When We Understand God’s Word
Nehemiah 8:1-18
March 20, 2022
What would you do differently if you could start over in life? (Table talk)
Can you start over? We can’t go back to first grade and try harder to get it all right this
time. But there is a way that you can start over right where you are, at your present
age. The answer sounds so simple that you will be tempted to dismiss it. But you
dismiss this idea at your own peril. The closest you can come to a true start over in life
is, you start listening to God’s word with intensity. And that will actually
produce better results than going back to the first grade and starting over.
When God looked at Israel, He saw a group of people who had gotten off track. They
were being disobedience to Him, so He sent them into exile. Specifically, Judah was
sent to Babylon. Their circumstances brought shame to them. Now, those judgments
are being reversed as God is restoring them to the land He promised them. In chapter 7
we were reminded that the Judean folks were descendents of people who had
experienced God’s grace in returning from exile to Jerusalem. In chapter 8, their
attention is turned to their own spiritual condition. The big idea seems to be that
when we obey God, His teachings bring joy into our lives. As believers we need to
put a lot of effort into learning and understanding what the Bible says. The more we
understand God’s word the more joy we will experience. Chapters 8-10 is somewhat
like a covenant renewal with God and Israel. It is a taste of what is to come when God
makes a new covenant with His people. Part of what God wants to do is to restore
Jerusalem, repopulate it with the Jewish people who can serve Him properly.
In order to restore the people of Judah, they would have to heard what God’s Word said.
So, they all gathered together to hear Ezra read the Word of the Lord.
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. 13 ¶ On October 9 the family leaders of all the people,
together with the priests and Levites, met with Ezra the scribe to go over the
Law in greater detail. 14 As they studied the Law, they discovered that the
LORD had commanded through Moses that the Israelites should live in shelters
during the festival to be held that month. 15 He had said that a proclamation
should be made throughout their towns and in Jerusalem, telling the people to
go to the hills to get branches from olive, wild olive, myrtle, palm, and other
leafy trees. They were to use these branches to make shelters in which they
would live during the festival, as prescribed in the Law. 16 So the people went
out and cut branches and used them to build shelters on the roofs of their
houses, in their courtyards, in the courtyards of God’s Temple, or in the
squares just inside the Water Gate and the Ephraim Gate. 17 So everyone who
had returned from captivity lived in these shelters during the festival, and they
were all filled with great joy! The Israelites had not celebrated like this since
the days of Joshua son of Nun. 18 Ezra read from the Book of the Law of God
on each of the seven days of the festival. Then on the eighth day they held a
solemn assembly, as was required by law.
- What was the purpose for the reading of the Book of the Law?
The people didn’t know what they needed to know so that could live life with
meaning. The reading of the Word was commanded by the Lord. The Jews had spent
70 years in exile. No doubt, the people who were hearing the reading of God’s Word
didn’t know as much about how to live as they needed to know. They had been
influenced by foreign cultures all their lives. At the very least, they needed to be
reminded of how God said for them to live. As a scribe, Ezra was an expert on the
scriptures. The Bible tells us that he “…determined in his heart to study the law of
the Lord, obey it, and teach its statues and ordinances in Israel.” (Ezra 7:10)
The people needed to know what was in God’s Word. How can anyone live a life that
pleases God is filled with joy and purpose unless they know what God has said?
Do you feel like you have spent years is exile because of your disobedience to
the Lord? - Who was included in the assembly at the Water Gate? (8:2) Why is this meaningful?
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.
Ezra included the men, the women, and the children old enough to understand in his
audience. Over and over again, we are taught to teach children the Word of the Lord.
Could it be that we separate the children, especially the older children, from the adults
too much in church? - How did Ezra and the people of Israel respond to the reading of the Law? (8:6)
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.
There seems to be more than one possible response to God’s Word:
1) You can ignore what God has said. You can try not to think about it.
2) You can be offended by what you heard. Perhaps you find the information in
complete opposition to what you already had accepted as true. Perhaps you feel
convicted of your sin, but you just don’t want to seriously consider what God has said.
3) You can become heartbroken after hearing what God has said. You can realize that
you have been in the wrong, and you can feel a desperate need to turn your way of
living around and you line up with God’s teaching. This is the best outcome, you turn
from sin and turn to God, trusting Jesus as your Lord and Savior.
In the case of Ezra reading the word, they responded in agreement and worshiped
the Lord with humility. Ezra praised God. - Why were the people of Israel weeping? What were Nehemiah, Ezra, and the Levites
doing to help the people understand how to respond to the word of God? (8:9-10)
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!”
While the people were obviously concerned about their relationship with God, they didn’t
really seem to know how to respond to what they heard. They were weeping over
their condition but needed guidance in their response. After you hear what God
has said, you then turn from your old direction of living and turn to the Lord while
trusting Him. It’s then that you have every reason to celebrate. The leaders were
reminding the people how to celebrate Who God is, and who they are in His sight.
Repentance leads to joy and to right living. The leaders helped the people
understand what God has said.
To understand what God has said, we need the help of the Holy Spirit, and we need
other followers of Jesus. We learn and we share with one another. There is an African
proverb that says, “If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go
together.” (Teach the Text series) None of us know it all.
- What attitude did the people have toward God’s Word after understanding it better
and celebrating with great joy? (8:12-13)
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. 13 ¶ On October 9 the family leaders of all the people,
together with the priests and Levites, met with Ezra the scribe to go over the
Law in greater detail.
The people wanted to know more about what God had said. They met with the
leaders to go over the Law in greater detail. When it comes to God’s Word, the
more we know, the more we grow. We grow in our relationship with God. We grow in
our relationship with other believers. We grow in our sense of purpose. We grow in joy.
We grow in our expectation of the future.
- What specific instructions did the leaders discover from the Book of the Law? How did
the people react to the newly discovered instructions? (8:14-16)
14 As they studied the Law, they discovered that the LORD had commanded
through Moses that the Israelites should live in shelters during the festival to
be held that month. 15 He had said that a proclamation should be made
throughout their towns and in Jerusalem, telling the people to go to the hills to
get branches from olive, wild olive, myrtle, palm, and other leafy trees. They
were to use these branches to make shelters in which they would live during
the festival, as prescribed in the Law. 16 So the people went out and cut
branches and used them to build shelters on the roofs of their houses, in their
courtyards, in the courtyards of God’s Temple, or in the squares just inside the
Water Gate and the Ephraim Gate.
As they studied the scriptures, they came to understand that the Festival of
Tabernacles was to be celebrated by the Jews for seven days every year. It had
apparently been a long time since the Jews had practiced this type of celebration. It
may have been back in the days of Joshua when they last celebrated this holiday as they
should have.
So, the people cut branches and build shelters to live in for seven days as they
celebrated God and their relationship with Him. This was a time for looking back at
what God had done for the children of Israel for 40 years in the wilderness as they were
without a home and living in temporary shelters. It was a time to look at the harvest
and celebrate God’s provision. It was also a time to look ahead to God’s Kingdom and
His promises. It was a time to give gifts, especially to the needy. It was a time for
hearing God’s Word. Is there a time in your past to which you can look back and
see that God has providing for you, loving you, and taking care of you to get
you to where you needed to be? We need to spend some time reflecting on
God’s love and provision. - How has your response to God’s Word changed your way of living? How do you feel
about the joy this has brought into your life? - How can we guard against apathy toward God’s Word?
Someone said that, “When your Christian life becomes rote, it becomes boring.” I say
that when our Christian life becomes boring, we are not standing close enough to the
action. Henry Blackaby taught us that the cure for apathy is to look around and see
where God is at work and join Him.