Why do we study the Scriptures?
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Why do we read the scriptures?
Why do we read the scriptures?
I will like to begin this sermon with our opening text for it. Nehemiah 8:1-8
1 All of the people gathered as one to the public square before the Water Gate. They asked Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses that Yahweh had commanded Israel. 2 So Ezra the priest brought the law before the assembly for each man and woman to hear with understanding, on the first day of the seventh month. 3 He read from it facing the public square before the Water Gate from dawn until noon that day, opposite the men, women, and those with understanding. The ears of all the people were attentive to the book of the law. 4 Then Ezra the scribe stood on a wooden podium that had been made for the occasion. And beside him stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah on his right. On his left was Pedaiah, Mishael, Malkijah, Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zechariah, and Meshullam. 5 Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, because he was above all of the people. When he opened it all the people stood up. 6 Then Ezra blessed Yahweh the great God, and all of the people answered, “Amen! Amen!” while lifting their hands. Then they bowed down and worshiped Yahweh with their noses to the ground. 7 And Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites were teaching the people from the law while the people were in their places. 8 So they read the book from the law of God, making it clear and giving the meaning so that they could understand the reading.
While we will spend sometime exploring this text in this series, it is quite important to understand some background to this text, as it will make it quite clear the WHY and how central was this to the heart of their gathering.
The book of Nehemiah and the book before it Ezra, used to be one book, read together and they should still be read together, hence, the book of Nehemiah is not a complete, standalone book on it’s own. The reading starts from the book of Ezra, why? Let’s discuss…
Background and History
Background and History
Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible Background > Nehemiah, Book Of
Background. In 597 BC. Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon took away the first exiles from Jerusalem. In 586 BC. the Babylonians returned, pillaged and burned the city and its temple, and took an estimated 60,000 to 80,000 Judeans into exile.
Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible Historical Background > Ezra, Book Of
The Jewish people came under the rule of the Persian empire when Cyrus conquered Babylon in 539 BC.
Then, under the Persian empire, is where we find the story of Ezra & Nehemiah. Hence, both books dealt with what happened to God’s people during this reign and how do we understand that? This is the beginning of our study together.
1 In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to accomplish the word of Yahweh by the mouth of Jeremiah, Yahweh stirred the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia and he sent a message to all of his kingdom and also put the message in writing:
2 “Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: Yahweh, the God of the heavens, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth. And he himself has appointed me to build a house for him in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. 3 Whoever among you who is from all of his people, may his God be with him and may he go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and may he build the house of Yahweh, the God of Israel. He is the God who is in Jerusalem. 4 And let every survivor, from wherever he resides be assisted by the men of that place with silver and gold, with possessions and domestic animals, and with the freewill offering for the house of God which is in Jerusalem.”
The beginning of the book of Ezra is about Cyrus king of Persia, allowing them to return back to the land of Jerusalem to “Build the house of Yahweh”. This is very very important to know and understand. The return to the land begins with “WORSHIP” as the focal point. They were gathering together for a rebuild of that house of God, i.e. a place for God to dwell amongst his people, where God’s people would meet with him and him with them. (Leviticus 26:11 “11 And I will put my dwelling place in your midst, and my inner self shall not abhor you.” )
So, the book of Ezra, dealt with WORSHIP as the focal point i.e. The rebuilding of the House of God.
The Book of Nehemiah, dealt with the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem,
1 The words of Nehemiah son of Hacaliah.
It happened in the month of Kislev, in the twentieth year, that I myself was in the citadel in Susa, 2 and one of my brothers, Hanani, came with some men from Judah. I asked them about the Jews who had escaped the captivity and about Jerusalem. 3 They replied to me, “The survivors in the province who have survived the captivity are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned in the fire.”
4 When I heard these words, I sat and wept and mourned for days, and I was fasting and praying before the God of the heavens.
Hence, both books complement each other. They are to be read together to fully grasp their content.
A quick Lesson is, While in Ezra, the temple was built, Nehemiah dealt with the security of the nation, the walls and the gate of Jerusalem. Together, they can be seen as HOW God’s people were restored to their land and their relationship to their God. (We will come back to this all through this study).
How is this related to our reading today?
How is this related to our reading today?
The main focus would be, what followed the building of the house of God and what followed the building of the walls.
19 On the fourteenth day of the first month the returned exiles observed the Passover feast. 20 For the priests and Levites together had consecrated themselves; all of them were clean. And they slaughtered the Passover sacrifice for all of the returned exiles, for their brothers the priests, and for themselves. 21 The Israelites who returned from the exile and all those who separated themselves from the uncleanness of the nations of the earth to seek Yahweh the God of Israel, ate. 22 With joy they celebrated the festival of unleavened bread for seven days, because Yahweh had made them joyful and had turned the heart of the king of Assyria toward them in order to help them with the work of their hands on the house of the God of Israel.
In Chapter 7, we find out what followed;
7 Some of the Israelites, some priests and Levites, the singers, the gatekeepers, and the temple servants went up to Jerusalem in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes. 8 He came to Jerusalem in the fifth month, which was in the seventh year of the king. 9 For on the first day of the first month he began the journey from Babylonia; and on the first day of the fifth month he came to Jerusalem, for the good hand of his God was on him. 10 For Ezra had set his heart to seek the law of Yahweh, to do it, and to teach the regulations and judgments in Israel.
Verse 10 is crucial, “He set his heart to seek the law of Yahweh, to do it, and to teach the regulations and judgements in Israel.”
After the building of the temple, Ezra was sure of what is essential to the worship is the KNOWING, DOING and TEACHING of the law of God.
The study of the scriptures is central to worship, and it is in itself, worship.
It shows that it doesn’t begin with my needs, it is a vital part of my worship, it is not just information, we eventually get to the DOING of it, and also, it should also lead to the TEACHING of it.
Same pattern in Nehemiah
Same pattern in Nehemiah
Now, the return of the people didn’t happen in Ezra, it happened in Nehemiah, but in Ezra, he prepared ahead in that he himself setout to KNOW the law, to DO it and To Teach it.
The people returned to the land in Nehemiah
1 Now when the wall had been built and I had erected the doors and appointed the gatekeepers, singers, and the Levites, 2 I gave command over Jerusalem to my brother Hanani and Hananiah the commander of the citadel. For he was a faithful man and feared God more than many. 3 I said to them, “Do not open the gates of Jerusalem until the sun is hot. While they are standing guard let them shut and fasten the doors. And appoint guards from the inhabitants of Jerusalem, one at his post and another opposite his house.” 4 The city was widespread and large, but the people in it were few and no houses were rebuilt.
5 Then my God put into my heart to assemble the nobles, the prefects, and the people to be enrolled. I found the book of the genealogy of those who first came back, and I found this written upon it:
After he buillt the wall and doors, gatekeepers, singers etc. He called for the people to return to Jerusalem etc. Then something crucial happened,
1 All of the people gathered as one to the public square before the Water Gate. They asked Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses that Yahweh had commanded Israel. 2 So Ezra the priest brought the law before the assembly for each man and woman to hear with understanding, on the first day of the seventh month. 3 He read from it facing the public square before the Water Gate from dawn until noon that day, opposite the men, women, and those with understanding. The ears of all the people were attentive to the book of the law.
This is the pattern, in the return of the people back to the land, the walls built, the temple restored, God and his people together, the study of the law of God becomes central immediately.
Our worship, demands our understanding of the word of God
The essence of the study of scriptures is not information, nor is it “personal”, it is worship.
Let us look at more examples;
4 “Hear, Israel, Yahweh our God, Yahweh is unique.
The word “One” there is
אֶחָד (ʾeḥād),
It is such a difficult word to translate. Some translations choose the meaning “Unique”, it can also mean “Chief” that is, this is whom your loyalty, and worship should be to and towards. That is, Israel, Yahweh alone is whom you should worship.
And I believe the context fits that more, cos the next verse says;
5 And you shall love Yahweh your God with all of your heart and with all of your soul and with all of your might.
This is whom your affection, your loyalty and allegience should be towards.
The “HOW” of such worship to God comes from the next few verses;
6 And these words that I am commanding you today shall be on your heart. 7 And you shall recite them to your children, and you shall talk about them at the time of your living in your house and at the time of your going on the road and at the time of your lying down and at the time of your rising up. 8 And you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as an emblem between your eyes. 9 And you shall write them on the doorframe of your house and on your gates.
The words are to be on their heart.
The worship comes from a deep act of time in the scriptures. Our reading of the scriptures, has it’s end in worship. Worship is in the heart of my bible study and yours.
True worship involves putting God first in one's life and valuing Him above all else.
Into the heart of bible reading
Into the heart of bible reading
Since my reading of scriptures is towards a goal, an assignment, a vision, which is worship, it means my primary task with bible study is not me, eventually, it gets to us, but it doesn’t begin with us. Let us study this in detail;
1 All of the people gathered as one to the public square before the Water Gate. They asked Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses that Yahweh had commanded Israel. 2 So Ezra the priest brought the law before the assembly for each man and woman to hear with understanding, on the first day of the seventh month. 3 He read from it facing the public square before the Water Gate from dawn until noon that day, opposite the men, women, and those with understanding. The ears of all the people were attentive to the book of the law.
Verse 8 is quite crucial
8 So they read the book from the law of God, making it clear and giving the meaning so that they could understand the reading.
Clear there is the word;
(prš), VB. give a clear decision; be explained, decided; make an extempore translation of a text. Greek equiv. fr. LXX: διαχέω (1).
One of the clear thing here, is a shade of the word and it’s meaning
to be made clear — to be made free from confusion or ambiguity; made clear.
Now, that is very interesting and important; What Ezra did was to clearly make the law free from confusion or ambiguity. He didn’t begin with himself or themselves, the story began and started with the law of God, the people that heard it and more importantly WHAT THEY HEARD.
In giving meaning, (gave the sense NKJV).
שֶׂ֫כֶל (śekel), N. insight, understanding; success. Greek equiv. fr. LXX: σύνεσις (4), συνετός
The Lexham Research Lexicon has the usage of the word Sekel in (Nehemiah 8:8 “8 So they read the book from the law of God, making it clear and giving the meaning so that they could understand the reading.”), as “the idea that is intended”.
6. meaning — the idea that is intended. Related Topics: Sense; Meaning.
This shows something vital and crucial, the goal of the study of scriptures, is not a “deep” new revelation. It begins with the clear and obvious meaning.
Hence, Ezra was doing something, he was making it obvious to the people what Moses meant when he wrote and what the people during Moses day understand? What is the “idea” that is intended?. Not “How” does this text speak to me personally? That is not the starting point of the reading of the scriptures.
I must remember, if worship is the main goal of my study, I have to understand mainly the intent of the authors of scriptures, not seeking something new, I have to ask the “intended” idea.
Let me give you an example text today;
13 I am able to do all things by the one who strengthens me.
Now, this text is pretty common to us all; infact, we might have said this “strengthened” me during my difficult time, and that is fine, but let us discover proper worship of God in this text;
it began with the generosity of the church in Philippe, let us read the couple of verses together;
10 But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at last you have renewed your concern for me, for whom also you were thinking, but you had no opportunity to express it. 11 Not that I speak from need, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. 12 I know how both to make do with little and I know how to have an abundance. In everything and in all things I have learned the secret both to be filled and to be hungry, both to have an abundance and to go without. 13 I am able to do all things by the one who strengthens me.
In the context, Paul spoke of his ability to be filled and to be hungry, to have abundance and to have nothing at all.
So in the context, he saw Christ strength as the “secret” to all circumstance of life. Meaning, nothing phased him in lack or abundance cos he is strengthened by Christ. This is a statement of “praise” of Christ sufficiency, especially in lack. That is, a certainty, not a confession for encouragement.
This is what faithful reading is. I don’t begin with myself, I start out with the “intent” of the author, not my need, not my lack.
This is what Ezra did with the exile-returnee, He started with a clear goal,
TO MAKE THEM UNDERSTAND THE INTENDED IDEA OF THE AUTHOR, AND GOD
What does this lead to?
13 On the second day the heads of the families of all the people, the priests, and the Levites gathered together to Ezra the scribe to study the words of the law. 14 They found written in the law, which Yahweh had commanded by the hand of Moses, that the Israelites should live in booths during the festival of the seventh month, 15 and that they should proclaim and give voice in all of their cities in Jerusalem, saying, “Go out to the hill and bring olive tree branches, olive oil wood branches, myrtle shrub branches, palm tree branches, and other leafy tree branches 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, in their courtyards, in the courtyards of the house of God, in the public square of the Water Gate, and in the public square of the Gate of Ephraim. 17 And all of the assembly of those who returned from captivity made booths and lived in the booths because the Israelites had not done it from the days of Jeshua son of Nun until that day. And there was very great joy.
You see, in the cause of the reading of the law, they eventually JOINED themselves to the “first-hearers”, but now, it was proper worship, it didn’t begin with them, but eventually, they joined themselves to the audience. Not by redefining what the audience heard, not changing what they understood, not misrepresenting or misappropriating the words. When carefully studied, when we care about the authors intent, when we choose to understand what the “first-hearers” understood, it becomes very easy to know where and when we JOIN in with them, and together, we will reach the goal of study which is WORSHIP.
Hence we are building a framework quickly and for now we already have 3;
Does it end in worship?
What is the writers intent?
What did the first-hearers/original audience understand?
Hence, bible study doesn’t begin with a “deep” meaning, or a “new” revelation, it begins with with an “end” in mind, “my worship”, we therefore work backward and discover, what the initial writer intended, and what the first-hearers understood.
