Studies in Nehemiah 9

Verse 27 really stuck out to me. After they were disobedient, the Lord gave them into the hand of their enemy. When they were suffering, they cried out to the Lord. Then it says that He heard their cries from heaven. That is a long way to hear some ones cry.

Our God is Omnipresent, He has the power to be present every where simultaneously. Wow, no other "god" that I have heard of can do that. Even in heaven, Jesus, sitting at the right hand of the Father hears my cries and saves me.

Then in verse 28 the same scenario happens all over again. They did evil in His sight, He gave them over to their enemies, they cried out to Him, He heard them from heaven and in His mercy he delivered them.

And that's how it goes through the rest of the old testament. The prophets came and warned them to turn to the Lord or they would be punished.

Some times we think that if God would just do another miracle like He did in the bible, then so many people would believe. Then they would see it for themselves and know that there is a God. But the Israelites saw God do many miracles in their day.

The pillar of cloud

The pillar of fire

food from heaven

water from a rock

signs and wonders against Pharaoh

parting the red sea

Pharaohs army subdued by the sea

God spoke to them at Mount Sinai

their clothes did not wear out

their feet did not swell

He gave them the land

the land that they took was full of good things

Wow, all these things God did for them but still they could not follow Him.

Even the disciples didn't fully believe and they were with Jesus every day. They saw first hand how He:

Healed the sick

brought the dead back to life

multiplied food

spoke with authority

He died on the cross and resurrected

I'm sure there are many more things. In Matthew 28:17, Jesus is getting ready to ascend into heaven and right before He gives them the great commission the scripture says, "and when they (disciples) saw Him the worshiped Him, but some doubted."

Even that wasn't enough for them to believe that He was truly God. So people can "see" as much as they want, but it comes down to the heart. We are always praying for our unsaved family, that the Lord would open their eyes to see the truth.

For me I need to always remember what the Lord has already done and what I have seen, believe that He will always take care of me no matter what my circumstances are. I do not want to be wishy washy like the Israelites were.