10.1 The 4 R’s

Chapters 9-12 follow the series of steps Nehemiah and Ezra led the people through in order to honor God for the mighty work He had done through them. They provide a picture of the steps we should take anytime we fall in our efforts to maintain our sexual purity. These four R’s will help you get back into the fight.

Chapter 9 – Repent

On the twenty-fourth day of the same month, the Israelites gathered together, fasting and wearing sackcloth and having dust on their heads. Those of Israelite descent had separated themselves from all foreigners. They stood in their places and confessed their sins and the wickedness of their fathers. They stood where they were and read from the Book of the Law of the LORD their God for a quarter of the day, and spent another quarter in confession and in worshiping the LORD their God.

(Nehemiah 9:1-3)

Following the joyful celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles, the people came together for a time of repentance. They humbled themselves before God by fasting, wearing sackcloth (a comfy material made of coarse goat hair) and throwing dust on themselves. These practices were to show their complete poverty of spirit before the Lord. In this state, they confessed their sins and the sins of those who came before them. Then they stood for three hours while the Word was opened and read aloud. Those three hours were followed by three more hours in more confession and worship. In other words, they were serious.

And they aren’t done. The rest of Chapter 9 includes Ezra’s prayer, the longest recorded prayer in Scripture.¹ When I grow up, I want to pray like that! Ezra doesn’t rush through his wish list so he can hurry and get on with his day. He puts the focus on God. First, he recounts the greatness of God (verse 6). Then, he remembers the goodness of God (verses 7-30). He finishes with the grace of God (verses 31-38).² In the whole thing, he only makes one request:

“Now therefore, O our God, the great, mighty and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love, do not let all this hardship seem trifling in your eyes—the hardship that has come upon us, upon our kings and leaders, upon our priests and prophets, upon our fathers and all your people, from the days of the kings of Assyria until today.” (Nehemiah 9:32)

That’s not to say that this prayer is the model for all prayer. It’s not. God isn’t looking for us to ignore our needs. He wants to hear them. What makes this prayer remarkable is the context. This was a time of repentance for the Jews. They are turning from the sins of the past back toward their great, good, gracious God. Ezra is also laying the foundation for the second “R,” – Recommit. He’s making sure everyone knows why they are about to make the commitments they are about to make.

The message of Chapter 9 is Repent. When you’ve turned away from the Lord through your sin, turn back. No matter how far you’ve gone in the wrong direction, He’s right where He was when you left Him. With humble spirit, repent. Acknowledge that God has always been great and good and gracious. Then, Recommit.