Trinity Evangel Church

We're nearing the end of the Ezra-Nehemiah record. A great remnant of Jews have returned to the land of Israel, just as the Lord promised. They have rebuilt the altar, they have rebuilt the temple (though not at its previous glory), and they have rebuilt the walls around Jerusalem (also not to its previous extent). It's been over 90 years since the first group came back, and there is still foundation level rebuilding to do. The intangibles are always tougher to build; hearts are harder to work with than wood and stones.

They are building on the Book. They didn't have a complete Old Testament in 445 BC, but they did have the "Law that was given by Moses the servant of God" (Nehemiah 10:29) and they resolve to obey it.

They wanted to understand the Book, so Ezra and the Levites read it (chapter 8). The more they understood, the more they recognized their disobedience, as well as the hardships brought by the disobedience of the previous generations, so they fasted and prayed and confessed their sins (chapter 9). And now they collectively consecrate themselves and commit to obey (chapter 10).

For them, it was worship or bust. “Or bust” is a way to say that one will do everything possible to get somewhere, or lose everything trying.

There is no verse that requires this kind of group resolution. There are verses that the group, and the individuals in it, are required to obey. But what we see here is an example of God's movement in a people, and what it looks like when the group recognizes and commits to live in obedience to the Lord.

English translations missed the chapter break by a verse, but after the corporate confession they make a corporate commitment.

Because of all this we make a firm covenant in writing; on the sealed document are the names of our princes, our Levites, and our priests. (Nehemiah 9:38)

This introduces the firm covenant in writing. The names come in verses 1-27, and the list is compact.

The ESV calls it a covenant, though the Hebrew word is not the usual word for covenant, not even the word used in chapter 9 in reference to the Abrahamic and Mosaic covenants. This word could be distinguished as a “binding agreement” (NIV), “a firm promise" (Kidner), a pledge or resolution, though the verb is "to cut" which often goes with covenant making. This is a “one-sided agreement” from man’s side. That it wasin writing made it easy to reference and hard to change.

When it comes to culture (re)building, where does it start? Is top down or bottom up the way? As usual, God can and has done it both ways, and uses both. For us, we're not at the top, so we obey where we're at. We also pray for God to put some obedience-lovers at the top, and that God would move them to get after it.

This list is almost just names, barely any extra comments. Priestly families signed in verses 2-8, Levites in 9-13, lay families in 14-27. These are signers of the document, though their signature probably counted as their seal.

Verse 28 resumes their promise, reiterating the kinds of people who are leading the way for the resolutions. Some of them had particular cultic vocations (priest, Levites, etc.) but it wasn’t limited to them. It’s all who have knowledge and understanding, old and young, male and female.

The key: join…and enter into a curse and an oath to walk in God’s Law that was given by Moses the servant of God, and to observe and do all the commandments of the LORD our Lord and his rules and his statutes (verse 29).

The curse owns the negative consequences of failing to follow the promise. “We will obey or bust.” The oath is a public statement of intention. All the people resolve to obey.

Halakot is a Hebrew word meaning “traditions applying the law to life” (Breneman) that guided daily norms. The term is rooted in the Hebrew verb halakh (to walk), implying a way of life or path to follow.

The rest of the chapter pulls out some particular parts of the law to obey, perhaps because they were either not being obeyed or because they were recognized as important. We could summarize the areas of particular commitment as family and worship.

We know that some of the Jews already had taken foreign wives. Ezra confronted this (Ezra 10). There the people acknowledged their guilt, not for failing to be racist, but for failing to be wholehearted in serving the LORD. Those men who married, or just brought into their house, women who served other gods almost always were pulled away from their responsibility to “have no other gods” (Exodus 20:3). This appears to be a renewed commitment not to water down the culture of worshipers.

We are not in quite the same position, but giving our daughters to unbelievers for (education let alone for) marriage is wrong.

"It is in vain to dream that congregations will be holy, if families be profane." —Vincent Alsop (17th century pastor)

The first time the Sabbath (capital S, or Sabbath proper) is referenced in the Ezra-Nehemiah record was Nehemiah 9:14, not just as history but in a list of good things given by God to His people. “You made known to them Your holy Sabbath” (Nehemiah 9:14).

What was different between then (after Egypt) and now (after Babylon) was the peoples of the land who were nearby enough to want to do business on the Sabbath. The Jews maybe weren’t buying and selling to each other or working themselves, but perhaps they weren’t as worried about buying from other sellers. This was an application of the Sabbath laws to the new situation.

There is also a sabbath year in the second part of verse 31, letting the land rest and relaxing debt collection.

We are also not in quite the same position, but there is a sabbath principle that continues to apply in honoring the Lord week by week.

When Cyrus decreed that captives could return to their homelands, part of his policy was to provide for their worship. It wasn’t because he converted, he was a syncretist; the more gods blessing him the better. But his money still bought resources/equipment for sacrifices, including for the Jews. Many Persian kings continued the policy.

Now that the Jews had been back for almost a century, it was time to start paying for worship things themselves. There wasn’t an exact law that required paying for the temple, but the third part of a shekel tax taken during a census provided an example of an obligation to provide for the service of the house of our God. You know things are serious when the people themselves resolve to pay taxes.

There are a variety of offerings in this final section.

Verse 34 is about making sure there is a wood offering, that is, that a regular supply of wood would be available for all the necessary fires.

Verses 35-37 are about the firstfruits and firstborn offerings, all of which help supply the livelihood of the Levites and temple servants and gatekeepers and singers. The Levites did have collection responsibilities, as well as their own tithe of the tithes (verse 38).

The last sentence summarizes the theme of the resolutions: We will not neglect the house of our God.

Houses, as in marriages, must be pure. So also the house of God, though different in our age, must be pure and provided for. Jesus said that the blessing of God’s presence would be for “true worshipers” who worship not in a particular place, but “in spirit and truth” (John 4:23-24).

Failing to uphold worship was worth a self-imprecatory curse. It was worship or bust.

And it was a group project. They had separated themselves as a group, and as a group they resolved to walk in God’s ways.

God's Word should be the joy of your heart, and then let your resolve be obedience or bust. "Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving." (Colossians 2:6–7)

[May your] hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. (Colossians 2:2–3 ESV)

One reason we have so many problems is because we keep killing children. By "we" I mean those of us in the United States and Washington State in particular. By "problems" I mean lack of justice and self-control as well as the prevalence of lies and the love of death. By "killing children" I mean abortion, whether by procedures in an office or a pills taken at home.

We have the blood of approximately 63–68 million abortions in the US since 1973 on our collective hands. For that we deserve more cultural judgment than we've actually gotten. We certainly ought to mourn, but we also have a mandate.

Solomon exhorted:

Rescue those who are being taken away to death;

It is SIN to be passive. Of course it is sin to kill. This context in Proverbs isn't war or capital punishment, where killing is lawful. It is a context of wrongful condemnation, of an attack on the weak by the wicked. Abortion certainly applies, even if there were other original applications. The stumbling means that they can't get their own footing, they can't stand up for themselves.

I've given exhortations before related to abortion, whether near Sanctity of Human Life Sunday (third Sundays of January, per a 1984 presidential proclamation by Ronald Reagan) or other times when something’s been in the news. We are holding our third June Life Jubilee this afternoon. And even following the example in Nehemiah 9 of how understanding the Book brought brokenness of heart, here is a great reason to confess and commit ourselves to obedience.

Our government, especially in our state, loves abortion. Our previous governor applauded his foresight to stockpile 30 thousand abortion pills (2023, Inslee only talked about mifepristone, which typically requires a second pill misoprostol, but it was to protect a woman’s “right”). We market ourselves to nearby states (such as Idaho) as a destination for death. "Come kill your unborn kids here." We’re in a culture that keeps calling abortion “women's health care” which sounds like it could have come straight out of the marketing department of the Ministry of Truth in 1984.

The Bible calls us to action: Rescue and hold back. This is a requirement. This isn't just mental wisdom, it's a righteous mandate to take action. Give extraordinary effort. Some things you must leave alone; don't join a quarrel that isn't yours (see Proverbs 26:17). But we're not talking about winning a dumb argument, we're talking about preserving an image-bearer's life.

We can be thankful for the overturning of Roe v. Wade in the Dobbs v. Jackson decision by the Supreme Court on June 24, 2022. We can be thankful for some loss of funding to Planned Parenthood and the closing of some clinics around the country. We can be thankful for the faithful voices that keep speaking out.

But, of course, the Dobbs decision did not make abortion illegal. There are no federal penalties for abortion, no nationwide ban on abortion. That decision by itself did nothing to rescue the unborn. It did stop providing some cover. Again, we give thanks for that step. The burden returned to state governments to legislate and enforce. But the convenience and privacy have increased. Our technology allows greater speed and secrecy, such as mail-order abortion pills via telehealth providers. So called shield laws allow shipping pills from WA to women in restrictive states without need to travel. We may not see the blood, we are not less barbaric.

None of it is hidden from God, including passivity. People like us know better. Those who kill are guilty, but those who make excuses are guilty of a different sin. God knows what we know. Does not He who keeps watch…know it?. He keeps watch over our souls, constant and comprehensive no matter if we’re behind closed doors.

We didn't need 3-D ultrasounds to know that there's a human being in the womb as soon as conception (Psalm 139:13-16); the ultrasound images do make more accountable. We didn't need undercover videos or abortion documentaries to know it was bad; those do bring some of the ugly up to the surface.

We might not say, "We did not know." We might say, "But what could we do?" If we ask that in self-defense to justify inactivity then we are just stating the quiet part of our cowardice out loud. We're saying we don't want to be bothered.

Church, yes, it is difficult in our day because we are bombarded by a stream of problems we should be bothered about. The meme format is too true: “I can’t believe it’s (bombing Iran) season already, I still have my (AI’s going to ruin everything) decorations up.” Doom scrolling, doom sermons. And, yet, what about the 106 abortions per hour in the US? I’m not trying to guilt us into action, I’m reminding us of the rescue mandate so we can avoid guilt.

So, if we truly ask, "what could we do about abortion" then here are some answers.

We rightly talk about ordered loves. We want to abound still more and more in love (Philippians 1:9). We want to love God with all our hearts and then our neighbors as ourselves. And this means war with sin and wickedness. It means that, by implication, we need ordered hates. We want to increase in our capacity to hate evil. We want to hate evil like God hates.

The fear of the LORD is hatred of evil.

There are six things that the LORD hates,

We have to grow up in soul, which means that our worship of God brings us joy, and it brings us hope in God's judgment.

Let the rivers clap their hands;

If our joy does not have judgment in the periphery, we need to open our eyes.

There are a lot of issues, but don't let foreign policy and taxation crowd on your compromise regarding killing kids. See 1 Timothy 2:1-2.

There is a moral weight to battle, yes, but also a weight of blessing and glory as the Lord builds our families.

The household responsibilities in Colossians 3:18-4:1 come before Paul’s own ministry and his exhortation to witness to outsiders in Colossians 4:2-6. Our families are part of our platform to speak the truth.

Is online life “real” life? It's part of it, and certainly a place where some public conversation happens these days. So why not do your part? Sure, as in all things, be wise as serpents and harmless as doves (Matthew 10:16). Be clear about God's pure justice and God's abounding grace to those who repent. Distinguish between those who crusade for abortion and those who are running from the culture of death who need gospel. “Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them” (Ephesians 5:11).

“But it will make me seem judgmental?” It just might.

Pray, give money, participate in events, share links (Abort73.com). This would include adoption (Antioch Adoptions) and foster care ministries. Join us at the Jubilee this afternoon.

All of this is what the gospel is good for!

The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead. (Acts 17:30–31 ESV)

Part of what we can do is give thanks to God for even small steps on the path of life. Singing psalms in the park, together, thanking the Lord for His movements, seeking His judgment on evil doers, asking His forgiveness for our passivity, and His mercy to rescue the unborn from slaughter. May He bless it, and us.

We have a rescue mandate. Don’t turn away.

If you faint in the day of adversity,

You who have believed in God must be careful to devote yourselves to every good work. You have a rescue mandate for those who are being taken away to death. You who are justified by His grace have work to do. This is glory to God and profitable unto men! (Proverbs 3:11; Titus 3:1-8)

But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Christians confess sin. We don't properly call the men in Nehemiah 9 Christians, because there weren't "Christians" until Christ's disciples got hit with that derogatory feedback in Antioch. But the point is, when men read and understand the Book, they understand their need to confess.

Nehemiah 9:1-37 is a corporate confession. The people acknowledge their unfaithfulness as a people not just as individual persons. For generations God kept being faithful to His Word to them, and for generations God's people cycled through disregard and disobedience until He humbled them. They had reason to confess.

Starting in the last part of verse 5, we're reading a public prayer that is a little preachy. It is a prayer to God, and it has some reminders and exhortations meant for all present. There is a lot of history, some good theology, and it leads into a covenant renewal in chapter 10.

We're on the 24th day of the seventh month; a lot has happened. They've assembled for reading of the Word and worship, they've dispersed for feasting and fellowship. They've assembled again for the Feast of Booths, dispersed for a short period of time. There's been a lot of Bible, and the understanding has included an understanding of their sin. So the voices up front lead in praise and prayer.

After blessing God's "glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise" (verse 5), the prayer follows six movements of God. God moves in creation, in the call and covenant with Abram, in the Exodus of Israel from Egypt, in leading them in the wilderness, in bringing them into the Promised Land, and moving in their confession.

Want to rebuild a culture? Get right with God.

There really isn't any other God like God. He made the earth and everything on earth, the waters and everything in the waters, and the sky and everything in the sky, even beyond what we call sky. The heavens and heavenly bodies, planets and suns and moons and stars.

He is God and LORD. While His rule is comprehensive, and so not a limited/local deity, He is also the particular God who has revealed Himself as Yahweh, the "I am."

And unlike what we refer to as deists, who claim that God made the cosmos but who leaves it alone to run for itself, God preserves all the life and laws of nature.

The God who has a particular name--LORD, called a particular man by name--Abram, and then even changed his name. The LORD chose and called Abram and then made a covenant with Abram. Not mentioned, but we know that the Abrahamic Covenant was unconditional, even as illustrated by God's form alone passing between the halves of the sacrifices (Genesis 15:10, 17-20). This is the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous.

Not only did God call Abram out of one land, God promised Abram another land. It was occupied by some -ites, but the covenant included generations/seed (see verse 2) and geography/land. This is part of the reason for the prayer: the offspring were back in Israel because you have kept your promise. The Lord kept showing His faithfulness to His Word even as they waited for Him to bring about the rest of the promises (namely in the coming and ruling of the Messiah in Jerusalem).

We know that the original covenant included blessings for all nations (Genesis 12:3), but there was a particular nation that God determined to show His faithfulness to.

Isn't this the defining corporate event of the Old Testament? Even in the Ezra-Nehemiah narrative, the return of the Jews from Babylon is compared as a second exodus.

Their return from Babylon started when God moved the Persian king's heart, which maybe wasn't quite as miraculous as the 12 plagues or the parting of the Red Sea, or leading them by a cloud-pillar and fire-pillar. But God made a name for [Him]self, as it is to this day.

The Lord gave them special revelation, including the Sabbath Day and His statues. He provided, both direction and food, but they complained. This is the cycle. Even when Moses was on Mt. Sinai getting the two Tablets, the people were making an idol. They wandered for forty years, while God took care of them (verse 21), and the older generation passed rather than being taken captive or killed.

Presumptuous and stiff-necked. Willfully forgetful and unyielding. This may be the dominant tune of the prayer: amazing grace followed by amazing ingratitude. They…acted presumptuously (verse 16), as in, without consideration, they were not mindful (verse 17). They stiffened their neck. It wasn’t a one time deal, it was their pattern.

And this is the key note, middle C, so to speak. Everything comes back to this: But you are a God ready to forgive, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love, and did not forsake them (verse 17).

There are steps forward, and then crashing. What obvious success God gave in verses 22-25, and then how almost unbelievable it is that the people treat God as irrelevant. They got fat on God’s goodness. Nevertheless (verse 26), they turned their backs to the law. It had to get so bad that they called for help, until they stiffened their necks again. The only thing that abounds more than their sin is God's great mercies (verse 31).

They only make one request: that God remember their hardships. Of course, they also deserved every hardship, because even with all the good given by God they did not serve Him or turn from their wicked works. They referenced the recent past, since the time of the kings of Assyria until this day, 722 to 445 (277 years).

Yet you have been righteous (verse 33).

But this is part of the new turning. This is acknowledgement of God's greatness, power, and steadfast love. He is the God who keeps covenant. They know they need Him, and more of this commitment in chapter 10.

Corporate confession belongs with worship. It also belongs with rebuilding culture.

The Word is light. Exposure to the Word, and understanding of the Word, will shines on God's glory, might, promises, faithfulness, mercies, and provisions. And, the clearer we see God the less great we see ourselves to be in reflection.

This is a reason why some prefer theologically poor/weak messages. It's hard to feel good about yourself when you really reckon with God. His faithfulness is convicting, let alone His holiness.

He is the LORD our God;

If you would leave a great example for your grandchildren, learn from the examples in the Book (1 Corinthians 10:6-13, 31, 11:1). Don't desire evil. Don't just play. Don't indulge in sexual immorality. Don't grumble. Give thanks. Trust God when tempted. Do all to the glory of God. Imitate Christ.

The LORD our God be with us, as he was with our fathers. May he not leave us or forsake us, that he may incline our hearts to him, to walk in all his ways and to keep his commandments, his statutes, and his rules, which he commanded our fathers. (1 Kings 8:57–58 ESV)

The book of Nehemiah is as much about reforming the culture of God’s people as it is about God’s people rebuilding the wall around the city. The completion of the wall was a big deal. It caused the surrounding people to take notice. Yet just a week after finishing that project all the people gathered again and told Ezra to bring the Book and read it and explain it so that they could understand. There was more to do.

What’s the first thing the people did when they understood the reading? They mourned and wept (Nehemiah 8:9). They were humbled by their disobedience to the Law. But that first day of the seventh month was supposed to be a day of celebration not introspection. “This day is holy to our Lord,” so Ezra and the Levites told the people to stop grieving and get feasting. “Do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength” (Nehemiah 8:10). The people went their way and made great rejoicing. Not long after that the people responded to the Book’s instructions about the Feast of Booths. They heard the Law read every day for another eight days in a row, from the 15th to the 22nd.

Nehemiah 9:1 refers to the “twenty-fourth day of this month.” It sure does seem like we’re just two days later. But when they assembled again it was “with fasting and in sackcloth, and with earth on their heads.”

This raises questions for attentive Bible readers. Did the people really go from rejoicing back to grieving? From feasting back to fasting? Yes. It wasn’t because they needed to slim down after eating all the fat and drinking the sweet wine. It was because they still had conviction in soul before the Lord. All of Nehemiah 9 is about the group recognition of the people’s need for God’s faithfulness. Verses 6-37 are a prayer of corporate confession.

Perhaps we could get a taste of the change in tone by comparing it to the inauguration of a new president. It’s a big day, a day for pomp and circumstance, for ceremonial celebration. It’s not a time for mourning but a time for music and parades and party food. And yet, when everyone arrives in their government office a few days later, and starts reading through all the documentation of problems, especially in light of the new administration, you might grieve how bad it’s been all over again. Depending on your beliefs you might think it’s worth a call for a day of national repentance.

It’s this but much more in Nehemiah 9. We’ll introduce the scene today and consider the actual corporate confession in verses 6-37 next time.

The Feast of Booths was finished (per Nehemiah 8:18), but two days later they are gathered again.

Now on the twenty-fourth day of this month the people of Israel were assembled with fasting and in sackcloth, and with earth on their heads. And the Israelites separated themselves from all foreigners and stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers. And they stood up in their place and read from the Book of the Law of the LORD their God for a quarter of the day; for another quarter of it they made confession and worshiped the LORD their God. (Nehemiah 9:1–3 ESV)

The Israelites are the “seed” or “descendants of Israel” (NASB) (verse 2), a particular people with particular covenants from God (more on those promises in the prayer itself).

Fasting is giving up good things for sake of acknowledging that you have not done good things. Food is good, comfortable clothes are good, and clean faces are good. Sackcloth is rough and so uncomfortable fabric, and dirt/earth on the head is abnormal.

They confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers. It was in response to the Book. As they heard the history, as they compared their current situation, they recognized the glory of God and their failures to follow His commands. It was another six hour service. If the day was calculated as the light rather than also the dark, a quarter of the day would be three hours for reading and another three for confession and worship.

This description probably isn’t after but rather overlapping with verses 1-3.

On the stairs of the Levites stood Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani; and they cried with a loud voice to the LORD their God. Then the Levites, Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah, said, “Stand up and bless the LORD your God from everlasting to everlasting. Blessed be your glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise. (Nehemiah 9:4–5 ESV)

There are two lists of eight names, five of which overlap. There is only a slight difference in what they did, perhaps indicating that they had different parts in leading the worship. Maybe there was what we’d call a “Crying Team.” The stairs probably lead to the platform (see Nehemiah 8:4).

They’ve already been worshipping, and also, verse 5 functions as a sort of call to worship. It begins the recorded prayer which continues through the rest of the chapter.

Feast or fast? Which is more spiritual, more holy? We can do BOTH in the flesh, we can do both in the Holy Spirit.

As one of the shepherds, I’d say that the one we need to work on most, corporately, is still feasting. Or consider which should we work on more, confession or communion? We could say, YES, both. It’s true that communion is wrong if we carry our sin to the table. But Christ died for our sins, to redeem us for eternal rejoicing not eternal remorse and regret. We are not headed to the great Intermittent Fasting of the Lamb, but to the Supper of the Lamb.

It is right to remember that God is holy, and it is crucial to remember that we need Him. So get good at loud shouts of praise and stillness before the Lord, at great feasting and humble fasting.

The name of the Lord your God is glorious, exalted above all blessing and praise. He is yours and you are His. Christian, you have worshipped and blessed Him, so go to your week of work with His blessing. Trust Him to make your paths straight and give you grace and peace.

The LORD bless you and keep you;

Sean Higgins, Jim Martin, and Grant Weinberg introduce some new options for Comeford College students in partnership with Christian Halls International.

This whole chapter has been about the centrality of Scripture to the life of God's people. In the days of Ezra and Nehemiah a new wave of Israelites had returned to their homeland. They'd built a wall together. And now the cultural reformation continues as they focus on the Book.

The people told Ezra to bring the Book. He opened it and read it and gave the sense so that people could understand it. When they did understand, they wept, certainly because they realized the standard of God's holiness that they had not met. But Ezra tells them to stop grieving because “the joy of the Lord is your strength." Then most of the people returned home and shared the fat portions and sweet wine and made great rejoicing.

In the last paragraph of Nehemiah 8 we see that those who heard the Word also were eager to do it. They came across instructions about the Feast of Booths, and they understood that they needed to obey the Book.

It is hard enough to understand the tax requirements, and it is not enough to understand the letter from the IRS. Pay up. It is hard enough to understand the instructions for putting together a bookshelf, but, if you want to use it, understanding should enable building. Attach the pieces. So with God’s Word: it is hard enough to understand (in some places), and it is not enough to understand without obedience. There is milk and there is meat, but it is not enough to leave the food on the plate. Eat up. Obey the Book.

The "first day" (8:2) included all the people, the second day is a smaller Bible study.

On the second day the heads of fathers houses of all the people, with the priests and the Levites, came together to Ezra the scribe in order to study the words of the Law. (Nehemiah 8:13 ESV)

The whole congregation had gathered and now it’s only a select group, especially those who would be responsible to spread the message and meaning. Most of the people went home, "all the people went their way" (verse 12), back to their towns away from the city. Those who remained, who represented, went back in order to study the Book. They wanted to understand more.

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)

The Feast of Booths, also called the Feast of Tabernacles, was a seven day memorial to start on the fifteenth day of the seventh month. Since the Bible study was on the second day, this gave time for sending the message out to the towns and give them time to prepare. We'll talk about the purpose of this feast in a moment.

Missing from the record is the Day of Atonement, to be observed on the tenth day of the seventh month. It's an argument from silence, but it does point out again that the emphasis here is not on the priestly/blood work but on the preaching/Book work (though of course we learn what blood is good for in the Bible).

For all the disruption there had been for most of them over the last three to six months, they obeyed yet another change to their schedule.

So the people went out and brought them and made booths for themselves, each on his roof, and in their courts, and in the courts of the house of God, and in the square at the Water Gate and in the square at the Gate of Ephraim. (Nehemiah 8:16 ESV)

The booths were temporary tents. It would have been an unmistakable sight, sort of like tents popped up all around the city on roofs (which were usually flat), or in their yards, or even in the shared spaces; family camping in the square. (See Leviticus 23:39–43 for the rules.)

And all the assembly of those who had returned from the captivity made booths and lived in the booths, for from the days of Joshua the son of Nun to that day the people of Israel had not done so. And there was very great rejoicing. (Nehemiah 8:17 ESV)

Just as the people had a mind to work, so they have a mind to camp in this ceremonial fashion. All the assembly did it.

The Feast of Booths was an annual reminder of the 40 years of wandering in the wilderness. God delivered His people from their captivity in Egypt, and now He had delivered them from captivity in Babylon. This is a second exodus, and so this Tabernacle time had double reasons for remembering God's kindness.

The statement that they hadn't done it since the days of Joshua requires a little more attention, mostly because Israel had participated in the Booths Feast in King Solomon's day (2 Chronicles 8:13), King Hezekiah (2 Chronicles 31:3), and King Josiah (2 Chronicles 35:18). Even after the first return with Zerubabbel (Ezra 3:4). One reasonable explanation is that the Feast had been a remembrance of God's harvest blessings but not a remembrance of the exodus, provision more than deliverance.

It may also have been different because of their collective joy. And there was very great rejoicing. Will you have greater rejoicing through obedience that causes disruption or through disobedience to maintain order?

And day by day, from the first day to the last day, he read from the Book of the Law of God. They kept the feast seven days, and on the eighth day there was a solemn assembly according to the rule. (Nehemiah 8:18 ESV)

It was a week-long event, a seven day family camp. They had to stop their other work, they fellowshipped, and they heard the Book read every day (see Deuteronomy 31:12-13).

Then on the eighth day they had a solemn assembly, which could be understood as sort of a final or “closing ceremony.” It was allaccording to the rule.

The beauty of this chapter has at least a few deep colors.

Theology understood is for our joy. Obedience in light of that understanding is further joy. The Book, the understanding, the joy and obedience, is for all. Really, it’s for all, including moms who get to show off that the joy of the Lord is their strength while helping little souls understand the Lord and His Word.

You might be great in theology and poor in joy. Let the clutch out of your theology, it's not done yet. You might be often joyful and weak in theology. Let the roots of your joy go deeper. Those roots will be especially helpful when hard winds blow.

Adjust your days to the Book for your blessing. Obey the Book.

These are God-given and good and exhausting days. To be fruitful you must do two things.

One: you must go to bed at a reasonable time; the Lord gives His beloved sleep.

Two: you must take time to remember the Lord's joy. The Lord gives His beloved STRENGTH according to His joy.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. (Romans 15:13 ESV)

When a man understands God, what does he understand about God? What is at the center of the picture? What takes up most of the image? When a man understands the Word of God, what is the pith and marrow of the message? When a man understands all this, what results? How does, how should, he respond?

There are multiple good answers. I am introducing this sermon this way about this paragraph of Scripture because I observe a connection. I want us all to understand, and to understand as clearly and truly and fully as possible. And we don't want to be simplistic; the Lord is one, but not narrow.

We would not be wrong if we said that our central understanding of God is that He is holy. “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty” (Revelation 4:8, see also Isaiah 6:3). We see in Nehemiah 8:9-12 that God's holiness is inescapable for those who understand. All the secondary students at ECS have just started reading The Holiness of God, a classic book on the crucial and convicting reality. God's holiness is His otherness; “He is so far above and beyond us that He seems almost foreign to us" (Sproul). We will understand more and praise His holy name forever (Psalm 145:21).

And, what happens to those who understand His holiness and then understand their lack of it, and therefore understand that they have no ground to approach Him on their own? God graciously calls them to understand that His holiness is for their good. He calls them to understand that it is His joy to share His joy so that they can enjoy Him and His gifts and His people.

Beloved, the Lord's joy is your strength. That includes your joy in the Lord, but it is the Lord's joy in you first.

This is almost impossible to understand. We, especially the Book-reading, doctrine-driven people, often don't really understand. We miss God Himself. So did Eve, if not Adam. The serpent deceived Eve into believing that the central truth about God was that He was a killjoy. It was as if God’s main attribute was His determination to prohibit or eliminate joy. She bit on a wrong understanding.

Fast forward to Jesus explaining to His disciples that He came so that His joy would be in them and that their joy would be full (John 15:11). When we abide in the vine, the life of the vine gives life to the branches and through the branches into fruit. That fruit is not unholy, but it is also not unhappy.

Jesus' joy is your strength, the sap for your obedience that isn't burdensome but good for you.

In Nehemiah 8, it was the first day of the seventh month, and the people gathered as one in Jerusalem. They told Ezra to bring the Book of the Law of Moses. They listened as he read from a platform for a full morning. They wanted to understand. There were other men among the crowd who helped them to understand. From verses 9-12 we see the first fruit of their understanding.

Ezra and Nehemiah and the Levites prohibit the people from dwelling on their grief. They enjoin/urge the people to remember the Lord’s joy.

And 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 wept as they heard the words of the Law. (Nehemiah 8:9 ESV)

In terms of details in the text, Nehemiah and Ezra are mentioned together for the first time. They are both named in the third person, and this convinces certain readers that it couldn't have been true. A later copyist must have put them together. There really are reasons to doubt anything if you want to.

In terms of the emphasis of the text: the understanding givers say, “Stop your crying.” But, isn't the peoples’ grief more godly?

The law reveals God's holiness and His commands for those who would live consecrated lives. The law also reveals the consequences for those who disobey, whose lives were profane. The people had been listening to the law and its meaning for hours. They understood. Wouldn't it be a holy response to be convicted about their unholy state? Who knows how many new disobediences were revealed to them? To properly honor the holy God why isn't a grieving admission of unholiness not right?

There is a time for mourning and weeping over our sin. That is an early fruit of understanding. But mourning is not the most mature the fruit will get. Godly grief will get on to gladness. Fasting is not the last meal.

Then he/Ezra said to them, "Go your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to our LORD. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength. (Nehemiah 8:10)

Because this day is holy it was a day for celebration (Feast of Trumpets) for food and fellowship, not for commiseration, nor a call for more introspection or isolation.

The fat was the more costly parts, the “choice meat.” It wasn't waste. The sweet (wine) probably meant it hadn't had all the time to ferment; don't wait, don’t get the old wine where the yeast has eaten up all the sugars. To send portions was a kind of Perfect Potluck I suppose, because generosity fits with joy. No feasters left behind.

It is the end of verse 10 that requires more meditation. for the joy of the LORD is your strength. In this kind of phrase, “joy of the Lord” could either the Lord as target/object or the Lord as source/subject of joy. If target, it's a man's joy toward the Lord. If source, it's the Lord's joy in the man. It has to be this latter. The men were full of grief, and Ezra wanted them to understand divine and objective joy.

God’s joy is God’s own. His joy is, it precedes and proceeds. His joy spills over. His sovereign joy is our strength. It is eternal, infallible, and communicable. Sure, joy is His strength, but His joy is also our strength.

If they had not been convicted before the Lord’s law, they weren't ready for the Lord’s joy. And then if they would not go into His joy, they weren't truly understanding the Lord's joy. So properly understood, God’s holiness is not a killjoy, it is a birthjoy, a boostjoy, a fueljoy.

Ezra, who studied and practiced and taught the law, believed that the fruit of understanding was an energy that stands a man upright, an energy that carries a congregation forward. This strength comes from understanding that God delights in Himself and His work. This is the central message of Genesis through Deuteronomy.

I get that the apostle Paul points out the limitations of the law. And at the same time, the psalmist said to delight in the law day and night, that the law was more sweet and desirable than honey. The law is good because it reveals the joy of the Lord. Again, yes, it shows the standards of holiness and the consequences of rebellion. But the primary concern is the joy of the Lord for those who understand.

The Levites hit the tuning fork again.

So the Levites calmed all the people, saying, "Be quiet, for this day is holy; do not be grieved." And all the people went their way to eat and drink and to send portions and to make great rejoicing because they had understood the words that were declared to them. (Nehemiah 8:11-12 ESV)

Repeated phrases and ideas between verses 9-10 and 11-12:

They went off to have a party. They went to feast. The fruit of their understanding was extended joy, embodied joy, and extravagant joy.

What you get when you get understanding is truth, holiness, and joy. Understanding leads to both fasting (9:1) and feasting. Understanding of God’s holiness and God’s Word that is never sweet and strong is wrong.

Against pretense, against gloom, and against biblical blues and blahs. Against grieving that loves to look in the mirror, against grieving that curves in on itself. It’s a serious thing to serve the Lord with joyfulness and gladness of heart (Deuteronomy 28:47).

The Lord’s joy is your strength! We are working for progress and joy in the faith! Amen, amen!

Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His joy.

If you do this well, people will think there is something wrong with you. Don't you see how bad things are?

Ah, but the Lord sees even more. He is not a killjoy, nor can His joy ever die. And the Lord's joy is your strength.

Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen. (Jude 1:24–25 ESV)

This is an explanation of the work of MATA/Mission Aviation Training Academy by Doug Nunziato.

From God's Word we know that it's possible to have knowledge without love (1 Corinthians 13:2), and that's no good. We also know it's possible to have zeal without knowledge (Romans 10:2), and that is also no good.

We are transformed by the renewing of our minds. Does that mean that transformation begins and ends in our heads? Of course not. The great commandment is not: Think Correctly about the Lord your God. And also, can we love Him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength by cultivating ignorance? May it never be.

Understanding is an asset. It's not the end, but we won't get to the end without it. Understanding is a gift from God. He's given us so much for sake of increasing our understanding. He gives teachers (Ephesians 4:11), He gives His Spirit (John 16:13; 1 Corinthians 2:12), He has given His Word.

In Nehemiah 8, the people want to understand the Book. They have a mind to want the Word. They tell Ezra to bring the Book of the Law of Moses. He stands on a platform built for the purpose of reading and explaining the Book so that they can understand. There are some other men who also help the people understand. It’s for men and women and all who can understand.

We will see the fruit of their understanding in the second half of the chapter. Understanding brings conviction of sin and humility, understanding brings joy and fellowship, understanding brings readiness to obey. But it's understanding that leads the way.

In verses 1-5 we saw that the people requested the reading of the Book, they listened to the reading of the Book, and they honored the reading of the Book. In verses 6-8 we'll see that the people responded to the reading and that they were helped to understand the reading.

This is all part of their service of worship.

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 ESV)

As Ezra read he couldn't help but praise the Lord. This might have been a repeated part throughout the morning; he'd read a section and bless the LORD, the great God and the people would agree. Amen, Amen. Yes! This is it! "So let it be!" During this part of their response they were lifting up their hands. That may seem strange to some of us; the Book people were doing that, can you believe it? Lifting hands here expresses dependence. They acknowledged the giving God as they reached out to Him in dependence.

Then they bowed their heads ... with their faces to the ground. Up and then down, they yielded and acknowledged the glorious God in humility and reverence.

This was part of what happens with understanding. Was anyone there just going through the motions, blending in with the group, playing at religious externals? That's definitely possible. And yet understanding has consequences, including embodied responses.

Verse 7 gives a new set of names, explains more of what was happening, and verse 8 summarizes.

Also [thirteen of] the Levites, helped the people to understand the Law, while the people remained in their places. They read from the book, from the Law of God, clearly, and they gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading. (Nehemiah 8:7-8 ESV)

It's a different list of names than the 13 in verse 4 and they are in a different location. These men are not standing on the pulpit beside Ezra but out among the people.

There turns out to be a good amount of detail missing from verses 1-8. Here are some of the questions. Were the men in verse 4 additional readers, or show of support? How often did the "Amen, Amen" happen? How were the men named in verse 7 divided up? Was there a cycle of reading, blessing, amen-ing, small group discussing, and then repeat? Verse 3 implies that Ezra read, and that he read all morning. But the reading and explaining in verses 7-8 took place while the people remained in their places, not house to house, so still that morning before they dispersed for a late lunch (verse 12).

The lack of those details actually puts the principle actions up front. Bring the Book, open the Book, read the Book, praise the great God of the Book, explain the Book so that people can understand the Book. The people want to understand, and those who do understand help the others understand.

There a couple meanings for what verse 8 means, ironically. They were "translating to give the sense" (NASB), "making it clear and giving the meaning" (NIV), "explaining...and imparting insight" (NET). They read…clearly, and they gave the sense (ESV). It's not just that the text was in a different language (though many of the Jews may have been speaking Aramaic and needing help with the Hebrew), but that attention was giving to the meaning of the text. So there would be grammar, history, context. There could have been some questions (not just received from the people, but put to the people), to see what was confusing, what needed more explanation.

The word in ESV, clearly, has the idea of “to make distinct” or “to divide in parts.” It’s observation and analysis, breaking it down to examine in detail. It might be a verse, a paragraph, a bigger chunk that belongs together.

We call this exposition. To exposit means “to put (the meaning of a text or idea) out.” Exegesis is drawing meaning out (interpreting), exposition is taking the meaning and setting it forth in front of others (teaching), laying it out for all to look at. This was Ezra’s life: “Ezra had set his heart to study the Law of the LORD, and to do it and to teach” (Ezra 7:10).

We’ve been given more to understand. All they had in 445 BC were the five Books of Moses. In AD 2025 we have 66 Books, and 2400 years more of God’s work. That said, we also have more helps to understand, including complete copies of the Canon. We have portable, printed copies, some of which have little permanent Levites at the bottom of the page giving the sense. Amen, amen!

Helping others to understand more is a project for many. By the time of the New Testament, it appears that local congregations should have a plurality of elders. And if elders are equipping the saints for the work of ministry (Ephesians 4:12), part of what that includes is equipping more explainers (2 Timothy 2:2). Focus on the few to reach the many. Amen, amen!

We don't have to do it all on one day. We can travel more easily than those in Nehemiah's day who were still living “in their towns” (Nehemiah 7:73). We don't have 5-6 hour services; they weren't doing that every week either. We have some other parts of our Lord's Day liturgy (though they all center around God’s Word), and then we have some other meetings for sake of that further explanation and exhortation and encouragement and equipping.

I've heard it referred to as the Air War and Ground War. Explaining the Book (read, reprove, exhort, comfort) is one and the same "war," but there's a public effort and private effort. Paul himself taught "in public and from house to house" (Acts 20:20). So we open the Book in this larger group setting for sake of understanding, and then we look at it again, with questions and discussions, in our smaller group settings later in the week. Pastors participate, and also, there are other leaders who help spread understanding.

Sometimes I think about this part of the process as driving a dump truck through the front wall of thinking and opening up some space for our L2L leaders to look in to your mental house and see what's happening. Is there understanding? Is there understanding with resistance? Is there misunderstanding, partial understanding, purposeful misunderstanding, no interest in understanding? Is there hearing of the word, but not doing?

This is the church angle, but this does not replace dads and moms with their kids, it should help dads and moms understand and pass on that understanding.

Let's Make Understanding Great Again (MUGA). This does not have to be the same as making understanding of Scripture the end-all, as we sometimes talk about truth-tubes. But God revealed His truth in a Book, and by His Spirit that Word accomplishes every purpose for which God sends it. Amen, amen!

To whom much has been given, much is required. But God does not give abundantly to pressure us, and certainly not to paralyze us under heavy gifts. His blessings ABOUND where 'er He reigns. His blessings ABOUND to you, His beloved, so approve and do great things in His name!

And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. (Philippians 1:9–11 ESV)

Preachers must preach the Word in season and out, whether or not the people are interested. There are times when God's people are hungry and yet they starve while shepherds are silent. In all circumstances teachers/pastors/watchmen face stricter judgment. And yet, we know that God is moving when the people have a mind to hear and do the Word.

Nehemiah 8 is such a great chapter in the Book (the whole canon of inspired Scripture) about the Book (the law of Moses in particular). There are some fantastic parts of the story that don't relate to us at all, while also including some principles that changed Jerusalem, then changed Europe, and that drive some of our Lord's Day liturgy still (as usual, I can’t recommend enough The Book That Made Your World).

Most of the action takes place on two consecutive days. Ezra is back on stage for the first time in Nehemiah, and the Book of the Law is open again. But the most repeated word in verses 1-12 is the word “people.” “People” is used thirteen times in verses 1-12, and nine of those are “all the people.” (Breneman) The people assembled, the people requested the reading, the people say “Amen, Amen,” the people lift their hands, the people bow down, the people report their conviction, and the people want to understand. Then they feasted and obeyed.

Though they had just finished building the wall, rather than retiring to rest, “There was a mood of rare responsiveness.” (Kidner) They had a mind to want the Word.

The Book is center stage, there are large and smaller group effort to give understanding, and again, it's the people who want it so. My brothers, these things ought to be so for us.

I'm going to read the text, explain the meaning, and give some implications as we go, just as the text itself describes.

And all the people gathered as one man into the square before the Water Gate. And they told Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses that the LORD had commanded Israel. So Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly, both men and women and all who could understand what they heard, on the first day of the seventh month. (Nehemiah 8:1–2 ESV)

It's the seventh month of what year? And where has Ezra been in the first 7 chapters of Nehemiah? And why does Nehemiah 8 talk about Nehemiah in the third person rather than the "I" perspective? And are we supposed to believe that Ezra had been back in Jerusalem for 13 years and this part just happened after the walls got built? I mean, yeah.

There is one small addition at the end of chapter 7 that wasn’t in Ezra’s list (found in Ezra 2), a mention of "the seventh month." Nehemiah arrived in 445, it took 52 days to finish the wall, in Elul (the sixth month). The seventh month was significant in Israel’s calendar. Leviticus 23:23-36 calls for a memorial/holy convocation with trumpets and a food offering on the first day, the Day of Atonement of the tenth day, and the Feast of Booths starting on the fifteenth day for seven days. Deuteronomy 31:10-13 also describes that every seven years, at the Feast of Booths, the law should be read “before all Israel in their hearing.”

All the people gathered as one man. This assembly was not for sacrifices at the altar or blessings from the temple. They ask for the Book guy, Ezra the scribe. They told him, "Bring the book."

This seems to be a transition in Israel's worship, from a focus on blood to a focus on the Book. Of course it was actually a scroll, since the codex (or book, with separate pages bound on one side) hadn't been invented yet. And this in Nehemiah 8 wasn't a typical sabbath gathering, though the reading of the Word at the synagogue would become a custom (see Luke 4:16). Here, the practice of the public reading and teaching of Scripture as the center of the assembly’s liturgy is sown in seed.

This assembly is for all who could understand what they heard. Where are the babies? Doesn't mean they weren't permitted, it's just that they weren't benefited by their own hearing. And maybe some were at home with mom; it was a long day. And also, who knows how many little kids there were in Israel at this time anyway.

But the people requested Ezra to bring the book because they wanted to understand the Book, as is emphasized in verses 2, 3, 7, 8, and 12.

Here’s an emphasis on the reading, on how long he read, and on the eagerness of those listening to the reading.

And he read from it facing the square before the Water Gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of the men and the women and those who could understand. And the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law. (Nehemiah 8:3 ESV)

Before the Water Gate means not at the Temple, which is what made this reading even accessible to women.

It’s likely that five or six hours (from “the light” to the noon) wouldn't be long enough to get through all the Pentateuch (the number of words and average reading speed suggest the whole thing would take two to three times as long). He read from it, so not necessarily that he finished it. The repeated audience, those who could understand, means that the Book wasn't only for some. It's all, and any, those who want it, not professionals.

“The ears of the people were toward.” They listened attentively. They were eager for it. They leaned in. They wanted it.

A little more scene setting:

And Ezra the scribe stood on a wooden platform that they had made for the purpose. And beside him stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah on his right hand, and Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zechariah, and Meshullam on his left hand. 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 8:4–5 ESV)

It wasn't a spontaneous meeting. Gathering all the people (verse 1) took coordination, and again the 1st of the 7th month had ceremonial significance. We know there was preparation because they built a platform. That's a good English word, but the Hebrew word means “tower” everywhere else. Because of the 13 names who stood with him, platform works.

The NASB: “Ezra the scribe stood at a wooden podium.” KJV: “Ezra the scribe stood upon a pulpit of wood” (and it is the only use of “pulpit” in the KJV, and “pulpit” is nowhere in the ESV). I learned that our word “pulpit” derives from the Latin pulpitum meaning “scaffold, platform.” We think of the pulpit as the desk, when actually, it’s the stage. We also talk like something said “from the pulpit” has more authority. But authority comes from the Book.

I actually really like the pulpit as a piece of furniture. I don’t want a plexiglas stand, I don’t want to sit on a stool. And also, the Word is central.

Ezra’s platform did not seem to be symbolic as much as it was programatic. That Ezra was not standing alone probably has more symbolism. Of note is that these guys in verse 4 are not labeled as priests or Levites (as are the other names in verse 7). This suggests the guys in verse 4 are lay people. The Book was for the non-professionals.

He opened as in “unrolled” and they could see him do it.

We have an embarrassment of riches. Copy and pasting is mostly a metaphor disconnected from paper and scissors and glue. I actually find it easy and effective to put all the Sunday scriptures into my file, which I read off my iPad. And I still have a hard copy Bible with me, open, and for reading extended passages. It's not for show, and also, it is on purpose.

So all the people stood when the Book was opened to be read. There are any number of ways to show reverence. This is one. We have the congregation and for the dedicated Scripture reading, at multiple points in the service. Can you hear while seated? Of course. And is there a connection between our bodily posture and our heart posture? Yes, also.

More on the reading and responses in verses 6-8, their joyful meals later that day 9-12, and their obedience on the next day 13-18.

This shows a want for Torah over Temple. Book over blood, and buildings. Scripture over sacrifices.

I’m not super big on books and admonitions for listening sermons, and also, do you want it? Long for the pure spiritual milk. Eat the meat. Be people of the Book. Ezra didn't have to convince them, the people wanted to hear and to understand.

Building and rebuilding, reformation and revival, all by the Word.

Wise men and women want more wisdom. Those who can understand want wisdom from the Lord. Christian, pay attention to the Lord’s Word. Crave it, call out for it. Seek it like silver, search for it as for hidden treasure. Then you will know wisdom and understand every good path.

And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified. (Acts 20:32 ESV)