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.

In the Old Testament, the people of God were the Jewish people. It is to the Jewish people that God revealed Himself and carried out His plan of redemption in the world. In Romans 3:1, the Apostle Paul asks the question, “What advantage then hath the Jew? or what profit is there of circumcision?” To that question he provides an answer in Romans 3:2 writing, “Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God.” The great advantage of being an Israelite and a descendant of Abraham, among other things, was that the Jews were given the very Word of God. Having the Word of God is a great grace. God has spoken through His Word. Today, we have the complete revelation of God in the Bible. Further, we live in a time, a place, and a culture where we have nearly unlimited access to the Bible and countless resources to help us study and understand it. If the Jewish people were accountable for having God’s Word, then how much more are we? After being displaced and defeated for nearly 150 years, some of the Jews had returned from captivity and been led by God’s man, Nehemiah, in rebuilding the walls around the city. They now had a wall of protection and a temple to worship God in. The time of the Jewish new year (Rash Hashana) was upon them on a Sabbath year and the law called them to have a solemn assembly (Deuteronomy 31:10-13). In this assembly, just before the Feast of Tabernacles, the people called for Ezra the scribe and priest to come and read to them the book of the law. The Levites and other helpers went among the people and helped the people to understand the law that Ezra was reading.

Last week, we looked at two responses that the people had to God’s Word that reflect the attitude that we are to have toward it. They gave God’s Word their full attention and utmost reverence. They stood for six hours, listened to Ezra read, and they bowed down in worship to God. They attentively listened and sought to understand and apply His Word. It was because they had ignored His Word that their ancestors were taken into captivity. This generation, at least for the time being, sought to hear the law and obey it. This week we will look at two more responses that you and I are called to have to God’s Word.

 The third response we are to have to God’s Word is that it should be given our deepest devotion. Once the people understood the law, we find that the reaction they had was to weep. They wept because the law convicted them. They understood that everything that Ezra read and that they were taught as his reading was explained was contrary to how they and their ancestors had been living. They would have understood that their ancestors had been in captivity and had known defeat up until their time because of the fact that they had violated God’s covenant with them that He had made at Sinai. Conviction is a great blessing from God. To be able to hear God’s Word and have God’s Spirit convict our hearts (John 16:8-11) concerning its truth is something that we must never take for granted. Our natural reactions to it are often to shun the conviction, to suppress it, or to justify our sin, but we should never take it so lightly. The Creator of the universe is dealing with our hearts. The only proper response is the brokenness that the people of God display in these verses. However, conviction is not an end in itself. There is good news. Nehemiah, Ezra, and the Levites encourage the people to rejoice instead. Why do they do this? It is because the day that this occurred on was actually to be a day of great celebration. It was a day that was “holy unto the Lord.” They had double the reasons to be joyful. First, the day called for it. Second, God had chosen them to be the ones to enjoy this day in the newly restored city of Jerusalem. They were blessed to be a part of it. Their joy would not be found, however, in circumstances or in themselves, but in their God. Ezra, Nehemiah, and the Levites told them “the joy of the Lord is your strength.” There is a time to mourn for our sin, but there is also a time to rejoice knowing that our sin is forgiven. Our joy is found in our right relationship with God. It is the joy that He supplies. The joy of the Christian today is found in Christ. Paul saw this as the greatest value (Philippians 3:10). I find it very difficult today to hear so much talk about religious things, about church stuff, about the Holy Spirit, about apologetics, about arguments for the Bible, etc. Some of it is good, but something is missing from most of the discussions: Christ. To be Christian is to know Christ, follow Christ, and pursue Christ. Everything we are called to do; we are called to do in light of following Christ. The Bible is God’s revelation of His Son. To be devoted to His Word is to be devoted to His Son. His Word is therefore worthy of our utmost devotion. Nehemiah and the others model for us what faithful preachers do. They guide God’s people according to His Word. They teach God’s people to think and act biblically. Their authority was not self-derived, but “Word-derived.” We must allow God’s Word to shape both our joy and sorrow, both our action and inaction, both our loves and our pursuits.  It is worthy of our utmost devotion.

The fourth response we find in Nehemiah 8 to God’s Word is that it should be given our complete obedience. After the response of weeping and the call to rejoice, the people follow through in their obedience to what God’s Word said. Being the seventh month, the people recognized that it was time to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. They did so just as God had commanded. This feast was meant to remind the people of God’s faithfulness in delivering them from the bondage of Egypt, preserving through the wilderness, and bringing them into the promised land. When they settled the land, Joshua led the Israelites in celebrating the feast. This generation and their recent ancestors had endured captivity. They had just been delivered and restored to their land. Now, they could celebrate the feast anew as people who were twice delivered. Through their responses, these people demonstrate four healthy marks of a Christian and a local church. First, they faithfully gathered, eager to hear the Word of God. Second, they had a high regard for God’s Word. Third, they had faithful preachers who instructed them in God’s Word and how to respond to it. Lastly, they found their joy in obeying God’s Word, not in circumstances.

How precious is God’s Word to you? The way you can answer this question is by considering the four responses we found in Nehemiah 8. Do we give His Word our full attention? Do we give it our utmost reverence? Is our loyalty and devotion with His Word above all else? Do we strive to live our lives in obedience to His Word? His Word is “more to be desired…than gold” and “sweeter also than honey from the honeycomb” (Psalm 19:10). It is given to us to be “a lamp unto” our “feet, and a light unto” our “path” (Psalm 119:105). We must learn to love it because it is our life (Deuteronomy 32:46-47).