Nehemiah 9:6
You alone are the LORD. You created the heavens, the highest heavens with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to all things, and the host of heaven worships You.
You alone are the LORD.
This phrase emphasizes the monotheistic belief central to the faith, affirming that Yahweh is the one true God. In the context of Nehemiah, this declaration comes during a time of national repentance and renewal, as the Israelites return from exile and reaffirm their covenant with God. The exclusivity of God as the LORD is a recurring theme in the Old Testament, seen in passages like Deuteronomy 6:4, "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one."

You created the heavens, the highest heavens with all their host,
This acknowledges God as the Creator of the universe, a theme that runs throughout Scripture, beginning with Genesis 1:1. The "highest heavens" refers to the spiritual realm beyond the visible sky, often associated with God's dwelling place. The "host" includes celestial bodies and possibly angelic beings, as seen in Psalm 148:2-4, which calls on the heavenly host to praise God.

the earth and all that is on it,
This phrase underscores God's sovereignty over the physical world, including all living creatures and natural resources. It reflects the creation narrative in Genesis 1, where God creates the earth and everything in it. This also implies stewardship, as humanity is tasked with caring for God's creation (Genesis 2:15).

the seas and all that is in them.
The mention of the seas highlights God's dominion over the chaotic and mysterious aspects of creation, often symbolized by the sea in ancient Near Eastern cultures. This is echoed in Psalm 104:25-26, which describes the sea as teeming with creatures made by God. The seas also represent God's power to control and calm chaos, as seen in Jesus calming the storm in Mark 4:39.

You give life to all things,
This phrase speaks to God's role as the sustainer of life, not just the creator. It reflects the belief that all life is dependent on God's ongoing provision and care, as seen in Acts 17:25, where Paul states that God "gives all men life and breath and everything else." This also points to the spiritual life given through Christ, who is described as the life-giver in John 1:4.

and the host of heaven worships You.
This final phrase depicts the worship of God by the heavenly beings, emphasizing His supreme authority and glory. The "host of heaven" likely refers to angels and other celestial beings, as seen in Revelation 5:11-12, where countless angels surround the throne of God, praising Him. This worship is a model for earthly worship, calling believers to join in the adoration of the Creator.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Nehemiah
A Jewish leader who played a crucial role in rebuilding Jerusalem's walls after the Babylonian exile. He led the people in spiritual renewal, including the confession and worship found in Nehemiah 9.

2. The Levites
The group of priests leading the prayer in Nehemiah 9, acknowledging God's sovereignty and creation.

3. The Heavens and the Earth
Refers to the entirety of creation, emphasizing God's role as the Creator of all things.

4. The Host of Heaven
This term refers to the celestial beings, such as angels, who worship God, highlighting His supreme authority.

5. The Israelites
The people of God who are confessing their sins and acknowledging God's greatness in this chapter.
Teaching Points
God's Sovereignty in Creation
Recognize that God alone is the Creator of all things, and His sovereignty extends over the entire universe. This understanding should lead us to worship and trust in His power and authority.

The Worship of Creation
Just as the host of heaven worships God, we too are called to join in this worship. Our lives should reflect a posture of reverence and adoration for our Creator.

Dependence on God for Life
Acknowledge that God is the giver of life to all things. This truth should remind us of our dependence on Him for every breath and encourage us to live lives that honor Him.

Confession and Renewal
The context of Nehemiah 9 is one of confession and renewal. We should regularly examine our lives, confess our sins, and seek spiritual renewal through God's grace.

Unity in Worship
The collective worship and confession of the Israelites serve as a model for corporate worship today. We are called to gather as a community to acknowledge God's greatness and seek His guidance.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does recognizing God as the Creator of all things influence your daily life and decisions?

2. In what ways can you join the "host of heaven" in worshiping God in your personal and communal worship practices?

3. Reflect on a time when you experienced God's life-giving power. How did it impact your faith journey?

4. How can the practice of confession and renewal, as seen in Nehemiah 9, be incorporated into your spiritual life?

5. What steps can you take to foster a sense of unity and collective worship within your church or community group?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Genesis 1
The creation account where God creates the heavens and the earth, affirming His role as the Creator.

Psalm 148
A psalm that calls all creation, including the heavenly host, to praise the Lord, echoing the worship described in Nehemiah 9:6.

Colossians 1:16-17
These verses speak of Christ's role in creation, affirming that all things were created through Him and for Him, connecting to the theme of God as the life-giver.

Revelation 4:11
This verse highlights the worthiness of God to receive glory and honor because He created all things, similar to the worship in Nehemiah 9:6.
A Prayerful Review of Divine Goodness as Manifested in the Facts of Human LifeJ.S. Exell Nehemiah 9:1-29
ConfessionW. Clarkson Nehemiah 9:1-5, 16-18, 26,28-30, 33-35
The Solemn Fast of Assembled IsraelR.A. Redford Nehemiah 9:1-38
AppealW. Clarkson Nehemiah 9:2, 31-33, 36-38
God's ChoiceDean Farrar.Nehemiah 9:4-38
The Certainty of God's PromisesThomas Jones.Nehemiah 9:4-38
The Divine Promise SureHervey.Nehemiah 9:4-38
The Purpose of the Rehearsal of National ShortcomingsW. P. Lockhart.Nehemiah 9:4-38
The SuppliantW. Ritchie.Nehemiah 9:4-38
The Te DeumW. P. Lockhart.Nehemiah 9:4-38
Adoration and ThanksgivingW. Clarkson Nehemiah 9:6-15, 19-25, 27-31
People
Abram, Amorites, Bani, Bunni, Canaanites, Chenani, Egyptians, Ezra, Girgashite, Girgashites, Hashabniah, Hittites, Hodiah, Hodijah, Israelites, Jebusites, Jeshua, Kadmiel, Levites, Og, Perizzites, Pethahiah, Pharaoh, Shebaniah, Sherebiah, Sihon
Places
Assyria, Bashan, Egypt, Gate of Ephraim, Heshbon, Mount Sinai, Red Sea, Ur
Topics
Alive, Alone, Armies, Army, Bowing, Bows, Destruction, Ezra, Hast, Heaven, Heavenly, Heavens, Highest, Host, Keeping, Multitudes, O, Preserve, Preservest, Quickenest, Seas, Starry, Themselves, Therein, Thereon, Thyself, Worship, Worshipeth, Worshippers, Worshippeth, Worships
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Nehemiah 9:6

     1130   God, sovereignty
     1165   God, unique
     1305   God, activity of
     1325   God, the Creator
     1355   providence
     4006   creation, origin
     4026   world, God's creation
     4114   angels, and praise
     4170   host of heaven
     4203   earth, the
     4212   astronomy
     4281   stars
     5267   control
     5441   philosophy
     8138   monotheism
     8608   prayer, and worship
     8623   worship, of God
     9412   heaven, worship and service

Nehemiah 9:5-6

     8627   worship, elements

Library
The Joy of the Lord is Your Strength. Neh 9:10

John Newton—Olney Hymns

Questions About the Nature and Perpetuity of the Seventh-Day Sabbath.
AND PROOF, THAT THE FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK IS THE TRUE CHRISTIAN SABBATH. BY JOHN BUNYAN. 'The Son of man is lord also of the Sabbath day.' London: Printed for Nath, Ponder, at the Peacock in the Poultry, 1685. EDITOR'S ADVERTISEMENT. All our inquiries into divine commands are required to be made personally, solemnly, prayerful. To 'prove all things,' and 'hold fast' and obey 'that which is good,' is a precept, equally binding upon the clown, as it is upon the philosopher. Satisfied from our observations
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

Ten Reasons Demonstrating the Commandment of the Sabbath to be Moral.
1. Because all the reasons of this commandment are moral and perpetual; and God has bound us to the obedience of this commandment with more forcible reasons than to any of the rest--First, because he foresaw that irreligious men would either more carelessly neglect, or more boldly break this commandment than any other; secondly, because that in the practice of this commandment the keeping of all the other consists; which makes God so often complain that all his worship is neglected or overthrown,
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety

The "Fraternity" of Pharisees
To realise the state of religious society at the time of our Lord, the fact that the Pharisees were a regular "order," and that there were many such "fraternities," in great measure the outcome of the original Pharisees, must always be kept in view. For the New Testament simply transports us among contemporary scenes and actors, taking the then existent state of things, so to speak, for granted. But the fact referred to explains many seemingly strange circumstances, and casts fresh light upon all.
Alfred Edersheim—Sketches of Jewish Social Life

Fragrant Spices from the Mountains of Myrrh. "Thou Art all Fair, My Love; There is no Spot in Thee. " --Song of Solomon iv. 7.
FRAGRANT SPICES FROM THE MOUNTAINS OF MYRRH. HOW marvellous are these words! "Thou art all fair, My love; there is no spot in thee." The glorious Bridegroom is charmed with His spouse, and sings soft canticles of admiration. When the bride extols her Lord there is no wonder, for He deserves it well, and in Him there is room for praise without possibility of flattery. But does He who is wiser than Solomon condescend to praise this sunburnt Shulamite? Tis even so, for these are His own words, and were
Charles Hadden Spurgeon—Till He Come

The Personality of the Holy Spirit.
Before one can correctly understand the work of the Holy Spirit, he must first of all know the Spirit Himself. A frequent source of error and fanaticism about the work of the Holy Spirit is the attempt to study and understand His work without first of all coming to know Him as a Person. It is of the highest importance from the standpoint of worship that we decide whether the Holy Spirit is a Divine Person, worthy to receive our adoration, our faith, our love, and our entire surrender to Himself,
R. A. Torrey—The Person and Work of The Holy Spirit

The Early Life of Malachy. Having Been Admitted to Holy Orders He Associates with Malchus
[Sidenote: 1095.] 1. Our Malachy, born in Ireland,[134] of a barbarous people, was brought up there, and there received his education. But from the barbarism of his birth he contracted no taint, any more than the fishes of the sea from their native salt. But how delightful to reflect, that uncultured barbarism should have produced for us so worthy[135] a fellow-citizen with the saints and member of the household of God.[136] He who brings honey out of the rock and oil out of the flinty rock[137]
H. J. Lawlor—St. Bernard of Clairvaux's Life of St. Malachy of Armagh

The Prophecy of Obadiah.
We need not enter into details regarding the question as to the time when the prophet wrote. By a thorough argumentation, Caspari has proved, that he occupies his right position in the Canon, and hence belongs to the earliest age of written prophecy, i.e., to the time of Jeroboam II. and Uzziah. As bearing conclusively against those who would assign to him a far later date, viz., the time of the exile, there is not only the indirect testimony borne by the place which this prophecy occupies in
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament

The Preface to the Commandments
And God spake all these words, saying, I am the LORD thy God,' &c. Exod 20: 1, 2. What is the preface to the Ten Commandments? The preface to the Ten Commandments is, I am the Lord thy God.' The preface to the preface is, God spake all these words, saying,' &c. This is like the sounding of a trumpet before a solemn proclamation. Other parts of the Bible are said to be uttered by the mouth of the holy prophets (Luke 1: 70), but here God spake in his own person. How are we to understand that, God spake,
Thomas Watson—The Ten Commandments

Of Immediate Revelation.
Of Immediate Revelation. [29] Seeing no man knoweth the Father but the Son, and he to whom the Son revealeth him; and seeing the revelation of the Son is in and by the Spirit; therefore the testimony of the Spirit is that alone by which the true knowledge of God hath been, is, and can be only revealed; who as, by the moving of his own Spirit, he disposed the chaos of this world into that wonderful order in which it was in the beginning, and created man a living soul, to rule and govern it, so by
Robert Barclay—Theses Theologicae and An Apology for the True Christian Divinity

Influences that Gave Rise to the Priestly Laws and Histories
[Sidenote: Influences in the exile that produced written ceremonial laws] The Babylonian exile gave a great opportunity and incentive to the further development of written law. While the temple stood, the ceremonial rites and customs received constant illustration, and were transmitted directly from father to son in the priestly families. Hence, there was little need of writing them down. But when most of the priests were carried captive to Babylonia, as in 597 B.C., and ten years later the temple
Charles Foster Kent—The Origin & Permanent Value of the Old Testament

The Holy War,
MADE BY SHADDAI UPON DIABOLUS, FOR THE REGAINING OF THE METROPOLIS OF THE WORLD; OR, THE LOSING AND TAKING AGAIN OF THE TOWN OF MANSOUL. THE AUTHOR OF 'THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS.' 'I have used similitudes.'--Hosea 12:10. London: Printed for Dorman Newman, at the King's Arms in the Poultry; and Benjamin Alsop, at the Angel and Bible in the Poultry, 1682. ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR. Bunyan's account of the Holy War is indeed an extraordinary book, manifesting a degree of genius, research, and spiritual
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

Ezra-Nehemiah
Some of the most complicated problems in Hebrew history as well as in the literary criticism of the Old Testament gather about the books of Ezra and Nehemiah. Apart from these books, all that we know of the origin and early history of Judaism is inferential. They are our only historical sources for that period; and if in them we have, as we seem to have, authentic memoirs, fragmentary though they be, written by the two men who, more than any other, gave permanent shape and direction to Judaism, then
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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