Nehemiah. Pt. 8 Ezra brings the Word & the people rightly respond
Good Morning to everyone and I hope this finds each of you ready to hear from our wonderful God. We had a blessed Thanksgiving day as we ministered to one of our widows from church and our family. Today we are hosting our daughter and granddaughters families so it will be a noisy, fun filled day with good food prepared by my sweet wife.
We continue digging into the text of Nehemiah to see what God has for us. We call all be encouraged by the work that Jehovah is doing in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah because we serve the same God. He still revives, restores and imparts fresh zeal to all those who seek Him.
Preaching the Word to a spiritually hungry people
Nehemiah 8:2-3 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.
Ezra had prayed for this day. He was a ready scribe and he had a heart of love for the sheep of Jehovah's pasture. He wanted to teach them the law of Moses and he was fully equipped to do so. Ezra quickly went into the Temple and brought the law out to the people.
The text tells us that there were men and women and those that could understand. This indicates that the children were probably being watched by older siblings at home. It was a large gathering of adults and teens who could understand when Ezra read the Word to them.
They were at the water gate which I previously pointed out as being symbolic of the life giving waters from the scriptures. (Psalm 1:1-2; Isaiah 55:1; Ephesians 5:26; Jeremiah 2:13 & 7:13; Zechariah 14:8)
Ezra read the scriptures to the people for about 4 hours. These people did not complain that the sermon was long and boring, not did they long to be somewhere else. No, the text says that they were "attentive" to the Word of God. They thirsted to hear the Word of God and their souls hungered for it. They committed themselves to understanding, learning and obeying what God said.
Spiritual leaders who remind us about God
Nehemiah 8:4 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.
This is the first mention of a "pulpit" in the Bible. The word means an elevated tower or raised platform made from word for the specific purpose of preaching the Word of God. The word translated "purpose" actually means to speak the word, to give utterance or to be occupied with saying something important.
Ezra was not alone in his desire to make sure the Jewish people were reunited to Jehovah in a covenant relationship. He had 13 other men stand with him as he read the scriptures. Their names have some fascinating meanings when we consider that Jehovah is reviving His people and using Ezra along with these men to get the Word of God out to the people.
Nehemiah 8:5-6 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.
Ezra stepped up onto the pulpit. He opened the book in the sight of all the people. This is an important detail. Ezra brought the book of the law of Moses to the pulpit and the people all knew that this scroll was the inspired Word of God.
What happened when he opened the scriptures in the sight of the people? All the people stood up. Ezra blessed the name of Jehovah and all the people responded with resounding "Amen's" as they lifted up hands and bowed their faces to the earth as they sang praises to Jehovah.
Four wonderful characteristics marked these people as the people of God.
First, respect for the Word of God as they stood up when the inspired scripture was opened because they knew that God was holy and that they were not.
Second, focused minds as we read that their attention was riveted on what God said, because they had a thirst to hear from God like a parched man who has baked all day under the desert sun.
Third, a desire to exalt Jehovah as they united in expressing "Amen's" when Ezra blessed God because that meant they fully agreed with the blessing that Ezra gave.
Fourth, humble hearts as they praised Jehovah with faces bowed to the ground in humility. They knew that God was right to punish the nation for their sins and knew that they could be restored only if God was gracious and exercised His lovingkindness toward them.
Points to Ponder.....
We continue digging into the text of Nehemiah to see what God has for us. We call all be encouraged by the work that Jehovah is doing in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah because we serve the same God. He still revives, restores and imparts fresh zeal to all those who seek Him.
Preaching the Word to a spiritually hungry people
Nehemiah 8:2-3 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.
Ezra had prayed for this day. He was a ready scribe and he had a heart of love for the sheep of Jehovah's pasture. He wanted to teach them the law of Moses and he was fully equipped to do so. Ezra quickly went into the Temple and brought the law out to the people.
The text tells us that there were men and women and those that could understand. This indicates that the children were probably being watched by older siblings at home. It was a large gathering of adults and teens who could understand when Ezra read the Word to them.
They were at the water gate which I previously pointed out as being symbolic of the life giving waters from the scriptures. (Psalm 1:1-2; Isaiah 55:1; Ephesians 5:26; Jeremiah 2:13 & 7:13; Zechariah 14:8)
Ezra read the scriptures to the people for about 4 hours. These people did not complain that the sermon was long and boring, not did they long to be somewhere else. No, the text says that they were "attentive" to the Word of God. They thirsted to hear the Word of God and their souls hungered for it. They committed themselves to understanding, learning and obeying what God said.
Spiritual leaders who remind us about God
Nehemiah 8:4 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.
This is the first mention of a "pulpit" in the Bible. The word means an elevated tower or raised platform made from word for the specific purpose of preaching the Word of God. The word translated "purpose" actually means to speak the word, to give utterance or to be occupied with saying something important.
Ezra was not alone in his desire to make sure the Jewish people were reunited to Jehovah in a covenant relationship. He had 13 other men stand with him as he read the scriptures. Their names have some fascinating meanings when we consider that Jehovah is reviving His people and using Ezra along with these men to get the Word of God out to the people.
- Ezra's name means help and it reminds us that Jehovah is always ready to help us in our time of need.
- Mattithiah means gift of Jehovah. This name reminds us that Jehovah has provided a means of salvation for mankind in all ages.
- Shema means hearing and it reminds us that God always hears His people.
- Anaiah means Jehovah has answered and it reminds us that He is the Living God of heaven who can hear and answer our prayers.
- Urijah means Jehovah is my light and it reminds us that He is the light of the world.
- Hikiah means Jehovah is my portion and it reminds us that we are joint heris with Jesus Christ.
- Maaseaih means the work of Jehovah and it reminds us of how God is always working in our lives.
- Pedaiah means Jehovah has ransomed.
- Misheal means "who is what God is?" which is like saying no one is like God.
- Malchiah means my king is Jehovah and this plainly points to the King of kings, the Lord Jesus Christ.
- Hashum means rich like the rich blessings we receive from Christ.
- Hashbadana means considerate judge and it reminds us that we have a compassionate High Priest who is acquainted with our griefs and sorrows.
- Zechariah means Jehovah remembers and it reminds us that God will always do what He said He will do. He will never leave or forsake us.
- Meshullam means friend and Jesus called His disciples friends. Abraham was the friend of God.
We can see that the spiritual leaders used by God to revive His people and restore them to Himself is not a coincidence. The meaning of each name is pointing us to the great work of God in redeeming and restoring mankind that never ceases. A good pastor could preach a sermon on each of these names and show us how they point us to our Great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Reverence & respect for the scriptures
Nehemiah 8:5-6 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.
Ezra stepped up onto the pulpit. He opened the book in the sight of all the people. This is an important detail. Ezra brought the book of the law of Moses to the pulpit and the people all knew that this scroll was the inspired Word of God.
What happened when he opened the scriptures in the sight of the people? All the people stood up. Ezra blessed the name of Jehovah and all the people responded with resounding "Amen's" as they lifted up hands and bowed their faces to the earth as they sang praises to Jehovah.
Four wonderful characteristics marked these people as the people of God.
First, respect for the Word of God as they stood up when the inspired scripture was opened because they knew that God was holy and that they were not.
Second, focused minds as we read that their attention was riveted on what God said, because they had a thirst to hear from God like a parched man who has baked all day under the desert sun.
Third, a desire to exalt Jehovah as they united in expressing "Amen's" when Ezra blessed God because that meant they fully agreed with the blessing that Ezra gave.
Fourth, humble hearts as they praised Jehovah with faces bowed to the ground in humility. They knew that God was right to punish the nation for their sins and knew that they could be restored only if God was gracious and exercised His lovingkindness toward them.
Points to Ponder.....
- Do you ever wonder what real revival looks like? It looks very much like what we studied in this post.
- A spiritually hungry people who want to hear from God.
- Spiritual leaders who have long been praying for opportunities to share God's truth with His people.
- A deep respect for the Word of God
- Minds focused on hearing His word.
- A fervent desire to exalt Jehovah as individuals and corporately.
- Humble hearts seeking repentance, revival and restoration.
May our gracious Lord cause each one of us to be as impacted by sin, straying away from God and seeking repentance as these people were. May He stir our hearts with a holy passion to seek all that He has for us in His word. May He give us minds ready to hear from Him and hearts that are humble, awestruck and yet happy because He cares for us.
Bob
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