Nehemiah 7 - 8
In summary:
With the walls of Jerusalem rebuilt, Nehemiah concentrates on the organization of the people, focusing specifically on their submission to Yahweh’s law.
With the walls of Jerusalem rebuilt, Nehemiah concentrates on the organization of the people, focusing specifically on their submission to Yahweh’s law.
In more detail:
Now that the defensive walls have been finished, there is still much to do before Jerusalem becomes a living city again: “The city was wide and large, but the people with it were few, and no houses had been rebuilt” (Nehemiah 7:4). He organizes the protection of the city (Nehemiah 7:1-3); remember that there was no guarantee their enemies would leave them alone. Note too, that it says, “Then God put it into my heart to assemble the nobles and the officials and the people to be enrolled by genealogy” (Nehemiah 7:5). His intent is very different from the one centuries earlier when: “Satan stood against Israel and incited David to number Israel” (1 Chronicles 21:1). The purpose this time is that some representatives from each family would come and repopulate Jerusalem. It is during this process that Nehemiah finds the genealogy list of the first group who came from exile to resettle Jerusalem (Nehemiah 7:5). Notice that many of them, instead of repopulating Jerusalem, settled in the countryside (Nehemiah 7:73). Therefore it is important for them to come back to Jerusalem; they need to see it once again as the center of their devotion to Yahweh and the center of their national and personal lives.
Notice too, the comparisons between the reading of the law in Nehemiah 8 and a traditional Christian worship service held today:
1) Ezra the scribe was on a wooden platform or pulpit that had been made specifically for the purpose of preaching and explaining Yahweh’s word (Nehemiah 8:4). In a traditional Christian church, the center of attention is not an altar but a pulpit where the word of God is read and the gospel (or good news) of Jesus Christ is read and
explained to the congregation.
2) “And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was above all the people, and as he opened it all the people stood” (Nehemiah 8:5). Today also, the most important part of a Christian service is the reading and explanation of the Bible. In Christian churches there is no theology of grace transmitted through sacraments; therefore, the center of a service is not a sacrament or rite. Instead, as the apostle Paul tells us, “Faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17). If “the righteous shall live by faith” (Romans 1:17), then hearing the word of God with faith is the highest point of the Christian service.
3) “And Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God, and all the people answered, ‘Amen, Amen,’ lifting up their hands. And they bowed their heads and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground” (Nehemiah 8:6). The reading and explanation of the Bible in a Christian service is not simply an intellectual exercise; the Spirit of Yahweh is present, and the reading and sermon is the axle for all expressions of blessing, praise and worship in the rest of the service.
4) “They read from the book, from the Law of God, clearly, and they gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading” (Nehemiah 8:8). If a preacher understands his responsibilities well, he is not motivated to entertain people with jokes and anecdotes, or to impress them with his rhetoric, or to draw attention to his
creativity, but simply read and explain to the people the word of God so that they understand the reading.
5) “And they found it written in the Law that the LORD had commanded by Moses that the people of Israel should dwell in booths during the feast of the seventh month, and that they should proclaim it and publish it in all their towns and in Jerusalem, ‘Go out to the hills and bring branches of olive, wild olive, myrtle, palm and other leafy trees to make booths, as it is written’” (Nehemiah 8:14-15). Preaching seeks to motivate the congregation to obedience. The word heard with faith is also the word obeyed.
6) “And day by day, from the first day to the last day, he read from the Book of the Law of God. And they kept the feast seven days, and on the eighth day there was a
solemn assembly, according to the rule” (Nehemiah 8:18). It is hoped that correct preaching awakens a desire to hear more, that God’s people desire to know God better by hearing His word and its explanation daily.
If there are many comparisons between today’s reading and a Christian service, it
is because we desire to see the same good fruits as those in Nehemiah’s day through their attention to Sacred Scripture. May the clear, daily explanation of the Bible today continue to produce faith in Jesus Christ and repentance, obedience, praise and worship of His people toward Him.
Now that the defensive walls have been finished, there is still much to do before Jerusalem becomes a living city again: “The city was wide and large, but the people with it were few, and no houses had been rebuilt” (Nehemiah 7:4). He organizes the protection of the city (Nehemiah 7:1-3); remember that there was no guarantee their enemies would leave them alone. Note too, that it says, “Then God put it into my heart to assemble the nobles and the officials and the people to be enrolled by genealogy” (Nehemiah 7:5). His intent is very different from the one centuries earlier when: “Satan stood against Israel and incited David to number Israel” (1 Chronicles 21:1). The purpose this time is that some representatives from each family would come and repopulate Jerusalem. It is during this process that Nehemiah finds the genealogy list of the first group who came from exile to resettle Jerusalem (Nehemiah 7:5). Notice that many of them, instead of repopulating Jerusalem, settled in the countryside (Nehemiah 7:73). Therefore it is important for them to come back to Jerusalem; they need to see it once again as the center of their devotion to Yahweh and the center of their national and personal lives.
Notice too, the comparisons between the reading of the law in Nehemiah 8 and a traditional Christian worship service held today:
1) Ezra the scribe was on a wooden platform or pulpit that had been made specifically for the purpose of preaching and explaining Yahweh’s word (Nehemiah 8:4). In a traditional Christian church, the center of attention is not an altar but a pulpit where the word of God is read and the gospel (or good news) of Jesus Christ is read and
explained to the congregation.
2) “And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was above all the people, and as he opened it all the people stood” (Nehemiah 8:5). Today also, the most important part of a Christian service is the reading and explanation of the Bible. In Christian churches there is no theology of grace transmitted through sacraments; therefore, the center of a service is not a sacrament or rite. Instead, as the apostle Paul tells us, “Faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17). If “the righteous shall live by faith” (Romans 1:17), then hearing the word of God with faith is the highest point of the Christian service.
3) “And Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God, and all the people answered, ‘Amen, Amen,’ lifting up their hands. And they bowed their heads and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground” (Nehemiah 8:6). The reading and explanation of the Bible in a Christian service is not simply an intellectual exercise; the Spirit of Yahweh is present, and the reading and sermon is the axle for all expressions of blessing, praise and worship in the rest of the service.
4) “They read from the book, from the Law of God, clearly, and they gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading” (Nehemiah 8:8). If a preacher understands his responsibilities well, he is not motivated to entertain people with jokes and anecdotes, or to impress them with his rhetoric, or to draw attention to his
creativity, but simply read and explain to the people the word of God so that they understand the reading.
5) “And they found it written in the Law that the LORD had commanded by Moses that the people of Israel should dwell in booths during the feast of the seventh month, and that they should proclaim it and publish it in all their towns and in Jerusalem, ‘Go out to the hills and bring branches of olive, wild olive, myrtle, palm and other leafy trees to make booths, as it is written’” (Nehemiah 8:14-15). Preaching seeks to motivate the congregation to obedience. The word heard with faith is also the word obeyed.
6) “And day by day, from the first day to the last day, he read from the Book of the Law of God. And they kept the feast seven days, and on the eighth day there was a
solemn assembly, according to the rule” (Nehemiah 8:18). It is hoped that correct preaching awakens a desire to hear more, that God’s people desire to know God better by hearing His word and its explanation daily.
If there are many comparisons between today’s reading and a Christian service, it
is because we desire to see the same good fruits as those in Nehemiah’s day through their attention to Sacred Scripture. May the clear, daily explanation of the Bible today continue to produce faith in Jesus Christ and repentance, obedience, praise and worship of His people toward Him.
