Nehemiah 8: “Ezra Reads The Law To The People Of Judea Which Brings Revival”
By
1. TIMELINE:
These graphs depict the timeline of the Old Testament, and note that the book of Nehemiah is written about a period of history after the Babylonian captivity and beginning in 445 BC.
Graph of Persian kings & Jewish companies sent out by them to Judea:
1.1. In our last study, we looked at chapter 7 of the book of Nehemiah.
1.1.1. We have seen in our study that in 445 BC that Nehemiah, a cupbearer to King Artaxerxes I, heard that the people in Jerusalem were in great distress and reproach, and the city wall was still broken down and its gates burned. This caused him to mourn, pray, and fast for four months that God might move the king’s heart and allow him to go and to rebuild Jerusalem’s wall. Finally, the Lord prepared the king’s heart for a conversation with Nehemiah, and when the king noticed that Nehemiah’s countenance was sad, he asked Nehemiah why he was sad in heart. The king then heard Nehemiah’s request and allowed him to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the city’s wall. The king gave Nehemiah all that he requested to successfully complete the job: official papers to give to the governors along the way, official paperwork to get all of the wood for building the gates, and an armed escort to assure a safe trip.
1.1.2. We have discussed a few times already exactly how great of a feat was accomplished through Nehemiah in leading the Judeans to build the wall around Jerusalem:
1.1.3. We have discussed the fact that in everything Nehemiah demonstrated that he had great wisdom, and thus he was able to be a master builder, just the scripture states in Proverbs 24:3-4: “By wisdom a house is built, And by understanding it is established; And by knowledge the rooms are filled With all precious and pleasant riches.”
1.1.4. We have also discussed that Nehemiah has been called not only the first book ever written about leadership, it has also been called “the best book ever written about leadership.”
1.1.5. So far in our study of Nehemiah, we have also observed numerous principles for effective leadership in Nehemiah’s life, including that an effective leader:
1.1.5.1.He gets people to do things they wouldn’t do otherwise, and enjoy doing it.
1.1.5.2.He understands people’s needs and recognizes problems.
1.1.5.3.He does not rush into action.
1.1.5.4.He goes to the Lord first about problems.
1.1.5.5.He is willing to be a solution to problems.
1.1.5.6.He waits on God to open doors, move in people’s hearts, and give the vision God has for them.
1.1.5.7.He keeps his emotions under control.
1.1.5.8.He plans.
1.1.5.9.He is discreet, keeps some things confidential, and tells others his plans at the proper time.
1.1.5.10.He is one who has gotten a proper balance of human responsibility and divine initiative, as he prays but plans.
1.1.5.11.He uses a combination of methods to motivate people but utilizes internal motivating factors more than external ones.
1.1.5.12.He is one who knows how to divide up a large project into a number of small projects that can be delegated to others to complete.
1.1.5.13.He is one who allows those under his leadership to have significant say in the things that they do.
1.1.5.14.He is one who has an understanding that timing is important. Important tasks must be done first, as with those tasks upon which other tasks depend.
1.1.5.15.He is one who leads God’s people to deal with the enemies and problems that do exist not those that are imaginary or could perhaps exist.
1.1.5.16.He is one who does not retaliate against those who are threatening him and giving him a hard time, but leaves all vengeance to the Lord
1.1.5.17.He is one who encourages people by causing them to take their eyes off of their circumstances and put them on the Lord
1.1.5.18.He is one who is enthusiastic about what God is doing and maintains a positive mental attitude.
1.1.5.19.He is one who leads people to work together in unity as one and look out for each other as for their own families.
1.1.5.20.He keeps the people focused on the tasks that define their purpose.
1.1.5.21.He is one who keeps a proper balance between faith and action.
1.1.5.22.He lives his own life as a servant leader.
1.1.5.23.He thinks before he acts.
1.1.5.24.Realizes that in addition to battling external opposition to your work, you have to also deal with internal problems among those whom you are leading.
1.1.5.25.Does not use his status and promotions for his own personal advancement, nor to build his own kingdom.
1.1.5.26.Has discernment concerning peoples motives needed for the decisions he makes.
1.1.5.27.He realizes how important his time is and that the enemy will try to make him ineffective by causing him to be consumed with irrelevant and inconsequential activities.
1.1.5.28.Does not bow to the pressure of men when they try to get him to go against what He knows the Lord has revealed to him.
1.1.5.29.He has a vision which he kept before him.
1.1.5.30.He gives hope to the people he leads.
1.1.5.31.He refuses to be discouraged by adversity.
1.1.5.32.He always deals with the truth in his dealings with people and their situations.
1.1.5.33.He is careful about the battles he chooses to fight.
1.1.5.34.He stands his ground even when people tell him to run and hide because of the threats against him.
1.1.5.35.He builds a leadership team to work and administrate under his authority.
1.1.6. In that last study, we looked at chapter 8 of the book.
1.1.6.1.We looked at the appointments that Nehemiah made upon entering into being the governor over the land of Judea.
1.1.6.2.We looked at the significance of each of those appointments.
1.1.6.3.We saw that the latter part of the chapter was mostly a repeat of Ezra’s list of God’s heroes who left Babylon, and everything of their own personal life, in order to rebuild the Jerusalem temple, houses, and wall.
1.2. In our study today, we are going to look at chapter 8 of the book.
1.2.1. The book of Nehemiah is broken into two sections:
1.2.1.1.The first section, chapters 1-6, deals with the rebuilding of the wall, and Nehemiah is the primary character.
1.2.1.2.The second section, chapters 7-13, deals with the rebuilding of the people of God, and Ezra is the primary character.
1.2.2. Nehemiah realized after getting the wall built that this was just the beginning of the things that the Lord wanted to do in Judea and with His people. What good would a wall be to keep foreigners out of the city if within the city the people’s hearts were no closer to the Lord than the pagans and they were not fulfilling their calling before the Lord? The Judeans needed to have a revival of religion now, and this is what happened.
1.2.3. Judea had had a great victory under Nehemiah in rebuilding the wall, but great victories in the lives of God’s people always bring their greatest temptations. When any ministry or church has finally had a great victory, this is the time for them to beware of falling into temptations, trials, and snares of the evil one.
1.2.3.1.This principle is illustrated in the scriptures. For instance, after the great victory at Jericho under Joshua, the people were rejoicing in what God had done but they didn’t pray and they didn’t sacrifice before going up to Ai next to battle, and they were soundly defeated. It turned out that one man, Achan, had kept something that was under the ban at the battle of Jericho, and this caused all of Israel to be defeated in that next battle
1.2.4. A Christian never gets to a place where he has had victory in serving the Lord and now he can sit back and rest. Complacency is never a place to be if you are one of God’s people. In fact, pastors and preachers never really need to retire.
1.2.5. It has been said that the book of Nehemiah includes the very first revival of religion among God’s people. That this revival occurred before the ‘Water Gate’ should not surprise us for this was a revival bringing people back to the word of God, and in Ephesians chapter 5 the apostle Paul referred to the word of God as water (“the washing of water by the Word”).
1.2.6. For a while in the book, we will seen that Nehemiah wisely steps into the background as Ezra takes the stage and reads the word of God to the Judeans after they of themselves gather to the center of the city.
1.2.7. We are going to talk today about what genuine revival of religion consists of.
2. VS 8:1-3 - “1 And all the people gathered as one man at the square which was in front of the Water Gate, and they asked Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses which the Lord had given to Israel. 2 Then Ezra the priest brought the law before the assembly of men, women and all who could listen with understanding, on the first day of the seventh month. 3 He read from it before the square which was in front of the Water Gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of men and women, those who could understand; and all the people were attentive to the book of the law.” – The people in Judea all gathered at the city square and asked Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses, and Ezra read to the people from early morning until midday
2.1. This is such an unusual occurrence, people coming together spontaneously, and coming for the purpose of hearing the word of God read to them from the scriptures. The people weren’t summoned to appear, they simply responded to the Lord’s working in their hearts. This was a move of God in the hearts of the people of Judea.
2.2. What this story shows us more than anything is the fruit that had been produced through the faithfulness of Ezra the scribe who had been there in Jerusalem teaching the people the law for the previous twelve years or so since he came to Jerusalem. After leading the revival of the people when they responded to his admonishment to put away the foreign wives they had married, along with the children they had bore, he remained in Jerusalem teaching. Yet, until this moment in time there hadn’t been much fruit that had come from his ministry.
2.3. In the parable of the Sower, Jesus referred metaphorically to the word of God as being like the seed of a crop. The seed that is sown into the soil eventually comes to life and a plant is born. In the same way, teachers of the word of God plant the seed of God’s word in people’s hearts and minds, and for those who are good soil, that seed eventually at a point in time brings forth the result of what God desires in peoples’ lives. The seed itself has the full blueprint for the plant contained within it’s DNA, just as the word of God itself has the full blueprint for what God wants to do in our lives within it.
2.4. Those who teach and preach the word of God have the promise that His word shall not return void but shall produce the effect He desires for it: Isaiah 55:10-11, “10 For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, And do not return there without watering the earth And making it bear and sprout, And furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater; 11 So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.”
2.5. When we understand that for over twelve years Ezra had been teaching the people of Judea God’s word, this helps us to accept how that when Nehemiah first arrived in Jerusalem and appealed to the people to begin to rebuild the wall around Jerusalem, that they immediately responded positively. Nehemiah 2:17-18 records Nehemiah’s motivational speech to them, and their response: “Then I said to them, “You see the bad situation we are in, that Jerusalem is desolate and its gates burned by fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem so that we will no longer be a reproach.” I told them how the hand of my God had been favorable to me and also about the king’s words which he had spoken to me. Then they said, “Let us arise and build.” So they put their hands to the good work.”
2.6. Public reading of the scripture is something that is commanded for the church (1 Tim. 4:13) and was necessary up until the last couple hundred years because individuals could not have their own copies of the word of God.
3. VS 8:4-5 - “4 Ezra the scribe stood at a wooden podium which they had made for the purpose. And beside him stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah on his right hand; and Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zechariah and Meshullam on his left hand. 5 Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people for he was standing above all the people; and when he opened it, all the people stood up.” – Ezra stood up on a wooden podium so that the people of Judea could see and hear him, and with him on the podium were some of the priests and/or leaders in Judea: Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, Maaseiah, Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zechariah, and Mesullam
3.1. Gathered there in the square in Jerusalem on this day were perhaps thirty-five thousand people or more, and thus Nehemiah needed to stand up on a stage or ‘podium’ above the people so that they could both hear and see him as he read to them from the Pentateuch.
3.2. Note that out of respect for the Lord and His word the people ‘stood up’ to hear the reading of the word of God, and they continued standing for hour after hour as he read. Respect for God and His Word is at an all time low in our world today.
3.3. The revival that occurs here in the book of Nehemiah is the type of revival that the church needs, it is a revival that is based upon learning the Word of God and aligning their lives according to the Word of God. Every revival that is not a revival back to the Word of God and aligning our lives to the Word of God is a false or counterfeit revival.
3.4. There have been many revivals in our day that have not involved the preaching of the Word of God, or the Name of Jesus, or any the preaching of any kind of gospel message that can bring salvation. The scripture tells us that “there is no other name under heaven whereby a man can be saved but the name of Jesus.’ The scripture also tells us that “there is only one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus.” Jesus Himself said in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life, no man can come to the Father but through Me.” Without the centrality of Jesus Christ and the message of salvation through the work of Christ, there can be no genuine revival of religion.
4. VS 8:6 - “6 Then Ezra blessed the Lord the great God. And all the people answered, “Amen, Amen!” while lifting up their hands; then they bowed low and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground.” – After reading from morning until midday, Ezra finally stopped reading and blessed the Lord in exalting praise, and the people worshipped saying, ‘Amen, Amen!’ and then bowed low and worshipped with their faces to the ground
4.1. The reading and meditating upon the word of God leads a person to recognize God’s greatness and majesty, and leads to giving praise and worshipping.
4.2. After our services when we have had our teaching time, our hearts are at that time most ready and desiring to worship. That is why we try on Sunday mornings to sing a worship song after the teaching time. I know pastors who teach the word first and have their worship time afterwards because people’s hearts are more ready to worship at that time.
5. VS 8:7-8 - “ 7 Also Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, the Levites, explained the law to the people while the people remained in their place. 8 They read from the book, from the law of God, translating to give the sense so that they understood the reading.” – The priests with Ezra read from the book of the law and translated it giving the sense of the passages so that the people would understand the reading
5.1. The people in Judea largely didn’t know their Hebrew language at this point, so it says here that the priests were ‘translating’ the language to the people so that they could understand what was being said.
5.2. It says here that the priests would also ‘give the sense’ of the passages. This Hebrew word for ‘sense’ means to be prudent, wise, and practical. This phrase then refers to giving interpretation of the passages. Specifically, it means to make the passages practical in real life for the people.
5.3. I have had people with little to no biblical background ask me why I teach or preach from the Bible instead of just reading it. They don’t understand the importance of a Bible teacher “giving the sense” or interpreting and applying the Word to our lives.
5.4. Giving the sense of a passage is just as important as it was in Nehemiah’s day. People read passages and perhaps hear them taught from the perspective of what the Lord was trying to tell the people for whom they were originally designated, but they don’t necessarily make the translation concerning how those passages relate to their own life and situations.
5.5. ‘Giving the sense’ of passages describes what we try to do with our midweek studies where we go over the passages that were already taught on Sunday. Our focus is to explain the application of the passages and to do this by doing a little teaching and then asking application questions concerning the passages.
6. VS 8:9-12 - “9 Then Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, “This day is holy to the Lord your God; do not mourn or weep.” For all the people were weeping when they heard the words of the law. 10 Then he said to them, “Go, eat of the fat, drink of the sweet, and send portions to him who has nothing prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” 11 So the Levites calmed all the people, saying, “Be still, for the day is holy; do not be grieved.” 12 All the people went away to eat, to drink, to send portions and to celebrate a great festival, because they understood the words which had been made known to them.” – Nehemiah and Ezra both encouraged the people not to mourn because it was a day to have joy and eat of the fat, drink of the seek, and send portions to one who has nothing, it is a day that is holy to the Lord
6.1. As Ezra read the law of Moses to the people of Judea, the word brought conviction to their hearts of their sins. They just kept realizing more and more the many ways that they had broken God’s law and sinned against them. This caused their hearts to grieve and tears to stream down their faces.
6.1.1. For all of us as Christians, the more we get into God’s word and the more we grow, the more we likewise realize the many ways that we fall short of being where God wants us to be in our life.
6.2. There is an appropriate time for all things. The people of the Israel were inappropriately depressed and grieving because of realizing the many ways and times that they had sinned in not keeping God’s law.
6.3. Ecclesiastes 3:1-10 tells us about how that there is an appropriate time for everything that happens, “1 There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven— 2 A time to give birth and a time to die; A time to plant and a time to uproot what is planted. 3 A time to kill and a time to heal; A time to tear down and a time to build up. 4 A time to weep and a time to laugh; A time to mourn and a time to dance. 5 A time to throw stones and a time to gather stones; A time to embrace and a time to shun embracing. 6 A time to search and a time to give up as lost; A time to keep and a time to throw away. 7 A time to tear apart and a time to sew together; A time to be silent and a time to speak. 8 A time to love and a time to hate; A time for war and a time for peace. 9 What profit is there to the worker from that in which he toils? 10 I have seen the task which God has given the sons of men with which to occupy themselves.”
6.4. When we Christians confess and repent of our sins it is not God’s will for us to walk around grieving about them, and we have to make sure that we don’t carry around guilt for what is now under the blood of Christ. This was not how God intended our lives to be lived. Realizing that we have sinned and the ways that we have sinned should not make us as Christians think that God is mad at us, or wants to slam us. The Lord reveals our sin so that He can forgive us and cleanse us, and then fill us with the Holy Spirit and joy. The joy of the Lord is to be the strength of the Christian, not grieving and sorrow.
6.5. We are to be filled with the fruit of the Spirit instead: love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, gentleness, and self-control. If we are carrying around guilt, then this is not from God but rather from the evil one who is trying to get us focused on the wrong things.
6.6. Notice here what Nehemiah tells the people that they should do since they were having this holy invocation before the Lord: ‘Go, eat of the fat, drink of the sweet, and send portions to him who has nothing prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord.’ This reminds me of the Sabbath arguments that Jesus had with the Pharisees over what is appropriate to do on a Sabbath day. The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. The Sabbath was not meant to be a great burden that we are to bear, rather it is to be a blessing to us and to help us.
6.7. Note here that Ezra and the priests tell the people to go and enjoy abundance of life, saying ‘eat of the fat, drink of the sweet.’
6.8. The people were depressed, and Ezra and the priests tell the people to think about others more with needs and ‘send portions to him who has nothing.’ Whenever a person is depressed, he is focused upon his own life. He constantly sees his own lack, his own condition, his own hopelessness, etc. If a person is ever to get over his depression, at some point he has to begin to think about others and helping them. In the book of 2 Corinthians, the apostle Paul wrote about how that he suffered greatly from depression. In fact, he wrote in that book that “he despaired even of life.” Paul suffered greatly from the injuries of his persecutions, the diseases he experienced on the mission field, and possibly even a problem with his eye sight. But, in that book, Paul writes about how “the God of all comfort” also “comforts us in all of our afflictions.” He allows us to go through all of these things so that we can them comfort others. Again, being used to encourage others though the ways in which God has comforted us helps us to have victory over depression.
7. VS 8:13-18 - “13 Then on the second day the heads of fathers’ households of all the people, the priests and the Levites were gathered to Ezra the scribe that they might gain insight into the words of the law. 14 They found written in the law how the Lord had commanded through Moses that the sons of Israel should live in booths during the feast of the seventh month. 15 So they proclaimed and circulated a proclamation in all their cities and in Jerusalem, saying, “Go out to the hills, and bring olive branches and wild olive branches, myrtle branches, palm branches and branches of other leafy trees, to make booths, as it is written.” 16 So the people went out and brought them and made booths for themselves, each on his roof, and in their courts and in the courts of the house of God, and in the square at the Water Gate and in the square at the Gate of Ephraim. 17 The entire assembly of those who had returned from the captivity made booths and lived in them. The sons of Israel had indeed not done so from the days of Joshua the son of Nun to that day. And there was great rejoicing. 18 He read from the book of the law of God daily, from the first day to the last day. And they celebrated the feast seven days, and on the eighth day there was a solemn assembly according to the ordinance.” – The heads of fathers’ households of all the people, the priests, and the Levites were gathered together to Ezra the scribe to again listen to and learn from the words of the law, and they discovered the commandment to observe the Feast of Booths in the seventh month, and so the people of Judea observed it together
7.1. On the second day, the heads of father’s households of all the people, the priests, and the Levites were gathered there to Ezra that they might again hear the law of God read, and they discovered that the law commanded the observance of the Feast of Booths. Evidently, that feast was to be observed at that period of time, so they decided that all Judea should observe it.
7.2. The Feast of Booths was commanded so that by collecting branches and twigs and building temporary shelters for them to live in during this week of the feast, that they would bring to mind what the children of Israel did throughout their 40 years of wandering in the wilderness. God miraculously provided all of their needs during that entire time: food, water, shelter, clothes, shoes that didn’t wear out.
7.3. The reading of the law of God continued for all of the seven days of the observance of the Feast of Booths. The people had such an appetite for God’s word they could not get enough.
8. CONCLUSIONS:
8.1. Are you committed to knowing and obeying God’s Word in your life? Are you willing to align your life according to God’s Word?
8.2. In the book of James, we are told to “be doers of the Word and not merely hearers.” Further, James explains that the one who is a hearer only is like a man who looks at himself in a mirror, and when he walks away he forgets what he looks like.
8.3. Dawson Trotman, the man who founded the Navigator’s ministry used to say, “Trying is failing, we have to do God’s will!” God’s commandments have been called His enablings because whatever He has commanded us to do, He will give us the power to do. Will you commit yourself to doing God’s Word, and letting the Lord do through His Word whatever He wants to do in and through your life?