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Commentary on "Worship: From Exile to Restoration"
Day 6: Thursday, September 1, 2011 - Nehemiah's Prayer
Day 7: Friday, September 2, 2011 - Further Study
Review
Thursday’s Lesson begins, “Despite all the promises of restoration, things were not going well in Jerusalem,” and this was primarily “as a result of their own disobedience.” We are asked to read Nehemiah’s prayer for the restoration of Jerusalem and discover what ways the conditionality of prophecy is revealed in his prayer.
Observations
The Lesson points out that “things were not going well” for the returned exiles, even though God had made promises to restore the temple and the city. The implication here is that God makes His promises to bring about good things, but the promises cannot be fulfilled unless we are sufficiently strong enough to persevere. This is what they mean by “conditional” promises. God’s promises of keeping them and saving them and establishing His kingdom among them were mighty, of course, but if they disobeyed Him and didn’t cooperate, the promises were null and void. His promises of salvation were only as strong as their will and fortitude. That was a problem for Israel. From their history, we find out just how utterly stubborn, unbelieving, and prone to the worst idolatry they were; totally incorrigible! God already knew it, and said so Himself:
“And the Lord said to Moses, ‘I have seen this people, and behold, it is a stiff-necked people. Now therefore let me alone that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them…” Exodus 32:9,10
This brings me to an illustration. Today I sat in a meeting with a large team of teachers and professionals, trying to help a chronically failing student we’ll call Jose. We sat in a big circle and talked for an hour about every solution in the book: classroom accommodations, tutoring, counseling, different teachers, even different schools. Jose listened at first, but despite all our promises of help, things were not going well. Jose sat in his chair getting more obstinate by the minute. He told us, “I hate getting up and coming to school every morning, and putting up with everybody!” Staying up late with his Play Station was a sacred freedom that we needed to respect, you see. During all this, his mother looked frustrated and totally ineffectual. She finally told us, “If I take away his games, he’ll get violent.” That was the final argument, and we couldn’t push the issue. She had no real authority in his life; she could only scold, then give in to his wishes. Through her weakness, he could defeat all of us.
How like that poor mother this Lesson portrays the infinite, almighty God of Israel! He is portrayed as a loving provider with the best intentions, but when push comes to shove, He is ineffectual to carry them out. All Israel had to do to defeat God’s plans was show some stiff neck and consistently resist His authority. According to this Lesson, it worked, for eventually He did give up His chosen people!
This is a pathetic picture of a God who boasts that He not only called them out of Egypt; He also created and formed them for His glory (Is. 43:7). They were the least of all the peoples of the earth, the most likely to fail (Dt. 7:7). Even so, He redeemed them and called them by name, and said, “You are mine” (Is. 43:1). He is committed to them in a most intimate way, “I will take you by the hand and keep you” (Is. 42:6). They are precious in His eyes, and He loves them (Is. 43:4). These are not the statements of a worn out single mother, but the declarations of the living God. How easily does He give up on them?
“Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb?”
Well, in some very sad cases…
“Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you.” Is. 49:15
When things are not going well in your spiritual life, it is tempting to think that God’s patience is at last running out, that you are too stiff-necked even for Him. Then He’ll just have to replace you with someone who is better at repenting and obeying. After all, He replaced the Jews, didn’t He? We must wonder, just how capable is God of softening the hardest heart and bringing about repentance? Well, maybe we should ask this first: which of us is more worthy of God’s mercy than the most stubborn Jewish rebel? Do we think, as arrogant Christian Gentiles, that because we worked up our repentance, that we are worthier than Israel? Behold Christian history, and tremble!
Twenty-five hundred years ago Jacob’s God promised to pour out a spirit of repentance on the people who pierced their Redeemer (Zech. 12:10). That prophecy has yet to be fulfilled, and it will surely come to pass. Israel’s eventual repentance and salvation should be a great comfort to us Gentile believers today, for we also crucified our Lord with our sins, and we are not deserving of any of the promises given to them. He has not cast off the Jews, and neither will he discard you, if you believe and don’t harden your heart. The suffering of the Son of God was effective to redeem both Israel and us, the “wild branches.” That is why God can speak of our redemption in the past tense, for it is done:
“I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud and your sins like a mist; return to me, for I have redeemed you.” Isaiah 44:22
By the blood of Jesus, all the promises of God find their Yes in Him! (II Cor. 1:20) So, when you feel like God is casting you off, dear friend, enter boldly into His presence and claim those promises given to miserable, failing Israel! We were created and formed for His glory, He has redeemed us and called us by name and we are His. We too are precious in His eyes, and He loves us. Are you still worried that you will not be able to persevere to the end? You’re not able, but He has promised. Isaiah 42:6 says, “I will take you by the hand and keep you.” That sounds a lot like what Paul said to some Greeks,
“And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” Philippians 1:6
Copyright 2011 BibleStudiesForAdventists.com. All rights reserved. Revised September 1, 2011. This website is published by Life Assurance Ministries, Glendale, Arizona, USA, the publisher of Proclamation! Magazine. Contact email: BibleStudiesForAdventists@gmail.com.
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