Return to Me
September 3, 2017

Scripture: Nehemiah 1

I. You return to God by the means of studying the Bible.

A. We see Nehemiah refer to what he had learned in his study of the Bible in vs. 8-9. Perhaps what Nehemiah had studied was from Deuteronomy 4:25-27: “When you father children and children’s children, and have grown old in the land, if you act corruptly by making a carved image in the form of anything, and by doing what is evil in the sight of the Lord your God, so as to provoke him to anger, I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that you will soon utterly perish from the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess. You will not live long in it, but will be utterly destroyed. And the Lord will scatter you among the peoples, and you will be left few in number among the nations where the Lord will drive you.” God kept His promise, or His warning from the Bible, to drive the Jews out of their home in Jerusalem. That is why Nehemiah and the Jews were living in Persia. But God also made a great promise to His people in Neh. 1:9 if they would return to Him. Do you see it?

B. One of the reasons Nehemiah confessed the sins of Israel and himself at this time was because of what he had studied in the Bible in Leviticus 26:40-42 “But if they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their fathers in their treachery that they committed against me, and also in walking contrary to me, so that I walked contrary to them and brought them into the land of their enemies—if then their uncircumcised heart is humbled and they make amends for their iniquity, then I will remember my covenant with Jacob, and I will remember my covenant with Isaac and my covenant with Abraham, and I will remember the land.” In obedience to the Bible, Nehemiah confessed his sin and the sin of Israel (Neh. 1:6). He returned to God, and he discovered the way to return to God by His study of the Bible. Church, are you studying the Bible?

II. You return to God by the means of prayer.

A. Nehemiah’s study of the Bible led him to a life of prayer (vs. 4). Nehemiah allowed God to speak to him first in the Bible, and then Nehemiah responded to God in prayer. The same should be true of us as we seek to return to God and be close to God in our daily relationship. Like Nehemiah we should begin our prayers with praise of who God is (vs. 5). And we should include confession as part of our daily prayers (vs. 6).

B. One great attribute of God that Nehemiah mentions as he prays is in vs. 5: He is the God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments. God has made a covenant of marriage with His people as our husband. But even if we turn our back on our husband God will not turn His back on us. Listen to what God says about us, His unfaithful bride, in Hosea 2:14: “Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her.” God wants to speak to your heart about how much He loves you – even if you have been unfaithful to Him. That is how seriously God takes His marriage covenant. That is how faithful God your husband is.

Application:
Return to God if you have wandered away from Him.

Sources:
Commentaries on Nehemiah by Derek Thomas and James Hamilton Jr.