Nehemiah. Pt. 7. Ezra teaches truth, a united people, Feast of Trumpets
Good morning to each of you on this Thanksgiving day. I pray that all of us have reflected about what God has done in our lives. He is always faithful even when we are wavering in our faith. He is always good even when things around us are difficult.
He is the faithful loving Father who is always watching for a wayward child to return home (Luke 15). May we rejoice in the Lord and may we be bold to tell others the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ.
The city was rebuilt but there were no houses inside its walls
Nehemiah 7:4 Now the city was large and great: but the people were few therein, and the houses were not builded.
The Spirit of God brings out a note of importance. The city had finally been cleared of the rubble and debris left over from it's destruction almost 100 years earlier. The Temple had been reconstructed, the walls of the city were repaired and restored and new gates and doors were added. The picture here is of an empty walled city with broad spaces and wide open areas around the temple.
Nehemiah informs us that the houses had not yet been constructed, therefore, there were not a lot of people living inside the city walls. This also stressed the importance of controlling the city gates during the day time in the method implemented by Nehemiah.
People are the only things needed to bring the city back to vibrant life and Nehemiah is going to address this issue in the next paragraph.
Nehemiah assembled the people for a census
He is the faithful loving Father who is always watching for a wayward child to return home (Luke 15). May we rejoice in the Lord and may we be bold to tell others the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ.
The city was rebuilt but there were no houses inside its walls
Nehemiah 7:4 Now the city was large and great: but the people were few therein, and the houses were not builded.
The Spirit of God brings out a note of importance. The city had finally been cleared of the rubble and debris left over from it's destruction almost 100 years earlier. The Temple had been reconstructed, the walls of the city were repaired and restored and new gates and doors were added. The picture here is of an empty walled city with broad spaces and wide open areas around the temple.
Nehemiah informs us that the houses had not yet been constructed, therefore, there were not a lot of people living inside the city walls. This also stressed the importance of controlling the city gates during the day time in the method implemented by Nehemiah.
People are the only things needed to bring the city back to vibrant life and Nehemiah is going to address this issue in the next paragraph.
Nehemiah assembled the people for a census
Nehemiah 7: 5 And my God put into mine heart to gather together the nobles, and the rulers, and the people, that they might be reckoned by genealogy. And I found a register of the genealogy of them which came up at the first, and found written therein,
I mentioned before that Nehemiah was a very practical minded man who saw problems, thought about them and devised practical solutions to solve the problems. You notice with me in this text that Nehemiah was careful to give God the glory for his ability to analyze problems and find solutions.
Nehemiah could see something that needed to be done and was able to think about it clearly and arrive at a solution. May each one of us be careful to give God the glory for any abilities we have or any achievements that we may accomplish whether in the home, at work, in the community or with our families.
The remainder of chapter 7 (Verses 6-63) is a list almost identical to the one found in the book of Ezra. It contained all the names of the families, heads of families, rulers, nobles, priests, Levites, Nethinim, porters and singers. It also listed out all the financial assets and valuable items that they brought back to Jerusalem.
More than 49,000 people are referenced in this list. It is interesting to put the lists of Ezra and Nehemiah side by side because ther variations between them show that the overall population had increased by other Jews joining the ones who came from Babylon. These were the Jews left behind after Jerusalem fell to Nebuchadnezzar to take care of the land.
Nehemiah's roll call reminds us that there is a book in heaven called the book of life. If your name is not written in the book of life you will be separated from God forever and s[end eternity in hell. The book of life is exciting to think about if you are born again into God's family but is is a sober reminded to those are not saved. Will your name be found when the book of life is opened?
Spiritually hungry people ask Ezra to teach them the law of Moses.
Nehemiah 8:1-2 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.
The next chapter in Nehemiah represents a turning point that leads to repentance, revival and a people ready to worship Jehovah. All the people gathered together in the street that led to the water gate. What is so special about this? It was a spontaneous gathering. Neither Nehemiah nor Ezra summoned the people.
What prompted them to gather at the water gate? The only possible answer is that the previous teaching and Godly leadership from Ezra was sinking into their hearts and the Spirit of God was moving among the people. The text says they came together as one man. That kind of unity is an indicator of the Holy Spirit at work.
In our study of Ezra (Part 10) we read where they came together as one man in Ezra 3:1. We saw examples of it as the Spirit moved people to give things for building the tabernacle. We read about it in Acts 2 during the birth of the New Testament Church.
Why did they gather at the Water Gate? The Water Gate brings the Holy Scriptures into a position of prominence. There is no repentance, no making things right with God, no conversion and no spiritual life without the Word of God being preached and taught.
The people spoke to Ezra and they asked him to bring out the law of Moses so that he could teach them the right ways of God. The souls of those people must have been greatly stirred by the Spirit of God to seek His Word. The word "spake" means to share what is on one's heart and what was on their hearts was to hear from God as the scriptures were read to them.
There are many, many pastors around the world who would love to have the sheep from their flock come and say, "Pastor, will you please bring out the Word of God and teach us?"
We already studied the character of Ezra and noted that he had a great love for the truth of God's Word and a great desire to teach the Jewish people about God. This is going to be on full display as we make our way through the book of Nehemiah.
Their thirst for the Word took place on the
same day as the Feast of Trumpets
Leviticus 23:23-25 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall ye have a sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation. Ye shall do no servile work therein: but ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD.
There was a special Feast Day that coincided with their request to hear from God. It was the Feast of Trumpets which was a great and solemn assembly that preceded the Day of Atonement services. The trumpets sounded with special notes on the Feast of Trumpets to call the people together.
We are not told what kind of ceremonies were observed. We do know that it was a holy or sabbath day and that no vocational work was to be done on that day. It was a day of rest and reflecting upon what God did. It was a day of special offerings by fire to Jehovah. It was a holy assembly dedicated to God.
An exceedingly loud trumpet sound announced the presence of Jehovah on Mount Sinai as He gave the law to Moses. An exceedingly loud trumpet will be heard around the world when Jesus Christ returns to earth to take His Bride (the church) home. At the final judgment (Day of the LORD) a loud trumpet will sound (Zechariah 9:14)
It is no accident that the people came as one man to Ezra to be taught truth on the very day when they would observe the Feast of Trumpets.
Nehemiah's roll call reminds us that there is a book in heaven called the book of life. If your name is not written in the book of life you will be separated from God forever and s[end eternity in hell. The book of life is exciting to think about if you are born again into God's family but is is a sober reminded to those are not saved. Will your name be found when the book of life is opened?
Spiritually hungry people ask Ezra to teach them the law of Moses.
Nehemiah 8:1-2 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.
The next chapter in Nehemiah represents a turning point that leads to repentance, revival and a people ready to worship Jehovah. All the people gathered together in the street that led to the water gate. What is so special about this? It was a spontaneous gathering. Neither Nehemiah nor Ezra summoned the people.
What prompted them to gather at the water gate? The only possible answer is that the previous teaching and Godly leadership from Ezra was sinking into their hearts and the Spirit of God was moving among the people. The text says they came together as one man. That kind of unity is an indicator of the Holy Spirit at work.
In our study of Ezra (Part 10) we read where they came together as one man in Ezra 3:1. We saw examples of it as the Spirit moved people to give things for building the tabernacle. We read about it in Acts 2 during the birth of the New Testament Church.
Why did they gather at the Water Gate? The Water Gate brings the Holy Scriptures into a position of prominence. There is no repentance, no making things right with God, no conversion and no spiritual life without the Word of God being preached and taught.
The people spoke to Ezra and they asked him to bring out the law of Moses so that he could teach them the right ways of God. The souls of those people must have been greatly stirred by the Spirit of God to seek His Word. The word "spake" means to share what is on one's heart and what was on their hearts was to hear from God as the scriptures were read to them.
There are many, many pastors around the world who would love to have the sheep from their flock come and say, "Pastor, will you please bring out the Word of God and teach us?"
We already studied the character of Ezra and noted that he had a great love for the truth of God's Word and a great desire to teach the Jewish people about God. This is going to be on full display as we make our way through the book of Nehemiah.
Their thirst for the Word took place on the
same day as the Feast of Trumpets
Leviticus 23:23-25 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall ye have a sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation. Ye shall do no servile work therein: but ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD.
There was a special Feast Day that coincided with their request to hear from God. It was the Feast of Trumpets which was a great and solemn assembly that preceded the Day of Atonement services. The trumpets sounded with special notes on the Feast of Trumpets to call the people together.
We are not told what kind of ceremonies were observed. We do know that it was a holy or sabbath day and that no vocational work was to be done on that day. It was a day of rest and reflecting upon what God did. It was a day of special offerings by fire to Jehovah. It was a holy assembly dedicated to God.
An exceedingly loud trumpet sound announced the presence of Jehovah on Mount Sinai as He gave the law to Moses. An exceedingly loud trumpet will be heard around the world when Jesus Christ returns to earth to take His Bride (the church) home. At the final judgment (Day of the LORD) a loud trumpet will sound (Zechariah 9:14)
It is no accident that the people came as one man to Ezra to be taught truth on the very day when they would observe the Feast of Trumpets.
Points to Ponder.....
- Nehemiah had a careful census to see what families were represented in Jerusalem.
- The Spirit of God did mighty work in uniting the people's hearts to come to Jerusalem and gather at the street by the Water Gate.
- The Water Gate symbolized the glorious Word of God quenching thirsty souls as they drink in God's truth.
- All of this took place on a solemn, holy feast day, the Feast of Trumpets.
We will see how the Word of God was taught to the people in the next post. God is going to continue using Ezra and Nehemiah to advance His purposes in His people.
May the Lord of Glory send His Spirit to stir our hearts as He did with those people. May He give us a deep thirst for the living waters of God's truth. May He put such a zeal and passion into us that we are willing, ready and excited to hear from Him and do what He says to do. May Jehovah work in and through us to build up believers in the faith and to bring the lost to Himself.
Bob
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