Loud Joy (Nehemiah 12:27-47)
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
A. Preliminaries
A. Preliminaries
Good Morning.
Today we continue our series in the Book of Nehemiah. Our text this morning is chapter 12, verses 27 to 47. It starts at the top of Page 480 of the Bibles in your pews.
B. Scripture Reading
B. Scripture Reading
And if you will please rise for the reading of God’s Holy Word...
And at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem they sought the Levites in all their places, to bring them to Jerusalem to celebrate the dedication with gladness, with thanksgivings and with singing, with cymbals, harps, and lyres. And the sons of the singers gathered together from the district surrounding Jerusalem and from the villages of the Netophathites; also from Beth-gilgal and from the region of Geba and Azmaveth, for the singers had built for themselves villages around Jerusalem. And the priests and the Levites purified themselves, and they purified the people and the gates and the wall. Then I brought the leaders of Judah up onto the wall and appointed two great choirs that gave thanks. One went to the south on the wall to the Dung Gate. And after them went Hoshaiah and half of the leaders of Judah, and Azariah, Ezra, Meshullam, Judah, Benjamin, Shemaiah, and Jeremiah, and certain of the priests’ sons with trumpets: Zechariah the son of Jonathan, son of Shemaiah, son of Mattaniah, son of Micaiah, son of Zaccur, son of Asaph; and his relatives, Shemaiah, Azarel, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethanel, Judah, and Hanani, with the musical instruments of David the man of God. And Ezra the scribe went before them. At the Fountain Gate they went up straight before them by the stairs of the city of David, at the ascent of the wall, above the house of David, to the Water Gate on the east. The other choir of those who gave thanks went to the north, and I followed them with half of the people, on the wall, above the Tower of the Ovens, to the Broad Wall, and above the Gate of Ephraim, and by the Gate of Yeshanah, and by the Fish Gate and the Tower of Hananel and the Tower of the Hundred, to the Sheep Gate; and they came to a halt at the Gate of the Guard. So both choirs of those who gave thanks stood in the house of God, and I and half of the officials with me; and the priests Eliakim, Maaseiah, Miniamin, Micaiah, Elioenai, Zechariah, and Hananiah, with trumpets; and Maaseiah, Shemaiah, Eleazar, Uzzi, Jehohanan, Malchijah, Elam, and Ezer. And the singers sang with Jezrahiah as their leader. And they offered great sacrifices that day and rejoiced, for God had made them rejoice with great joy; the women and children also rejoiced. And the joy of Jerusalem was heard far away. On that day men were appointed over the storerooms, the contributions, the firstfruits, and the tithes, to gather into them the portions required by the Law for the priests and for the Levites according to the fields of the towns, for Judah rejoiced over the priests and the Levites who ministered. And they performed the service of their God and the service of purification, as did the singers and the gatekeepers, according to the command of David and his son Solomon. For long ago in the days of David and Asaph there were directors of the singers, and there were songs of praise and thanksgiving to God. And all Israel in the days of Zerubbabel and in the days of Nehemiah gave the daily portions for the singers and the gatekeepers; and they set apart that which was for the Levites; and the Levites set apart that which was for the sons of Aaron.
This is the Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God!
You may be seated.
C. Background
C. Background
So as you are probably aware, one of the most central plot points of Nehemiah is (at this point) in our rearview mirror, and that is the building of the wall. It was done according to the Lord’s direction, and it was the priority of the first half of the book. Just as in Ezra, the priority was laying the temple foundations, and building the temple, the priority in Nehemiah is building the wall around the city.
What has been going on since then is the rebuilding of the people. Rebuilding of their souls, you might say. Rebuilding of their piety and their instruction and their worship. There has been public confession of sin, public teaching, and public covenanting. As well as the rebuilding of their neighborhoods, and their community inside the city of Jerusalem.
And so what happens in this text is a glorious celebration of God’s faithfulness as the walls are dedicated. Basically, everybody gets ready to go to church. Two choirs (including musicians) walked in opposite directions around the city, symbolically enclosing the whole city in praise. Ezra walked with one, Nehemiah with another, and eventually both choirs get to the Temple where they rejoice and offer sacrifices.
D. Sermon Points
D. Sermon Points
So there are at least three things in our text that I want us to consider this morning as we hear this passage.
They are:
I. The Preparation for Worship
II. The Volume of Worship
III. The Preservation of Worship
E. Sermon Prayer
E. Sermon Prayer
O Lord, make your Word a swift Word, passing from the ear to the heart, from the heart to the lip and conversation; that, as the rain returns not empty, so neither may your Word, but accomplish that for which it is given. Amen.
(Prayer by George Herbert)
I. The Preparation for Worship
I. The Preparation for Worship
So, the first thing I want you to note is that this time of worship had some preparation beforehand.
Look at verse 30:
And the priests and the Levites purified themselves, and they purified the people and the gates and the wall.
Nehemiah doesn’t tell us what this looked like, but from other Old Testament passages we can infer it probably included ritual sprinkling with water, animal sacrifice, probably some fasting as well.
Purification rituals like this had a point. They weren’t simply checklists that God gave to his people because they were bored.
Our God understands something about worship. And he wants us to understand it too. And that is:
The greatest obstacle to true worship is our own sin.
On this side of the cross, we tend to think very little about the act of entering into God’s presence together as a people.
And for good reason, actually. We think about it less because (first of all) we have the cleansing blood of Jesus Christ that once-and-for-all cleanses us from every sin and stain.
And we have the sign and seal of Holy Baptism, whereby God marks us as his own and washes our sins away by faith alone.
But let us never forget that Jesus himself was baptized. Our Lord intentionally went to John the Baptist and put himself into the position of one in need of cleansing.
The purification rituals were designed to point beyond themselves. They were designed to point to the reality that our hearts are unfit to worship God.
That is why the people were purified. That is why even the walls and gates were purified.
And this is why in our own worship services today, we start with prelude and a moment of reflection. A moment to put your heart under the control of the Lord.
It’s why—very early in our service—we begin with a Confession of Sin, and an Assurance of Pardon. These are very old practices that prepare our hearts for right worship, with clean hands and pure hearts.
And that is why you will often hear me urge all of you: do not miss that time. I mean, I get it, some Sunday mornings are an epic fight through the wildlands. Surprises happen.
But for the sake of your own soul, do your best to be here for those moments of preparation. Be here to prepare your heart. To hear God’s Call to your own soul. To confess your sins. To hear of your forgiveness.
Don’t just scoot in just in time for the sermon, the worship service is not a sermon download. It is renewal of Covenant with our God, which should call us to a real reverence in how we prepare, how we shape our services, how we dress, how we conduct ourselves. We come because we are called, and we come needing to be cleaned.
II. The Volume of Worship
II. The Volume of Worship
As I said at the start, there were two choirs, one led by Ezra, and one led by Nehemiah. And this was a well equipped bunch.
And at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem they sought the Levites in all their places, to bring them to Jerusalem to celebrate the dedication with gladness, with thanksgivings and with singing, with cymbals, harps, and lyres.
They brought in the singers and the musicians, and they turned up the volume.
We are told in verse 45 that...
And they performed the service of their God and the service of purification, as did the singers and the gatekeepers, according to the command of David and his son Solomon.
This reminds us that worship is not reinvented. It is recieved. It is not something that we change up when we get bored. It is something we carry and hand off to our children.
The mention of David and Solomon tells us that most likely, they sang Psalms. Which ones we are not told, but if I had to wager a guess, I’d put my money on Psalm 48.
Walk about Zion, go around her, number her towers, consider well her ramparts, go through her citadels, that you may tell the next generation that this is God, our God forever and ever. He will guide us forever.
So the worship involved instruments, it involved choirs, and it involved the congregation. Biblically and historically, the worship of God’s people has always involved individuals, gifted by the Holy Spirit to play and to sing skillfully to enrich the praise of the congregation.
And the target is always the praises of the congregation. In other words, if the music drowns out the praises, you need to lower the volume. Or you need to train up the congregation to be effective competition with the volume.
But what we need to learn from this is that the worship is what you might call structured exuberance. There was structure. And there was loud joy.
In fact, verse 43 tells us
And they offered great sacrifices that day and rejoiced, for God had made them rejoice with great joy; the women and children also rejoiced. And the joy of Jerusalem was heard far away.
So here are three things I want you to note about this joyful singing and loud worship.
A. It was Commanded
A. It was Commanded
First, it was commanded. God commands his people to sing joyfully.
God commands us to gather. Commands us to be in fellowship with each other. We are commanded in Scripture not to forsake the assembling of ourselves, and to encourage one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, making melody to the Lord with all our hearts.
Our Lord’s Day gathering is not a social club. It is not a cultural expectation. It is not something we do because we feel like it. The weekly gathering of God’s people is not a matter of preference, it is a matter of obedience.
We come because we are called. We gather because we are beckoned. And we sing joyfully because that is what God’s people have always done when they gather for worship. They do more than that, sure, but never less.
B. It was Embodied
B. It was Embodied
Second, it was embodied. “But God only cares about my heart.” No, God cares most of all about your heart, but you are not a heart on a stick. You have a body, and vocal chords, and a mouth. You were made to sing.
Many of you know that over the last few years we have been trying to make singing gatherings more frequent. We do psalm-sings, hymn, sings, carol-sings. We love to get together to sing and to learn how to sing better as a people. My aim for us as a people is that these gatherings would only continue to multiply and that we would put roots down deeper as we grow up higher with this.
And if there is anything I have learned from sharing those times with you, it is that the children are better at it than most of the adults. You have to teach adults to sing with exuberant joy. You do not have to teach children. You have to teach children how to sing on key, sure, and not a few adults have to learn how to do that, too.
But I love that children know how to worship with exuberant joy and volume. So there’s my exhortation to the children: Embarrassment over singing is something that you learn. Don’t learn it. Refuse to learn it. Refuse to rob us of the joy of hearing your song join ours.
C. It was Public
C. It was Public
Look again at verse 43
...And the joy of Jerusalem was heard far away.
This celebration was certainly a blessing to all those gathered in Jerusalem. God was blessing his people.
But that is not all he was doing. He was also advertising his faithfulness to the nations.
As they worshipped that day, at God’s finished Temple. Inside finished walls. The sound carried far beyond those walls as a testimony of the faithfulness of God.
What we do inside these walls is blessed. But it was never made to remain inside the walls. Our songs were made to be their own kind of evangelism. Our songs were not only made for these walls, but for city parks, courthouse steps, and tavern gatherings.
How loud should your worship be? Loud enough for the nations to hear. And I think that public singing is a neglected form of evangelism and public witness. But God does not rebuild cities so that his people can whisper about it. God brings in trumpets so that the sound of our joy will be noticed.
III. The Preservation of Worship
III. The Preservation of Worship
I want you to see how this part of the story ends this morning. Look at verse 44
On that day men were appointed over the storerooms, the contributions, the firstfruits, and the tithes, to gather into them the portions required by the Law for the priests and for the Levites according to the fields of the towns, for Judah rejoiced over the priests and the Levites who ministered.
We are told that all of these preformed their services as required by the Law, and that it was a thing ordained by God that there should be musical leadership.
For long ago in the days of David and Asaph there were directors of the singers, and there were songs of praise and thanksgiving to God.
And then the last verse in our passage this morning tells us
And all Israel in the days of Zerubbabel and in the days of Nehemiah gave the daily portions for the singers and the gatekeepers; and they set apart that which was for the Levites; and the Levites set apart that which was for the sons of Aaron.
To us this probably seems like a boring way to end a rather exciting chapter.
The People were gathered and consecrated
The music and the singing was loud
The celebration was heard from far away.
Now, let’s get down to some administrative details and logistics
Boring, right? I mean a chapter that begins with music ends with budgets.
After the singing stops, jobs are appointed, positions are assigned, tithes and offerings are organized, and the priests and Levites are supported.
In other words, there seems to be here a deliberate connection between joyful, exuberant worship, and careful accounting.
And this is good for us to learn in our day, because culturally we tend to conflate spirituality with disorganization. But what the last few verses in Nehemiah 12 show us, if you’ll pardon me for putting it glibly, is that the worship of the people didn’t float in on a cloud, it was carried in on a spreadsheet.
Yesterday, your Deacons met. To go over budgets. To assess our spending and financial health and responsibility. To make sure resources are being used well. Why do they do that? It’s not because they have nothing better to do on a Saturday. It is because God delights in order and responsibility.
And verse 44 tells us that the people were not apathetic about this. They rejoiced over it.
On that day men were appointed over the storerooms, the contributions, the firstfruits, and the tithes, to gather into them the portions required by the Law for the priests and for the Levites according to the fields of the towns, for Judah rejoiced over the priests and the Levites who ministered.
This is why we call and appoint ministers. This is why we install officers and hire staff. Because the organizing and funding of worship and fellowship and work is not merely pragmatic, it is theological.
In fact, you can see the balance in the text. The worship is loud, emotional, and embodied. And meanwhile, the leadership is sober, organized, and disciplined.
That’s because Joy without discipline eventually just becomes chaos. Worship that is not shaped and shepherded usually tends to shallowness. Joy without some kind of structure usually burns out. And structure without joy quickly becomes a dead ritual.
Both of these go together on purpose.
And it is the job of faithful leaders to keep the fire burning without letting the house burn down. Because our God is committed to preserving our worship and our joy, and he doesn’t do it by accident. He does it it through men who show up, take responsibility, and join the work, from the set up to the clean up to the money counting.
Conclusion
Conclusion
So, as we wrap up this morning, I want to remind you that what we have heard about this morning is actual history.
A real city, with real walls, real people, real choirs, celebrating real covenant faithfulness.
But the Holy Spirit did not inspire these words just to teach us about Jewish urban renewal.
The Old Testament is packed full of concepts and symbols and things made by human hands that point to a greater reality.
Because the walls were worth celebrating. Without them, Jerusalem is left exposed. Walls are good when they do their job. And when they do their job, the people rejoice. Contrary to popular belief today, building walls is not antithetical to neighbor love.
Jerusalem with her walls is restored and defended and rightly honored.
But walls cannot ultimately save. All of this indeed should point us to a Truer and Better Refuge. True Protection. One who can truly absorb all the assaults of our enemies.
Not a wall built with stones, but by the flesh and blood of the Son of God. Who was torn apart and poured out on a cross and raised up from the grave so that we would never again fear death.
This moment in Israel’s history was worthy of a celebration. Because restoration is always worth celebrating.
That wall had previously been broken. That city had been disgraced. That people had been humiliated. And here in Chapter 12, their God restores them. Publicly. In front of all the nations.
They went from death to restoration to rejoicing. Which is the very pattern we are given today int he Gospel.
Death. Restoration. Rejoicing.
The choirs circling the city are not merely celebrating engineering success; they are announcing victory after shame.
Nehemiah Chapter 12 ends with a joy that is heard “far away.” And indeed, the Bible itself ends with joy heard everywhere.
Because the Book of Revelation gives us this hope of a city that is unbreakable. A city filled with music and singing. A city with no threat, or enemies or decay.
And our celebration of dedication will be unending, with a joy that will never fade.
Because the reality is that on that day, Nehemiah dedicated a wall that would one day fall. But in Christ we have been given a kingdom that cannot be shaken. A kingdom that he is building here on earth, that is covering more ground every day, whose song is growing louder, and which shall one day cover the whole earth.
In the name of Jesus, Amen.
