God's Grace and Power

Taught by Janet
Notes by Linda

Today Janet covered the remainder of Chapter 9. Chapter 9 opens with the Israelites gathered outside the temple. The Levites had spent hours reading from the Torah. God’s word evoked a response of worship and confession in the Israelites who were gathered. In our prior class Annie covered verses 1-6. Verse 5 begins a Levitical prayer of praise to the Lord which commences in verse 38. This prayer recounts God’s history with the nation of Israel from the time of creation through their present circumstances.

Janet concentrated on God’s grace and power that are professed in this prayer. Janet read through verses 6 through 38 with a voice that expressed the power of God’s word. (Prior to reading the rest of these notes I invite you to read this portion of scripture for yourself. The entirety of this passage is a powerful testament of the faithfulness, grace and power of our Lord.)

When Janet finished reading this passage she asked the class to express the feelings that this portion of God’s word evoked in them. Some of the women said they felt shame. This was because of God’s constant faithfulness despite the sins of the people. Some felt humility. Others were moved over the goodness of God. Others felt that it gave them hope.

Janet broke this passage down into nine sections. Each section focused on a specific time in history and highlighted God’s grace and power in this period.
The first period was creation (verse 6). “You alone are the LORD. You made the heavens, even the highest heavens, and all their starry host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to everything, and the multitudes of heaven worship you” (Neh. 9:6).

The next period was the Abrahamic covenant (verse 7 & 8). Janet reminded us of the promise God had made to Abraham and his descendants by reading Romans 4:16-22. “Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham's offspring—not only to those who are of the law but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all” (Romans 4:16). Janet then asked us if we were discouraged by the unbelief of the members of our own families. She challenged us to believe in faith for what God could do in the lives of our loved ones.

Verses 9-11 recount how God delivered the Israelites from the Egyptians at the Red Sea. Janet reminded us how the Israelites held Moses responsible for their current predicament. Janet pointed out that the unknown always brings about more fear than the known. She expressed that the Israelites needed to have ‘big faith’ to walk through the divided water.

Verses 12-21 tell of the time in the desert and at Mount Sinai. Janet pointed out that God provided a cloud to guide the Israelites by day, a pillar of fire by night, and daily sustenance in the form of manna yet the Israelites still grumbled and complained.

Janet briefly covered verses 22-31. Verses 22-25 tell of the conquest of Canaan. Verses 26-28 cover the period of the judges. Verses 29-31 covered the period of the prophets.

The next section of scripture covered the Israelites present situation (verses 32-37). Janet taught that this selection focused on what God had done for the people. She stressed that we need to be reminded of the goodness of God. Janet gave us three psalms that emphasized God’s goodness. They are Psalm 78, Psalm 105, and Psalm 106. In total these psalms contain 165 verses that praise God’s goodness. Janet taught that this same goodness of God has delivered us through the death and resurrection of Jesus.

The last verse is Nehemiah 9:38: “In view of all this, we are making a binding agreement, putting it in writing, and our leaders, our Levites and our priests are affixing their seals to it”. Janet taught that the people were in agreement with the Levites and that God’s word was exalted.

Janet gave us two applications for these scriptures. The first was that we need to be able to tell the story of what God has done for us personally. She admonished us that we can be ‘getting fat’ on the Word of God from inside the church walls. We need not be ashamed of professing the Lord to the outside world. “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile” (Romans 1:16). The second application was that we need to take time each day to praise God, confess sin, and ask for His favor. We also want to yield to God’s sovereignty in our lives.