National Confession of Sin

 

    Sin is sin, but in America we like to categorize things.  Put everything and everyone a nice little package.  That includes sin, so here it is.  There is personal/hidden sin, unintentional sin, corporate sin (like a church), and national sin.  When a nation sins the leaders typically take the responsibility of the whole nation since it is their job to lead us spiritually.  That does not mean that the individual sinner gets off like they didn't do anything.

    The Jewish nation learned what was expected of them and worshipped God, had a time of fellowship, fasted, and confessed their sin as a nation.  They learned what sin was and took personal responsibility, but held each other accountable too.  It was not forced, but the spirit worked in the hearts and the electricity in the air was motivating.

    So it went like this, a quarter of the day was spent of learning, a quarter for worship and for confession.  It was a nation acknowledging that God was God.  They admitted where they had gone wrong with stubbornness and pride.  They were doing what they needed to do to be able to move forward and be better.

    The national confession of sin revels in God's greatness.  He never failed in His covenant and never will.  We are the ones that fail in our sin.  He is love.  The true definition of love.  We grow and learn about true love as we push toward him and pull away from our sin.  He gives us far more than what we deserve.  I celebrate that by thanking Him for all He has done.  We have a lot to be thankful for.

Nehemiah 9