Did God really say?”

Yes, friends, He really has said. And it does matter. I love that our small group talked last night about the Bible being God-breathed and our firm foundation, like a house built on Rock. We all worship something. Everyone has faith in what they believe matters most. If there is a God, and He has revealed Himself through Holy Writ, then understanding what He has communicated to His creation is of utmost importance.

The next two groups we’ll look at are the Girgashites and Jebusites, from the word Jebus meaning “trodden, threshing place.” Also, interestingly, it is the aboriginal name for Jerusalem, the Holy City. At the time of the conquest under Joshua, the Jebusites were living in Jerusalem (source). But push pause on that for one second.

First, did you realize this land of Canaan is much of modern day Palestine? And this name Palestine evolved from the name of a people group living there – but not listed in these verses – the Philistines? (You can find them in our map below.)

Surely, even if you do not understand the details of it, you have heard of the modern day Palestinian-Israeli conflict? Interesting, isn’t it, how all this originated here in Genesis, the book of Beginnings?

But let’s move on to the final group for today, the Perizzites. I saved them for last because of the root words of the name: perazi – rustic, village, rural; and perazah – without walls. The Study Bible points out these were, indeed, rural inhabitants in the land of Canaan.

But I want to focus on that descriptive perazah. It is also used in a Scripture we’ve seen on here before – Zechariah 2. In describing the New Jerusalem, that place in which we return to the Garden because of Golgotha, all nations will stream into it. There will be no wall or boundary lines, but instead, the LORD Himself will be a surrounding wall of protective fire.

In the midst of discussing judgment and taking over land and building a wall in our current day and a government shut down and this same land being fought over still, the reminder of these verses gives us sanity. The reason God had His people occupy this land was to show His heart to the watching world. And the ultimate return to the Ultimate Promise Land will have nothing to do with competing national interests, but rather worship of the Worthy Lamb. Perhaps we should start living like this now?

It seems Abram knew this to some extent from the very beginning of the promise. Genesis 12:7 says, “The Lord appeared to Abram and said, ‘To your offspring I will give this land.’ So he built an altar there to the Lord, who had appeared to him.”

What else to do when Canaanites are currently residing there? What else but believe Him and build an altar to this Covenant Yahweh, acknowledging He is the Owner of it all anyway?

Where do you need to bow to the Owner of all and acknowledge His supremacy? Where are you clinging to rights and pride rather than sacrifice and unity? Does your worship of the God of the Bible more line up with His vision of the New Jerusalem, or are you holding onto a woefully inadequate nationalism into which you invite the name of Christianity but not the character and ways of Jesus?

He has the authority; all of it. We as believers, His Bride the Church, will answer to how we reflected Him in our day. May we live lives of worship and service, welcome and love.

You’re the one, God, the God
    who chose Abram
And brought him from Ur of the Chaldees
    and changed his name to Abraham.
You found his heart to be steady and true to you
    and signed a covenant with him…

Nehemiah 9:7 MSG

“You are Yahweh Elohim who chose (bachar – desired, preferred, selected, tested, appointed) Abram (“high father”) and brought (yatsa drew out, led forward, proceed publicly, upheld, went forth) him out of Ur (Uwr – city in Babylon) of the Chaldeans…”

You selected, tested, and appointed Abram and drew him out from Ur of the Chaldeans and appointed him the name Abraham – exalted father of a multitude.

I’m so grateful that when Yahweh tests and appoints us, He does so as a loving Father. He is not setting us up to fail, has no critical spirit, and is for our growth. And when He leads us out of places we’ve known into the unknown? He draws us out, woos us to Himself, and upholds us during the entire process. And He makes His finger on our lives public.

“…and gave (sum or sim – to place, appoint, assign, establish) him the name (shem – name, renown, repute) Abraham (“exalted father/father of Jewish nation” – from ab – father, father or a multitude, populous)…”

God gives to us, appoints, assigns, and establishes us where we’re to be. But, in His incredible compassion, He also assigns us a name there. Have you ever read about the significance of Abram to Abraham? If you’ll notice, the only difference is the added “ha.” From this website:

“…The Lord added to each of their names the “H” (corresponding to the Hebrew letter heh) in YHWH…Ab -ra -ham אברהם differs from the preceding only in one letter; it has ה he before the last radical…[possibly] added for the sake of dignity, God associating the patriarch more nearly to himself, by thus imparting to him a portion of his own name…”

“…The same…occurs…on the word Sarai, שרי which signifies my prince or princess, and Sarah, שרה where the whole change is made by the substitution of a ה he for a י yod…God shows he had conferred a peculiar dignity on both, by adding to their names one of the letters of his own: a name by which his eternal power and Godhead are peculiarly pointed out…”

Do you feel it? Do you see the dignity He gives when He establishes us in covenant with Himself? But there’s more:

“…God’s covenant was to multiply Abram exceedingly and to make him exceedingly fruitful. So much so that the name ‘Abram’ was no longer appropriate for him. Abram was 99 years old and so far had been exceedingly unfruitful. God changes his name to reflect his future fruitfulness […heh is associated with the Spirit…the breath/life of God—and with that, the ability to bring forth life…] and institutes the ordinance of circumcision–circumcision of the only part of the body that is able to take part in reproducing or multiplying descendants. Note that it is only after Abraham is circumcised that Isaac is conceived by Sarah, with Isaac being born just one year later when Abraham is 100 years old…”

What is it you feel you lack? The area that is tender when poked, still a hurt you hold before Him? It is there He will do the impossible in your life. Why there? Because you, above all people, will know that you know the result is from Him and His power. It cannot be from yourself. Still more:

“…A name exchange is always a part of cutting covenant. Each person takes on the name of the other family or tribe as a part of the process. Notice that Abram took on a letter in God’s name, and God started calling himself ‘The God of Abraham’, later the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. So each time the name is said they are saying ‘I am Abraham in covenant with God’ and God is saying ‘I am God, in covenant with Abraham…'”

Oh, that He would associate Himself so intimately with His creation! That He would risk His perfect reputation on we mortals. That He would choose us, humanity, as Plan A in telling of His redemption. That He Himself would become Man, to so identify with creation as to become that which He came to redeem. (Source of above quotations)

“…You found (matsa – found, discovered, overtook, possessed) his heart (lebab – inner man, courage, desire, heart of hearts, intelligence, purpose, wholehearted; from labab – to get a mind, to encourage, to make cakes, to ravish) faithful (aman – confirm, support, enduring, doorposts, established, firm, lasting, sure, trustworthy, steadfast, to foster as a parent or nurse) before You (paneh – before the face of)…”

“You found his heart faithful before you.” You so overtook his inner man, found him so wholehearted before Your face, faithful like a supporting doorpost, established and steadfast like a parent or nurse.

What lovely imagery Hebrew definitions evoke. A parent, smitten with love for her child, by birth or adoption, never to be revoked. A committed and caring nurse, so invested in the health of his patient as to faithfully foster their health and healing.

And a child of God so possessed by the glory of God, having discovered His beauty and perfection is so that nothing on earth compares, that her intelligence, courage, heart of hearts is enduring before Him.

It’s the reason Job could say, after everything, “My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you…”

And Paul could say with sincerity, “To live is Christ and to die is gain…”

And we, believers, can say, “We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed and broken. We are perplexed, but we don’t give up and quit. We are hunted down, but God never abandons us. We get knocked down, but we get up again and keep going. Through suffering, these bodies of ours constantly share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.”

And, of course, if we aren’t there yet? Or still? Ask Him. Ask for such love, such overtaking, that He would show Himself utterly worthy and beautiful in your inner person. He delights to answer.

“…and made (karath – to cut off, cut down, kill, alliance originally by cutting flesh and passing between the pieces) with (im – along, beside, like, regard, together) him, a covenant (berith – ally, treaty)… “

“…and made with him a covenant…” I have read scholars refer to covenant-making as “cutting a covenant,” and now I see the reason in the Hebrew definition. To make such a treaty referred to the process of cutting a creature in half and passing between the pieces.

This is what Covenant Yahweh did when He Himself passed through the two pieces of animal sacrifice. What’s striking in today’s verses is how it points to God making this covenant with Abraham – beside, together. The significance of the smoking firepot alone passing through the sacrifice while Abram snoozed is how uniquely one-sided this treaty was. Yet today’s verses point to a togetherness, an agreement to come along beside, between this God and Abraham.

I think the understanding here comes from Abraham’s continued willingness to follow God where He called him. He had already left his country, his people, and his father’s house without knowing where they were going. He had watched God defend his wife with Egypt’s Pharaoh, despite his own cowardliness, showing how personally the LORD takes the treatment of women and the marriage covenant. And, when given an opportunity to select the best section of the land, Abram deferred to his nephew and God gave him the promise of the land of Caanan to him and his offspring forever.

But most importantly, when God spoke, “Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness.”

The resulting covenant was in response to Abram’s query, “O Sovereign LORD, how can I know that I will gain possession of it?”

God was about to show him how he could know: He would perform the covenantal ceremony on His own. He would take sole responsibility for making sure the promise came to pass.

Friends, we worship a God Who makes sure His Words are fulfilled. When we look around at all the turmoil, we can rest in the character of the One Who so personally took on the New Covenant, He became the cut sacrifice. All we do is believe and join Him, come along beside Him in His redemptive work.

Blessed be the Name of the LORD.

“You’re the one,
    God, you alone;
You made the heavens,
    the heavens of heavens, and all angels;
The earth and everything on it,
    the seas and everything in them;
You keep them all alive;
    heaven’s angels worship you!”

Nehemiah 9:6 MSG

Last time we saw a few new Levite names and their meanings, watching as they encouraged praise, a great and glorious Hallelujah! Today we see some of the specific praise to which the group attributed to Yahweh.

“You (attah) are God (Yhvh) alone (bad – alone, apart, except, separate)…”

You alone are Covenant Yahweh. You are separate, apart from other gods, the exception to idols. You keep Your promises, have higher thoughts, and when You speak, You accomplish.

“You have made (asah – accomplish, make, do, bestow) the heaven of heavens (shamayim – heaven, sky, horizons, other)…”

You have created the highest heavens. Not simply the sky or the stars; the otherness of heaven. The highest heaven above even our known universe.

“…and all their host (tsaba – army, war, warfare, conflict, struggle)…”

Ah, how we know heaven is not simply referring to the sky: the hosts are at war. The cosmic struggle is real. The heaven of heavens boasts an army of angels, great warriors of light, engaged in fighting evil.

“…the earth (erets – land, dust, territories, ground, region)

All the land belongs to Him. There is no territory to which He does not have the deed. No region over which He is not sovereign. The ground which produces nourishment for creation was His idea, spoken into existence.

Not only the land, but all who call the land home, is made by Him: the giraffes and penguins, crickets and doves, anteaters and puppies. And His human creation, made in Their image.

“…the seas (yam – south, westward, coast, sea)…”

The sea is His for He formed and filled it, along with everything in it. The sharks and corral, seaweed and hermit crabs, piranhas and plankton. He is Maker of all.

“You preserve/keep them alive (chayah – make alive, certainly, give promise, revive, quicken, recover, repair, restore to life, surely made whole)…”

What He creates, He sustains. He certainly gives life to each plant, animal, cell and society. Not only can He give and sustain life, He can resurrect it. Quicken heart beats, recover lost breath, revive neural transmissions, and restore souls. The One Who creates surely makes whole.

“And the hosts of heaven worship (shachah – bow down, prostrate, humbly beseech, reverence) You.”

These mighty warriors of light are delightfully subject to Covenant Yahweh’s rule and reign.

“All hail the power of Jesus’ Name

Let angels prostrate fall

Bring forth the Royal Diadem

And crown Him LORD of all!”

We all fall prostrate in reverence to You.

“At the name of Jesus every knee will bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.“

Delightful, glorious Ruler of All, we acknowledge You are worthy.

And so, again in 2019, we bow.

“Then the leaders of the Levites—Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah—called out to the people: ‘Stand up and praise the Lord your God, for he lives from everlasting to everlasting!’

Then they prayed:

‘May your glorious name be praised! May it be exalted above all blessing and praise!'”

Nehemiah 9:5 NLT

Last time we met some of our Levites standing on their stairway, platforms focused on those given them to serve and far enough apart to prevent confusion. In today’s verse they call to the people, encouraging praise and prayer.

Several of the Levites listed last time are in today’s verse. Of the three not already mentioned, the first is Hashabniah which means “Yah has accounted.” It comes from the word chashab – to think, calculate, devise, designer, esteem, pondered, purposed, value.

I’m so grateful for the additional synonyms listed in this definition. Otherwise, accounted conjures up images for me of a God simply numbering off heads of children on a field trip. Making sure we’re all here and sort of tired of the chaos.

Fortunately, we have a Creator Who esteems and values His purposeful creation. His calculations look more like an artist designing gorgeous pottery, devising its splendid purpose. We never have to wonder if we have worth to the Most High God. Yah has accounted.

Hodijah is next in the Levite list of names, and we have seen him before. His name means “My splendor is Yah” and he was one of the Temple workers helping the people understand the Scriptures. I’m grateful for this reminder from where our majesty comes.

The final new name listed is Pethahiah, which means “Yah has opened.” It comes from pathach – appear, break forth, open, loosen, unstop, free

Such a fitting name for today, as I type this on Christmas Eve. Love was about to break forth, shattering the divide of earth and heaven, human and Divine. One Baby, Lord at His birth, appeared to open our eyes, loosen our chains, unstop our deaf ears, and set us free.

It is these men who exhort the people:

“Stand up (qum) and bless (barak – to kneel, bless, salute) Yahweh Elohim from forever (olam – everlasting, antiquity, futurity, continual, eternal, perpetual, permanent) and ever (olam again).”

Our Levites were already standing on the stairs, elevated above the gathered people. Now they command the others to stand and bless Yahweh Elohim Who is from forever and ever.

Here is our God the Ancient One again. The command is only kneeling and saluting the One who is forever past, forever future, and the I AM that I AM present. Thanking and blessing the Continual Holder-Together, the Perpetual Sustainer. The Eternal and Permanent Most High. That is to Whom the Levites command praise.

“Blessed be your glorious (kabowd – weight, splendor, honor) name (shem – name, famous, renown)…”

The command to praise turns into a personal prayer: “We kneel to your weighty and honorable Name, Famous One.”

“…which is exalted (rum – rise, high, display, lift, lofty, tall, triumphant) above all (al kol) blessing (berekah – blessing, gift, peace, present) and praise (tehillah – song of praise, deep place, depth, laud, hymn. From halal – shine, boast, celebrate, give light, rave, commend)”

Your Name is higher, more lofty and triumphant above any other gift or blessing or peace we could want. It is taller, more on display, than any song we could sing, any deep hymn we could repeat 10,000 years, bright shining as the sun.

But still we praise. We say, “Hallelujah!” from a command form of this very word, halal and Yah. We shine, give light to this Name, this Worthy One. We boast, celebrate, rave about Him every time we take Him at His Word, look to Him for strength, see dignity in others, and join Him in His kingdom come.

And today we celebrate You, Father, for giving Your Son.

Shepherds quake at the sight
Glories stream from heaven afar
Heavenly hosts sing Al-le-lu-ia!

Christ the Savior is born.

“On the stairs of the Levites stood Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani; and they cried with a loud voice to the Lord their God.” 

Nehemiah 9: 4-5 (ESV)

Last time we saw the gathered, fasting group stand in their fixed place to read Torah, confess their sins, and worship Yahweh Elohim. Today we see how specific Levites joined in.

“The Levites stood (qum again – to arise, stand up, accomplish, accuse, brighter, confirm, establish, fulfill, prepare, raise, rise, strengthen, surely stand)…”

Our Temple workers also joined in the confession and worship of Yahweh. They arose to accomplish and strengthen the work of becoming a people dedicated to God. And they stood on the stairs (maaleh – ascent, platform, upper section, stairway)…”

Scholars point out these stairs were pulpits where the Levites would stand to sing at the time of sacrifice, elevated to be seen and heard by the people. There were probably several placed at convenient distances to prevent confusion and the voice of one drowning those of the others. Each Levite would teach or pray with that part of the congregation which was allotted them. (Source)

What a beautiful picture of the Body of Christ. Each of us part of a priesthood of believers, singing or teaching or praying with those given to live with and love and serve. And those with an elevated platform? God gives the opportunity to both serve “those allotted them” and spaces them “at convenient distances to prevent confusion and the voice of one drowning those of the others.”

In a time of social media and instant access, the idea of preventing confusion appeals. Seems to me the best way to do that is focus on Who is the point and who we are called to serve.

Because we are all at a different point in our journey, some teaching may be more confusing than helpful, and some healthy disagreement between those who have followed Jesus for years may discourage a new disciple. And heaven forbid any of us drown out the Voice of God, Kol Yahweh, in an effort to teach of Him.

Seeking to love Him through His Word and loving others in our lives is one way we can be faithful with the pulpits given us. We are elevated, Believers, and others are watching. Let’s let Grace and Truth guide.

Several specific Levites are named in this section of Holy Writ, with one name repeated twice and a third name of similar meaning listed as well. Bani is second and seventh in the roll call, while Bunni is fifth. But they are all from the word banah – to build.

We saw this name a chapter ago in Nehemiah 8:7, remembering how, in the wall of Jerusalem, some sections needed only restored while others required deconstruction and reconstruction to be made sturdy.

Friends, God is doing some heavy deconstruction in some large-scale situations in our day. Our job is to join Him even when it gets uncomfortable. Okay, painful. Demolition is intense, but keeping in mind the vision of renovation helps us endure. Renovate is “derived from the Latin verb novare, meaning ‘to make new,’ and suggests a renewing by cleansing, repairing, or rebuilding.” (Source)

It’s hard work, but we’ve been called to it. This is our day, the time to which we’ve been given on planet Earth. We are walking pulpits breathing His life-giving Spirit even into areas of demolition. But, so that we can join Him to cleanse, repair, rebuild. Make new. It’s His specialty. And any pulpit entrusted to us only points to the ultimate ascent of the stairway: God Himself.

The next name listed is Kadmiel which means “God is the Ancient One.” What a name. It comes from the word qedem – aforetime, front, east, formerly. As the sun rises in the east, God is the beginning. In the beginning, God. He is before now, before time. The Ancient One. He always has been and everything flows from Him.

When we’re tempted to feel as though it all rests on us, or our timing is most important, may we lean into the Ancient One. He is not in a hurry and always goes before us. Either we can spin our wheels frantically or walk in peace and power alongside. The Former One is also the Current and Future One. Let’s walk in step with Him.

The next Levite listed is Kenani whose name comes from ken – base, pedestal, office. Followed by Shebaniah which means “Yah has grown, prospered.”

In a world which honors high offices, pedestals, and a prosperous bottom line, we ought to tread lightly with these definitions. If any of these things are true in our lives, let’s remember together it is the most sacred of trusts. Given not for hoarding but for helping. 

And what is true of every single believer in the Ancient One and Risen Savior is the office of son and daughter in the Kingdom and a prosperous bearing of spiritual fruit. I don’t type that lightly with the knowledge so many have so little. When you’re scraping by or on the streets or just stole from your family again for your next hit, such promises can seem too other-worldly to matter.

But they’re true. The inheritance of the Kingdom, every spiritual blessing, is ours for the taking whether you’re high on the hog or desperate for dinner. May every one of us know the blessing of being poor in spirit, hungry and thirsty for righteousness. And may we be sick to our stomachs if we gorge on much while others have nothing, our souls dissatisfied at consuming without care. Yah has grown and prospered for the good of all and to His fame. God, help us remember.

We have finally arrived at what our Levites are doing elevated on these stairs: they cried out (zaaq – cry, call out, complain, wail, issue proclamation, rally, call together) with a loud  (gadol – great, rich, prominent) voice (qol – sound, cry, witness) to Yahweh their Elohim.

Remembering the sorrow the community felt for their sins and those of their forefathers, the Levites joined in with lament. The cool thing is the word can also mean issue, proclaim, rally, and call together. Yes, I think that’s what our genuine, heart-felt sorrow at the state of brokenness can do. We can call forth in one another more. To be better together and proclaim that, though things are not as they should be, we can rally around growth in that direction. Because the longing brings us together, closer to the heart of God.

Only a God full of compassion and longing would become one with His creation for redemption. Fully human and yet completely God, living just like us and unlike anyone ever could. Veiled in flesh, the Godhead see. All hail the Incarnate Diety.

We wait and rally, cry aloud and hope until He comes again.

Glory to the Newborn King.

“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.”

Nehemiah 9:3 ESV

Last time we saw our group gather again for fasting with sackcloth. Those of the direct line of Jacob separated themselves from those who were not, and took their stand, confessing their habitual sins and offenses, along with those of their forefathers, taking responsibility for what was still bent, twisted, and crooked.  Today we see precisely how they confessed.

“And they stood (qum – to arise, stand up, accomplish, accuse, brighter, confirm, establish, fulfill, prepare, raise, rise, strengthen, surely stand).”

Once again, our returned exiles are described as standing, this time to confirm, accomplish, fulfill what God has prepared for them to do. Shining brighter, prepared and strengthened for the task ahead of learning to be God’s people once again in their homeland.

And they were not just standing wherever, but “in their place” (omed – a standing place, upright, fixed spot). Because many of us are accustomed to seeing North America as the center of the world, it is sometimes hard to understand why God had chosen the Promised Land to make Himself known throughout the centuries.

But I’ll never forget first learning in college about some of the possible reasons Yahweh Elohim strategically chose to display Himself in the Fertile Crescent. With the trade routes and rivers, thriving civilizations and bountiful lands, this place was likely the center of the world.

And it was definitely the center of what God was doing. And He never does things haphazardly. 

How about you? Ever struggle with getting perspective on Who is the point? Or fail to see the position to which you’ve been called in humility?

Yet, at the same time, ever wonder if you’ve been called to a fixed place to stand? We are, friends, one where we stand upright, dignified in our roles and strengthened for our unique tasks.

So our gathered folk were standing in their fixed place and reading (qara – to call, proclaim, read, make famous) from the Book of the Law of God (Torah of Yahweh their Elohim).

What a good idea. When given a fixed place and a second chance, the people chose wisely and proclaimed not what sounded good to them but what they knew experientially to be True. They made famous the ancient call of God and the Law through which He had made Himself known.

May we do the same, Believers. We have every reason in the world to trust in Holy Writ and conform our lives to its Truth. May its message – lived out in our lives through love – make Him famous.

While reading of Torah accounted for a quarter of the day, another quarter was used specifically for confession (yadah – to throw, cast, give thanks; from yad – to hold out hand, physically: to throw stone, to revere/worship with extended hands).

Here is our thankful confession from last time again. The security of being able to acknowledge what is broken because we have the Blessed Fix. One able to cast our sin as far as the East is from the West and take the stoning we deserve. Such a God holds out His hand to each of us. Our part is taking it gratefully, then raising ours in awe.

In fact, this time of thankful confession leads directly in our text to worship (shachah – to bow down, prostrate, fall down flat, humbly beseech) Yahweh their Elohim.

Indeed, fall on your knees and hear the angel voices. When the God of galaxies becomes God with us, bowing prostrate only makes sense. Let’s bow in humble worship today, knowing Who is the point and standing in our fixed place to make Him famous.

Oh night divine.

“Now on the twenty-fourth day of this month the people of Israel were assembled with fasting and in sackcloth, and with earth on their heads. And the Israelites separated themselves from all foreigners and stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers.” 

Nehemiah 9:1-2 ESV

Last time we saw the final day of our gathered folk’s festival turn into a solemn assembly, in accordance with misphat: what is just and right. Today we see the group’s next steps in repentance.

“Now on the twenty fourth day of this month the people of Israel were assembled (asaph – to gather, remove, amass) with fasting (tsom – fast) and in sackcloth (saq – sackcloth), and with earth (adamah – ground, earth) on (al – hovering over) their heads.”

Our narrative continues during the same month (Tishri) as the Festival of Tabernacles. Once again, our group gathers back together, the assumption being each returned to their homes after their week-long party with marvelous mirth. However, in keeping with their solemn assembly, this time the group gathers with fasting. The primitive root of this Hebrew word for fast (tsom) means “to cover over the mouth.” Ah yes. Have we not all been here?

When was the last time you opened your mouth but should not have? Was it to put something in there which was not best? Or to let a snide remark out, revealing the contents of your heart? What about to blame someone else or shame another’s situation? How about gossiping about someone’s failures to quiet your conscience about your own?

Indeed, times of covering our mouths are necessary. And our gathered folk did it in the traditional sense: abstaining from food. At the same time they dressed in sackcloth. The point of wearing a garment made of scratchy goat hair was the discomfort. To remind oneself of the need for repentance:

“Very simply, sackcloth and ashes were used as an outward sign of one’s inward condition. Such a symbol made one’s change of heart visible and demonstrated the sincerity of one’s…repentance.” (Source)

The word for sackcloth is saq which comes from shaqaq meaning “to run, rush wildly, thirsty, have appetite, seek greedily, justle one against another.” Talk about something being an outward sign of one’s inward condition. It is fairly easy to see this greedy rushing everywhere in our day, in my own heart. The lack of trust in God having His best for me, including enough to eat and drink, point to my unbelief. I must trample others to make sure I am taken care of. I have to secure for myself because no one else will.

This is scarcity mentality and it is everywhere. Fortunately, it is also a lie. Indeed, we will reap what we have sown in the treatment of our earth. But even in this situation, we often discount a benevolent Creator Who lacks no resources.

Are you thirsty? Do you hunger and have an appetite for more? Of course you do. We all have legitimate needs and further desires. Let’s take these to our Father. To choose to believe, no matter what the circumstances scream, He is for us and only withholds that which harms.

And what about our spiritual hunger? That void nothing fills?

Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life.

Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again.

Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”

John 6:35 NLT

“Come, all you who are thirsty,
    come to the waters;
and you who have no money,
    come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
    without money and without cost.

Why spend money on what is not bread,
    and your labor on what does not satisfy?
Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,
    and you will delight in the richest of fare.”

Isaiah 55:1-2

It is poignant to me the returned exiles also put dirt, earth on their heads. The word used here is different from dust, implying more moisture. Pointing to a God who sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. Still a sign of repentance and grief, a reminder that man is made from the dust of the earth and the breath of Elohim.

“The seed of Israel (zera – offspring, descendant, nation, grain, race, prosperity) separated themselves (badal – to be divided, separate, exclude, sever) from sons of foreigners (nekar – that which is foreign, strange, alien) and they stood (amad – take one’s stand, arise, abide, present, stand firm) and confessed (yadah – to throw, cast, give thanks, make confession) the sins (chatta’ah – sin, an offense and its penalty, often habitual; from chata – to miss, go wrong, offend) and iniquities (avon – guilt and its punishment, from avah – perversity, amiss, bent, twisted, crooked, do wickedly) of their fathers hovering over (al) them.”

So much here. Those of direct lineage of Jacob separated themselves from those who were not and stood. Not to be exclusive, but to be inclusive of the generational sins in their line. They rose up and took their stand to make thankful confession of their offenses. Please note, they would have no need to separate themselves from those who worshipped Israel’s God but were not of the direct line of Jacob if they were not only taking ownership of their own sins, but also those of their ancestors.

Oh my friends. So instructive for us in our day, yes? If we genuinely believe our God is One of Reconciliation, this will be of paramount importance in our cooperation with Him. Never had a single ill thought toward indigenous people groups who originally populated the continent you call home? Wonderful. But if you are currently a house or land owner, you benefit from their past and present oppression, making confession necessary for reconciliation.

Never owned a slave or had family who did? I’m so glad. But that does nothing to change the fact the people stolen from another continent and sold for profit built the nation from which we thrive. Acknowledgement of that is vital in the reconciliation process as we move forward.

“All this comes from the God who settled the relationship between us and him, and then called us to settle our relationships with each other. God put the world square with himself through the Messiah, giving the world a fresh start by offering forgiveness of sins.

God has given us the task of telling everyone what he is doing. We’re Christ’s representatives. God uses us to persuade men and women to drop their differences and enter into God’s work of making things right between them.”

2 Corinthians 5:18-19 (MSG)

Reconciliation is the process of:

1. Acknowledging what is broken, figuring out how those systems operate, and then
2. Setting things right

The beauty of our passage today is the word for confession also means “give thanks.” The example set before us in Scripture is taking a stand on offenses, ways we’ve missed the mark, and accepting how we have responsibility in what is still bent, twisted, perverted and wicked. But giving thanks even as we stand firm in the ugliness. Because we have a God Who took it all on.

Some days I’m not sure how we keep on doing it. Humanity, us, created for life now dealing daily with death. And all the ways we hurt and hurt one another, the grief and brokenness. Some days only remembering He came down to experience it Himself can keep us focused. And knowing this heart is what moves the mission of Love forward:

Isaiah 58:6-10

True fasting, genuine repentance, will show up in the way we treat one another. Thankful confession, admission of failure in the same breath as gratitude for the Cross, will yield liberated reconcilers of this Baby King we celebrate.

Gloria in excelsis Deo.

Day after day, from the first day to the last, Ezra read from the Book of the Law of God. They celebrated the festival for seven days, and on the eighth day, in accordance with the regulation, there was an assembly.

Nehemiah 8:18 NIV

Last time we saw our gathered people obey and make booths with gathered branches. The abundance of marvelous mirth which characterized their celebration came from hearts genuinely set free from captivity. Today we see another aspect of this group’s festival obedience.

For starters, from the first day until the last, Ezra read (qara – call, proclaim, make famous, summon) the Torah. Truth was proclaimed and made famous and summoned the group’s joyful obedience even as they ate the fat and drank the sweetness and celebrated the harvest.

Can we get real personal for a second? How easy is it for you to picture a community party alongside the law of Elohim being read? Do those two things seem completely separate in your mind? How does your heart respond to the communal hearing of God’s law and a clear command to drink wine and eat fatty foods and have a giant, camping slumber party with an entire city?

Yeah, me too. It is hard to reconcile what seems quite unspiritual with what is clearly done to focus on God. But I think this is where we often suffer in our discipleship to the Living God. We separate events and desires and traditions and holidays from things like Bible study or prayer or fasting. When the clear message of Scripture is they are all parts of one whole life devoted to Yahweh.

If you are on a path of obedience regarding food consumption or alcohol or reducing the amount of time you have with people in order to reflect or better serve, please do not read into this some sort of permission to abandon obedience in that area. What I hope diving into this text does is challenge the parts of our lives into which we do not invite our Creator. For example, for me to ignore any sense of restraint this holiday season in the area of sugar, when God and I have clearly been walking this thing out together for a few years, is not inviting my Creator into a celebration. It is not obedience with marvelous mirth. It is gluttony in which I ignore the growth we’ve made and do whatever I want, numbing out instead of talking through my fears or desires or stress with Him.

For you, it might be the part that thinks desires – food, drink, sex, connection, rest, excitement, celebration – are either frowned upon by a joyless God or are nothing to invite Him into. Instead of seeing them as part of a good creation (though marred and broken by sin and teeming with poor examples) they instead seem to be ways to ignore your heart “for Him.”

Or maybe you have no issues diving into your desires but you lack times of restraint. Perhaps you’ve never experienced that lovely, dependent weakness that comes from a day – just one day – without food, pointing to your absolute creatureliness. Instead, having all you’ve ever needed, you take for granted there will always be more and assume it is your right. What life (God?) owes you because of hard work or intrinsic rights.

Indeed, we all have areas of soul work into which He invites us. But if we are never letting Him in on either end of the spectrum, we will ping pong back and forth on our own strength. And it just so happens that after a few weeks of focusing on feasting and celebration and marvelous mirth, today’s verses end with an assembly on the final day of the festival. The word for assembly is atsarah which denotes a solemn gathering. It comes from atsar which means to restrain, confine, detain, prevent, check, slow down.

Yes, there comes a time for restraint, to slow down. To check motives and intentions, to prevent disaster. As we grow in obedience to Him, I think one of the sweetest things He does is help us trust His law. As we trust His character, we see His faithful heart behind His requirements. And as we step out in what He commands, we experience the rightness of walking with Him. Holy Writ becomes both how we love Him more and the way we engage Him experientially. And so often He will surprise us when we obey without full understanding, then He shows us how much better His way was than our own. Not that He owes us that – He is God – but when we begin to see a kind Creator, gentle Shepherd, and wise Father prove to us His ways are for our best, it is solemn indeed. Restraint can become more reflexive as we don’t move without Him.

And this solemn assembly was “in accordance with the regulation.” The Hebrew word used here is mishpat – judgment, just, mode of life, order, standard, worthy, what is right, custom, discretion, human or divine law. It’s the word most commonly translated “justice.” Side by side with hesed, the Hebrew translated loving-kindness, we have a more filled out picture of what Old Testament prophets considered loving God and neighbor.

Mishpat comes from the root word shaphat – to judge, govern, avenge, defend, reason, rule. I’m most intrigued by the idea of a worthy mode of life. An entire life shaped by love of God and others. When we do what is just, use discretion in how we live by considering others in what we choose to do and refrain from doing, we are loving in practical ways. When we take the areas given to us to govern (and we all have them) and view them as a sacred trust in which to defend those who are marginalized and judge with fairness, we are living out mishpat.

But the most tender thing to me is the just rule in this situation, the regulation required at the end of this festival, is a time of solemnity, slowing down, a time of restraint. And don’t look now, but Advent is upon us.

And during this upcoming time as the world celebrates the first arrival of God to a planet requiring lungs and legs and ligaments, we can slow it down a beat. We can sit with twinkle lights and, as my son just asked me, ponder how Mary knew her Baby created the world. Yes, she knew. Perhaps not all of it, but His miraculous conception and divine birth pointed to His power. Just as being surrounded by manure and hay pointed to His humility. After all, she was the one who declared:

Let’s take a lesson from our gathering of festive returned exiles. May we slow down and practice restraint on behalf of others and the planet this Advent. May we listen intently to the Law of God daily even as we celebrate with those we love. And may we dedicate ourselves to mishpat, a worthy mode of life.

Peace on the earth, goodwill to man.