Seeing the Affliction of Our Fathers - Nehemiah 9:9

In the book of Nehemiah, Nehemiah said, “You, even you, are LORD alone; you have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth, and all things that are therein, the seas, and all that is therein, and you preserve them all; and the host of heaven worships you. You are the LORD the God, who did choose Abram, and brought him forth out of Ur of the Chaldees, and gave him the name of Abraham. And found his heart faithful before you, and made a covenant with him to give the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Jebusites, and the Girgashites, to give it, I say, to his seed, and have performed your words; for you are righteous”, and in chapter nine and verse nine of Nehemiah, Nehemiah shared how God saw, “the affliction of our fathers in Egypt” where we read,

And did see the affliction of our fathers in Egypt, and heard their cry by the Red sea;

The verse reads, “And did see the affliction of our fathers in Egypt, ...” Nehemiah began with the words, “and did see the affliction” which means “and observed, noticed and saw the poverty, misery and depression” “of our fathers” or “belonging to our, the people of Israel's, male progenitors and ancestors” “in Egypt” which means “within Egypt whose name means land of the copts and is a country at the northeastern section of Africa, adjacent to Palestine and through which the Nile River flows”. Nehemiah shared how the Levites also noted how Jehovah God observed the misery and depression pertaining to the male progenitors of Israel within the country of “Egypt”.

The verse goes on to say, “... and heard their cry by the Red sea;” Nehemiah continued with the words, “and heard their cry” or “and listened with attention and interest to their, the people of Israel's, outcry, distress and clamor ” “by the Red sea” which means “beside the large body of water known as the Red Sea”. Nehemiah shared how Jehovah God attentively listened to the outcry and clamor of the people of Israel when they were at the “Red Sea”. (See Exodus 3:7-9, 16)

When we consider the words in this verse, we learn through Nehemiah how the Levites continued to recall the history of Jehovah God's overseeing of the people of Israel. He saw them when they were in “Egypt”, and He attentively took heed to their distressful cries when they were at the “Red Sea”. God loves Israel, and He had a plan to offer salvation to the world through them. He sent His Son Jesus through lineage of Israel to die on the cross for the sins of all mankind, and He raised Him from the grave three days later so that everyone who puts their faith and trust in Him will be forgiven of their sins, granted everlasting life and made to know His eternal love and provision in this life and in the next. 

Next time Nehemiah shares how Jehovah God, “showed signs and wonders upon Pharaoh”, 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".