Revived by the Word

God’s Word Shapes Me.

Remember the context: God is restoring a community of believers. The Word MUST be central.

The reference to the assembly indicates a group of people gathered to worship. While men were the only ones expected to keep the great feasts, women have gathered as well, an indication of the entire community's commitment.

While certainly some planning has gone into this, the whole community knows the importance...the reading of the Law is initiated by an anonymous they rather than Ezra the scribe/priest. Because priests and Levites are typically designated as such in Ezra/Nehemiah (E/N), the fact that no title is assigned to these leaders means they were probably lay leaders. Could a passage like Neh.8:5 be on Paul's mind when he instructs Timothy to give attention to the public reading of Scripture?

Instruction from God's Word MUST play a key role in the establishment of a worshiping community. This is a bit of foreshadowing of Christ as the Word of God (Jn.1:1; Rev.19:13), the prominence of the gospel (Rom.1:16-17), and the foundational role of Scripture (1 Tim.3:13; 2 Tim.3:16-17).

As they read the law, it’s hard to not think of 1 Sam.15:22 (“And Samuel said, “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams.”). Even the location is a subtle reminder from Ezra that the Law supersedes the temple, and for anywhere between 5-7 hours, the people listened with an intent to obey. Ezra speaks from a raised platform, showing the elevated status of the Law and allowing the people to better hear Ezra.

If it is paramount to life for God’s Word to shape us, should we not be a people that desires to FEAST on His Word? Many of us are Bible rich and biblically famished!

God’s Word Orders My Life.

The Levites helped the people understand the Law as it was read. Interpretation was a special task assigned to the Levites (2 Chr.17:7-9; Deut.33:10). There is a joint effort from Nehemiah and Ezra to proclaim this day as a day holy to the LORD.

Worship was encompassing...speaking, kneeling, and humility before God. The term clearly refers to separating or distinguishing, and the Masoretes who divided the Tanak into sections made it clear or translated or separated the text. While there are differences in how translations have chosen to translate the word, the idea is the same. While one would tend to think of brokenness as being desirable, here it distracted from and missed the fact that feasts were to be joyous occasions.

Lifting up...hands shows dependence on God, and the double amen showed the people were unified in the worshipful adoration expressed by Ezra's blessing. A bowed, prostrated head showed great humility, devotion, and respect.

This holy day was an opportunity to celebrate God's benevolence. While true brokenness came from hearing the law, the remembrance of God's goodness was an opportunity for joyous celebration. The Levites moved among the crowd, encouraging them to not grieve on this special day, for God has been gracious, not dealing with them according to their sins and not repaying them according to their iniquities (Ps.103:10). The remembrance of God's grace, and the believer's dependence on God in light of His grace, fills the believer with joy and gives strength to continue living for God, assured of God's favor. The people obeyed not simply because Ezra told them to do it, but because they had understood the words that were declared to them.

Understanding ourselves in light of grace draws forth a response…it has to! We rightfully sing, “O, to grace how great a debtor daily I’m constrained to be. Let Thy grace, Lord, like a fetter, bind my wandering heart to Thee.” We were separated by this chasm of rebellion…yet, God bestowed grace upon us. While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Now, in light of His mercy, we offer ourselves as living sacrifices where our lives become ordered by the Word.

My life comes under the leadership of the Word of God and I order my life according to its values, necessarily breaking from the world’s value system and pursuits.

Obedience to God’s Word Brings me Joy.

While many returned to their homes (vs.12), the leaders of the community gathered again to study the words of the Law. It was harvest time, after all, and there was much work to be done. The feast of the booths is mentioned in four of the five books of the Law (Ex.23:16; Lv.23:39-43; Nm.29:12-38; Dt. 16:13-15). The Feast of Tabernacles "was an eight-day agricultural festival." The theological significance is given in Lv..23, that your generations may know that I made the people of Israel dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God. In order to observe this festival, preparations had to be made. Nehemiah shows the people going into the hills to gather branches of numerous trees.

While there are sporadic mentions of the Feast of Tabernacles being celebrated, clearly it had not been done with this level of participation and joy. Deut.31:10-11 speaks of reading the Law every seven years at the Feast.

The people gathered the necessary materials to build an encampment as Ezra sought to restore the original intent of the festival. The celebration was not a holy relic to be kept safe by the priesthood, but a time of reflection and remembrance for God's people. The festival had indeed been celebrated throughout Israel's history, but much of the meaning had been suppressed, so it had not been celebrated genuinely from the days of Jeshuah. Instead of a harvest celebration, Ezra s ought to remember God's grace during the exodus from Egypt. Verse 18 shows the Israelites obedience according to the Law of God.

The remembrance of God's grace, and the believer's dependence on God in light of His grace, fills the believer with joy and gives strength to continue living for God, assured of God's favor. The people obeyed not simply because Ezra told them to do it, but because they had understood the words that were declared to them. There is tremendous joy, as there should be from living in close, covenantal relationship with God. When we rightly understand the Word of the Lord, we walk in obedience to it, and it causes great rejoicing because we understand what God is saying to His people. Where righteousness increases and people living according to God’s ways, people rejoice. But, whenever we are ruled by the wicked, sorrow follows (Prov.29:2).

This is why Jesus says, John 14:15 ““If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” and John 14:21 “Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.””

Let us weigh our love from Christ the King by the joy our obedience to Him brings. If we find submission a burden, might it be because there is still a ruling desire for something other than Christ in our hearts? If that’s the case, may we repents and give Him the glory.