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Observations from today’s readings and today’s S-WOD, Friday, 16 January 2026:
Nehemiah 9:1-3– Now on the twenty-fourth day of this month the people of Israel were assembled with fasting and in sackcloth… they stood and confessed their sins… and for a quarter of the day they read from the Book of the Law… and for another quarter they made confession and worshiped the LORD their God.
True renewal deepens. In Nehemiah 8 the people rejoiced; in Nehemiah 9 they repent. Joy does not eliminate confession — it prepares the heart for it. Joy comes from confidence in God’s love and grace, inspiring a repentance which seeks, not just to avoid the consequences and penalty of sin, but which seeks to be restored to unity with God, the peace which comes from relying on Him to overcome past failures, present inadequacies, and future growth. Having been restored by God’s Word, the people now respond with humility. Repentance is not emotional collapse but truthful alignment with God. The balance is striking: Scripture is read, sin is confessed, worship follows. The New Testament preserves this same rhythm — exposure to God’s holiness produces repentance, and repentance restores fellowship. Where confession disappears, spiritual growth stalls.
When was the last time you spent half a day just reading and hearing the Word of God, confessing sin and worshipping, with yourself or with a group of fellow believers? You need it as much now as they needed it then.
Nehemiah 9:4-5 — The Levites… cried with a loud voice… “Stand up and bless the LORD your God from everlasting to everlasting.”
Confession is framed by praise. The people do not begin with themselves but with God. Worship lifts their eyes from guilt to glory. This guards repentance from becoming self-centered. The New Testament likewise anchors repentance in God’s character: kindness leads to repentance, and confession flows from trust in God’s mercy, not fear of rejection.
Nehemiah 9:6-15 — You are the LORD, you alone…. You chose Abram…. You saw the affliction…. You divided the sea…. You gave them bread from heaven….
The confession unfolds as theology before it becomes autobiography. The people rehearse who God is and what He has done: Creator, covenant-maker, deliverer, provider. They remember election, redemption, guidance, and provision. Sin is confessed in light of grace already given. This is critical. The Bible never teaches people to confess in isolation from God’s faithfulness. In the New Testament, believers confess sin in the shadow of the cross, knowing redemption has already been secured in Christ.
This section anchors everything that follows in a single, decisive truth: hope does not rest on who we are or what we have done, but entirely on who God is and what He has already done. Before a single confession of sin is spoken, the people rehearse God’s initiative — His choosing, His delivering, His sustaining, His providing. Grace always precedes repentance. God did not act because Israel was faithful; Israel exists because God is faithful. This pattern reveals the heart of redemption itself. God moves first. He chooses Abram before Abram proves anything. He delivers Israel before they obey anything. He provides manna before they deserve anything. The story is not human ascent but divine descent — grace reaching down to rescue, sustain, and carry a people who could not save themselves.
This prepares the way for the gospel logic fully revealed in Christ: salvation by grace through faith, not by works, leaving no room for boasting. Life flows not from moral effort but from resting in what God has already accomplished, though striving to appreciate and experience God’s grace more fully through obedience – grace being not only gift of forgiveness but also the gift of God doing in our lives what would be impossible for us alone as we obey Him and manifest His blessings as branches connected to the Vine. While His people were still rebellious, God remained patient; while sinners were still sinners, Christ died for them. Love does not begin with us loving God, but with God loving us first. Faith, then, is not striving to earn life but receiving the life that has been freely given. When our lives rest in His life, when we take hold of the gift rather than trying to manufacture worth, we step into true security.
Living from grace dismantles the deepest joy-killers of the human heart: guilt about the past, shame in the present, anxiety about the future, fear of punishment, and fear of failing again. Nehemiah 9 shows that God’s people are secure not because of their consistency but because of His sovereignty and steadfast love. The same God who created, chose, delivered, fed, and sustained Israel is the God who secures believers in Christ, past, present, and future. Confidence is not found in human resolve but in divine faithfulness. Grace does not excuse sin, but it frees the heart to obey without fear, to repent without despair, and to live anchored in a love that holds firm through the cross and beyond.
Nehemiah 9:16-21 — But they and our fathers acted presumptuously… yet You are a God ready to forgive, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love….
Here the pattern becomes unmistakable: rebellion contrasted with mercy. The people do not minimize sin, they name it plainly. Pride, disobedience, idolatry. Yet God’s character dominates the narrative. He does not abandon them. He sustains them even in rebellion. This confession reveals a mature understanding of grace: God’s patience is not approval of sin but commitment to redemption. The New Testament echoes this truth when God’s patience is described as salvation, not delay.
Nehemiah 9:22-31 — You gave them kingdoms…. Yet they were disobedient…. Nevertheless, in Your great mercies You did not make an end of them….
The cycle continues: blessing, rebellion, discipline, mercy, restoration. History becomes a mirror. The people see themselves clearly, not as victims of circumstance but as recipients of relentless grace. God’s judgments are corrective, not destructive. This prepares the heart for the gospel, where judgment and mercy meet fully in Christ. The cross reveals both the seriousness of sin and the depth of God’s mercy in one decisive act.
Nehemiah 9:32–37 — Now therefore, our God… we are slaves this day… because of our sins…
Confession becomes present-tense. The people connect past rebellion to present condition. They do not blame foreign powers alone; they acknowledge covenant unfaithfulness. This is not despair—it is honesty. Renewal requires owning reality. The New Testament maintains this posture: freedom begins with truth, and confession precedes restoration. Grace never grows where denial remains.
Nehemiah 9:38 — Because of all this we make a firm covenant in writing….
Repentance leads to resolve. Confession without commitment is incomplete. The people respond by binding themselves to obedience. This is not self-salvation; it is covenant response. Grace empowers obedience rather than replacing it. The New Testament affirms the same reality: salvation produces fruit, and those who abide in Christ bear evidence of new life. External reform without heart transformation will fail, but repentance rooted in grace leads to faithful endurance.
“Cross” Fit S-WOD (Spiritual Workout of the Day) – 16 January 2026: Evaluate how honestly you respond to God’s Word. Ask yourself three questions and act on one today: 1) Do I confess sin in light of God’s mercy, or do I avoid repentance out of fear or pride? 2) Do I remember God’s faithfulness as clearly as I remember my failures? 3) Has repentance in my life led to concrete changes, or only emotional moments? Choose one concrete action: confess a specific sin before God without excuse, rehearse God’s past faithfulness in prayer before addressing present struggles, or take one obedient step that aligns your life with what repentance requires.
Pray: “Father, You are righteous in all You do and merciful beyond measure. I confess that I am often stiff-necked, slow to listen, and quick to forget Your grace. Thank You that You are patient, forgiving, and faithful even when we are not. Teach me to repent without despair and to obey without pride. Anchor my confession in Your mercy and our obedience in Your grace. Thank You for Christ, who bears my sin, secures my forgiveness, and empowers my faithfulness. Shape me into a person who remembers, repents, rests in Your grace, and remains faithful for Your glory. In Jesus’ name, amen.”
Defenders Bible Reading Plan 