God’s Mercy in Confession: A Cycle of Grace (Neh 9:26-31)

 “Nevertheless they were disobedient and rebelled against you and cast your law behind their backs and killed your prophets, who had warned them in order to turn them back to you, and they committed great blasphemies. Therefore you gave them into the hands of their enemies, who made them suffer. Then in the time of their suffering they cried out to you and you heard them from heaven, and according to your great mercies you gave them saviors who saved them from the hands of their enemies. But after they had rest, they again did evil before you, and you abandoned them to the hands of their enemies, so that they had dominion over them; yet when they turned and cried to you, you heard from heaven, and many times you rescued them according to your mercies. And you warned them in order to turn them back to your law. Yet they acted presumptuously and did not obey your commandments, but sinned against your ordinances, by the observance of which a person shall live. They turned a stubborn shoulder and stiffened their neck and would not obey. Many years you were patient with them, and warned them by your spirit through your prophets; yet they would not listen. Therefore you handed them over to the peoples of the lands. Nevertheless, in your great mercies you did not make an end of them or forsake them, for you are a gracious and merciful God.

Have you ever had enough of someone’s selfishness or mistreatment of them that you said, “no more!” Or perhaps you withdrew for a time, hoping they would learn, and they did, only to return to their selfish ways? How many times would you put up with this? How much would be enough to say, “never again”? For God, the answer is never, as shown in this prayer of confession.

Background

We are now in the fourth part of this long prayer, the last section before it closes in verses 32-37. This prayer of confession began with everything but confession: a praise of God, a description of why God should be praised, and then reminders of specific things God has done for the people. This sets up why they need to confess—it grounds the confession in the character of God. Now, the prayer is ready to reveal why confession is necessary. Recall why this prayer is being offered: the people have returned to their land after 80+ years, and have just refinished building the wall of Jerusalem, and are beginning to renew their dedication to God. But their past requires confession.

They ignored God’s laws, they killed the prophets he sent to teach and warn them, they insulted God in significant ways. After much patience and many chances, God allowed their enemies to conquer them. But God heard their cries for help, and he saved them through a leader. They thanked God and followed him for a short time. However, after a time, they returned to the same self-centered lifestyles as before. So they were conquered again…and the cycle repeated: they ignored God, they were captured, they cried out to Him, He saved them. This section of the prayer ends with a line reminding them of why God keeps doing it: “Nevertheless, in your great mercies you did not make an end of them or forsake them, for you are a gracious and merciful God.”

Meaning

If you studied the prayers of Judges with us, this recitation of the sins of God’s people would sound familiar—the cycle of rebellion-suffering-prayer-deliverance is emphasized there.¹ Rather than focusing on any specific event, though, this prayer addresses with the nature of the people to rebel against God and His response.