The Day They Read The Scriptures
Notes
Transcript
Review
Review
Turn to Nehemiah 8
We are coming back into a story where there was a big city, but a small population. Jerusalem had a rebuilt wall, but few people. Nehemiah wanted to find some godly people to live in the city and some godly rulers to lead it. That is exactly what he set out to do. He delegated authority to Hanani and to Hananiah. These were two godly men who were appointed to rule over Jerusalem. Once they were installed in their place, Nehemiah would set himself to the task of building up the spiritual condition of the people.
Introduction
Introduction
Read Nehemiah 8:1-5
When reading through the Bible, you’ll sometimes find that it transitions from one chapter to the next in a way that is hard to follow. You may read it and feel like you experience a mental whiplash. I’d say that describes this passage of Scripture because if you were here last week, you may be wondering where the story picks up after that genealogy in chapter seven.
Here’s how we can connect the dots:
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6:15 - 25th day of the sixth month Elul = end of September
8:2 - 1st day of the seventh month, Tishri = early October
Nehemiah paused the story at the beginning of chapter seven. He then inserted the genealogy to give some context to the Jewish reader, and then he picks the story right back up in chapter eight.
To summarize: Nehemiah chapter eight begins about five days after Nehemiah 6:15.
Five days after the walls were built, all the people were gathered together just like Nehemiah commanded in chapter 7:5. They gathered and they had an unusual request.
They weren’t there to petition for some grievances
They weren’t there to protest Nehemiah’s leadership
They weren’t there to ask for money or handouts
They requested something unusual, something wonderful! Verse one says that “they spake unto Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded to Israel.”
Wow! What a great idea!
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There was a desire to read the Scriptures - Nehemiah 8:1-5
We see this a number of ways in our text.
Verse 1 - they gathered together “as one man.”
No need to overthink this word-picture. It’s simply saying that there was a unity of mind, a unity of purpose, a unity of desire.
Verse 4 - “the ears of all the people were attentive unto the book of the law”
Have you ever seen a dog that’s relaxed and then watched as suddenly its ears perked up?
That’s the idea here. Their ears were anticipating and ready to hear from their God. They were thirsty for His Word!
Verse 5 - “when he opened it, all the people stood up.” They stood up out of respect for the Scriptures. This was a moment they were looking forward to and didn’t want to miss.
There was a desire to read the Scriptures.
This summer I’ve had the opportunity to spend some time working outside on different projects around my house and property.
Sometimes my family and I have been busy clearing brush and cutting up wood.
Other times, I’ve been crawling around in my attic, making repairs or doing other projects.
During some of those really hot days when I was out in the heat, I was reminded that there was nothing more satisfying than stopping and drinking until my thirst was quenched.
Talk about desire!
My wife and I like to get those big packs of Bodyarmor - its a drink full of electrolytes. When I’ve been working out in the sun a few hours, there’s nothing that I want more than one of those drinks. I will consume it to the last drop.
Application: Christian, that’s the kind of thirst you should have for the Scriptures.
In 1 Peter 2:2, Peter tells us to…
As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:
The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring for ever: The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.
These people had a genuine desire to read the Scriptures.
Christian, do you? Or has your thirst been quenched with the movies and music and distractions that our culture shoves in our face every day?
Listen to me: I am not saying that all entertainment is bad, but the more you consume our culture’s entertainment, the less you’ll be thirsty for the Word of God!
“Pastor Tim, I know I’m saved, but I just don’t feel like reading the Bible!”
If you’re sitting around watching TV for hours every day, I don’t suspect that you will!
If you’re sitting around listening to rock and roll for hours every day, I don’t suspect that you will!
If you’re sitting around spending hours on social media for hours every day, I don’t suspect that you will!
Those things will quench your thirst for Scripture.
First, there was a desire to read the Scriptures, secondly…
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There was an understanding of the Scriptures - Nehemiah 8:7-8
Read Nehemiah 8:5-8
Here in Nehemiah, we have a situation where Ezra read the Scriptures and then a group of men helped the people understand what it meant. Now there’s a few things that are different today compared to then.
For one thing, it wasn’t so easy to own a copy of the Scriptures as it is now. Verse one says that they asked Ezra the scribe “to bring the book of the law of Moses.” Books didn’t exist back then as they do now. This would have been a scroll, and a heavy one at that. A modern Torah scroll today can weigh anywhere from 25-50 lbs. Scrolls were expensive to produce, so this was likely a rare thing, whereas you can have your own copy of the Scriptures today.
Secondly, if you’re a child of God, you have the Holy Spirit residing in you. Jesus referred to the Holy Spirit as a teacher, who helps the believer to understand the Scriptures.
But you know how I’ve slowly grown in my understanding of the Scriptures?
It didn’t happen overnight after I got saved.
It didn’t happen by sleeping with my Bible under my pillow.
It didn’t happen the moment I received my Bible college degree though that education helped me tremendously.
I began to grow in my understanding as I read the Scriptures for myself and began meditating on it, looking for a nugget of truth that I could take with me each day.
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In the summers of 2010 and 2011, at 17 to 18 years of age, I had the privilege of spending several weeks at the new property that Servant’s Heart Camp purchased in Ramey, PA. The property had no utilities and no real buildings of any kind, but it was full of potential. The camp’s desire was to host its summer junior and teen camps there at the new property as soon as possible rather than at a rented facility but in order for that to happen, several things were needed.
There had to be a place to cook and a place to eat
There had to be a place to gather for the rally held each night
There had to be cabins for the campers to sleep in
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It’s hard for campers today to imagine all of the blood, sweat, and tears that were poured into those early days at the new camp property. Even I only saw a small part of it and I was more involved than some. One experience I’ll never forget was spending a number of weeks on the property working alongside Nathan Fry building cabins together. Now my dad taught me some electrical work, but by the time I came along, he had already done much of that work on my parent’s house and the opportunity just wasn’t there.
You know when I really first remember learning how to wire an outlet?
It was that summer when Nathan taught me and I had the opportunity to practice it over and over again.
You see, some things aren’t learned so much in the classroom as they are by experience.
Application: You will not grow in your understanding of the Scriptures if you’re not reading it for yourself and meditating on what God’s written to you.
Open thou mine eyes, That I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.
We’ve seen that there was a desire to read the Scriptures
We’ve seen that there was an understanding of the Scriptures
Now thirdly…
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There was a response to the Scriptures - Nehemiah 8:6, 9-12
Read Nehemiah 8:6, 9-12
This third principle we are going to consider could be a message all by itself. I’m not going to give it that much consideration, but I encourage you to go back and meditate on the points that I want to highlight.
When these Jews read and understood the Scriptures, what was their response?
It wasn’t indifference.
It wasn’t apathy.
It wasn’t denial or rejection.
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They worshipped God - verse 6
True worship begins in the heart but it doesn’t stay in there.
We can see from examples in Scripture that true worship in one’s heart will manifest itself in a number of ways:
It might be shown in praise
It might be shown in obedience
Or, like here, it might be shown by humility.
They prostrated themselves and worshipped their God.
Application: When was the last time you worshipped your God and it was evident by what you did?
Worship God in the quietness of your home as you spend time alone with Him in prayer!
Worship God when you go for a walk outside and praise Him for the beauty of all that He has made!
Worship God when you give to your local church!
Worship God as you participate in our services!
It is the right response to the Scriptures.
First, they worshipped God, second…
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They wept - verse 9
The people start crying when they heard the Scriptures. Their heart was moved.
Perhaps it was conviction over sin.
Perhaps it was a realization that they had not been keeping the Law while in exile.
Whatever the reason, their hearts were moved.
Application: When was the last time your heart was moved as a result of hearing the Word of God proclaimed?
I believe that some churches take emotionalism too far in their services, but I fear that we don’t allow it near enough.
I don’t want our church to be accused of running the aisles but I also don’t want to be accused of being a dead church either.
Let your heart be moved by the Scriptures! Let it be evident! Don’t be ashamed of your tears of repentance or of brokenness!
Whether or not you are moved to tears, more than anything else, God does want you to have a broken and contrite heart over sin.
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They obeyed the words of the law - verses 10-12
What happens next is a rather confusing situation. Nehemiah tells them to stop mourning and being sorry.
Why?
Perhaps it was because Nehemiah wanted them to celebrate that God had restored them to the land. God was in the process of restoring His people and their holy city, not rejecting them! The walls had been miraculously rebuilt in record time! They had just reached a great milestone! The time for mourning over sin would soon come, but for now, this achievement was worth celebrating!
Perhaps it was also because they heard and understood the Scriptures. Verse 12 indicates this at the very end. Again, I remind you, copies of the Hebrew Scriptures were expensive to make. They were just excited to hear, to understand, and to obey their God.
Application: Probably all of us have something that excites us.
Christian, do you get excited to obey the Word of your God? When your Heavenly Father speaks to you through the Scriptures, do you get excited to obey Him?
That was their response to the Scriptures.
Conclusion
Conclusion
The first day of the seventh month, the month Tishrei, 444 BC, was a day those people would never forget. On that day, thousands of men, women, and children gathered as Nehemiah commanded. They asked Ezra to bring the copy of the law of Moses.
There was a desire to read the Scriptures!
There was an understanding of the Scriptures!
There was a response to the Scriptures!
It was a day they would never forget: The Day They Read The Scriptures.
Invitation
Invitation
Christian: God spoke to my heart in some way regarding the Scriptures. Pray for me.
Unsaved: 1 Corinthians 2:14 tells us that unsaved people are limited in their understanding of the Scriptures because it requires spiritual discernment. It requires the Spirit of God to dwell in you. That happens when you trust Christ as savior from sin. Anyone who would say, “Pastor Tim, I don’t think I’m saved. Pray for me.”
