Nehemiah 8:1-18
And all the people gathered themselves together as one man into the street that was before the water gate; and they spake unto Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded to Israel. 2 And Ezra the priest brought the law before the congregation both of men and women, and all that could hear with understanding, upon the first day of the seventh month. 3 And he read therein before the street that was before the water gate from the morning until midday, before the men and the women, and those that could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive unto the book of the law. 4 And Ezra the scribe stood upon a pulpit of wood, which they had made for the purpose; and beside him stood Mattithiah, and Shema, and Anaiah, and Urijah, and Hilkiah, and Maaseiah, on his right hand; and on his left hand, Pedaiah, and Mishael, and Malchiah, and Hashum, and Hashbadana, Zechariah, and Meshullam. 5 And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people; (for he was above all the people;) and when he opened it, all the people stood up: 6 And Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God. And all the people answered, Amen, Amen, with lifting up their hands: and they bowed their heads, and worshipped the Lord with their faces to the ground. 7 Also Jeshua, and Bani, and Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodijah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites, caused the people to understand the law: and the people stood in their place. 8 So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading. 9 And Nehemiah, which is the Tirshatha, and Ezra the priest the scribe, and the Levites that taught the people, said unto all the people, This day is holy unto the Lord your God; mourn not, nor weep. For all the people wept, when they heard the words of the law. 10 Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the Lord is your strength. 11 So the Levites stilled all the people, saying, Hold your peace, for the day is holy; neither be ye grieved. 12 And all the people went their way to eat, and to drink, and to send portions, and to make great mirth, because they had understood the words that were declared unto them. 13 And on the second day were gathered together the chief of the fathers of all the people, the priests, and the Levites, unto Ezra the scribe, even to understand the words of the law. 14 And they found written in the law which the Lord had commanded by Moses, that the children of Israel should dwell in booths in the feast of the seventh month: 15 And that they should publish and proclaim in all their cities, and in Jerusalem, saying, Go forth unto the mount, and fetch olive branches, and pine branches, and myrtle branches, and palm branches, and branches of thick trees, to make booths, as it is written. 16 So the people went forth, and brought them, and made themselves booths, every one upon the roof of his house, and in their courts, and in the courts of the house of God, and in the street of the water gate, and in the street of the gate of Ephraim. 17 And all the congregation of them that were come again out of the captivity made booths, and sat under the booths: for since the days of Jeshua the son of Nun unto that day had not the children of Israel done so. And there was very great gladness. 18 Also day by day, from the first day unto the last day, he read in the book of the law of God. And they kept the feast seven days; and on the eighth day was a solemn assembly, according unto the manner.
Chuck Swindoll rightly wrote, “Common to every genuine revival in history are two primary forces: the faithful proclamation of the Bible, God’s Word, and the responsive mobilization of` believers, God’s people.” The book of Nehemiah is divided into two parts. The first part of the book (chapter 1-6) is about rebuilding the walls of the city of Jerusalem. The second part (chapters 7-13) is about strengthening God’s people. After the wall was complete, a genealogical record was brought forward in chapter 7, along with the assigning of leaders and the commitment of giving, so that the people that belonged in Jerusalem might be mark off. This was the first, important step in establishing the people that would be living within the walls of Jerusalem. Chapter 8 is the next important step in the process. What would be foundational to the people, their relationship with God, and their prosperity before Him as a nation? It would be His Word. Previous generations had neglected, forgotten, and disobeyed God’s Word, but Moses had instructed the generation that went into the promised land about its importance. Deuteronomy 32:46-47 says, “And he said unto them, Set your hearts unto all the words which I testify among you this day, which ye shall command your children to observe to do, all the words of this law. For it is not a vain thing for you; because it is your life: and through this thing ye shall prolong your days in the land, whither ye go over Jordan to possess it.” That is what Nehemiah 8 is about. It is about reestablishing God’s people in the city that He chose for His name to dwell ojn the foundation of God’s Word. This chapter is one of the most of important chapters of the book because it teaches us the responses we should have to God’s Word. It teaches us four responses we are to have. We will examine two this week and two the following week.
The first response to God’s Word that we find in Nehemiah 8 is that it is to be given our full attention. Every seven years (Sabbath year), at the celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles, Israel was to hold a solemn assembly (Deuteronomy 31:10-13). This practice had been neglected for a long time throughout Israel’s captivity. The people gathered together to listen to “Ezra the scribe” (also “the priest”) read the law of God. Ezra, like many prophets and leaders, was gifted by God to understand and teach the law of God. Ezra 7:10 says of him that he, “had prepared his heart to seek the law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and judgments.” God has called all believers to love, study, understand, and obey His Word. However, there are certain men that He gifts to be able to understand and teach it to others. The New Testament gifts of apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastor-teachers would be such individuals (Ephesians 4:11-12). Paul told Timothy, “Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. Neglect not the gift that is in thee” (1 Timothy 4:13-14). Nehemiah 8:1 tells us that the people requested that Ezra come and read them the book of law. This was driven by the people’s desire for God’s Word. Verse 3 tells us that Ezra read “from the morning until midday.” Morning would roughly constitute 6 A.M. to us and midday would be noon. That means that Ezra read for six hours and the people stood and listened to him. Today, many church congregations ask for less of the Word of God in church services. They would much rather have an activity or some form of entertainment. This gathering contained six hours of Ezra reading Genesis through Deuteronomy to the people of God and others coming and explaining what was read. Everyone says they want to hear from God, but very few are willing to lend their ear to His Word to actually hear from Him. Many say they want to know God’s will, but give little to no time to His Word to seek it out. God’s Word is worthy of our full attention. For six hours everyone who “could hear with understanding” stood and listened to a man read God’s Word for them. For nearly 150 years, Jerusalem had not been able to celebrate Rosh Hashanah (the New Year) with this practice on the Sabbath year. They were hungry for God’s Word. They gave it their full attention. Do we?
The second response we are to have to God’s Word is that it should be given our utmost reverence. Not only did the people stand and give attention to God’s Word, but they also gave reverence to it. The “pulpit” was a raised platform that Ezra stood on to read and expound the Word from. Our modern church building designs follow this model. The pulpit is designed, not to exalt the preacher who reads and preaches, but the Word that is being read and preached. Not only did they exalt the reading of Word by having the reader raised up, but “the people stood up.” This was a sign of respect and attentiveness to what was being read. For six hours they stood. Today, people get uncomfortable sitting and listening to a preacher after thirty minutes. The people were so thankful and humbled by the opportunity to hear the Word of God that they even “worshipped” (bowed down) when it was read. One of the negative results of being so blessed with so many copies of God’s Word in many formats, translations, and study helps is that we lose sight of how blessed we are. In Nehemiah’s time, the average person didn’t have a copy of God’s Word. In fact, for most of history that has been the norm. It is only in recent history that this has changed. We are so blessed, but we have lost our excitement for hearing God’s Word. Ezra was not alone in carrying out the reading of the Word. There is a list of names in verses 4 and 7 of men who went among the large crowd of people and “caused the people to understand the law.” They moved among the people who stood still explaining the meaning of what Ezra was reading. This process of helping the people to understand God’s Word was twofold. First, they “read in the book in the law of God distinctly.” That means that they read the law, or translated it, in the various languages and dialects of the people present. Many of the Jews who had returned to Jerusalem had picked up Aramaic as their language, which was slightly different than ancient Hebrew. They needed to understand the Word in their language. Second, they “gave the sense.” This means that they explained the text. “Sense” means understanding. We do this same thing today. Faithful preachers and teachers of God’s Word explain God’s Word grammatically. They take the original languages and bring the meaning to the modern ear. Faithful preachers also explain God’s Word culturally and historically. The books of the Bible were written in a certain time period to specific people. They must be understood first with that original understanding before making application to the present. Faithful preachers also explain God’s Word contextually. That means that each individual passage must be understood in light of the rest of Scripture. The final way that faithful preachers carry out this task is by way of application, also called exhortation. This answers the questions: How does this passage apply today? and What does God expect us to do in light of what it means? Too much preaching today is anecdotal and filled with charismatic speaking that is meant to keep people entertained, but has no real substance. God’s Word is to be handled and treated reverently. Our goal in preaching and teaching should never be how well people like it. Instead, it should be how faithful we are to accurately communicate what God has actually said. People who are drawn anything else are not being drawn to God, they are being drawn to us. Our goal should be for them to be drawn to Him.
Hebrews 4:12 says, “the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword.” Our God is not silent. He has spoken. He has blessed us immeasurably by giving us His Word and His Word is powerful. Through His Word we are equipped for “every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17). The people of Jerusalem in Nehemiah’s time gave God’s Word their full attention and utmost reverence. Do we? Are we thankful that we have God’s Word? Are we committed to hear it and read it? Do we really want to understand it correctly or would we rather have it presented in such a way as to tickle our ears?