When You Have an Attitude of Ingratitude
Nehemiah 9:15-26
April 3, 2022
How good is God? How is God impacting your life? How are you responding?
In the first portion of the Levites’ prayer before the returning exiles to Jerusalem, they
spoke of the character, the actions, and the blessings of God. In the second part, the
focus is on how the Israelites had responded to God when God gave them blessing
after blessing. Israel should have been humble before God and obedient to His
commands. The results of their obedience would have produced a very different
experience than what their disobedience brought. There is no doubt that Israel has
made a big difference in our world. But, how do you think Israel’s life and impact
on the world would have been different if they had lived in obedience to the
Lord? (I think we would live in a better world today.)
Time after time, God blessed, and Israel failed. Yet, each time, instead of giving Israel
what they deserved, God demonstrated His love for them. They didn’t just fail to do
some of things God asked them to do, they refused to cooperate with Him. Their
actions were contrasted in this passage with the faithfulness of God. The Israelites
became proud and stubborn and ignored what God said. We learn in this text that a
big part of the Jews’ problem was that they refused to remember. They didn’t just
forget to remember, they refused to remember.
This section of scripture begins by recalling the instructions God gave to the Israelites
just after they crossed the Red Sea. About 2 years into their escape journey from
Egypt, they arrived at Kadesh Barnea. Apparently, you could walk from Egypt to Kadesh
Barnea in about 11 days. But, it took 2 years for Israel to get there. God fed them, God
gave them water to drink, God led them, and God told them what to do so that things
would turn out well for them. But how did they respond to God’s love, God’s kindness,
God’s wisdom, and God’s provision?
15 “You gave them bread from heaven when they were hungry and water from
the rock when they were thirsty. You commanded them to go and take
possession of the land you had sworn to give them.
16 “But our ancestors were proud and stubborn, and they paid no attention to
your commands.
17 They refused to obey and did not remember the miracles you had done for
them. Instead, they became stubborn and appointed a leader to take them back
to their slavery in Egypt! But you are a God of forgiveness, gracious and
merciful, slow to become angry, and rich in unfailing love. You did not abandon
them,
18 even when they made an idol shaped like a calf and said, ‘This is your god
who brought you out of Egypt!’ They committed terrible blasphemies.
19 “But in your great mercy you did not abandon them to die in the
wilderness. The pillar of cloud still led them forward by day, and the pillar of
fire showed them the way through the night.
20 You sent your good Spirit to instruct them, and you did not stop giving
them manna from heaven or water for their thirst.
21 For forty years you sustained them in the wilderness, and they lacked
nothing. Their clothes did not wear out, and their feet did not swell!
22 “Then you helped our ancestors conquer kingdoms and nations, and you
placed your people in every corner of the land. They took over the land of King
Sihon of Heshbon and the land of King Og of Bashan.
23 You made their descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and
brought them into the land you had promised to their ancestors.
24 “They went in and took possession of the land. You subdued whole nations
before them. Even the Canaanites, who inhabited the land, were powerless!
Your people could deal with these nations and their kings as they pleased.
25 Our ancestors captured fortified cities and fertile land. They took over
houses full of good things, with cisterns already dug and vineyards and olive
groves and fruit trees in abundance. So they ate until they were full and grew
fat and enjoyed themselves in all your blessings.
26 “But despite all this, they were disobedient and rebelled against you. They
turned their backs on your Law, they killed your prophets who warned them to
return to you, and they committed terrible blasphemies.
(Read 15-18)
- What happens when people pay no attention to God’s commands? (9:16-18)
16 “But our ancestors were proud and stubborn, and they paid no attention to
your commands.17 They refused to obey and did not remember the miracles
you had done for them. Instead, they became stubborn and appointed a leader
to take them back to their slavery in Egypt! But you are a God of forgiveness,
gracious and merciful, slow to become angry, and rich in unfailing love. You did
not abandon them,18 even when they made an idol shaped like a calf and said,
‘This is your god who brought you out of Egypt!’ They committed terrible
blasphemies.
When Israel’s ancestors paid no attention to God’s commands, they made plans to go in
the wrong direction. When the children of Israel heard the reports of the twelve spies at
Kadesh Barnea, here is what happened, Numbers 14:1 ¶ Then the whole
community began weeping aloud, and they cried all night.2 Their voices rose in
a great chorus of protest against Moses and Aaron. “If only we had died in
Egypt, or even here in the wilderness!” they complained.3 “Why is the LORD
taking us to this country only to have us die in battle? Our wives and our little
ones will be carried off as plunder! Wouldn’t it be better for us to return to
Egypt?”4 Then they plotted among themselves, “Let’s choose a new leader and
go back to Egypt!”.
When we refuse to listen to what God has told us in His Word, we become tempted to go
in the wrong direction. When we are not hearing from God, we make plans to go
back to our old way of living. If you want to stay on the right road in life, you must
stay well connected to the Word of God.
- How did God direct the path for the people of Israel? (9:19)
19 “But in your great mercy you did not abandon them to die in the
wilderness. The pillar of cloud still led them forward by day, and the pillar of
fire showed them the way through the night.
Even when the people of Israel refused to listen to God, God still treated them with
mercy. He provided for them. He guided their path with a pillar of cloud and a pillar
of fire. In His loving kindness, He extends mercy to us to give us time and opportunity
to turn around. There is little doubt in my mind that we would have been tempted to
leave them to their own results. Find your own food. Come up with your own guidance
system. Find someone else to aggravate. If God was like us, He might have moved on
and found a group of people who wanted what He was giving away. Can’t you just
imagine the ad we might place on Facebook Marketplace in a situation like that?
“Free to anyone interested. A large portion of land complete with houses, wells, rivers, vineyards, and
gardens. Walled cities with everything needed to live a good life. The blessings of the True and Living
God will be poured out upon you. All that is asked of you is to love Me back.”
But God didn’t do like we might have done. He extended mercy and grace.
How does God direct our path today? - How did the Lord reveal His will to the nation of Israel? (9:20)
20 You sent your good Spirit to instruct them, and you did not stop giving
them manna from heaven or water for their thirst.
In this prayer, the people are expressing to God that they understand the history
their people have with God. No matter how they acted in the past and no matter how
wrong their ancestors were about their situations, God was faithful to keep His promises
to them. One of the greatest gifts God gave them was that His Spirit instructed them.
They could trust this instruction because they could trust God. - In what ways did God show His patient love to Israel? (9:21-22)
21 For forty years you sustained them in the wilderness, and they lacked
nothing. Their clothes did not wear out, and their feet did not swell!
22 “Then you helped our ancestors conquer kingdoms and nations, and you
placed your people in every corner of the land. They took over the land of King
Sihon of Heshbon and the land of King Og of Bashan.
In this prayer, they continued to rehearse the experiences of the children of Israel in the
wilderness wanderings. For 40 years God fed them, and He made their clothing last for
the whole time. He gave them the health they needed. He gave them victory over
other kings. - How did God demonstrate His love to the descendants of Israel? (9:23-25)
23 You made their descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and
brought them into the land you had promised to their ancestors.
24 “They went in and took possession of the land. You subdued whole nations
before them. Even the Canaanites, who inhabited the land, were powerless!
Your people could deal with these nations and their kings as they pleased.
25 Our ancestors captured fortified cities and fertile land. They took over
houses full of good things, with cisterns already dug and vineyards and olive
groves and fruit trees in abundance. So they ate until they were full and grew
fat and enjoyed themselves in all your blessings.
God continued to show His love to the people of Israel by multiplying their number to
a nation so large that they are compared to the number of stars in the sky.
He brought them into the Promised Land. He overpowered other nations who were
already living in the Promised Land so that Israel could benefit from the land and
possessions of these other nations. - How did Israel respond to God’s love and blessings? (9:26) How have you responded
to God’s love and blessings?
26 “But despite all this, they were disobedient and rebelled against you. They
turned their backs on your Law, they killed your prophets who warned them to
return to you, and they committed terrible blasphemies.
Even though God showed His great love, Israel was disobedient, and they rebelled
against God.
Many times, I have been like the Israelites. I have disobeyed, rebelled, and placed my
will in front of God’s will. Do we stop to think of and thank God for His blessings each
day? Make it a habit to wake up to these thoughts. - If you wrote a passage about your own history of walking with the Lord, what themes
would you see?
The passage I would write would be story about a young man who accepted the Lord
early in life but was slow to develop as a follower of Jesus such. I was sort of like the
thorny soil. Over time, my sin produced much pain in my life, but God was right there
loving me and working to teach me how to live life. In my life, God has never given up
on me. He blesses me by surrounding me with people who love Him. I can see a
progression of maturity in faith that continues to this day. I pray that I can learn
from the example of my earthly father who I believe died at the top of his relationship
with the Lord at age 91. - What should we do to restore our relationship with the Lord whenever we realize we
have been acting selfishly?
There should be whole-hearted repentance. We should turn our focus to enjoying a
life of following God’s plan for mankind. Otherwise, it is like we are living life by trying
to swim upstream in a strong current. When we spend our efforts in ways that go
against God, we continually get farther and farther far where we really want to be.