Nehemiah 9:17

They refused to obey, and they were not mindful of Your wonders that You did among them. But they hardened their necks, and in their rebellion they appointed a leader to return to their bondage. But You are God, ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, abundant in kindness, and did not forsake them.

This verse sums up the entire human predicament: a willful rebellion met with a divine nature of incomprehensible grace.

The human condition described here is expressed in humanity’s rejection of God’s ultimate revelation: His Son. Just as Israel refused to obey and were not mindful of the wonders performed in Egypt and the wilderness, so too did the world fail to recognize the greater wonders of Christ. John 1:10-11 states that Jesus Christ was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. The ultimate hardening of their necks was the rejection and crucifixion of the Messiah. You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you. Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who foretold the coming of the Just One, of whom you now have become the betrayers and murderers(Acts 7:51-52).

It is in this very act of supreme rebellion that God’s nature, as proclaimed in Nehemiah, is most gloriously displayed. On the cross, Jesus embodies the fullness of God’s gracious and merciful character, interceding for His enemies with the words, Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do (Luke 23:34). Here, God is not only ready to forgive; He actively procures forgiveness through the sacrifice of Himself.

The four divine attributes listed in Nehemiah 9:17, BEING GRACIOUS, MERCIFUL, SLOW TO ANGER, AND ABOUNDING IN STEADFAST LOVE, are personified in Christ. Indeed, the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ (John 1:17). In Jesus, we see the mercy of God touching the leper, healing the blind, and forgiving the sinner. His slowness to anger is evident in His patience with His doubting disciples and His compassionate response to those who opposed Him. The steadfast love of God, which is covenantal, loyal, and unfailing, is exhibited at Calvary. Romans 5:8 puts it this way: But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. The love that was abounding in the wilderness, preserving a rebellious people, is now poured out in the blood of the New Covenant, securing redemption for all people. For in Jesus Christ, we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence (Ephesians 1:7-8).

The promise and did not forsake them, finds its fulfillment in the resurrection and ongoing presence of Christ. Under the Old Covenant, God’s promise not to forsake was often conditional and was experienced intermittently through judges, prophets, and kings. In Jesus, God’s commitment not to forsake us becomes an eternal, unbreakable reality. The resurrected Christ’s final words in the Gospel of Matthew are, Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age (Matthew 28:20). This is the fulfillment of God’s unwavering presence. For He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you’ (Hebrews 13:5). Our hope is anchored in a high priest who always lives to make intercession for us (Hebrews 7:25). In Christ, we are not just PARDONED REBELS like the Israelites in the wilderness; we did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but we received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, ‘Abba, Father.’ The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs – heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together. Nothing shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:39).

Jesus did not just offer forgiveness; He became the sacrifice that makes forgiveness possible, once for all. He is the ultimate answer to humanity’s refusal to obey and God’s readiness to forgive. When we see Jesus Christ, we see God, ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, abundant in kindness in human flesh, dwelling among us. In Christ, God was reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:19).

In Jesus Christ, God’s readiness to forgive and His abounding love are not just expressed but incarnated, enacted, and eternally secured for all who believe.

Pray that:

• The reality of the cross may shatter your pride and fill you with gratitude for the love of God in Jesus Christ.  
• God may give you the courage, compassion, and words to point those who are still in rebellion to Jesus Christ.

Soli Deo Gloria – to God alone be the glory! Rev. Luke Haisa