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September 28th

The bible reading today is in Nehemiah 8-10.

The building of the wall around Jerusalem was completed. Now Nehemiah led the people in a dedication and a celebration pointing to what great things the Lord had done. He opened all the gates in the wall just after noon and the people poured into the city.

“And all the people gathered as one man into the square before the Water Gate. And Nehemiah told Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses that the Lord had commanded Israel.”

‭‭Nehemiah‬ ‭8:1‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people....and as he opened it all the people stood.”

‭‭Nehemiah‬ ‭8:5‬ ‭ESV‬‬

All the people gathered as one man to hear and receive the word of God from the scribe Ezra. What that tells me is that the Holy Spirit was working...moving God’s people to hunger for the Lord and His word.

They started listening to Ezra read the Pentateuch as the sun came up, at 6:am, and they listened for 6 straight hours.

That, my friends, was the work of the Spirit. It was the beginning of a genuine spiritual revival in Judah.

“Oh...Lord, do that again...do it among Your people today, Your churches in our nation. May the Holy Spirit move in our midst giving us a desire for God’s presence and for God’s word to us again.”

How did the people of Judah receive the words of God spoken by Ezra in Nehemiah’s day? "All the people stood...”

Out of respect for God’s man Ezra, and most importantly out of respect for the words of God...the people stood.

40 years ago, I had the privilege of preaching in a revival meeting in a village just outside Belize City, Belize, Central America.

People had walked 10-20 miles from their homes along the coast to get to where their church worshipped. After several songs, it was my turn to preach the Word.

I walked to the pulpit with excitement. And I turned and saw something that I had never seen. The people stood and applauded me, and then they remained standing for the duration of my 45-minute sermon. I was humbled beyond measure.

And the missionary walked to my side and asked if I would preach some more...they wanted to hear God’s words again.

By the way, it wasn’t their standing that inspired me. It was their hearts of love for everything Jesus.

Let’s listen to more of the people’s response to the reading of God’s words during those days of celebration.

“And Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God...And the people bowed their heads and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground.”

‭‭Nehemiah‬ ‭8:6‬ ‭ESV‬‬

And the people even wept, but Nehemiah exhorted them not to be sorrowful that day. That day was a “holy day” unto the Lord. So on that day they were to rejoice in the goodness of the Lord...for the joy of the Lord was their strength.

How awesome, there would be some solemn assemblies for the people of faith. But not today...they would throw a party and toast God their Savior.

Have a great day.