Nehemiah, Sarah Barry
GOD'S DELIVERANCE IN THE WILDERNESS
Passage: Nehemiah 9:6~21  
Key verse: 17
6 You alone are the Lord.(A) You made the heavens,(B) even the highest heavens, and all their starry host,(C) the earth(D) and all that is on it, the seas(E) and all that is in them.(F) You give life to everything, and the multitudes of heaven(G) worship you.
7 “You are the Lord God, who chose Abram(H) and brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans(I) and named him Abraham.(J) 8 You found his heart faithful to you, and you made a covenant with him to give to his descendants the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Jebusites and Girgashites.(K) You have kept your promise(L) because you are righteous.(M)
9 “You saw the suffering of our ancestors in Egypt;(N) you heard their cry at the Red Sea.[a](O) 10 You sent signs(P) and wonders(Q) against Pharaoh, against all his officials and all the people of his land, for you knew how arrogantly the Egyptians treated them. You made a name(R) for yourself,(S) which remains to this day. 11 You divided the sea before them,(T) so that they passed through it on dry ground, but you hurled their pursuers into the depths,(U) like a stone into mighty waters.(V) 12 By day(W) you led(X) them with a pillar of cloud,(Y) and by night with a pillar of fire to give them light on the way they were to take.
13 “You came down on Mount Sinai;(Z) you spoke(AA) to them from heaven.(AB) You gave them regulations and laws that are just(AC) and right, and decrees and commands that are good.(AD) 14 You made known to them your holy Sabbath(AE) and gave them commands, decrees and laws through your servant Moses. 15 In their hunger you gave them bread from heaven(AF) and in their thirst you brought them water from the rock;(AG) you told them to go in and take possession of the land you had sworn with uplifted hand(AH) to give them.(AI)
16 “But they, our ancestors, became arrogant and stiff-necked,(AJ) and they did not obey your commands.(AK) 17 They refused to listen and failed to remember(AL) the miracles(AM) you performed among them. They became stiff-necked(AN) and in their rebellion appointed a leader in order to return to their slavery.(AO) But you are a forgiving God,(AP) gracious and compassionate,(AQ) slow to anger(AR) and abounding in love.(AS) Therefore you did not desert them,(AT) 18 even when they cast for themselves an image of a calf(AU) and said, ‘This is your god, who brought you up out of Egypt,’ or when they committed awful blasphemies.(AV)
19 “Because of your great compassion you did not abandon(AW) them in the wilderness. By day the pillar of cloud(AX) did not fail to guide them on their path, nor the pillar of fire by night to shine on the way they were to take. 20 You gave your good Spirit(AY) to instruct(AZ) them. You did not withhold your manna(BA) from their mouths, and you gave them water(BB) for their thirst. 21 For forty years(BC) you sustained them in the wilderness; they lacked nothing,(BD) their clothes did not wear out nor did their feet become swollen.(BE)
Footnotes
- Nehemiah 9:9 Or the Sea of Reeds
Cross references
- Nehemiah 9:6 : S Dt 6:4
- Nehemiah 9:6 : S Ex 8:19
- Nehemiah 9:6 : Isa 40:26; 45:12
- Nehemiah 9:6 : S Ge 1:1; Isa 37:16
- Nehemiah 9:6 : Ps 95:5; 146:6; Jnh 1:9
- Nehemiah 9:6 : Dt 10:14; Ac 4:24; Rev 10:6
- Nehemiah 9:6 : Ps 103:20; 148:2
- Nehemiah 9:7 : S Ge 16:11
- Nehemiah 9:7 : S Ge 11:28
- Nehemiah 9:7 : S Ge 17:5
- Nehemiah 9:8 : S Ge 15:18-21; S Ezr 9:1
- Nehemiah 9:8 : S Jos 21:45
- Nehemiah 9:8 : Ge 15:6; S Ezr 9:15
- Nehemiah 9:9 : Ex 2:23-25; 3:7
- Nehemiah 9:9 : Ex 14:10-30
- Nehemiah 9:10 : S Ex 10:1; Ps 74:9
- Nehemiah 9:10 : S Ex 3:20; S 6:6
- Nehemiah 9:10 : Jer 32:20; Da 9:15
- Nehemiah 9:10 : S Nu 6:27
- Nehemiah 9:11 : Ps 78:13
- Nehemiah 9:11 : S Ex 14:28
- Nehemiah 9:11 : Ex 15:4-5, 10; Heb 11:29
- Nehemiah 9:12 : S Dt 1:33
- Nehemiah 9:12 : S Ex 15:13
- Nehemiah 9:12 : S Ex 13:21
- Nehemiah 9:13 : S Ex 19:11
- Nehemiah 9:13 : S Ex 19:19
- Nehemiah 9:13 : S Ex 20:22
- Nehemiah 9:13 : Ps 119:137
- Nehemiah 9:13 : S Ex 20:1; Dt 4:7-8
- Nehemiah 9:14 : S Ge 2:3; Ex 20:8-11
- Nehemiah 9:15 : S Ex 16:4; Ps 78:24-25; Jn 6:31
- Nehemiah 9:15 : Ex 17:6; Nu 20:7-13
- Nehemiah 9:15 : S Ge 14:22
- Nehemiah 9:15 : Dt 1:8, 21
- Nehemiah 9:16 : S Ex 32:9; Jer 7:26; 17:23; 19:15
- Nehemiah 9:16 : Dt 1:26-33; 31:29
- Nehemiah 9:17 : Jdg 8:34; Ps 78:42
- Nehemiah 9:17 : Ps 77:11; 78:12; 105:5; 106:7
- Nehemiah 9:17 : Jer 7:26; 19:15
- Nehemiah 9:17 : Nu 14:1-4
- Nehemiah 9:17 : Ps 130:4; Da 9:9
- Nehemiah 9:17 : S Dt 4:31
- Nehemiah 9:17 : S Ex 34:6; Ps 103:8; Na 1:3
- Nehemiah 9:17 : S Ex 22:27; Nu 14:17-19; Ps 86:15
- Nehemiah 9:17 : Ps 78:11; Eze 5:6
- Nehemiah 9:18 : S Ex 32:4
- Nehemiah 9:18 : S Ex 20:23
- Nehemiah 9:19 : Ex 13:22
- Nehemiah 9:19 : S Ex 13:21
- Nehemiah 9:20 : Nu 9:17; 11:17; Isa 63:11, 14; Hag 2:5; Zec 4:6
- Nehemiah 9:20 : Ps 23:3; 143:10
- Nehemiah 9:20 : S Ex 16:15
- Nehemiah 9:20 : Ex 17:6
- Nehemiah 9:21 : S Ex 16:35
- Nehemiah 9:21 : S Dt 2:7
- Nehemiah 9:21 : S Dt 8:4
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Source:  BibleGateway
1. God's love (6-15)
According to the Feast of Tabernacles, each day began with prayers and Bible reading, reviewing what God had done since Abraham to call his special people and lead them to the promised land. They remembered God's love to rescue them from slavery in Egypt, to pass through the Red Sea, to receive the law, to be fed with bread from heaven, and to obtain water from the rock. God's great love is to choose us to be a kingdom of priests (Ex 19:4-6) to declare his praises (1 Pt 2:9-10).
2. God's forgiveness (16-21)
They recalled how their ancestors became arrogant and rebelled so quickly, making a golden calf to worship. Yet God forgave them, did not desert them, and guarded them with his pillar in the wilderness. We need to remember God's forgiveness and protection in spite of our sins to raise us up as holy people for his glory and purpose.
Prayer: Lord, you are full of love and forgiveness. Help me to live for your glory and declare your praises.
One Word: Remember God's love and forgiveness