Autumn Story

This morning I want to explore a story in Scripture that comes at the AUTUMN season in the nation of Israel.

Both literally and figuratively.

Autumn is a time where as Harvest ends there is great beauty that gives way to a season some call death, darkness, or rest.

Ecclesiastes 3:1 NLT

1 For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven.

We have just watched the beauty of what we call fall foliage as the trees put on a spectacle before their leaves fall to the barren state of winter.

Leaves must fall to accommodate the tree’s lack of resources during the cold and dry winter season. It helps the tree preserve its life during that time.

What most do not know, however, is that the lack of leaves being on the tree provides a greater resource for more prolific pollination in the spring to yield greater fruitfulness and life.

When we come upon the book of Nehemiah in the Bible, we are at an autumn season for the Israelites, less then a generation before what Theologians call the Silent years - where the prophetic voice of God is not heard to the nation until Jesus appears on the scene in a new season!

In many ways you could consider AUTUMN to be the middle season - between budding life and death, after the harvest and bounty of summer ---

Like all things in life - the middle is often where the need for the greatest perseverance exists.

The joy that breaks out in Spring with all the expectations of new life, flowers, livestock, and a beaming summer of joy and celebration - the beginning is easy to celebrate. Just like the end of winter beckons to us that newness is almost here...

We tend to have enthusiasm at the start and end of things in our lives, but the middle is where sticktuitiveness counts!

It is the time without glamor, without excitement, without sight to that which is living and bountiful, having to await what may or may not come in a new season, never knowing how that new season may perform.

How many of us have felt the agony of being in the middle, facing what looks like barrenness, but awaiting a new season of life.

This is Israel in 438 BC.

Some 150 years prior Jerusalem was destroyed by the Babylonians -they had been unfaithful to God, disregarded His Word and commands and were self serving adopting all the sinful pagan ways of the nations around them. They had not followed the laws of Sabbath giving the land rest, and now God would force a 70 year rest for the land to be worked while they were off in captivity.

In 535 BC the first group of exiles would return to Jerusalem to rebuild the Temple which was completed at the 70th year in 515 BC.

Then Ezra would come to help bring spiritual correction to the remnant that had been left in Israel and the exiles that followed, but were still not following God’s commands.

Thirteen years later, Nehemiah would show up with the third wave of exiles to help rebuild the walls of Jerusalem that lay in ruin leaving the people open to continuous attack and the inability to thrive.

When this need found Nehemiah, he had been serving in a high position as adviser and cupbearer to the King of Persia.

In a two month period, the families around Jersualem came together and rebuilt the walls of Jersualem to the great objection to enemies in the land - Sanballat and Tobiah - governors of Samaria and the Transjordan region.

This season in the middle would set a stage for the greatest pollination of hope and new season of God’s fruitfulness after a very long winter in the silent years.

There is a lesson here of restoration - even in the middle, even in the autumn season when things look more bleak than blooming!!!

Read

Nehemiah 8:1–12 NLT

1 all the people assembled with a unified purpose at the square just inside the Water Gate. They asked Ezra the scribe to bring out the Book of the Law of Moses, which the Lord had given for Israel to obey. 2 So on October 8 Ezra the priest brought the Book of the Law before the assembly, which included the men and women and all the children old enough to understand. 3 He faced the square just inside the Water Gate from early morning until noon and read aloud to everyone who could understand. All the people listened closely to the Book of the Law. 4 Ezra the scribe stood on a high wooden platform that had been made for the occasion. To his right stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah. To his left stood Pedaiah, Mishael, Malkijah, Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zechariah, and Meshullam. 5 Ezra stood on the platform in full view of all the people. When they saw him open the book, they all rose to their feet. 6 Then Ezra praised the Lord, the great God, and all the people chanted, “Amen! Amen!” as they lifted their hands. Then they bowed down and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground. 7 The Levites—Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, and Pelaiah—then instructed the people in the Law while everyone remained in their places. 8 They read from the Book of the Law of God and clearly explained the meaning of what was being read, helping the people understand each passage. 9 Then Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who were interpreting for the people said to them, “Don’t mourn or weep on such a day as this! For today is a sacred day before the Lord your God.” For the people had all been weeping as they listened to the words of the Law. 10 And Nehemiah continued, “Go and celebrate with a feast of rich foods and sweet drinks, and share gifts of food with people who have nothing prepared. This is a sacred day before our Lord. Don’t be dejected and sad, for the joy of the Lord is your strength!” 11 And the Levites, too, quieted the people, telling them, “Hush! Don’t weep! For this is a sacred day.” 12 So the people went away to eat and drink at a festive meal, to share gifts of food, and to celebrate with great joy because they had heard God’s words and understood them.

How often do we hear the expression - THE JOY OF THE LORD IS YOUR STRENGTH.

The reality of that expression is that it was given in the MIDDLE season to Israel. Not in the easy, productive, glorious season of Solomon’s temple, or the crossing of the Red Sea on the way to the Promise land, or at the Birth of Christ as Messiah arrived on the scene to make a NEW COVENANT.

It came in the middle when things were tough, the nation was small, the season still felt oppressive, and what was great had been destroyed, but there was a glimmer of hope and restoration.

Today, some of you are in the middle - you have heard the WORD to PERSEVERE and not give up, you are longing to see the RESTORATIVE hand of GOD in your life, but it seems so far off...

Remember when the leaves fall in autumn to give way to the barren weeks of winter, a time of new pollination bearing a fruitful season is not far off!!!

400 years in the history of Israel was small compared to their thousands of years in existence both before this moment and to come.

Some things I want us to take from this story...

1. Hunger for the WORD of the Lord

In the middle we must still HUNGER!!!

Jesus said

Matthew 5:6 KJV 1900

6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

in the first verses of Nehemiah 8 we see the people gathered in central place to listen to the Word of the Lord being read...

A few things to understand about this....

They people gathered of their own accord - yes it was what we call Rosh Hashanah today - the beginning a New Year and a stage was built for the occasion, but this was not a decree cried out by the governor or leadership

Observances of the law and spiritual things were very sparse and uncelebrated after the exile - yet the people HUNGERED FOR SOMETHING...

It was the people who asked Ezra, the Scribe and spiritual leader over the nation to come and read the Book of the Law to them.

The Law was written in Hebrew, and by this time, ARAMAIC had become the language of the region - the language of business, and this reading would have to be interpreted from the Hebrew to Aramaic so they could glean -

It started at sun up and continued to midday - some 4-6 hours, and we see that the people stood for the reading -

They would not leave the place, but remained still as it was opened up to them, and perhaps the first time for most of them hearing the Word given to their forefathers was being poured out to them.

TRUE RESTORATION and TRUE JOY is not discovered until we truly hunger for the WORD OF THE LORD!!!

They came of their own accord, they stayed and listened at length to receive and they believed

When we are in the middle, when life has gotten tough, when we need to see a new season --- start by HUNGERING FOR THE WORD OF THE LORD!!!!

2. Surrender to the WORD of the Lord

What was their response --- v 6

AMEN! AMEN! — LET IT BE! LET IT BE!

This was a response of SURRENDER to what was said, of receiving it into their heart to apply it into their lives!!!

We see these people fall to their faces and bown down before God, and weep and wail - all signs of surrender and repentance!!!

It was not a - good message - um for those people over there — their hearts were broken before God in this middle place, this middle season, they wanted change.

The people of this land had been guilty of different sin - they had been mistreating one another, selling their fellow Israelite into slavery for indebtedness, marrying the pagan sons and daughters of the nations around them, thus adopting their false religions and sinful practices.

They were once again ignoring the Sabbath day - a result of years in exile where sabbath was not observed, and they were conducting business and work on the Sabbath and once again failing to give the land rest. Making money was more important than obeying and worshipping God!

They failed to bring their tithes and offerings to the Lord, and honor God with their first fruits - again, hoarding their finances instead of trusting God

All of these sins had to do with either greed or lust - but they realized there would be no true restoration of Israel if they did not repent before God and surrender.

In the beginning and often at the end when we see relief coming, it can be easy to surrender ourselves to God, but in the middle is where the rubber hits the road!!!

IN THE MIDDLE is where persevering in doing what is right becomes hard.

Galatians 6:9 NLT

9 So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.

Will we surrender in the middle???

3. Acting Upon the Word of the Lord

The next thing that happens is they are called to act upon this Word of the Lord!

Nehemiah gets up and announces, this is not a day to mourn but to celebrate — it was a day of new beginnings as the New Year, but also from their repentant and hungry hearts.

He does not leave them “at the altar” to just weeps, but commands them to get up and show favor to one another and celebrate with each other and share in their bounty.

The very heart of their sinful issues was greed --

The financial struggles in the middle often cause people to be less generous. Poverty when overcome gives way to usury to ensure security...

He said - to share gifts with one another…be festive...

It was a call to action opposite the greedy behavior they had been practicing!

Then he also reminded them of a very important fact...

THE JOY OF THE LORD IS YOUR STRENGTH

There was a direct relation to the joy that comes from obedience to the WORD OF THE LORD and the protection it brings into our lives.

Israel had lost their city, temple, the walls because of disobedience, but this day there was JOY RESTORED because they hungered and surrendered in obedience to that WORD, and the wall they were celebrating that was now complete, was not their real protection, it was not the real boundary or security --- it was the continued obedience to the WORD OF THE LORD.

AS long as they remained in the JOY that comes from obedience to the WORD, they would find safety and strength.

CONCLUSION

Sometimes we want to give up, we are tired, we feel vulnerable and worn out, but we need to realize when we return to the place of hungering for God, surrendering to His word and obedience, it will not wear us down, but bring us STRENGTH

STRENGTH to protect us from the enemies from without that want to destroy us

STRENGTH to protect us from the enemies within that want to destroy us

Returning to the WORD of GOD is a place of JOY from the Lord that STRENGTHENS US

Maybe it seems like loss to surrender to God, but like leaves losing their leaves, they are bolstering their strength for the winter until new pollination comes forth and a greater season of fruitfulness.

SHED YOUR LEAVES, your sin, the past, the failures and mistakes

HUNGER for the WORD, SURRENDER TO THE WORD, OBEY THE WORD

A new season of fruitfulness is coming to your life!!!

For Israel, after the winter, came MESSIAH

Prepare to receive RESTORATION and the best that is to come!!!