God who fulfills His word (Nehemiah 9:6-8)

 God who fulfills His word

 

 

[Nehemiah 9:6-8]

 

 

There is a French proverb that goes like this: ‘People count the faults of those who keep them waiting.’  This statement applies to the appointment time.  In other words, being late for an appointment is more costly than you think.  It's because you can buy the other person's hatred with something insignificant (?).  If you look at the Internet site called “Money Today”, you will find a story about Chairman Jae-joon Lee, the founder of Daelim Industrial, told by his aide: I once went on a trip to China with him.  I went out at the appointed time, but the president was already there.  I was perplexed.  The next day came 7-8 minutes ahead of time, but the president was still there.  I had no choice but to leave about 20 minutes early the next day.  Then, after a while, the president came out.  I looked at my watch and it was exactly 15 minutes ago.  Later, I asked the chairman why he came out so early.  Then he said this.  ‘I make it a rule to leave 15 minutes earlier than the scheduled time. The reason for this is: First, if you leave early, you can maintain a relaxed mind because you are not in a hurry.  Second, if you leave early, you can buy the other person's favor.  Third, if you go out early, you can take the subway or bus, but if you hurry, you have to take a taxi, so it’s economically good (Internet).  Being on time may seem like a small thing.  But it is by no means trivial.  It is because the meaning of 'I treasure my promise with you, I value your personality' is hidden in it (Geun-tae Han).

 

There are also very valuable promises in our life of faith.  That is the promise between God and me.  I think you can think of this promise in two ways: What God promises to me and what I promise or pledge to God.  When we think about the second one first, we have to ask the question, ‘Are we really keeping the vows we made to God?’  Look at Ecclesiastes 5:4-5: “When you make a vow to God, do not delay in fulfilling it. He has no pleasure in fools; fulfill your vow.  It is better not to vow than to make a vow and not fulfill it.”  The promise we want to focus more on today is the promise God gives us.  Heavenly Father, who redeemed us with the blood of Jesus, is the God who cherishes and honors us and gives us promises.

 

Furthermore, our God is the God who fulfills His promises according to His Word.  Centering on today's text, Nehemiah 9:6-8, I would like to meditate on two things about what kind of God the God who fulfills according to His words is under the title “God who fulfills His word.”

 

First, God who fulfills His word is the God who gives the word of promise.

 

What was the word of promise that God gave to Abraham?  It was that He would give the land of Canaan to Abraham’s descendants.  Look at Nehemiah 9:8 – “You found his heart faithful to you, and you made a covenant with him to give to his descendants the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Jebusites and Girgashites. ….”  In order to solve the problem of sin, the children of Israel separated themselves from all foreigners and worshiped God while confessing their sins and the sins of their ancestors (9:1-5).  Then, starting from Nehemiah 9:6, God's goodness to Israel is specifically mentioned.  The key word that comes up repeatedly in this reference to God's goodness is “give.”  This word appears at least 16 times in Nehemiah 9 alone.  The reason is because our God is the God who richly gives us all things to enjoy (1 Tim. 6:17).  He is truly a giving God.  God gave the Israelites the land (Neh. 9:8, 15, 35), the law (v. 13), the “good Spirit” (v. 20), the food and the water (vv. 15, 20), and also “deliverers” (v. 27) and gave them victory over their enemies (vv. 22, 24).  The word of God's promise to give the land of Canaan to Abraham and his descendants has already been written in Genesis 15:18-21.  But interestingly, if we look at Genesis 15:13-16, we will find 4 surprising facts about God's promise to Abraham:

 

(1)    It is the fact that the descendants of Abraham will serve the Egyptians while being afflicted by them for 400 years as “strangers in a country,” that is, as aliens in Egypt.

 

Look at Genesis 15:13 – “Then the LORD said to him, "Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years.”  This fact teaches us that there is suffering and hardship until the word of promise is fulfilled.

 

(2)    It is the fact that the descendants of Abraham will come out of Egypt with “great possessions” after experiencing the power of God.

 

Look at Genesis 15:14 – “But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions.”  This fact teaches us to experience God's power and provision in the process of fulfilling the word of promise.

 

(3)    It is the fact that Abraham himself will not see the fulfillment of the promise.

 

Look at Genesis 15:15 – “You, however, will go to your fathers in peace and be buried at a good old age.”  This fact teaches us that the word of promise may not be fulfilled in his generation.  So, Hebrews 11:13a says: “All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. ….”

 

(4)    It is the fact that we have to wait about 400 years for the word of promise to be fulfilled.

 

Look at Genesis 15:16a – “In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here …."  This fact teaches us that considerable patience of faith is required until the word of promise is fulfilled.

 

                     These facts teach us what causes us to fail to hold on to God's word of promise.  The word of God's promise to our church is Matthew 16:18 – “…  I  …  will build My church ….”  We can think of three causes that prevent us from holding on to the word of promise:

 

(1)    The first cause is hardship and suffering.

 

Like the Israelites in the days of Nehemiah, in building the church, which is the body of the Lord, they worked hard to rebuild it, but the enemies ridiculed, threatened, attacked, and there was a conspiracy to assassinate the leader.  And because there are so many trials in the process of experiencing economic difficulties, there is a good risk that we will get tired of the trials and give up holding on to the word of promise that the Lord has given us.

 

(2)    The second cause is that we do not experience God's power and provision.

 

During this year, if we have not experienced the power and provision of the Lord who is building the church, we may no longer hold on to the word of promise that the Lord will build His church.

 

(3)    The third cause is lack of patience in faith.

 

It took the Israelites about 400 years for the promise given to Abraham to be fulfilled.  How long is this?  This is something that requires a lot of patience and faith.  It also applies to our church.  When the Lord promised to build this church, we must persevere in faith.

 

            ‘The person who meets the promise is the person who meets the impossible.  Even in all impossible situations, those who hold on to the promise see the possibility hidden in it’ (Internet).  Are you one of those who hold on to His promise?  Do you see the possibility hidden in impossible situations?  No matter what situation we are in, we must hold on to the Lord's word of promise.  And no matter what hardships and sufferings we may experience, we must build the church, the body of the Lord, with the patience of faith while experiencing God's power and provision.

 

         Second and last, “God who fulfills His word” is the God who fulfills the word of promise.

 

            Look at Nehemiah 9:8 – “You found his heart faithful to you, and you made a covenant with him to give to his descendants the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Jebusites and Girgashites.  You have kept your promise because you are righteous.”  What does “covenant” mean here?  The literal meaning of the Hebrew word for “covenant” is “cut.”  In Genesis 15:17, Abraham obeyed God's command and took a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old she-goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon (v. 9), and took them all, and cut them in half, and arranged the halves opposite each other (v. 10).  Then, when the sun has set and it is dark, “a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces” (v. 17).  Then, in verse 18, there is a scene in the Bible where God makes a covenant with Abraham and promises to give him the land of Canaan flowing with milk and honey.  What does this mean?  Originally, when this covenant was concluded, the two parties to the covenant had to pass between the pieces of meat.  The reason was to make a solemn oath that if they did not keep the covenant, they would be killed like a piece of meat.  But here, only the torch sent by God passed between the pieces of meat.  This is God's one-sided promise.  Also, it contains a strong will that God will directly fulfill the promise (Ki-joo Kim).  The word “covenant” consists of two things.  It is “God's promise” and “human obligation”.  God's promise to Abraham was to make him a great nation, to make his name great, and to make him a source of blessing.  To Abraham, who did not even have a son, God gave the word of promise that he would make a “great nation.”  His name was “Abram,” meaning “exalted father,” but God promised to change his name to “Abraham,” which means “father of a multitude,” and make him great.  He also gave the word of promise that he would bless others through those who had not been blessed.  What, then, was Abraham's responsibility?  His responsibility is said in Genesis 12:1 – “…  Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you.”  In other words, Abraham's responsibility was to believe in God's word of promise, hold onto it, and obey it.  “So Abram left, as the Lord had told him” (v. 4).  So, he obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going (Heb. 11:8).

 

            Today's Bible, Nehemiah 9:8a, tells us our human responsibility: “You found his heart faithful to you, ….”  In other words, in the midst of making a covenant, our human responsibility is to keep our hearts faithful before the Lord.  But why do we, like Abraham, doubt the word of promise God gave to our church?  Why are you living a church life that denies the word of Matthew 16:18 that the Lord will build His church?  The reason is because we are not growing in the knowledge of God.  It is because we don't know who God is.  It is doubt, indifference, and disloyalty that come from ignorance.  In today's text, Nehemiah 9:6, what kind of God does the Bible say our God is?  It says four things: (1) He is the only God [(v. 6a) “You alone are the Lord …”].  (2) God is the God who created the heavens and the earth [(v. 6b) “…  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 …”].  (3) God is the God who preserves what He created [(v. 6c) “…  You give life to everything …”].  (4) God is a God worthy of worship [(v. 6d) “…  and the multitudes of heaven worship you”].  (5) God is a righteous God [(v. 8b) “…  You have kept your promise because you are righteous”].  Why is God a righteous God?  The reason is because He is the God who fulfills His promises to us.

 

            God has given our church the word of His promise, Matthew 16:18 - “…  I  ...  will build my church. ….”  Our righteous God is fulfilling this promise.  What is our responsibility?  Our responsibility is to believe this word of His promise.  Also, we must hold on to this word and obey it in faith like Abraham did.  We must follow the word of promise given to us by the Lord by faith.  How should we follow it?  Our hearts must follow with faithful before the Lord.

 

            It is said that Kanzo Uchimura, a famous Japanese theologian, was stripped of his teaching job as a teacher at the Tokyo First High School for refusing the order of the Japanese emperor to give him an ‘educational title.’  At that time, when they heard the sound of reading the title of education, everyone stood up and listened attentively.  However, Uchimura insisted that the emperor was also a human being and there was no need to pay respect to God.  He went to America at a young age and studied while washing dishes at a restaurant.  Then, when someone asked him, ‘Why are you going through all this hardship?’  He replied, ‘I am not interested in worldly wealth or fame.  All I want is to give God greater glory.’  He did his best to practice God's good will and expand the breadth of his love in order to give great glory to God.  For those who have promised to be faithful to God, what is more important than the wealth and glory of the world is to win the crown after fighting evil spirits.  Whoever has given allegiance to the mission entrusted to him by the Lord will participate in the joy and receive the crown of life.  The Bible promises, ‘Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life’ (Rev. 2:10) (Internet).