With the help of the Lord and the undaunted commitment of Nehemiah, the wall around Jerusalem is completed on October 2nd, 445 B.C. In chapter seven we learn that the gates were installed. People were appointed to serve and keep watch. Instructions for the security of the city were made. Here, at last, was Jerusalem. Not quite the same as she was in Solomon’s day, but there was finally some dignity in the place. She was no longer broken down and in shambles (compare Nehemiah 1:3).
Now, if you were the mayor of this
city, what would you plan next? A celebration,
right? Throw a party. Let there be dancing in the streets. Pass out a couple of bonuses. Why, in the past two months the people of
Israel did what others said would never happen - had tried to keep from
happening. However, despite the
opposition, the wall was completed. And
the adversaries even confessed that this happened with the help of Israel’s God
(Nehemiah 6:16). But instead of a party,
Nehemiah plans a community worship service.
Why? Because there was another
rebuilding that needed to take place
On the east side of the city, by what
is called the Gihon Spring, Nehemiah had a wooden platform constructed and
asked Ezra the Scribe to read the Book of the Law to the people.
(Nehemiah 8:1-11) In October, when the Israelites had settled in their towns, 8:1 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.
There are a lot of things that stand
out in this passage of scripture (when is the last time you’ve seen a crowd rise
to their feet and praise the Lord simply when someone opened their Bible?), but
one statement in particular caught my attention: why did the people cry? Why did they weep? At first glance I thought that perhaps they
were convicted because of the way their lives had not been honoring the
Lord. And to be honest, the Word of God should
convict us. I mean, without feeling
convicted of our sin, we will not recognize our need to be forgiven – our need
for a Savior. But see, up until this
city-wide construction project had begun, Ezra had already been teaching the
people. He had been in Jerusalem the
past 13-14 years calling people to obey the Word of God. So, it’s not like this was the first time
Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy had been read to them. But something caused these people to be
deeply impacted by the words of God this day.
What might it have been?
When Nehemiah arrived in Jerusalem,
not only did he discover the city needed a construction project, but he learned
that the “remnant” who had returned to the land also needed work; the people needed
Heart Reconstruction. And, as some of
you know, reconstruction is not just demolishing; it is also a rebuilding.
As the Levites wandered through the
crowd, they helped people connect the dots – helped them understand what was
being read. The Word became relevant
to them, especially in light of their recent experiences. I mean, think about it: in the last two
months, these former exiles were threatened, lied to, lied about, and ridiculed
by the non-Jewish people living in the region.
In fact, those from the other nations had been oppressing these Jewish
people for the past 74 years… ever since Zerubbabel led the first group out of
exile.
After years of being labeled
worthless, did these former exiles truly believe they were valued by God? Did they believe God would keep His promises
to them? For sure, some of the Heart
Transformation that was taking place was caused by a conviction of their past disobedience
(the “demolition” part). But these
descendants of Jacob – the people of Israel – were probably learning for the
first time of that God’s promises and His forgiveness even applied to them. This was their “rebuilding;” Helping these
former exiles understand that they too were included in the covenant God had made
to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
For example, imagine what it must have
been like for these people to hear the words of God in Deuteronomy 30.
(Deuteronomy 30:1-10) “In the future, when you experience all these blessings and
curses I have listed for you, and when you are living among the nations to
which the Lord your God has exiled you, take to heart all these instructions.
If at that time you and your children return to the Lord your God, and if you
obey with all your heart and all your soul all the commands I have given you
today, then the Lord your God will restore your fortunes. He will have mercy on
you and gather you back from all the nations where he has scattered you. Even
though you are banished to the ends of the earth, the Lord your God will gather
you from there and bring you back again. The Lord your God will return you to
the land that belonged to your ancestors, and you will possess that land again.
Then he will make you even more prosperous and numerous than your ancestors!
“The Lord your God will change your heart and the hearts of all your
descendants, so that you will love him with all your heart and soul and so you
may live! The Lord your God will inflict all these curses on your enemies and
on those who hate and persecute you. Then you will again obey the Lord and keep
all his commands that I am giving you today. “The Lord your God will then make
you successful in everything you do. He will give you many children and
numerous livestock, and he will cause your fields to produce abundant harvests,
for the Lord will again delight in being good to you as he was to your
ancestors. The Lord your God will delight in you if you obey his voice and keep
the commands and decrees written in this Book of Instruction, and if you turn
to the Lord your God with all your heart and soul.
This “remnant” that had returned from
exile perhaps finally understood just who they were in the eyes of God. And you can almost hear the Levites speaking
to the people, “See this wall? God made
you successful in this project because He delights in you.”
It’s been my observation that heart
reconstruction also includes learning that we are valued by God.
What does heart reconstruction
mean? From a Biblical World view, it
means we examine ourselves in light of scripture. We permit the Bible to speak into our
life. We stop comparing ourselves to
others and allow God to reveal who we are.
Sometimes heart reconstruction takes place when we hear the Word of God
– the Bible – and realize just how disobedient we have been (for example, we
learn that selfishness and arrogance are attitudes that dishonor God). But heart reconstruction also happens when we
fully understand just how precious we are to the Lord.
(John 15:13-14) There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for
one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command.
As the Apostle Paul describes it in Ephesians
2:1-5, Once you were dead because of your disobedience
and your many sins. You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world,
obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the
spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. All of us used to
live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful
nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone
else. But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we
were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the
dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!).
I understand that reading the Bible or
even listening to someone read from it can be difficult at times. There are passages of scripture that
point out our disobedience and sin. And
some folks like to merely point out just how often we fail to live according to
God’s standards. Today, I want to make
sure you understand just how much God loves you.
Maybe
the reconstruction that needs to happen in your heart is that the Father in
Heaven loves you so much that He sent Jesus to give you eternal life.
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