JANUARY 5th, 2024
SERMON “Nehemiah 8 – The Work of the Word in the Willing!”
INTRODUCTON:
1. Notice that we have skipped Nehemiah 7 in this series. This is NOT because every Word of God is important, we are skipping it because it is simply a list of men and the number of people who came with them into Jerusalem to work during the threat of violence against them.
2. Here in Chapter 8, once the people had gathered in Jerusalem, Ezra the Priest read to them “The Book of the Law.”
3. Notice that this takes place on “on the first day of the seventh month” which was the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles, which was given to remind them of their wilderness wandering!
Leviticus 23:23-24 “And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the people of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall observe a day of solemn rest, a memorial proclaimed with blast of trumpets, a holy convocation.”
3. This is likely a reference to the entire Pentateuch consisting of the Books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy which would take an average reader about 10 to 12 hours.
4. Since verse 13 tells us that “The Book of the Law” was read over a period of two days, and verse 14 quotes from Leviticus 23, it is clear that this reading was of The entire Pentateuch!
5. Since the Word of GOD works in the life of people who hear and obey it, we will take note of how hearing The Pentateuch read affected these people!
EXPOSITION:
(8:1-3) THE FIRST STEP IN A LOCAL AND/OR NATIONAL REVIVAL IS FOR THE PEOPLE OF GOD TO READ AND STUDY THE BIBLE!
(1) “And all the people gathered as one man into the square before the Water Gate. And they told Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses that the Lord had commanded Israel.
(2) So, Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly, both men and women and all who could understand what they heard, on the first day of the seventh month. (3) And he read from it facing the square before the Water Gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of the men and the women and those who could understand. And the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law.”
(8:5-6) READING THE BIBLE IS AN ACT OF WORSHIP!
(5) And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was above all the people, and as he opened it all the people stood. (6) And Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God, and all the people answered, “Amen, Amen,” lifting up their hands. And they bowed their heads and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground.”
(8:4, 7, 8) BEYOND READING THE BIBLE, GOD’S PEOPLE NEED KNOWLEDGEABLE TEACHERS TO TEACH THEM THE BIBLE!
(4) “And Ezra the scribe stood on a wooden platform that 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. (7) Also Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, the Levites, helped the people to understand the Law, while the people remained in their places. (8) They read from the book, from the Law of God, clearly, and they gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading.” (13) “On the second day the heads of fathers’ houses of all the people, with the priests and the Levites, came together to Ezra the scribe in order to study the words of the Law.”
(8:9) PEOPLE WHO BELIEVE THE BIBLE ARE GREATLY MOVED BY IT!
(9) “And 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 wept as they heard the words of the Law.”
(8:10-12) PEOPLE WHO ARE PART OF A LONG WORSHIP SERVICE NEED A BREAK TO EAT!
(10) Then he said to them, “Go your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” (11) So the Levites calmed all the people, saying, “Be quiet, for this day is holy; do not be grieved.” (12) And all the people went their way to eat and drink and to send portions and to make great rejoicing, because they had understood the words that were declared to them.”
(8:14-15) GOD’S PEOPLE NEED TO BE REMINDED THAT THE WORDS IN THE BIBLE ARE THE COMMANDMENTS OF GOD!
(14) “And they found it written in the Law that the Lord had commanded by Moses that the people of Israel should dwell in booths during the feast of the seventh month, (15) and that they should proclaim it and publish it in all their towns and in Jerusalem, “Go out to the hills and bring branches of olive, wild olive, myrtle, palm, and other leafy trees to make booths, as it is written.”
(8:16-18) PEOPLE WHO KNOW THE WORD OF GOD AND WHO KNOW THE GOD OF THE WORD OBEY THE BIBLE!
(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) And all the assembly of those who had returned from the captivity made booths and lived in the booths, for from the days of Jeshua the son of Nun to that day the people of Israel had not done so. And there was very great rejoicing. (18) And day by day, from the first day to the last day, he read from the Book of the Law of God. They kept the feast seven days, and on the eighth day there was a solemn assembly, according to the rule.”
Cf. Acts 17:11 “Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.”
Cf. 1st Thessalonians 2:13 “And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers.”
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