Glad you're here this evening. We are going to step into the book of Nehemiah again. I almost said Isaiah. Why not? Let's do Isaiah. We'll do all of Isaiah this evening. And we're going to do Nehemiah tonight. Work on Nehemiah chapter 7 and 8. Alright. The book of Nehemiah records for us the return of Jewish exiles to Jerusalem and the dramatic rebuilding of the wall that surrounded Jerusalem, thereby securing it and making it possible for the Jews, for Israel to possibly flourish again. All of the rebuilding of the walls, as we have seen, was accomplished in a dramatic fashion under tremendous opposition and difficulty, both from without and from within. And it was all accomplished under Nehemiah's leadership in the span of some 52 days. Pastor Rob, what did you say the dimensions of the wall were relative to Austin Bluffs? Maislin Circle Constitution Academy. OK, if you can kind of put that In your mind, if you can, if you know where all the streets are, but pretty, pretty big accomplishment in 52 days speaks well of Nehemiah's leadership for sure. But we would be wrong to say that the book of Nehemiah is merely about a construction project. Or that it's merely a book about good leadership. To be sure, it is both of those things, but it is not a book merely about those things. It is first and foremost a book about spiritual reformation. Spiritual reformation, a book which chronicles the calling of God's people to spiritual revival and reformation. The truth of that is seen at the very onset of the book, the very, from the very get go. If you look back at Nehemiah chapter one, can't go back much farther in Nehemiah than that. Nehemiah chapter one, verse three, Nehemiah is inquired about the situation in Israel. They said the remnant there in the province who survived the captivity are in great distress and reproach. And the wall of Jerusalem is broken down and gates are burned with fire. The place is a mess. It's lying in a big heap. And the people that are there are pretty discouraged about it. When I heard these words, Nehemiah says, I sat down and I wept and I mourned for days and I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven. I said, I beseech you, O Lord, God of heaven, the great and awesome God who preserves the covenant and loving kindness for those who love him and keep his commandments. Let your ear now be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer of your servant, which I am praying before you now, day and night on behalf of the sons of Israel, your servants confessing the sins of the sons of Israel, which we have sinned against you. I and my father's house have sinned. We've acted very corruptly against you. We've not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the ordinances which you commanded your servant Moses. Remember the word which you commanded your servant Moses saying, if you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the peoples. But if you return to me and keep my commandments and do them, though those of you have been scattered, we're in the remotest part of the heavens. I will gather them from there and will bring them to the place where I've chosen to cause my name to dwell. They are your servants and your people whom you redeemed by your great power and your strong hand. Nehemiah gets it. He knows that this is not an issue about walls and bricks and mortar. It's a spiritual issue. And that what the children of Israel needed was spiritual revitalization, reformation. Spiritual revival. and that if they would turn their hearts back toward God, God would be faithful to his word. He would bless them. He would cause them to return. He would once again cause Jerusalem to flourish and Israel to once again be a world power. The truth that Nehemiah is a book about spiritual Revitalization, spiritual rebuilding, spiritual reform is seen perhaps nowhere more clearly, though, in chapters eight, nine and 10. Of the Book of Nehemiah. Now that the walls are up, a fact declared in Chapter six, verse 15, the wall was completed on the 25th of the month of Elul in 52 days. Now that the wall is complete, the real work begins. Now that the gates are hung, the true reformation and rebuilding begins. You see, the walls of Jerusalem were not the only thing that was broken down. The broken down walls of Jerusalem serve as a great illustration of the overall spiritual condition of the people who lived inside those walls. They were spiritually in the rubble. Chapter seven in verse four. Nehemiah sees the need for people to live within the walls of Jerusalem, just practically speaking, people needed to live inside the walls, not the walls are up. The city needs to be inhabited. There's a certain there's a certain minimum number that's required to make this a viable city. And for whatever reasons, whether because of habit, because they had already settled outside the walls, it would be a lot of work to move and reestablish yourself inside the walls, or perhaps because things like water and sanitation were a little more easy to deal with outside the walls rather than inside the walls. Whatever the reason, people were choosing to live outside and not inside. And so Nehemiah says we've got to inhabit this city. Living inside Jerusalem's walls would be a sacrifice. And recognizing that it would be a sacrifice, at least for a time, Nehemiah wisely chose to distribute the assignment of who would live inside the walls equally among the clans of the people. And so that's why we find in chapter seven, this numbering of the people, a numbering of the people, which is essentially taken out of Ezra chapter two, verses one through 70. From this listing, from this census, this genealogy, Nehemiah would be able to equitably assign from among the families a proportionate amount of people to live within the walls and thus populate the city once again. Now that the walls have been rebuilt, security had been restored, The city had been populated. It was time to focus upon the spiritual restoration and revitalization of the people. And that's what we see happening in Chapter eight, all of Chapter seven is all about populating. Within the walls of Jerusalem and and the numbers of families there and all that's listed there is all about making sure that the right number of people were inside the walls and that that was an equitable process of who got assigned to live there and how many from each family. Chapter eight gets us into the spiritual revitalization. Now that the walls are built, security is attained and the city is populated properly. I do think that's interesting to note here that Nehemiah focused upon the security of the people before seeking primarily their spiritual reform. He realized there was a certain level of infrastructure that had to be established first and foremost. That they had to be secure, otherwise the message wasn't going to be really listened to. If you're constantly in fear of, you know, marauding bands of your enemy coming along, you're probably not going to listen real carefully to a message that is preached. But if you're in a position of relative security. When you've taken care of that, which is which is most egregious and the thing that is seems to be the greatest stumbling block in everyone's minds, now you have leveled things so that you can build on top of that, spiritually speaking. They had to have a safe environment established before the message could be preached effectively. Sometimes you have to stop the bleeding before you share the gospel. Unless, of course, death is imminent. The guy's dying, please share the gospel with him. But there are situations when you need to feed the starving so that they can hear the message over their rumbling stomach. You need to bring medical treatment to the ill so they will have a more favorable response potentially to the message. People don't feel safe. in our church or they think their kids won't be safe in our church, they're not going to be able to listen very carefully to what God's word has to say. And so there's a certain minimal level of infrastructure. Of minimization of distractions, of security. Of comfort. That is an aid to the word of God going forth. And that brings us to chapter 8 and the bringing of the word itself. Let me read for you from chapter 8, verses 1 through 12, and that's where we'll spend the majority of our time this evening. And all the people gathered as one man at the square, which was in front of the water gate. And they asked Ezra, the scribe, to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the Lord had given to Israel. Then Ezra, the priest, brought the law before the assembly of men, women, and all who could listen with understanding on the first day of the seventh month. He read it from before the square, which was in front of the water gate 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. Ezra, the scribe, stood at a wooden podium, which they had made for that purpose. And beside him stood Mattathiah, Shema, Ananiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, Maasaiah on his right hand, and Paddaiah, Mishael, Malkijah, Hashem, Hashbadanah, Zechariah, and Meshulam on his left hand. Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was standing above all the people, and when he opened it, all the people stood up. Then Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God, and all the people answered, Amen, Amen, while lifting up their hands. Then they bowed low and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground. Also, Yeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akub, Shebathai, Hodiah, Maasaiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jezebad, Hanan, Peliah, and 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. Then Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people, said to all the people, This day is holy to the Lord your God. Do not mourn or weep, for all the people were weeping when they heard the words of the law. Then he said to them, Go, eat of the fat, drink of the sweet, and send portions to him who has nothing prepared, for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength. So the Levites calmed all the people, saying, Be still, for the day is holy. Do not be grieved. 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. Heavenly Father, we ask that you to help us to understand the words that have been made known to us tonight. The words from Nehemiah 8 help us to see their significance and their application in our own midst. We thank you and pray these things in Jesus name. Amen. Well, chapter 8 and verse 2 tells us that all the people gathered together as one man on the square at the water gate. Kind of brings new meaning to Watergate, doesn't it? This was on the first day of the seventh month. In the Jewish secular calendar, this was equivalent to New Year's Day. So it was a big day, an appropriate day, a day that corresponded with the Feast of Trumpets. So there was a biblical feast happening at the same time, an appropriate time for a corporate gathering such as this. So this wasn't just out of the blue. This was the normal time when God's people would gather together. And that's exactly what they did. Now with the walls up, it's like having a brand new sanctuary, right? We might think of it that way. And the grand opening was on Easter, which churches often do, right? And so it's a big deal. And so everybody comes out and they are ready to gather together as one man, expressing their corporate identity, their oneness, their unity. And they asked Ezra, the scribe, to bring out the book of the law of Moses, which the Lord God had given to Israel. Come bring the book, read to us from God's word. There is a sense that the people were hungering. They had seen God's goodness to be faithful, to do what hadn't been done up to that point. To get it done in an amazingly short period of time, 52 days, they felt that security, that sense that God was blessing and they wanted to hear from God, and so they asked to hear from God's word. Ezra brought out the law. Ezra was a priest, a priest who had led a previous return of exiles 12 years earlier from captivity. Ezra chapter 7 and verse 10 tells us a little bit about Ezra, that he had set his heart as a priest to study the law of the Lord and to practice it and to teach his statutes and ordinances in Israel. Ezra is a good guy or bad guy. Good guy. Yeah. Thumbs up. Ezra. He wanted to know God's Word. He wanted to do God's Word. And he wanted to teach God's Word throughout Israel. That's a great description of a good teacher. Wanting to know it. Wanting to do it. Wanting to teach it. Well, the crowd assembles together, including all the men, all the women and all the children who could listen with understanding. The word of God is for everyone. Amen. The word of God is for everyone. It's not just for old ladies. It's not just for children. It is for everyone and everyone assembled together, regardless of their gender, regardless of their age, regardless of their background. The only consideration seems to be whether or not they were able to hear and understand. In other words, were they old enough to be able to, at some level, be able to comprehend what was being said, what was being read? Now, we tend to have very low standards on that. probably much lower than the people of Nehemiah's day would have had. We're talking probably only those excluded would have been the youngest among the people. Those toddlers, you know, who clearly are not getting a whole lot. But beyond that, they were very likely included. This was a corporate gathering. This was for everyone to come together as one man, which speaks, I think, positively of the of the value of the importance of us gathering together corporately on a regular basis and not segregating by age for every single event. And there are churches that do that, that the young people always have their own church. And they never gather corporately. May we never as a church do that. I don't want to see us ever do that. There's a benefit in being a young person over here and looking over here and seeing an older person and sitting a middle aged person sitting next to an older person and a young person sitting next to an older person. There's value in that. Seeing the span of ages. Singing praise to God and submitting themselves to the scriptures as they open the book and as they listen, as they take notes. People are watching, and I think one generation can be and have an influence on the next generation, and sometimes that's the younger generation having an influence on the older generation, positively speaking. And so there on the square, the people gather together for a very important purpose. Ezra stood on a large raised wooden platform. Some people think it was a built pulpit, but it was probably a platform that had been built so that all of these people who were standing next to Ezra and were helping and assisting in the process of reading the law for about five hours that day. Five hours. No PowerPoint. They did have some visual. That was important to them, that there was something to see so that the interaction between the reader and the audience could be somewhat dynamic. So the reader could see the audience and the audience could see the reader. So they built that. But aside from that, there wasn't much visually going on. This platform was big enough to hold 14 people. Verse five tells us that Ezra opened the book in front of everyone. And when he opened the book, which let's be clear here, this was not a codex. This was not a book like we know. Books didn't come around till much later. It was a scroll. When he opened the scroll, he unrolled it. The people immediately stood up. Came to attention. Out of respect for God's word. They all stood to their feet in unison. Ezra led the people then in worship by sharing a benediction before each reading. It says he blessed the Lord. Verse 6. He blessed the Lord, the great God, and all the people answered, Amen, Amen. Two amens showing strong agreement and a level of intensity. Amen, Amen. A practice first recorded in response to the Thanksgiving of David, recorded for us in 1 Chronicles 16, 36. That's the first instance we see of an Amen in Scripture. The people said, Amen, Amen. They lifted up their hands and they bowed low and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground. Again, an act of physical praise and humility and submission before the Word of God, showing themselves as being under its authority. The scriptures seem to consistently connect our physical posture and our worship. Now, there is a cultural element here. These are Jews. This is an Eastern culture, we live in a Western culture. Americans, however much they don't really care to admit it, in their worship are typically far more like the British in their expressiveness or lack thereof. At least in some churches, ours would probably be one of those. But the scriptures do connect. Our inner responsiveness to God. And our outer responsiveness to God. Often speaking of physical gestures of a bowing low, of raising hands, of clapping. In response to God. And I frankly think we could use a little more of that. No one wants to say amen. That's OK. We could, you know, it's not something I grew up with, but it's something I've grown into. You'll see me raise my hand occasionally. There is every place for that, and we need to be a church that's open to that. That doesn't mean you have to do it. You shouldn't do it if it's a show or if it's a If it's, you know, something that you're conscious of, conscious of. But there is a place for expressing physically what you're feeling internally. That's just biblical, folks, as I read it. At the very least, we ought to be a church that says, Amen, Amen. Thank you. Yes. Prime that pump long enough and it'll happen. So the people said, Amen, Amen. They lifted up their hands. They bowed low and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground. Showing their inward humility and submission to the authority of God's word over their lives. Ezra and the others gathered on this platform. They took turns reading from the law of God. As you can imagine, five hours of reading. You would need some breaks. If one person were doing it, that would be pretty tough. It also would help keep people's attention a little better if you change the reader every now and then. And so that seems to be what they were doing. Verse 8 also says that they were translating what they read. You see, the Old Testament scriptures were written in, by and large, Hebrew. The people, however, who have been living where. Right. Speak not Hebrew, but Aramaic, that's why certain sections of the scriptures are written in Aramaic like Daniel. The people didn't speak Hebrew, at least not very well, and so they they needed it translated into their mother tongue, which was Aramaic. But there, excuse me, but there seems to be going on here more than mere translation. There seems to be more than just giving you a word for word sense of what the text is saying, but rather a fuller explanation, a sense of expositing a little bit of what's there, unpacking it, giving you the fullest sense possible when you're going from one language to another. Forgive me. They were giving the sense of the passage so that the people could understand the reading. The point was giving them understanding. Helping them get the sense of what this text was saying. And so even then, even in Old Testament times, it was necessary to carefully explain the biblical text to help people see its implications and its applications to life. And this is what all good Bible teaching should do. It should be faithful to the text by giving the listener an accurate understanding of what God has said and what it means. And what was the people's response to the explained word of God? Look with me at verse 9. Then Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest, and the scribe, and all the Levites who taught the people, said to all the people, this day is holy for the Lord your God. Do not mourn or weep, for all the people were weeping when they heard the words of the law. The word of God simply read, accurately explained, and apply to their current situation. Oh, thank you, Marta. You can tell I got a tickle in my throat. I thought when I saw you get up, Marta, I thought, oh, she's mad. I've said something to her and that's really stepped on her toes. No, I'm just kidding. Thank you for that. The word of God, when it's explained. When it's applied. And when it's received by someone who has already submitted themselves to it, breaks the heart. By breaks the heart, I mean breaks the hardness of heart. Our hearts tend to be hard against the Lord. That is the natural rebellion that's born into us thanks to our for Father Adam. And the Word of God, when it's read, when we are ready to receive it. Breaks the hardness of our heart. And it reveals in us things that we didn't see before. Things that we were blind to before. And it causes us to have grief. And that's exactly what was happening here. The people were weeping when they heard the words of the law. They were like Isaiah when he was confronted with the picture of the holiness of God in Isaiah 6. You remember that? Isaiah says, Woe is me. I've just seen the Lord high and lifted up the train of his robe, filling the temple and all the smoke and the shaking, and and suddenly I realized that I'm an unclean man standing before a completely holy God. I'm in trouble. Woe is me. I'm an unclean man, I have unclean lips and I live among the people of unclean lips. Felt that conviction and it and it led him to humility, to repentance, to mourning over his sin. That's what happens when the word of God is exposed. To our hearts. But notice what the leaders instructed them to do. They said, listen, this is a day holy to the Lord your God, do not mourn or weep. This is not a time for mourning. There was a rightness to their mourning, but there was a wrongness to their mourning. It was the right response, but it wasn't it wasn't something that they should dwell in. It wasn't something that they should wallow in. Yes, they had broken God's law. And yes, there was a place for recognizing that and repenting from it. But having repented of it, it was time to celebrate. That God's people were responding to God's law in a way that honored him. And so they said to them, go eat of the fat verse 10 and drink of the sweet. And send portions to him who has nothing prepared. For this day is holy to the Lord. Don't be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength. Rejoice! Because you who were off track are now back on track. God, who was chastising us, is now blessing us. Restoring us to the land. Restoring the walls of Jerusalem. Providing for our security. And now restoring our hearts to Him. It was a time for rejoicing. It's a time to celebrate God's people as returning to God's word. Yes, their sins had been great, but God's grace was greater. God's mercy is far above any mercy of man. Any example of mercy you can think of, of one man showing mercy to another, is far exceeded by God's mercy to us. First Chronicles 21 13. David said this, please let me fall into the hand of the Lord. For his mercies, mercies are very great, but do not let me fall into the hand of man. Why? Because his mercies are not very great. Man's mercies are not great. feeble in comparison to the great mercies of God. God is merciful, and that's the point here. God is merciful. You're repenting. You're feeling remorse over that. Praise God. Now rejoice. Your sins are forgiven. Why? Because His mercy is great. It's time to give thanksgiving. It's time to rejoice. It's time to eat the fat. It's time to drink the sweet. It's time to share with those who don't have. It's time to celebrate. Why? Because this son of mine who was lost has been found. He's come home. Like the story of the prodigal son. It's time to slaughter the fatted calf. It's time to celebrate. We had to celebrate because this son of mine who was lost has been found. You see, the people having responded in grief were exhorted to gladness and celebration. And our worship, as we gather, should include both gravity and gladness. A heavy sense of the weight of our sin in the light of God's holiness, that is healthy. We're not we don't want to come and just have a spiritual picnia, a spiritual cheerleading session. We want to come face to face with our God, his greatness, his holiness, which necessarily causes us to look back upon ourselves and say, woe is me. And feel the gravity of that and the grief of that. Gravity that comes from seeing the blackness of our sins in the light of God's blinding holiness. But this gravity. that is produced by the conviction of the Holy Spirit through the word of God, this gravity must always give way to gladness or it will send us to despair. Gravity must always move you to gladness. Gladness that comes from seeing God's mercy to us in Jesus Christ. Gladness in knowing that our sins have been taken away, they've been paid for on Christ's cross. You see, without gravity, gladness is really just glibness. Without gravity, gladness is fleeting. It's shallow. Without gladness, our gravity, however. Is a black hole with no hope of ever getting out. We don't want to come and just mourn. We want to mourn so we can rejoice. The person who mourns over the sin, the person who takes a moment to take stock of their lives and realizes their life isn't what it ought to be. In the light of God's perfect holiness. Is also the person that. Can be moved to the heights of gladness, knowing that Jesus paid it all. Knowing that what was impossible to attain the perfect righteousness that God requires, Jesus Christ has attained it for us. What greater motive to gladness can there be? I can rest in Christ's righteousness. He has done it all. Therefore, I could be glad. Gravity, which is true and right and good, which is produced when the word of God is explained and the spirit of God applies that to the heart. Gravity must drive us to the cross of Christ and there we will find the eternal gladness. that our souls long for. It is the Word of God, read publicly, interpreted accurately, properly explained, that brings this gravity and this gladness. It brings reform and revival. Wherever the Word of God is faithfully proclaimed where people are teachable and submissive to that word, reformation and revival will be the result. And God's people are always in need of reformation and revival. There's never a place where you say, we've arrived, we're here, we're good, let's just maintain status quo. Are there not always areas of our life in need of reform? Are there not always areas of our heart that need reviving, that need quickening, that need the dust blown off of them and a holy revival sent in and new passion quickened within us? In Second Kings, chapter 22, it was recorded for us the reforms that took place under Josiah, the good King Josiah. They found the Bible. It had been collecting dust in some back room somewhere, and they did a construction project, and lo and behold, there was the book. We found the book. What book? Well, the book from God. Well, I guess we better read it. So they read it with open hearts, ready to receive what God had said, because Josiah was already open to that. He was already making reforms even before they found the book. But as a result of them finding the book, massive reforms went into effect. Why? Because God's word spoke. The people saw that they didn't meet God's standard. The people were broken over that and they began instituting these reforms. They began to change their lives, change their practices in response to God's written word. And that is an unending process that needs to be taking place in our lives. Constantly having our lives stand in front of Scripture, we sit under its authority. We say, speak, Lord, I'm listening, speak and I will obey. And when God's word speaks to us, We are convicted, we are grieved, we're moved to gladness and we're moved to change and reform. Where the word of God is faithfully proclaimed and where people are teachable and submissive to that word, reformation and revival will be the result. I want this for my own life. I want it for our church. constantly. This is not an event. It's a process ongoing for all of us. And it's the Word of God that is the agent that brings about the gravity and that ultimately leads us to the gladness at the cross of Jesus Christ. Heavenly Father, thank you for This all sufficient word gives us everything we need for life and godliness. Thank you that the church is to be the pillar and support of the truth, the place where God's word is held high, a place where God's word is faithfully taught. This is your design for the church. That the church would be reformed and ever reforming. That that process of reformation and revival wouldn't be an event, but it would be an ongoing pursuit. As your word is opened, as we submit ourselves to it, as we're confronted by who you are and what you require, and that produces in us grief. That takes us to the cross where he bore our sorrows. and produces in us ultimately gladness of heart, knowing that our sins are forgiven. What we couldn't do on our own, Jesus Christ has done fully. And we respond in wonder, love and praise. Make it so among us, we pray in Jesus name. Amen. God bless.