He Comforts Us

"14Remember me, O my God, concerning this, and wipe not out my good deeds that I have done for the house of my God, and for the offices thereof." (Nehemiah 13: 14)

In Hebrew, Nehemiah means "The Lord Comforts".

Our comfort is from God Almighty:

"I, even I, am he that comforteth you: who art thou, that thou shouldest be afraid of a man that shall die, and of the son of man which shall be made as grass;" (Isaiah 51: 12)

Today, we have this rest through Jesus:

"1Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.

2Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the LORD'S hand double for all her sins.
 

3The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
 

4Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain:
 

5And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it." (Isaiah 40: 1-5)

 

This prophesy speaks of Jesus' coming, heralded by John the Baptist:

 

"He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias." (John 1: 23)

The glory of the Lord revealed then -- and now -- is Jesus!

"And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth." (John 1: 14)

While Nehemiah under the Old Covenant begged for God to remember His good deeds, today under the New Covenant we rest in the Good Deed of our Lord and Savior Jesus ("It is Finished" -- John 19: 30)

Toward the end of Nehemiah's ministry, however, he found the Israelites returning to the same wicked ways, contrary to God's law, which caused them to be removed from Israel to Babylon.

How do we walk in His Ways today, then?

By allowing our hearts to rest in His grace:

"Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines. For it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace; not with meats, which have not profited them that have been occupied therein." (Hebrews 13: 9)

We are comforted in Jesus, who has put away all our sins and granted us His life and standing before God our Father today.