And I read on

This past Sunday we were in Ohio and went to church with our daughter. The pastor is going through Nehemiah, and this week he was in 8:1-13. He preached a fine sermon. My only complaint would be that they didn’t conclude by singing the chorus from 8:10 (see at end). Oh well. Anyway, he said he didn’t have the time to go through the whole chapter and encouraged us to read the rest of this chapter as well as 9. So at some point, I read on. This is a great section and I want to share what I found.

Just a few things from 8:1-13

2 this took place upon the first day of the seventh month

2-3 And Ezra the priest brought the law before the congregation both of men and women ... And he read therein ... before the men and the women
The pastor said this speaks of the importance of our personally reading the Word, and that is a good word, but I believe this speaks more directly to the importance of the public reading of the Word.

8 So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading
This is not so much sermons as we know them, but more like a running commentary. The people were unfamiliar with the Scriptures and maybe even with Hebrew, so they offered brief explanation of difficult spots. I believe this is the origin of the Jewish Targum, a paraphrase and interpretation of the Bible.

10  for the joy of the LORD is your strength – the source of our chorus!

This was a great day, the people were assembled, the Law was read and explained, and the people were attentive. Amen and Amen. But it actually gets better!

14 And they found written in the law which the LORD had commanded by Moses, that the children of Israel should dwell in booths in the feast of the seventh month:  
15 And that they should publish and proclaim in all their cities, and in Jerusalem, saying, Go forth unto the mount, and fetch olive branches, and pine branches, and myrtle branches, and palm branches, and branches of thick trees, to make booths, as it is written.  
16 So the people went forth, and brought them, and made themselves booths, every one upon the roof of his house, and in their courts, and in the courts of the house of God, and in the street of the water gate, and in the street of the gate of Ephraim.  
17 And all the congregation of them that were come again out of the captivity made booths, and sat under the booths: for since the days of Jeshua the son of Nun unto that day had not the children of Israel done so. And there was very great gladness.  
This is what you call revival: the Scriptures are restored to the people of God, they rejoice in it and are renewed in their minds by it, and they begin to do what it says, which they were not doing! All the weeping and rejoicing and feasting of v 9-10 are meaningless without this. As they used to say, “It’s not how loud you shout or how high you jump, but how straight you walk when you land.”

Even more exciting is the last part of v 17, for since the days of Jeshua the son of Nun unto that day had not the children of Israel done so. This is amazing. All those years the feast of tabernacles had not been observed. Revival. No wonder, And there was very great gladness.

18 Also day by day, from the first day unto the last day, he read in the book of the law of God. And they kept the feast seven days; and on the eighth day was a solemn assembly, according unto the manner
This was a great movement. This speaks of commitment and sacrifice on the part of the people.

9:1 Now in the twenty and fourth day of this month the children of Israel were assembled with fasting, and with sackclothes, and earth upon them.  
2 And the seed of Israel separated themselves from all strangers, and stood and confessed their sins, and the iniquities of their fathers.  
3 And they stood up in their place, and read in the book of the law of the LORD their God one fourth part of the day; and another fourth part they confessed, and worshipped the LORD their God.  
This was a great revival. It included conviction of sin, confession of sin, and separation from all strangers. Strangers? Non-covenant people. They were separating themselves from people who were not committed to walking in the light of the word. Revival brings joy and gladness, conviction and confession of sin, obedience, and holiness. And verse 3 tells us how it worked: they would read a while (at least 3 hours!), then respond by confession and worship for another 3 hours. This is the way church is supposed to work, only maybe not half the day (!)

Then, in verses 4-38 we find the prayer of confession and commitment by the Levites. This is serious and they are serious. According to v 4 they cried with a loud voice unto the LORD their God. Gotta be significant.

This is a great prayer, and we can learn a lot about prayer from it, but I am going to skip down to the last verse of the chapter:

38 And because of all this we make a sure covenant, and write it; and our princes, Levites, and priests, seal unto it. 
This is how serious they are. They are not only committing themselves to the doing of the Law, but they are writing down this commitment and signing it. “We the undersigned do hereby pledge ourselves to the keeping of the Law...” This may have included something about encouraging and exhorting one another in this commitment. They have a covenant with God to be His people by the keeping of His Word, and now a covenant with one another to the same. This is real reformation and revival.

Then I came to chapter 10. The first 27 verses is simply a list of all those who signed this covenant. Then in 28-33 we find more details on this covenant. This is practical and specific. Revival is salvation (they were restored from Babylon), and holiness (“separated”; practical see 29-32), and corporate (“They clave to their brethren”; “we”). This is a really great section! And what a lesson on revival, especially when you add the New Testament element of the pouring out of the Spirit!

Anyway, that’s what I got out of church this past Sunday.

And I can end with my song! Won’t you sing with me?

The joy of the Lord is my strength (3x)
The joy of the Lord is my strength

He heals the brokenhearted and they cry no more (3x)
The joy of the Lord is my strength

He gives me living water and I thirst no more (3x)
The joy of the Lord is my strength

Since you have His joy you may shout with it
Since you have His joy you may dance with it
Since you have His joy you may laugh with it
The joy of the Lord is my strength

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha (3x)
The joy of the Lord is my strength

The Joy Of The Lord
Alliene Vale
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