Sackcloth, Sin, and Stiff Necks | The Writings | Nehemiah 9-12

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Ten Minute Bible Talks

Spirituality, Christianity, Mental Health, Religion & Spirituality, Health & Fitness

4.8 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 16 September 2024

⏱️ 12 minutes

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Summary

What's up with the Israelites wearing sackcloth and ashes when praying? Are you better at confessing other people's sins or your own? What does it mean to be "stiff-necked"? In today's episode, Keith shares how Nehemiah's prayer in Nehemiah 9-12 encourages us to confess honestly and take responsibility for our sins before God. Read the Bible with us in 2024! This year, we’re tackling a group of Old Testament books traditionally known as “The Writings”— Psalms, Chronicles, Proverbs, Daniel, Ruth and more! Download your reading plan now. Your support makes TMBT possible. Ten Minute Bible Talks is a crowd-funded project. Join the TMBTeam to reach more people with the Bible. Give now. Like this content? Make sure to leave us a rating and share it so that others can find it, too. Use #asktmbt to connect with us, ask questions, and suggest topics. We'd love to hear from you! To learn more, visit our website and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter @TenMinuteBibleTalks. Don't forget to subscribe to the TMBT Newsletter here. Passages: Nehemiah 9-12

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to 10 minute Bible Talks, where we connect the Bible to your life.
0:09.0	In the time it takes to get to work, I'm Keith Simon.
0:14.0	In the past few days on TMBT, we've been following Nehemiah as he led a group of Jewish
0:17.9	exiles to return and rebuild the defensive wall around Jerusalem.
0:21.6	God allowed the Babylonians to conquer Jerusalem and
0:24.2	destroy the temple in 586 BC because of the persistent and unrepentant
0:29.0	sin of the people. By rebuilding the wall and eventually the temple, the people are repairing the damage that was part of the consequences of their sin.
0:37.0	But they also need to deal with the sin itself.
0:40.0	That's what we find happening in Nehemiah Chapter 9. The people confess their sin to God.
0:46.1	Verse 1 starts with the Israelites gathered together fasting and wearing sackcloth and putting
0:50.8	dust or ashes on their head.
0:53.0	Now what's up with sackcloth and ashes?
0:56.0	They are signs of repentance.
0:58.0	The Israelites would sit in sackcloth and ashes
1:01.0	when they wanted to mourn or repent of their scent.
1:04.3	Sackcloth was made of uncomfortable material which reminded them that sin always makes
1:09.1	you miserable and ashes represented desolation in ruin.
1:13.4	I think it's interesting that they did things with their body to help their heart get in the right place.
1:18.5	We are embodied souls.
1:20.7	So what we do with our body affects our soul and vice versa.
1:24.8	This might mean that when we pray we want to get on our knees or bow our head or turn our
1:29.8	palms up toward God.
	...

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