Nehemiah 9:11 is part of a prayer/song of repentance and a history lesson that led to Jerusalem’s destruction in the time of Jeremiah. Its timestamp is the seventh month after the Feast of Tabernacles. This occurred after the wall of Jerusalem was rebuilt but not dedicated.

As I have done the Bible 911 series it is apparent how the Lord provided “two or three witnesses” to confirm His Word. Isaiah, Amos, Hosea, and others spoke against the Assyrians and the need for Judah to repent. Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel were in the middle of the judgment on Judah and Jerusalem falling. Nehemiah, Ezra, Haggai, and Zechariah are after the seventy years of exile that Jeremiah prophesied. These three groups were also under three different oppressors – the first group dealt with the Assyrians, the second group suffered under the Babylonians, and the third were slaves to the Persians. Egypt and the delusion that it was a help to Israel are mentioned in all three time periods. Now that can make a great sermon. Samaritans, Philistines, and the “family enemies” of Moab, Ammon, and Edom have not gone away.

The Seventh Month

Chapters 8 and 9 of Nehemiah are set in the seventh month of the Hebrew religious calendar; there was a civil calendar that shared names but was in a different order. The importance of this month is found in Leviticus 23:23-44. It is the last set of feasts in the year and they come after the crops are gathered.

With that command in place, it is very curious to read 8:17. Why was the Feast of Tabernacles ignored? There are many references to the Exodus and the forty years of wandering (See Stories 1 and Stories 2), so it was not a forgotten event.

As I read it, the seventh-month gathering in Ezra 3 was not the one in Nehemiah.  It was the Feast of Trumpets, but the timeframe is different. When you follow the parade of kings, several have come and gone between the seventh-month meetings. Ezra’s meeting in chapter 10 is in the 9^th month and it was raining. Rain in the “seventh month” in Israel is rare.

Hebrew Jewish Months in the Old Testament – Bible History (bible-history.com)

rainy season in israel – Search (bing.com)       

Chapter 9

The assembly that is chronicled in this chapter may be the final gathering for the Feast of Tabernacles, but it seems like it is an additional event because it began on the 24^th. The details that are given signal the preparations and thoughts that have gone into this meeting. The list of Levities may well have been the choir and musicians for the Temple as well as its guards and officials.

This public confession or teaching or prayer or song is beautiful. It extols the Father’s goodness, provisions, and mercy for the Family as He brought them to the inheritance of Abraham. The good works of God are shown in contrast to the sins and unfaithfulness of His people. Abram leaving his home to follow the Lord is a powerful statement as they lead the people through Egypt and the wilderness to the Promise. The final stanzas pull the people back to their current plight and the distress they are enduring. 

9:5b+6 is a perfect joining of Genesis 1 and the foundation for the Lord’s Prayer taught by Jesus. It clearly announces that Jehovah has always been worthy of praise, even before we showed up.

After Genesis 17:5 the name Abram is used only twice in the Scriptures. 1 Chronicles has it in a family list and identifies him as Abraham. Here I feel it is used to connect the listener to the pilgrim who leaves the Ur of the Chaldeans to follow God’s leading to settle in a land they do not know, but it belongs to them. By this time most of these people have never been out of Babylon and only know stories of this land.

Nehemiah 9:11 And thou didst divide the sea before them, so that they went through the midst of the sea on the dry land; and their persecutors thou threwest into the deeps, as a stone into the mighty waters. (KJV)

O the teaching and sermons that have come from this event. Faith and fear, deliverance, provisions, light and dark, and obedience are just a few that come to my mind. It is a main lesson for baptism. These skilled Levities echo Moses and Miriam in their sermon songs found in Exodus 15: 1 – 21.    

Verse 11 is the miraculous scene change from the bondage of the Egyptians and their gods, whom Jehovah wrecked, to God who has covered them with His banner. I know the name Jehovah-Nissi is introduced in Exodus 17, but the Father proved Himself as their warring protector long before that.

A Little History and Background

• This time of confession and repentance was predicted in Ezekiel 23 and Jeremiah 50.
• Ezra, the priest and learned man leads the reading/meeting in Chapter 8. It is possible that not all of the returning Israelites may have been fluent in Hebrew. 9:2 sounds like a “family” only meeting.
• Jeremiah 50:17 “Israel is a scattered flock that lions have chased away. The first to devour them was the king of Assyria; the last to crush their bones was Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.” (NIV) They are now slaves of Persia.
• The potentates in this period are confusing, this is not the entire list, just the ones from the Bible. I will give credit to BAR for this list. Darius the Mede (Daniel), Cyrus, Darius the Great (Ezra 4), Xerxes or Ahasuerus (Esther), Artaxerxes I (Ezra), and Darius II(Nehemiah). Yes, there are three different rulers with the name Darius.
• The important Jews in order (of appearance) is also a hard list to find, this is my attempt. Sheshbazzar prince of Judah, Zerubbabel (also a prince of Judah) and Jeshua (a priest), Haggai and Zechariah, Ezra, and Nehemiah.
• Zechariah in Context and Zechariah 911 may be helpful. 

Going Further – Place Ezekiel 23 and Jeremiah 50 in chronological order as to when Jerusalem fell, so you can get an appreciation of the mercy of God and His knowledge.