A change from gladness to fasting! There was gladness because they kept the feast that spoke of future blessing. We too can rejoice as we look forward to the time when the Lord Himself shall come and take us all home. But when we think of how we often fail, it is good for us to be humbled. What a picture of serious confession!
V.2-3 Important steps: separation from all strangers, confessing their sins, reading in the book of the law and worshipping the Lord. There would be more worship if we remembered these other important things.
V.4-38 A wonderful record of the faithful ways of God from the days of Abraham.
V.16-17 Their guilt and unfaithfulness are remembered but so is the kindness of God.
V.18-19 Israel’s failure and God’s faithfulness. We have failed so much, but the Lord has been so faithful to us. We are thankful for His faithfulness.
V.33 What a beautiful confession! Let us ever be ready to admit fully our own failure.