Nehemiah 9:22-37
Dear RTB’ers,
Today we finish that short synopsis of Israel’s history. There was an item today that caught me by surprise: Behold, we are slaves this day; in the land that you gave to our fathers to enjoy its fruit and its good gifts, behold, we are slaves. And its rich yield goes to the kings whom you have set over us because of our sins. They rule over our bodies and over our livestock as they please, and we are in great distress. (vv. 36-37) We have been reading of a lot of successes for the Israelites in Ezra and Nehemiah – their return from exile; rebuilding the altar and the temple and the walls; debt forgiveness and return of landholdings to their original owners; and spiritual renewal, including their separation from foreign women and the reading of the Law. So it surprised me to realize that they are still “slaves” to Persia. And they remember their slavery going back almost three centuries, to the Assyrian invasion in 722 BC (Neh. 9:32). Yes, slaves.
Jesus pointed out to us a different kind of slavery: So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly My disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been enslaved to anyone; how is it that You say, ‘You will become free’?” Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin. (John 8:31-34) Yes, slaves.
Blessings.
That’s an excellent observation, Fred, linking Jesus’ words with Nehemiah. Slavery to sin is, of course, not limited to Israel or to people “back then” or to any other restricted subset of humanity. Slavery to sin is universal. But Jesus offers us freedom. Do we believe Him? Do we know and experience that freedom? Do we, in fact, know the Truth, and has that Truth set us free? Or are we bound by chains of sin, thinking that Jesus’ words apply only after we die?
Let’s trust Jesus now. Let’s live free.