The consequences of a compromised life (Neh 9:26-37)

A generation or two ago, the Church was at pains to emphasise the great truth re-discovered by the Reformation that we are not saved by works and can add nothing to the finished work of Christ that redeemed us. This was an important counterpoint to a moralistic religion that tried to be ‘good’, follow the Ten Commandments and hope for the best on Judgment Day.[1] Yet, the essential truth of salvation by grace alone has by now become a licence to live as one wishes. Most think of coming to Christ as a destination rather than the beginning of a life together, so that even though Jesus charged His followers to make disciples (Matt 28:19-20), many see it today as an optional extra: good to have but not essential. Our reading is a corrective to this view.

Drifting into compromise

Last time our passage ended on a high note. Israel conquered the land and revelled in God’s abundance so that it felt like they had finally arrived (Neh 9:25). Nevertheless, there is an ominous note in the people growing fat (cf. Deut 32:15)[2] and is a precursor to Israel turning their back on God. When life is going well, we quickly forget that we depend on the Lord and start cutting corners and compromising on living for God. The exiles’ summary does not mince words and perhaps makes it harder for us to recognise ourselves in their depiction of wilful disobedience, rebellion, contempt for God’s Word and the forceful silencing of the voices that try to awaken their conscience (Neh 9:26). Nevertheless, even if it feels that we are passively drifting away from God, our will is behind it. For many, it comes from ignorance of God’s Word and what He requires, often the first sign of a problem (Judg 2:10).

God’s wake-up call

God’s answer is that, sooner or later, He allows us to land in difficulty so that we might realise how far we have strayed (Neh 9:27). Like the prodigal son in the pigsty, our need becomes God’s opportunity to call us back to Himself. Except that Israel cried to the Lord for a specific fix of a difficult situation but never wholeheartedly turned back to Him. When their pain went away, they continued where they left off (Neh 9:28). The cycles of sin, oppression, cry for help and God’s rescue as described by the exiles in the prayer, reminds us of Judges where this pattern is explicitly set out (e.g. Judg 3:9-12).

The commandments and sin

What Israel failed to understand was that living God’s way as He sets it out in the commandments is life-giving (Neh 9:29), not in the sense that it earns us salvation and the right to a relationship with Him – after all, Israel was saved and were God’s people before they were given the Law. Rather, by aligning our lives with the way He intended we come to flourish, like a plant that blooms in good soil when it is watered, pruned, and freed of weeds that suck the life out of it. Sin is bad for us not just because God says so, but because it is inherently destructive like a parasite that invades a living host. That is why God kept admonishing His people through His Spirit in the prophets to turn them back to the law (i.e. His will; v.29; Neh 9:30).

Consequences and God’s compassion

God’s perseverance that would not give up on His wayward people meant that they had to experience the bitter taste of exile (though this is only hinted at in v.30), a much more drastic and longer-lasting period of upheaval and turmoil than anything else before. The exiles recognise God’s justice, as well as His mercy, and appeal to His compassion and faithfulness as they point to their continued servitude in an empire not their own (Neh 9:31-33, 36-37). It highlights for us that sin’s consequences are not always quickly or easily undone, neither can we assume that repentance obligates God to fix our lives. Israel’s story is a sad object lesson and warns us not to take sin lightly. At the same time, the exiles’ confession affirms that our Lord is compassionate beyond measure and can be trusted to work His healing and restoration when we turn to Him with all our hearts.  

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[1] I use the Ten Commandments here in the way many understand it, as a guide to moral behaviour, even though its requirements go much deeper than adherents of the above view assume.

[2] Jeshurun in Deut 32:15 is another name for Israel.

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