INTRODUCTION:
Most of us are familiar with Nehimiah. During the time of captivity, Nehimiah
was the cupbearer for the Persian King. As cupbearer he held an exalted
position, and lived in the lap of luxury. Despite his status he became burdened
for the plight of his fellow countrymen exiled from their land. He held a desire
to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, so that those returning from excile would be
safe from attack. In the first chapters of Nehimiah, we see the wall completed,
the city organized, and finally, in Chapter 8, the emphasis switches from
rebuilding the city, to rebuilding the people. In Chapter 8, we see the
beginnings of true revival. Revival starts with the Christians, true revival is
not simply an evangelism crusade, but rather it is stirring the coals, and
rekindling the fire of God within HIS people. In order to be revived, we must
have been alive to begin with. If we are still dead in our sin, we must come to
a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ before revival can take place.
Throughout history we see God’s people coming to a point time and time again
where we need reviving! Today we need to be revived! We need our coals stirred
so that the fire of God will burn deep within us. Jesus doesn’t want us to be
fence sitters. In the book of Revelation the scripture says that it is better to
be cold or hot than lukewarm. It says that because we are lukewarm, God will
spew us out of his mouth! Let see how Nehimiah lit a fire under the lukewarm
children of Israel and got their pot boiling.
The material needs of the city had been met. Now the focus must shift to
spiritual well being. This is important for us to remember even today. We cannot
tell a starving man about the bread of life, we must satisfy his physical hunger
in order for him to recognize his spiritual hunger. What happened to Jerusalem
in Chapter 8 of Nehimiah was a by product of the fact that Ezra and Nehimiah put
the Word of God first in the life of the city. The people responded to the
scriptures and were blessed. May I be so bold as to say that America was put on
track by our founding fathers who established this nation based upon biblical
principles? May I also say that what has happened to this country is a direct
result of our response to the Word of God? Because of the faith of many in our
country, God has blessed us beyond measure.
The Spirit of God uses the Word of God to cleanse and revive the hearts of the
people of God. We cannot achieve true revival without first immersing ourselves
fully in the Word of God. For proof positive, look at our society today. The
family unit is being destroyed because we have departed from the Word of God.
Crime is becoming unmanageable because we have departed from the Word of God.
Our schools are in pitiful shape because we have departed for the word of God.
Our churches have become weak and ineffectual because we have departed from the
word of God. If God is going to work through us, we must RESPOND to his word!
I. Understanding His Word (V. 1-8)
We must first understand the Word that we read. We have to study it, and ask the
Holy Spirit to help us understand what we read. The Bible is not some magical
book that changes peoples lives simply be reading it. We cannot make grand
things happen by simply committing portions to memory and reciting them. God’s
word must be understood before it can enter into a person’s heart and change
their lives. Indeed, God places an emphasis on understanding. The word is used
six times in these 18 verses.
1. The people were hungry for the Word of God. (v1)
They gathered at the water gate. A central location in the city, a place where
many citizens were to be found. They gathered together and implored Ezra to
bring the scrolls. Ezra was ready, he had returned to Jerusalem some 14 years
before Nehimiah, and was ready to do God’s will. The timing was perfect. It was
the first day of the Seventh month, on the first day began the Feast of
Trumpets, on the tenth day was the day of atonement, and the fifteenth day was
the beginning of the feast of tabernacles.
2. Ezra began his instruction. (v3-8)
First he honored their request, he brought the Word of God before the
congregation, and opened it before them. The scroll was important at this time
in Israel’s history for several reasons.
1. The people needed to hear because many of them had been born in captivity and
were raised in Babylon
2. They had not known God as their fathers and grandfathers had the opportunity
to know Him. They didn’t have the same faith in the covenants, or the same
understanding of the laws. Their understanding was "tainted" by their
interaction with the Persians.
3. They had fallen away from the traditions of old. Tradition is not necessarily
an evil thing. Change is not always a good thing. They needed to know what God’s
word said to them.
The way for us to get to know God is to read his word, and listen carefully to
what He is saying to us! Ezra stood on a raised platform before all the people
and opened up the scroll containing the words of moses concerning the law. They
had constructed this platform solely for the use of Ezra in the reading of God’s
Word, this was just the first of many small things that signified the reverence
the people held for God’s Word. When Ezra began to read, everyone stood up!
Everyone! Man, woman, child, elderly, infirm, everyone. They stood up not to
honor Ezra, but to honor the Word of God. Not only did they stand, they remained
standing for hours! From the morning to midday. SIX HOURS they stood listening
to Ezra read the word.
In verse 6, they Worshipped the Lord. They bowed before him and placed their
faces toward the ground.
In verses 7 and 8 we see Ezra, with the assistance of the priests and levites
explaining the Word to the people. They translated and explained the Word of God
so that these Jews who had been brought up in Persia would understand.
II. Rejoicing in his Word. (9-12)
Secondly, we must rejoice in God’s word. The New Testament tells us to Rejoice
in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice. This can be applied to the reading
of the Word. The Jews were so moved by the reading of God’s word they began to
weep when the understanding hit them, and they realized their errors. Ezra
begged them not to mourn, or to weep, but to realize that this was a day of
rejoicing. It was a Holy day!
1. The Law cannot save us. it can only convince us that we need to be saved and
then point us to Jesus.
2. Revival was beginning, let’s note the circumstances so far.
a. The people were united! Division among God’s people is the work of Satan, and
has no place in the House of God.
b. The people desired the truth of God’s word. They had a great hunger to hear
the Word of God. We need to be HUNGRY!
c. The Word of God was read and explained. Ezra didn’t use a bunch of cute
stories, and life experiences, he took the scripture, read it to them, then
explained to them what he thought it meant. He didn’t water it down for
political correctness, nor did he hid the harsh truths from them.
d. The eyes of the people were opened to their own sinfulness and God’s
holiness. They realized they were sinners and needed redemption. They realized
the laws of God that they had broken.
e. The people responded to God’s Word. When they realized what they had been
missing, and the laws they had ignored, they broke down and wept.
3. Nehimiah and the priests put things in proper perspective for them. (10-12)
Guilt and remorse are effective tools only when they bring the people to
repentance, guilt is dangerous when a positive response isn’t forthcoming.
Without repentance, it does us little good to feel badly about something. If we
feel we are in the wrong, we are obligated to do something about it. The Jews
were told to go to their homes, eat well, drink well, to be merry. They were
told to give freely to those who didn’t have anything prepared. They were told
that this day was a day of rejoicing. A day to be happy, to share that
happiness. Today was the day their blindness was lifted.
4. The basis for Christian joy is to believe what God says in His Word, and act
upon it. If your faith isn’t based on the Word of God, then it is not faith at
all, it is simple superstition. Joy that we find outside of God’s Word is not
true joy. It will disappear. We cannot base our salvation or worship experiences
solely on emotion. When we base our faith on the Word, it will produce a joy
that will weather any storm in your life. It is not enough to simply listen to
God’s word, we must rejoice in the truth of it!
III. Obeying the Word (V 13-18)
1. Understanding and obeying God’s Word takes time.
We cannot expect to assimilate all there is to know about God and His Word in
one sitting. The first day of reading only whetted the appetites of the
Israelites. This time however, mere knowledge was not enough. They craved the
wisdom that knowledge from God brings. They were not satisfied with a one time
only experience, they wanted God to keep revealing things to them. Just as our
salvation experience is an ongoing process. We are to continue to have things
revealed to us. They confined their attention to the Word of God, and came back
to Ezra for instruction because it was he who had previously opened the Word to
them. They hadn’t come to argue with him or to debate with him, they had come to
learn from his words. Words that God had given him.
2. There quest for knowledge brought results (14-18)
They found written in the Word a commandment for an observance. We call this
observance the Feast of Tabernacles. The Feast of Tabernacles is somewhat
similar to our Thanksgiving. It was a time when the harvest was brought in and
the people rejoiced in what God had provided for them. They were required to
live in booths or temporary shelters for seven days, to remind themselves that
they had had to live in temporary dwellings before, and God provided for them.
The people were excited about learning of this Feast. The responded by obeying
His Word. They became personally involved, they built booths, and were rejoicing
in their temporary discomfort. Every one in the city participated. There was no
division among them. They also showed a willigness to change. They had not
participated in the Feast of Tabernacles for generations, yet they were willing
to embrace it because God commanded it. And again the scripture tells us there
was great gladness. These folks were happy because they obeyed the Word of God.
CONCLUSION:
They experienced Revival. If you are here and have never experienced a new life
with Christ, you cannot experience Revival, you need regeneration. You need
Christ to take control of your life and become your Lord and Savious. However,
as a Christian, we are continually in need of revival. Christians, are you Hot,
or are you lukewarm? Our spiritual temperature has a direct connection with our
attitude toward God’s Word. When we understand His Word, Rejoice in that
understanding, and follow the commandments in His Word, we will begin to see
revival in our own lives.
