NEHEMIAH: THE OLD TESTAMENT CONCLUDES STILL AWAITING THE PROMISE

In 539 BC, the Persian king Cyrus defeated Babylon and allowed the Israelites to return to their land. Many did return, but not all. God had sent His people into exile for their rebellion and idolatry. Now, as part of their restoration, God raised up leaders like Ezra and Nehemiah to lead the post-exilic community back to the land, to worship at the rebuilt temple, to rebuild the city walls, and to renew their covenant with God.

Chapters 8-10 in the Book of Nehemiah focus on the reading of the law and covenant renewal. Nehemiah 9 is a prayer of national confession of sin and covenant renewal. Notice how Nehemiah retells the story of the Israelites by summarizing their history:

• Praise for God the Creator of all (5-6)
• Abraham: God’s faithfulness to His promise (7-8)
• Moses: God delivers His people from slavery (9-12)
• Moses: The giving of the Law and provision in the wilderness (13-15)
• Moses: Israel’s rebellion and God’s compassion (16-21)
• Joshua: God gives His people the land (22-25)
• Joshua – Present History: Cycles of Israel’s rebellion and God’s willingness to forgive (26-31)
• Present – God has acted justly in His judgments and we are in distress (32-37)
• In view of this, we are making a binding agreement to be faithful (9:38 – chapter 10)

There is something both encouraging and discouraging in this passage.

It is true that genuine revival is preceded by an awareness of sin followed by brokenness and confession. Their fasting and confession of sin is a positive sign. There is no spiritual renewal without repentance. They recognize their checkered history and realize that the cause for their exile was not primarily about international politics but a consequence of their rebellion and disobedience to God. Leaders like Ezra and Nehemiah are so critical at this juncture because they lead the people to seek the Lord with prayer, repentance, and a renewal of their covenant to be faithful to God.

But . . . careful readers of Scripture have been here before and wonder if their covenant renewal will be long-lasting and fruitful. My mind hearkens back to Joshua 24, after God had given His people the land and the territories had been allocated to the twelve tribes. Joshua calls the people to renew their covenant with God, which they do with eagerness. As one reads the next part of their history, recorded in the Book of Judges, we see that their commitment to God and his covenant go from bad to worse.

Though there is encouragement at the end of Nehemiah that the people pledge their faithfulness to God, one cannot help but wonder if their obedience, like the Israelites of old, will be short-lived.

By the end of Nehemiah, we are approaching the end of biblical history as it relates to the Old Testament and entering what is often called the “400 years of silence.” Now this doesn’t mean that nothing important happened during this time – in fact a lot of fascinating history does transpire – but from a biblical perspective, God’s authoritative word to His people through the prophets is no more.

How long will God be silent? What about all the promises yet to be fulfilled? What about the coming Son of David? What about the Suffering Servant who atones for sin? What about the promised new covenant and outpouring of God’s Spirit? The Old Testament closes as a story in search of an ending.

“O Come, O Come, Immanuel / And ransom captive Israel / That mourns in lonely exile here / Until the Son of God appears / Rejoice! Rejoice! Immanuel / Shall come to thee, O Israel.”