Sunday School: A Proclaiming Priest

Intro Option 3: Create my own!

Neither of the ones in the book are good.

I will have to get creative for this.

Main Point: When God’s people hear the Word of the Lord, they find joy and seek to obey God’s commands.

God’s people gather to hear the Word of the Lord

*give a bit of context before reading the passage

Nehemiah 8:1–8 (ESV)

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. 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. 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. 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.

*Talk about the seventh month (New Year, the Day of Atonement, and the Festival of Booths)

*Talk about the reading of the law every 7 years.

*Talk about them experiencing God’s goodness as the word is read.

How does obeying God’s word bring goodness into our lives?

*talk about how the people react to hearing God’s Law

Why do you think people reacted to God’s word like that?

“Amen! Amen!”

*Talk about their hunger for God’s word

What does this passage teach us about a proper attitude towards God’s word?

We should intently listen to it

Excitement

Joy

2. God’s people display the joy of the Lord

BIG QUESTION: What is Joy, and where do we get it?

“Joy is deep satisfaction and gladness in God.”

A gift

God’s presence (illus. the sun and plants)

Nehemiah 8:9–12 (ESV)

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. 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.

While condemnation drives us from God, conviction drives us to God.

*Talk about repentence

Sorrow before rejoicing

Joy FROM repentance

Repentance FROM conviction

Conviction FROM God’s word

Why does God’s word convict us of sin? What should we do in response to the conviction?

Immediate repentance

Immediate joy from repentance

The need to turn from sorrow to celebration

Why did the people need to turn from sorrow to celebration?

Sorrow is never the end goal

Joy from God’s word is the end goal

What does this passage of Scripture teach us about God’s word and God’s joy?

If we listen and respond to God’s word, joy will always be the result.

3, God’s people unite to obey the commands of the Lord

Essential Doctrine: Authority of Scripture

We obey because of authority.

Nehemiah 8:13–18 (ESV)

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. 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.” 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.

Feast of Booths = Feast of Shelters/Tabernacles

Intentional

Why can’t we just “wing it” in our relationship with God? Why do we need to carefully study His word?

Because of the Authority of Scripture

Not celebrated like this for centuries

Was it worth it?

Why is obeying God’s Word worth the work it requires?

“Very great rejoicing” = “massive gladness”

Seventy years of remorse in Babylon were overshadowed by seven days of rejoicing in the Lord

They realized that life with God’s word is better than life without it.

Why is life better with God’s word than without it?

Objective morality

Christ Connection:

When God’s people heard the reading of His Word, they confessed their sins and committed to obey His Word in response.

They would eventually fail to obey God’s Word as they had promised.

Jesus is the Word of God who takes away our sin, gives us His righteousness, and changes our hearts so we can obey God’s Word.

Head: Should we study God’s word only when we feel like it? Why or why not?

Devotion fuels desire.

Heart: Why does God want us to be joyful?

God created us for joy.

True joy is found in Him

Hands: What does Ezra’s example teach us about how we should study God’s word?

Ezra was “skilled in the law of Moses” (Ezra 7:6)

Study > Application