Tuesday, January 6, 2026
Lord, the God of the heavens, the great and awe-inspiring God who keeps his gracious covenant with those who love him and keep his commands, let your eyes be open and your ears be attentive to hear your servant’s prayer that I now pray to you day and night for your servants, the Israelites. I confess the sins[a] we have committed against you. Both I and my father’s family have sinned. We have acted corruptly toward you and have not kept the commands, statutes, and ordinances you gave your servant Moses. Nehemiah 1:5-7
We Have Sinned…
The story of Nehemiah is one of my favorite accounts in the scriptures. In it, God calls and uses a cupbearer to save Jerusalem…and rebuild the wall of the city. Great account, with a ‘here am I, send me’ sense about it. One of the commands of scripture is that we bear one another’s burdens. Today, we consider how Nehemiah bore the responsibility for the sins of his people as he prayed to God.
One element of this first chapter…in verse 6: “I confess the sins we Israelites, including myself and my father’s family, have committed against you.” He was confessing the sins…not only of himself…and his family…but also of the entire people of Israel! Notice that he wasn’t saying, “I’m sorry for the sins of this people.” Rather, “I confess the sins…of this people.”
He wasn’t confessing that THEY had sinned. He was taking their sin as his own. WE have sinned. Verse 7: “We have acted corruptly against Thee…” We. We. Who does this? When was the last time you confessed the sins of your neighbor? Your state? Your nation? It simply isn’t something we are conditioned to do. We are inclined to deny responsibility when it comes to sin.
It was, however, what Jesus did on our behalf. Jesus took responsibility for sin. For my sin and yours. Jesus BECAME sin…our sin. 2nd Corinthians 5:21 notes: “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” Jesus took on our sin so we could be made whole. Sit with that thought for a little while and thank him for this marvelous git.
