S: Nehemiah 13
O: Everyone is imperfect, but the
book of Nehemiah points out Nehemiah’s imperfections a bit more starkly than most
autobiographical books. It shows his insecurity, his intemperance, and his exclusionary
attitude toward foreigners. 4 times he kept asking God to “remember me” (Nehemiah
5:19; 13:14, 22, 31) and various intemperate actions like beating people up and
pulling out their hair (Nehemiah 13:25).
(Regarding his attitude toward
foreigners: Nehemiah 13 uses sweeping reform language because Nehemiah was
enforcing covenant separation from hostile and corrupting foreign influence.
However, the wider witness of Scripture shows that this cannot mean the
absolute exclusion of every Ammonite or Moabite who genuinely turned to Yahweh.
Ruth had already demonstrated that covenant faith, not ethnic origin,
determines membership among God's people. And his forcing the Jews who have
married foreign wives, even those having children, to divorce them was later
shown in 1 Corinthians 7:12-13 to be not the way Christ would want it.)
And yet, God remembered him and
used him to further the kingdom of God.
A: Sometimes we become
discouraged when we realise how imperfect we are. Yes, we should repent
and get closer to the image of Christ. But we should not despair. Instead, let
us continue to serve Him faithfully, trusting that He can use us despite our
imperfections.
P: Father, thank You for Your
grace. Help us to become more and more conformed to the image of Christ. In
Jesus’ name, amen.
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