Blessing After Obedience
It is a wonderful moment when you see the hand of the Lord at work. It is pure joy to receive God's full provision. Some scholars believe that Psalm 126 is a psalm written by Ezra after Nehemiah had completed the wall of Jerusalem and restored order to the city and the people of God following their season of exile.
“When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream. Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy; then they said among the nations, ‘The Lord has done great things for them.’ The Lord has done great things for us; we are glad.”
You can hear and almost feel the gratitude of God's people when you read, "The Lord has done great things for us; we are glad!" And if you read this passage, you might get the idea that God just opened up the gates of heaven and poured out gold and food and wine in abundance for his people. God can do that. The scripture might even indicate that he does do that. But do not forget the context.
The last chapter of Nehemiah that likely proceeds this psalm is a story of work—hard work, work filled with confrontation and conflict. It was also corrective work. And in this last chapter we also see the rest of the story. In the beginning of Nehemiah, we read of the burden Nehemiah had for the city of God that prompted his request to the king to abandon his day job and go to Jerusalem to put God's city in order. Here in the closing chapter, we learn that Eliashib the priest had allowed a relative to take a chamber in the temple and turn it into his man cave. Tobiah had moved into the chamber that previously held tithes and offerings.
Nehemiah may have been a person of vision, but he was also a man of action. He literally threw Tobiah's furniture out of the temple and brought back the holy vessels and put them back to use as God intended. Nehemiah then confronted the citizens to start giving again. He reappointed a treasurer, got the priests back on the job, and ordered the praise band to start writing music and singing again. But he wasn't finished. Nehemiah discovered people working and selling on the Sabbath and put that to an end to it, telling the offenders, "If you do this again, I will lay my hands on you!" And finally, we read that he confronts and corrects God's people for marrying outside of their faith and even names the names of the offenders, reminding them that this was King Solomon's downfall.
The blessing and the harvest of Psalm 126 was proceeded by and dependent on God's people getting their act together, putting their lives and God's house in order.
We don't earn God's favor. Scripture clearly teaches that. Blessing does come with responsibility. And in these scriptures and many others we learn it comes after confession and correction.
I'm going to stop here. I have some confession to do, and then I need to get back to the correction and work of the day. Then maybe there will be a little time for celebration!
Father, we love the passages of scripture that are filled with praise about all that you have done for us! Help us to always remember that you not only call us to praise and worship but also to work as an act of our praise and worship. Show us today where we can partner with you so that your love and mercy might be seen and experienced in the places we live and work. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Your Time with God’s Word
Nehemiah 13:4-26, 30-31; Psalms 126:1-3, 5-6 ESV
Photo by Pexels
To receive daily posts delivered directly to your inbox, complete the form at the bottom of our home page.
