Remember I Beseech You - Nehemiah 1:8

In the book of Nehemiah, Nehemiah prayed to Jehovah God, “We have dealt very corruptly against you, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the judgments, which you commanded your servant Moses”, and in chapter one and verse eight of Nehemiah, Nehemiah said to God, “Remember, I beseech you”, where we read,

Remember, I beseech you, the word that you commanded your servant Moses, saying,

If you transgress, I will scatter you abroad among the nations:

The verse reads, “Remember, I beseech you, the word that you commanded your servant Moses, saying, ...”. Nehemiah began with the words, “remember, I beseech you” or “recall, make a memorial and call to mind, I, Nehemiah, entreat and pray to you, Jehovah God”, “the word that you commanded” which means “the utterance, declaration and proclamation that you, Jehovah God, charged, gave order to and appointed” “your servant Moses” or “your, Jehovah God's, man of servile condition, slave and bondman, Moses whose name means drawn or drawn out and was the prophet and lawgiver of Israel”, “saying” which means “uttering, declaring and proclaiming” the following words. Nehemiah begged Jehovah God to call to mind the proclamation with which He charged His “bond-servant” “Moses” that said the following.

The verse goes on to say, “... If you transgress, I will scatter you abroad among the nations:” Nehemiah continued with the words, “if you transgress” or “whether and in case you, people of Israel, act unfaithfully, treacherously and in opposition to God”, “I will scatter you abroad” which means “I, Jehovah God, shall disperse, spread abroad and dash you, people of Israel, into pieces” “among the nations” or “in the midst and middle of the pagan foreign people groups, kinsmen and compatriots”. Nehemiah asked God to recall how He told the people “if” they acted unfaithfully toward Him and His ways, He would spread them throughout the foreign people groups in the world. 

When we meditate upon the words in this verse, we learn more about Nehemiah's prayer to Jehovah God. He wanted God to recall how He warned the people of Israel that if they violated and were unfaithful in His ways, He would spread them throughout the foreign nations of the world. This is exactly what happened to Israel when they were exiled to Babylon for seventy years. God wants people to follow and obey Him, and should they choose to do otherwise, they will be dispersed through the world and the pitfalls that the world brings. God knew we would all have sin, (See Romans 3:10, 23) and the wages or payment for those sins is “death”. (See Romans 6:23) He sent His Son Jesus to die on the cross in our place, and when He was resurrected three days later, He provided the way for us to be forgiven of our sins, granted everlasting life and kept close to Him rather than being spread throughout the world. (See 2 Corinthians 5:21) 

Next time Nehemiah reminds God how He said, “but if you turn unto me, and keep my commandment” so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".