NEHEMIAH 8.1-18
7/24/2022 – Daniel Perez
Overview of Nehemiah 1-7
This morning we continue our study through the book of Nehemiah. As we just heard and
read, we now turn our attention to Nehemiah 8. As Pastor Brian told us the last two weeks,
Nehemiah 1-6 and chapters 7-13 serve as the two halves of this book. In the first six chapters we see that Nehemiah, the governor of the people of Judah, guides them in a rebuilding project of the gates and city walls of Jerusalem. After completing this great task, Nehemiah established
civil life by appointing his brother Hanani as City Mayor and Hananiah as Chief of Police to
keep law and order.
Rebuilding the People
We now turn to the remainder of the second half of this book where Nehemiah focuses on
rebuilding the people. You might have noticed that in our reading, “all the people” is used 11
times, “people” is used 15 times, and “assembly” 3 times. There is a clear shift to draw our
attention to the gathered people of God as they come together to worship Him. This was the
ultimate purpose of the rebuilding project – to prepare the people to come together and praise the
name of the Lord.
It is somewhat shocking to find this text in the Old Testament because it so closely
resembles our modern-day worship service. It could easily be placed in the book of Acts and we
wouldn’t notice! We should rejoice over how similar this service looks to ours – it speaks to the
one people of God throughout the ages – and it offers us helpful instruction on our worship of
God.
Centrality of God’s Word in God’s People
What we find in our text is that the Word of God is central to
their worship and it is specifically through God’s Word that
Nehemiah and the other leaders will re-build the people. It is
interesting that the people did not gather at the temple, where
the priests and Levites carried out their temple services and
sacrifices. Instead, they gather “in front of the Water Gate”.
The key point to draw from this is that the Word of God was
central to the life and worship of the people of God. It was
the Word of God that was to take center stage, rather than the
temple and its sacrifices. From this time forward, God’s
people would be the people of the Book. It is this key point
that I want to draw from our text this morning: God’s Word
should be central in our lives.
HEARING THE WORD OF GOD (8.1-6)
We first see that as the people gather in front of the Water Gate, they initiate this public
worship service by asking for God’s minister to bring God’s word.
The Desire of the people
We see their confidence and trust in the divine authority of the scriptures in the first
verse, “they asked Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses which the Lord had
given to Israel”. They want the Word of God, not man’s word. They just came out of a foreign
nation mixed with many pagan gods and they understand that it was their abandonment of God’s
word that brought about their judgment and exile. So here, the people waste no time, and they
ask for Ezra to bring “the book of Moses which the Lord had given to Israel”. After many years
in exile, they had a thirst and longing for God’s Word and they clearly expected God to speak to
them here at the Water Gate.
Brothers and sisters, we ought to have this very same desire. Sunday after Sunday we
should desire the Word of God that the “Lord has given” to us. We should say Yes! We want our
Pastor and Elders to guide and teach and apply God’s Word to us. Yes! We want to hear the
voice of God and Yes! We want to know His will for our lives. We should have an eager
expectation that we are hearing and receiving the Holy Scriptures which God has given and
entrusted to us that we may mature in Christ and be equipped for every good work (2 Tim. 3.16).
If we neglect God’s word and His people, we close ourselves from the will and instruction of
God for our lives. Too many times we desire to know God’s will in many life circumstances, but
we show a lesser desire to read and meditate, and to gather and hear God’s Word. We tend to see
the Bible primarily as an ‘answers’ book. “Lord tell me what to do”. This might seem easier, but
this fails to see that through the Bible, we come into fellowship with God and one another.
Through the reading and preaching and singing and praying of God’s Word, we are blessed by
God as we receive and proclaim His word.
Revelation 1.3 reads “Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the
prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it”. In what ways are we blessed? To the one
who reads, to those who hear and to all who heed God’s Word, they come into fellowship and
communion with the One that wrote the Holy Scriptures. We encounter God and He blesses us
with Himself: with His love, with His joy, with His peace and comfort. And He draws us closer
together to one another, as we come together with a common desire to honor, apply, and obey
God’s word.
We also see that they specifically call for Ezra. He “was a scribe skilled in the law of
Moses” and he “had set his heart to study the law of the Lord and to practice it, and to teach His
statutes and ordinances in Israel” (Ezra 7.6,10). Ezra is a prominent figure in our text because he
is the religious leader that comes alongside the priests and Levites to rebuild the people through
the Word of God. It is no different today. We continue to need godly ministers of the gospel that
are ”skilled” in the Scriptures and have “set their heart to study” the word of God and “practice
it”, teaching God’s “statutes and ordinances” in the Church. Amen. May we give praise to the
Holy Spirit, because He is the one that establishes godly, humble leaders that desire our spiritual
growth and maturity in Christ (Eph. 4).
The response of the people
In the third verse we see that “Ezra read…from early morning until midday, in the
presence of men and women, those who could understand; and all the people were attentive to
the book of the law.” This public worship service might have gone on for six-seven-or eight
hours! And rather than finding the community grumbling and complaining, the bible tells us that
they were “attentive to the book of the law”. All who could understand, this includes children
that could listen with understanding; they were students of the Word and they were worshiping
God. They couldn’t get enough! This might seem somewhat of an exaggeration to have such a
long public service, but do we not give six-seven-and eight hours of our time to Netflix? Do we
not binge watch shows and movies and tell everyone about it? Do we not dedicate our evenings
and Sunday afternoons to sporting events?
We read in Luke’s gospel that as Mary sat at the feet of Jesus listening to His word,
Martha was distracted with preparations. She complained to Jesus “Lord, do You not care that
my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me.” But the Lord
answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things;
but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken
away from her.” This group that stood before Ezra and under the word of God were not
distracted or worried or bothered with anything else. They were attentive to the word of God.
Their one-united-desire was to sit under the Word of God. It was to sit at the feet of their Lord
and receive the good portion which shall not be taken away. Like Mary, they understood that
only one thing is necessary. Brothers and sisters, are we distracted? Are we worried and bothered
with so many things that we fail to sit and listen at the feet of our Lord? That we fail to spend
time studying God’s Word and in fellowship with others? That we fail to be attentive to the
reading and preaching of God’s Word? As we read in many parts of the bible, “The grass
withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever”. The Word of our God is truly
the good portion that will never be taken away. All other things will pass. May we be encouraged
by this group in Jerusalem that did not grow faint or bored even after six-seven-or eight hours.
May we seek to imitate their desire for the good portion, for the Word of God, that will not be
taken away.
This entire worship service is also marked by a great and deep reverence for the Word of
God. We see that a wooden podium was made for this very purpose (v.4), and that Ezra stood
with the Law of Moses above all the people (v.5a). These two things highlight that all the people
are under the authority of God’s word, even Ezra and those that stood with him. As Ezra opens
the book, all the people stood up. Then Ezra blessed the Lord and the people responded “Amen
Amen” with lifted hands and then they bowed low and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the
ground. There is a deep reverence that flows from their hearts and is expressed outwardly. Many
of you might have heard the expression “wear your Sunday best”. This expression has been
mocked and fallen into some bad times, but the point was that we wanted to be mindful of what
we wear and reverent in how we come before the Lord. We should not be a people that want to
give the bare minimum to God. Reverence, of course, does not begin outside of us but with our
own hearts. If we truly believe that God is present with us – the Holy God that Isaiah saw
enthroned, the creator of all things – if we believe He is present with us through the gathering of
His people and the reading and proclamation of His Word, we should internalize this and ask
how can I honor the Lord with my whole life? What does it look like for me to be reverent as we
enter the presence of the Lord?
So, we see that the Word of God has become central for the people of God, and they are
attentive and reverent. These are heart attitudes that we need the Holy Spirit to continue to work
in our lives, and they should give us some pause and we should seek to prepare our hearts for
every Sunday, knowing that we are going to be in the presence of God and hear His Word. We
should seek to make God’s Word central in our lives and respond to it rightly.
UNDERSTANDING THE WORD OF GOD (8.7-13a)
The leaders explain
After the reading portion of this public worship service, “the Levites, explained the law to
the people while the people remained in their place. They read from the book, from the law of
God, translating to give the sense so that they understood the reading.” It is not enough to hear
God’s Word; we must understand it. The Levites were carrying out their responsibility to teach
the people of God, a responsibility they had abandoned during the times leading up to the exile.
Now they reestablish this practice, seeking to help all who were present to understand the
reading of God’s word. Our true and ultimate teacher is the Holy Spirit. We need the Spirit to
open our eyes to the truth and teachings of scripture. But we must also humbly receive the
teachers that the Spirit sends and equips. It is important to note that the Levites did not have
some special giftedness that made them smarter and more able to teach God’s Word. It was the
calling of God upon the men of the tribe of Levi that separated them apart as temple servants and
teachers of the Law in service to God and to His people. God has determined to grow and mature
His people through simple, humble teachers and preachers of the Word.
We read in Acts 8 that as an Ethiopian Eunuch read through the prophet Isaiah that
Philip, a deacon and evangelist of the church in Acts, questioned the Eunuch “Do you understand
what you are reading?” He replied “Well, how could I, unless someone guides me?” And he
invited Philip to come up and sit with him.” As the priesthood of God, we also need the body of
Christ that we may understand what we are reading. Could you imagine going up to each other
and saying “Brother” or “Sister”, I was reading through John 6 and I am having a hard time
understanding some of the things Jesus is saying. Do you want to grab coffee, discuss this text
and pray with me? Or imagine going up to Pastor Brian or one of the Elders and saying, “I was
very encouraging by that sermon. Could you make some time to meet so I can get the “sense” of
the text and better understand it?”. Could you imagine if we were committed not only to the
Word of God every Sunday, and to the Word of God in our private time of study, but also if we
committed to the Word of God in each other’s lives? That as we grow in our study and
understanding we can serve as guides for others as well? That with great humility we would
invite others, as the Ethiopian Eunuch did, to come and sit with us and study God’s word?
While we see that Ezra is summoned to read the Law of God, then the Levites explain
and teach, giving the sense of the scriptures that all may understand, we also see that this carries
down to the fathers of all the people, the heads of the household. The fathers seek further insight
that they may instruct and lead their households well. To the men that are present, to the fathers
of this church, to the spiritual fathers, and to the future fathers, we must lead our household well
in the instruction and practice of the Word of God. We must make God’s Word central in our
household. We must seek to wash our wives with the water of the Word and we must seek to
raise our children in the fear and admonition of the Lord. The reading and preaching that begins
here must be carried out and practiced and applied in our homes. If you remember our luncheon
last week, the men, the fathers must take responsibility for the Church, for its physical
maintenance and for its spiritual growth. The burden is too great to place on one Pastor and a
handful of elders and deacons, but together we can accomplish many great things for the Lord,
and we can see our Church and our homes grow and mature in Christ.
The leaders encourage
Not only do we need leaders to rightly explain the Scriptures to us, but we also need their
regular encouragement, that we may rightly respond to God’s Word. After they “heard the words
of the law” the people were weeping and mourning over the things they understood. Three times
the leaders encourage the people, telling them (1) This day is holy to the Lord your God; do not
mourn or weep (2) this day is holy to our Lord. Do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your
strength.”, and (3) “Be still, for the day is holy; do not be grieved.” The response of the people to
their encouragement was that “All the people went away to eat, to drink, to send portions and to
celebrate a great festival, because they understood the words which had been made known to
them”.
Immediately after hearing the Law of God, they mourn and weep because they
understood that they have not kept God’s Law and they have broken their covenant with God.
They became aware of their many sins against the Lord. Yet the instruction of the leaders would
fall short if it ended here. Ezra, Nehemiah and the Levites taught them that their grieving must be
followed by rejoicing. Even though they were unfaithful, the Lord remains true and faithful to
His people. The people were under the rule of Persia; God’s word was closed and unread and the
people were spiritually dead; but the God of the Exodus redeemed them! He rescued them from
the kingdom of darkness and brought them into the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we all
have redemption, the forgiveness of sin. And this is true of us all! Even when we ourselves were
dead in our trespasses, God, being rich in mercy, because of His great Love with which he loved
us…made us alive together with Christ.
It is the bitterness of their sins and transgressions against God that brings about their
mourning and weeping but it is the sweetness of the free offer of the gospel, the sweetness of the
free offer of the grace and mercies of God that brings them to rejoice and to celebrate a grand
festival. Brothers and sisters, we must always mourn and weep over our brokenness and sins,
praying for God’s gift of forgiveness, but our mourning and weeping must give way to rejoicing
in the great work of salvation that Jesus accomplished for us. Our mourning and weeping are
temporary and passing; we look forward to the return of our King when He will finally wipe
away all tears and mourning and remove all sin. Amen.
It is not enough to hear and know the Bible. We must grow in its “sense”. We must be
humble to seek guidance and explanation and humble in giving guidance and explanation. True
understanding is accompanied by proper response that rejoices in the salvation of our Lord. But
we must not stop here. Yes, we should seek to receive and hear God’s Word, and we should seek
insight and understanding, but we must also apply God’s Word to our Lives.
CONCLUSION – APPLYING THE WORD OF GOD (8.13b-18)
Starting in verse 13 we read that the Levites, priests, and fathers of the households return
the following day “to Ezra the scribe that they might gain insight into the words of the law”
(8.13b). Rather than catch up on sleep the following day they returned! Praise the Lord that they
returned. This marked the heart and attitude of these returning exiles. They were not only eager
to hear from God, but they were eager to obey God. One commentator summarizes by saying
“the main thing is not general rules but a personal attitude, fidelity and repentant humility, a
‘listening heart,’ so that the people may enjoy unity with God in worship” (McCarthy, quoted in
Rata, 186).
We read that “The entire assembly of those who had returned from the captivity made
booths and lived in them” and that they did all things “according to the ordinance”. If you
remember the words from Revelation 1.3, it not just reading and hearing God’s Word that brings
a great blessing to God’s people, but it is those that read and hear AND heed. We must be eager
to apply God’s Word, to heed its instruction and warnings, for it is His will for our lives. The
emphasis in these last verses is twofold: we see that the (1) entire assembly (v.17) followed the
instruction of their leaders and (2) did these things according to the ordinance (v.18). While this
practice of the feast of tabernacles has passed away at the coming of our Lord, we must all seek
to apply the Word of God to our lives, to our households, and to our Church, heeding the
instruction of our leaders so far as it agrees with God’s word. I want us to understand that
obedience is not something cold and mechanical. The response of the people and their keep the
commandments of the Law is a response to God’s generosity and saving grace. We read in the
Gospel of John that it is obedience to Christ that reveals our love for Him. Too many times we
view these as competing, but true love and adoration and worship always conducts itself in
proper obedience to God and His Word.
I want to close with the very direct charge and instruction of James “But prove
yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. For if anyone is a
hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for
once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person
he was. But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not
having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he
does.” James 1.22-25. I pray that we would all be doers of the Word of God and not merely
hearers. That we would seek to make God’s Word central in all lives, central in our worship and
in our homes. May Christ Covenant Church follow the example of this group of exiles in
Jerusalem that were eager to hear and apply and live by the Word of God. May we be the people
that return to the Word of God every day and may the Holy Spirit equip us to carry out this
charge.