Nehemiah 8
People gather at Water Gateverse 1
And all the people gathered themselves together as one man
into the street that was before the WATER GATE
And they spoke to Ezra the scribe to bring
the book of the law of Moses
which the LORD had commanded to Israel
Ezra read the Book of the Lawverses 2-3
And Ezra the priest brought the law before the congregation
both of men and women
and all that could hear with understanding
upon the first day of the seventh month [1/7]
And he read therein before the street that was before the WATER GATE
from the morning until midday – before the men and the women
and those that could understand
and the ears of all the people were attentive to the
book of the law
Ezra stood on platformverses 4-5
And Ezra the scribe stood on a PULPIT of wood
which they had made for the purpose – and beside him stood
Mattithiah – Shema – Anaiah – Urijah – Hilkiah
Maaseiah on his right hand
and on his left hand
Pedaiah – Mishael – Malchiah – Hashum
Hashbadana – Zechariah – Meshullam
And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people
(for he was above all the people) – and when he opened it
all the people stood up
Ezra praised the LORDverse 6
And Ezra blessed the LORD
the great God
And all the people answered – AMEN – AMEN
with lifting up their hands and they bowed their heads
and worshiped the LORD
with their faces to the ground
Levites help the people understand Lawverses 7-8
And Jeshua – Bani – Sherebiah – Jamin – Akkub – Shabbethai
Hodijah – Maaseiah – Kelita – Azariah – Jozabad
Hanan – Pelaiah and the Levites
CAUSED the people to UNDERSTAND
the law and the people stood in their place
So they READ in the book in the law of God DISTINCTLY
and GAVE the SENSE
and CAUSED them to UNDERSTAND the READING
People wept after hearing the Lawverse 9
And Nehemiah – which is the Tirshatha – and Ezra the priest the scribe
and the Levites that taught the people
said to all the people
This day is holy to the LORD your God
mourn not – nor weep
For all the people wept
when they heard the words of the law
Joy of the LORD our strengthverse 10
THEN he
said to them
Go your way – eat the fat – drink the sweet
and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared
for this day is holy to our Lord
neither be you sorry
FOR the JOY of the LORD is your STRENGTH
Levites tell people to celebrateverses 11-12
So the Levites stilled all the people
saying
Hold your peace – for the day is holy
neither be you grieved
And all the people went their way to eat – to drink – to send portions
to make great mirth – BECAUSE they had UNDERSTOOD
the words that were DECLARED to them
Peopleverses 13-15
And on the second day were gathered together the chief of the fathers of all
the people – the priests – the Levites – unto Ezra the scribe
even to UNDERSTAND the words of the law
And they found written in the law which the LORD had commanded by Moses
that the children of Israel should dwell in BOOTHS in the
feast of the seventh month – that they should publish
and proclaim in all their cities and in Jerusalem
saying
Go forth unto the mount and fetch olive branches
and pine branches – and myrtle branches – and palm branches
and branches of thick trees to make booths
as it is written
People celebrate feast of boothsverses 16-17
So the people went forth – and brought them and made themselves booths
everyone on the roof of his house – and in their courts
and in the courts of the house of God
and in the street of the WATER GATE
and in the street of the GATE of Ephraim
And all the congregation of them that were come again out of the captivity
made booths – and sat under the booths – for since the days of
Jeshua the son of Nun unto that day had not the
children of Israel done so
And there was very great GLADNESS
Ezra reads Law each day of festivalverse 18
Also day by day – from the first day to the last day
he READ in the book of the law of God
And they kept the feast seven days – and on the eighth day was a
solemn assembly according unto the manner
COMMENTARY:
DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers
: 2 And Ezra the priest brought the law before the congregation both of men and women, and all that could hear with understanding, upon the first day of the seventh month. (995 “understanding” [biyn] means to pay attention, consider, to perceive mentally, to discern, give heed to, or look closely.)
DEVOTION: Here was a worship service that included all those who were able to understand what was happening. There had to be children who were not old enough to understand present but they were not included in what Ezra was reading and explaining. We have primary and junior church today in many of our churches. These classes are geared to help younger children understand the basics of the Word of God. Usually they are just Bible stories about one of the characters that are found in the Word of God. Sometimes they are concepts that little children can understand.
Here we have only those who could understand what Ezra and the Levites were teaching that day. Remember that there was some language differences between some of the people who were present. Many of them lived in Persia and only spoke Aramaic.
Now this was a lesson time for all those who listened to the message of the Law of Moses. They were assembled to celebrate. They were assembled to hear what the LORD expected of them. Once they started to listen they realized that they were sinners in need of forgiveness.
This is one of the points that should be made in any message presented today from the pulpits on our Biblical churches in our world. Everyone needs to understand that they are a sinner even after they become a follower of Jesus Christ. Too often we find individuals in the pews that seem to think that once they made a commitment to Jesus Christ they seem to think that they are not as bad a sinner as the rest of the people in the church. This is wrong thinking.
Here on this occasion everyone was weeping once they heard the Word of God read and explained. Nehemiah and Ezra had to encourage them in the fact that they were forgiven and that the day was a holy day of celebration over that forgiveness.
We need to do the same each Sunday. There should be an explanation of the Word of God with the understanding that only because of our forgiveness can we celebrate what Christ has done for us.
CHALLENGE: We should be celebrating our forgiveness in Christ each week with those who are celebrating as well.
DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers
: 8 So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading. (7922 “sense” [sekel] means prudence, insight, good sense, or wisdom.)
DEVOTION: One of the problems I see in many churches that I attend and preach in is that there is a sense that many in the pews don’t understand the sense of a Biblical text that is being preached even after a pastor preaches. Many leave the church without any idea on what to do to change their worldview to fit a Biblical Worldview. Some don’t care. They have done their duty of being in church.
Here we find a group of people gathered together to hear the Word of God read. All the people were attentive to the Word of God as it was given to Moses.
This is the first time we read of a pulpit of wood. Ezra stood on a platform behind a pulpit of wood. The book of the Law was read to the people. Once it was read the people stood up in respect of the Word of God.
The response of the people was to say “Amen” “Amen” and bowed their heads and worshiped the LORD. The effect of the Word of God on them was worship.
That didn’t end the service. The people were given to understand what the Word of God meant to them personally. The reaction of the people was “weeping.” However, Nehemiah told the people to stop weeping because it was a holy day to the LORD.
The people understood Nehemiah and celebrated the Feast of Tabernacles. They built booths to live in during the festival out of branches from trees. The people had joy. The people gained strength from the LORD and HIS word. They wanted to obey the law.
One of the best words in the chapter was that the people were “attentive” to the Word of God. Once they were attentive they wanted to celebrate the feast of tabernacles. It had not been celebrated right since the days of Joshua. They celebrated for a week.
What should this say to us today? There was a revival in Jerusalem after the walls were built. When the people of God see the LORD working in their midst, they are strengthened and refreshed. Are we seeing the LORD work in our midst? Are we strengthened and refreshed? Do we want to celebrate the LORD working in our world?
Is HE working in our world? Can we understand the Word of God? Can we share what we know with those around us to get them excited about HIS message to our world? We have the answer to the age-old questions: “Why are we here?” “Is there meaning to life?” Remember we are the only ones who know the truth. The children of Israel understood these things during the ministry of Ezra.
CHALLENGE: Let us share the message of the Word of God with all those we know. Learn more of the Word of God to share with others. They need to understand the truth!!! Are we excited about sharing the truths of the Word of God?
: 10 Then he said to them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions to them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy to our LORD: neither be you sorry; for the joy of the LORD is your strength. (6087 “sorry” [‘atsab] means to rebuke, hurt, to be worried, to grieve, to hurt oneself, to be caused to feel sorrow, be distressed, or vex.)
DEVOTION: What does a genuine celebration look like? Here we find Nehemiah instructing the children of Israel in what it means to celebrate in the presence of the LORD. He states that the people need to go to their own homes and eat a good meal together and drink some grape juice. He also states that they need to make sure that everyone can enjoy the day by sending portions or food to those who have nothing to prepare.
He defines this type of day as a holy day to the LORD. When God’s people are happy and help others who have less than them it is a day of celebration. He wants to also have the people stop crying over their sins but rejoice in the forgiveness that God has given them by returning them from their captivity into the city where God has chosen to put HIS name
Finally, he wants them to realize that their strength to practice these things comes from the LORD. Without the LORD there cannot be any real joy. HE is the one who can give us not only an external joy but an internal joy that can last longer than any external joy.
Our joy should be wrapped around the fact that we are a forgiven people heading for an eternity place that HE has prepared for us and no matter what happens here in this earth we are set for eternity with HIM.
Our strength needs to come from these Biblical facts. Our eternal home is being prepared for us and our temporary home is one where we can look forward to spending time with HIM for all eternity.
CHALLENGE: This should give us daily strength to face any challenge HE allows in our lives right now.
DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers
: 12 And all the people went their way to eat, and to drink, and to send portions, and to make great mirth, because they had understood the words that were declared to them. (3045 “declared” [yada] means to know, hear of, learn, to realize, to reveal, be or become known, to perceive, to be aware of or experience.)
DEVOTION: It is very important that we use words that people understand when we tell them something. Too often we find that those who like to use big words don’t help those who are listening to understand what they are saying. Some people are impressed with the word they use because it makes them feel they are more important than those who can’t understand big word.
When we talk with people we have to make sure they are understanding what we are trying to teach them if they are going to be able to practice what is preached on Sunday morning.
If people understand what is being said and are encouraged to action that is pleasing to the LORD than proper communication has taken place. There can be joy in the hearts of all those who are listening.
The children of Israel had joy when this was taking place in Jerusalem. They were worshiping the LORD in spirit and in truth. They were willing to tell others what they had learned and enjoyed the company of others.
When we attend church we should have these things happen in our lives, so that, we can enjoy fellowship with fellow believers. There are many churches where this is not happening because there is a lack of proper communication.
God wants us to enjoy one another’s company. There needs to be teamwork going on in every Biblical church for it to move forward for the LORD. This was true in the days of Nehemiah and it is true today.
With everyone helping one another and enjoying the company of one another the work of the LORD moves forward with great joy.
CHALLENGE: When we attend our local body of believers do we see this teamwork and joy? If not, pray that it can happen!!
: 17 And all the congregation of them that were come again out of the captivity made booths, and sat under the booths: for since the days of Joshua the son of Nun unto that day had not the children of Israel done so. And there was great gladness. (8057 “gladness” [simchah] means joy, mirth, rejoice, gaiety, happy issue, or delight.)
DEVOTION: The emphasis here was a time of rejoicing over the fact that the walls were build and the people had a time to worship the LORD. The Law was opened to them and Ezra and the Levites explained the meaning of what was read in the language of the people who were present.
Everyone had an opportunity to understand what the LORD required of them. HE wanted obedience to the commands HE had made in the wilderness. They were to celebrate their freedom from slavery. Their ancestors had been slaves in Egypt. They had been slaves in the land of Persia.
Now was a time to celebrate freedom. It was a time when they not only remembered the harvest but also their freedom from being in a foreign land for such a long time. They were living under the protective walls of Jerusalem but also under the blessings of the LORD.
One commentator said that the celebration of the feast of Tabernacles was only remembering the harvest and had forgot to celebrate freedom. This changed under the time of Nehemiah they celebrated their freedom and it caused great gladness in the hearts of those present.
Do we just celebrate our income or do we celebrate our freedom as well. We are declared free from sin and its eternal consequences once we become a genuine follower of Jesus Christ. It is great to know that the LORD is blessing our life here on earth but it is even better to know we have a place reserved for us in heaven for eternity.
This should cause great rejoicing in our life. We should be the happiest people in the world because of what we have waiting for us for all eternity. Too often we don’t show the world our delight in having a place reserved for us in heaven.
We sometimes seem to think that we should have more here and not have to wait for eternity. This is wrong thinking. God wants us to be content with what HE gives us now.
CHALLENGE: We have to think about what causes us great gladness in our life. We have to think correctly about where we are storing our rewards – either in a bank here or in heaven.
DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:
BODY
Chastity (Purity in living)
Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)
Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)
Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)
Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)
SOUL
Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)
Frugality (wise use of resources)
Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)
Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)
Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)
SPIRIT
Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)
Feast of Tabernaclesverses 9-18
Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)
Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)
Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)
Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)
Ezra the scribe and priestverse 1
Read before congregation the
Book of the law of Moses
All that could hear with understanding
Read from morning to midnight
Pulpit of wood
Opened book in sight of people
Blessed the LORD – the great God
Taught the people
People who stood with Ezra
Mattithiah- Shema- Anaiah –Urijah
Hilkiah – Maaseiah – on right hand
Pedaiah – Mishael – Malchiah – Hashum
Hashbadana – Zechariah –Meshullam –on
his left hand
People stood up to worshipverses 5, 6
Answered Amen, Amen – lifting hands
Worshipverses 6, 7
Lifting up hands
Bowed their heads
Faces to the ground
Stood in their place
Caused people to understand the lawverses 7, 8
Jeshua, Banai, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub
Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah and the Levites
Read in the book in the law of God
Distinctly and gave the sense and
Caused them to understand the reading
Priestsverses 4, 7-9, 13
Levitesverses 7, 9, 11, 13
Stilled the people
Holy dayverse 9-11
Gathered priest and Levites on second dayverse 13
Feast of Tabernaclesverses 13-18
Children of Israel
Dwell in booths
Fetch olive branches and pine branches
to make booths
Great gladness
Read in the book of the law of God
Seven days – kept the feast
Eighth day – solemn assembly
House of Godverse 16
Solemn assemblyverse 18
DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
Book of the Law of Mosesverses 1-18
Book of the Law
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
LORD – Jehovah (Covenant keeping, Personal)verses 1, 6, 9, 10, 14
God – Elohim (Creator, Sovereign)verses 6, 8, 9, 16, 18
Great Godverse 6
Law of Godverses 8, 18
LORD your Godverse 9
Lord – Adonai (Master, Owner)verse 10
Joy of the LORD is our strengthverse 10
House of Godverse 16
God the Son (Second person of the Godhead – God/man, Messiah)
God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)
Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)
Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)
Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation)
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Hear with understandingverses 2, 3, 7, 8, 12, 13
Attentive to book of the Lawverse 3
Stood for reading of the Lawverse 5
Said AMENverse 6
Worshipedverse 6
Read distinctlyverses 8, 18
Gave sense verse 8
Cause them to understandverses 8, 10, 13
Taughtverse 9
Wept at the Word of the LORDverse 9
Joy of the LORDverse 10
Strengthverse 10
Great gladnessverse 17
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
Water gateverses 1, 2, 16
7/1
Read before fro morning to midnight
Made booths for feast of Tabernacles
Mosesverses 1, 14
Israelverse 1
Hear with understandingverse 2
Ezra had pulpitverse 4
Levites caused the people to understandverse 7
Nehemiah verse 9
Tirshatha
Peopleverses 9-10
wept when they heard words of law
told to go their way
eat the fat
drink the sweet
send portions to them who had
nothing
day is holy to the LORD
told the joy of the LORD is your
strength
went their way and made great mirth
understood the words
Made booths to celebrate Feast of Tabernacles
Second dayverse 13
Gathered chief of the fathers
Jerusalemverse 15
Gate of Ephraimverse 16
Joshua the son of Nunverse 17
Children of Israelverse 17
Church (New Testament people of God)
Last Things (Future Events)
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QUOTES regarding passage
8:17 Other Scripture passages indicate that the Feast of Tabernacles had been celebrated regularly (by Solomon in 2 Chr 8:13, Hezekiah in 2 Chr 31:3, Josiah in 2 Chr 35:18, and the future celebration in Zech 14:16–18). What was different? The feast had two principal meanings: (1) it was an agricultural festival to commemorate the “ingathering” of the harvest (Exod 34:22); (2) it was a memorial celebration of the wilderness wanderings. Apparently through the years the harvest application had been emphasized, but the living in booths to remember the wilderness wanderings had been neglected. As the people examined Scripture here, they returned to that emphasis, which was appropriate after their new exodus in returning from the Babylonian captivity. One effect of the continued study of Scripture is that it helps us adjust our traditions according to the divine standard.
When the people began to celebrate the feast with new understanding and a new sense of obedience, it gave them great joy. Obedience to God as a community brings God’s blessing and great joy. Deuteronomy 16:13–15 commands, “Be joyful at your Feast” and concludes, “Your joy will be complete.” (Breneman, M. (1993). Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther (electronic ed., Vol. 10, p. 230). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.)
18. The scattered regulations for the festival were all searched out and followed with a will. Verse 15 has taken up the instruction given in Leviticus 23:40ff. to gather leafy branches; the last sentence of verse 17 chimes in with the note of rejoicing called for in Deuteronomy 16:13–15; and now we learn of the reading of the law prescribed in Deuteronomy 31:10–13 for every seventh year, and of the solemn assembly of Numbers 29:35. Whether this occasion coincided with the seventh year, the year of release (as A. Pavlovský contends: Biblica 38 (1957), pp. 273–305, 428–456), or whether Ezra was going beyond the minimum requirement of the law and introducing an annual reading, there is no means of knowing; but such became the custom in due course.
So the move to make Scripture the guiding principle of Jewish life was powerfully initiated. The great teaching operation on the first day of the month, the training session which had followed it, and now the seven days of readings at the festival had exposed the people to the fundamentals of their faith with considerable thoroughness. But the clinching of it was yet to come, as the next two chapters will show. (Kidner, D. (1979). Ezra and Nehemiah: An Introduction and Commentary (Vol. 12, pp. 119–120). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.)
The next day the spiritual leaders—heads of … families (i.e., heads of clans), priests and … Levites—gathered to hear more of God’s Word from Ezra. Another response of the people was their celebrating the Feast of Tabernacles. The sequence in chapter 8 is striking: intellectual response to the Word (vv. 1–8), emotional response to the Word (vv. 9–12), and volitional response to the Word (vv. 13–18).
The spiritual leaders discovered this instruction about the feast in Leviticus 23:37–43. This was celebrated from the 15th to the 22nd of the seventh month (Tishri). Since they discovered these instructions on the second day of the seventh month (Neh. 8:2, 13), the timing was perfect. They had exactly two weeks to prepare for it. So they had the people get branches from various kinds of trees (v. 15) and build booths (temporary shelters) in various places, including the square … by the Gate of Ephraim (see the map “Jerusalem in the Time of Nehemiah,” near 3:1). This recalled their days of wandering in the wilderness (Lev. 23:43). Their celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles was unmatched since the days of Joshua. When the altar was completed in 536 b.c. the people then celebrated the Feast of Tabernacles (Ezra 3:4), but here the joy and involvement was much greater. Ezra read the Law during the Feast of Tabernacles, because Moses had indicated that this was to be done every seven years (Deut. 31:10–13). (Getz, G. A. (1985). Nehemiah. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 690). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
3. We must obey the Word (Neh. 8:13–18)
Obligation and appreciation are certainly strong motives for serving the Lord, but celebration is even stronger. When we obey the Lord and serve Him because we rejoice in Him, then our service will be a delight and not a drudgery. The old Bible commentator Matthew Henry wrote, “Holy joy will be oil to the wheels of our obedience.” To the believer without joy, the will of God is punishment; but to the believer happy in the Lord, the will of God is nourishment (John 4:34). The Jews still had work to do in their city, and they needed the joy of the Lord to give them the strength to do it.
“When I think upon my God,” wrote composer Franz Josef Hayden, “my heart is so full that the notes dance and leap from my pen and since God has given me a cheerful heart, it will be pardoned me that I serve Him with a cheerful spirit.”
The Day of Atonement was celebrated on the tenth day of the month and the Feast of Tabernacles from the fifteenth to the twenty-first days. This meant that the leaders had just a few days available for getting the word out to the Jews in the surrounding villages that everybody was going to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. It is not enough to hear the Word of God; we must obey what it tells us to do (James 1:22–25). The people not only had joy in hearing the Word, but they also had “great gladness” in obeying it (Neh. 8:17, italics mine).
During the seven days of the feast, the Jews lived in booths made of branches and usually built on the flat roofs of their houses. It was a time for looking back and remembering the nation’s forty years of wandering in the wilderness, when the people were homeless and lived in temporary shelters. But the feast was also a time for looking around at the harvest blessings from the hand of God. The Lord had given them a good land, and they were never to forget the Giver as they enjoyed the gifts (Deut. 8). The Feast of Tabernacles was also an occasion for looking ahead to the glorious kingdom God promised His people Israel (Zech. 14:4, 9, 16–20). It was a week-long festival of joyful praise and thanksgiving, focusing on the goodness of the Lord.
But the celebrating of the feast was not for enjoyment alone; it was also for enrichment and encouragement. “The joy of the Lord is your strength” (Neh. 8:10). The world’s joy is temporary and artificial; and when the joy is gone, people are left with even greater weakness and emptiness. But the joy that comes from the Lord is real and lasting and enriches our lives. God doesn’t give us joy instead of sorrow, or joy in spite of sorrow, but joy in the midst of sorrow. It is not substitution but transformation.
Jesus illustrated this truth by the birth of a baby (John 16:20–22). The same baby that gives the mother pain also gives the mother joy! Her pain is not replaced by joy but transformed into joy. The difficult circumstances of life are “pregnant” with joy, and by faith we must give that joy time to be born.
The Feast of Tabernacles was a time for sending food and gifts to others, especially to those who were needy. The Jews had found joy in hearing the Word of God, but now they found joy in sharing the blessings of God. The mind grows by taking in, but the heart grows by giving out; and it is important to maintain a balanced life.
Nehemiah 8:17 does not teach that the nation had ignored the Feast of Tabernacles since the days of Joshua, because that was not so. The feast was celebrated during King Solomon’s day (2 Chron. 8:13) and also when the Babylonian exiles had returned to the land (Ezra 3:1–4). It was not the fact of the celebration that was so special but the way they celebrated, for it appears that everybody participated enthusiastically. Because every family made a booth, some of the people had to move from the houses into the streets and squares of the city. Apparently in previous years, not all the Jews had made booths and lived in them for the week of the feast. They had given only “token” acknowledgment of the feast. Furthermore, the joyful attitude of the people was beyond anything the nation had ever seen. It was truly a week of joyful celebration that brought glory to the Lord.
Ezra continued the “Bible conference” during the entire week of the feast, day by day reading and explaining the Word of God. The combination of joyful fellowship, feasting, and hearing the Word must have strengthened the people greatly. Then the week concluded with a solemn assembly (Num. 29:35), after which the people returned to their regular daily schedules.
Did the blessings of the celebration last? Yes, for a time; but then the people became careless again, and the leaders had to bring them back to the Word of God. But the failure of the people is not an argument against special times of Bible study or celebration. Someone asked evangelist Billy Sunday if revivals lasted, and he replied, “No, neither does a bath; but it’s good to have one occasionally!”
From time to time in the history of the church, God’s Spirit has burdened people to pray, search the Scriptures, and confess their sins; and from these sincere spiritual exercises, He has seen fit to bring fresh life to His people. It happened in Nehemiah’s day, and it can happen again today.
Can God begin with you?
“If My people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land” (2 Chron. 7:14, NIV). (Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). Be Determined (pp. 102–105). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
Ver. 17. And all the congregation of them that were come again out of captivity made booths, &c.] These came to Jerusalem, and made them booths there; for there only was this feast kept, see John 7:2, 10. and sat under the booths; there they dwelt during the seven days of it, in commemoration of their ancestors dwelling in booths in the wilderness, see Lev. 23:42, 43. for since the days of Jeshua the son of Nun unto that day had not the children of Israel done so; Joshua observed it, when he had brought and settled the people of Israel in the land of Canaan; and it had been observed since, before this time, as appears from 1 Kings 8:2, 65, 66; Ezra 3:4. but not so, with such exactness, with such zeal and affection, with such a regard to the law of God, as to read it every day of the feast, as in the next verse, and with such joy and gladness; wherefore there is no reason to suspect a corruption in the text, as a learned man does, who supposes that Jeshua is put for Josiah: and there was very great gladness; that they were restored unto and settled in their land, had the book of the law, and the knowledge of it, and were directed and enabled to observe it.
Ver. 18. Also day by day, from the first day unto the last day, he read in the book of the law of God, &c.] That is, Ezra; this was done by him every day during the feast, whereas only the first and last days were the holy convocations on which it seems to have been read: and they kept the feast seven days, and on the eighth day was a solemn assembly, according to the manner; prescribed in Lev. 23:39. (Gill, J. (1810). An Exposition of the Old Testament (Vol. 3, p. 146). London: Mathews and Leigh.)
FROM MY READING:
(Remember the only author that I totally agree with is the HOLY SPIRIT in the inerrant WORD OF GOD called THE BIBLE! All other I try to gleam what I can to help me grow in the LORD!!)
Isaiah 40
The Lord gives strength to those who wait on Him.
INSIGHT
God has given us the Christian family as a picture of the relationship between Him and His children. We are given earthly fathers, that we might more fully understand our heavenly Father. Just as an earthly father takes no delight in disciplining his children, so our heavenly Father takes no delight in disciplining His children. Hear the tenderness in these words: “Comfort, yes, comfort My people!” (v. 1). God tenderly loves us and takes no pleasure in our pain, although He desires our spiritual growth as a result.
(Quiet Walk)
THE EXTENT OF REVELATION
For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. 1 Corinthians 13:12
There are certain things in the Scriptures about which we cannot speak with finality. There are certain things about which equally good and capable men and women are not agreed and cannot agree. When we come to such matters, surely it is our business to say that we do not know. We cannot prove them, and we are content to wait until we arrive in glory, and all things are made plain and clear to us. At the moment we see and understand only in part, “through a glass, darkly.” Our knowledge is not full. It is not final. Let us be content with the revelation that is given.
But there are certain doctrines about which we are and must be absolutely final, and they are the doctrines that are essential to the way of salvation. I am not referring to the mechanism of salvation. When you come to that, you find good people often differing. I accept that. I am prepared to say, “I believe this, and I am not prepared to believe that.” And another man says, “All right–as long as we both agree about the way of salvation.” But there must be no disputing about the person of Christ, about the miraculous and the supernatural, about Christ’s substitutionary death upon the cross, and about His literal, physical resurrection. There is no argument here. This is final; this is absolute.
But with regard to all other matters, where we cannot be final and absolute, let us be sympathetic. Let us be tolerant. Let us admit our inability to prove, and let us together enjoy the great salvation in which we all participate and look forward to the day when the hidden things shall be made plain, and we shall know even as we are already known.
A Thought to Ponder
Our knowledge is not full. It is not final. Let us be content with the revelation that is given. (From God the Father, God the Son, p. 46, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones).
“Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice.” (Philippians 4:4)
The Christian has a compelling duty to rejoice. Paul stresses the Christian need to rejoice by using the tense in the Greek that specifies a continuing and habitual action. This instruction follows his mention of otherwise faithful believers in the church who were unfortunately pursuing disharmony and dissension. Believers are reminded to restore broken relationships, follow after harmony, and rejoice.
Perhaps the best reason to rejoice is that all our names are written in the “book of life” (v. 3). This precious book was mentioned from old times as “a book of remembrance…written before him for them that feared the LORD” (Malachi 3:16). Christ mentioned this book as a cause to “rejoice, because your names are written in heaven” (Luke 10:20). Our rejoicing will continue throughout eternity, for only “they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life” (Revelation 21:27) will be permitted into the Lamb’s presence. Our love for the brethren and our hope for eternity are reasons to rejoice, indeed.
Paul told the Philippian church they were among the reasons for his joy. “I have you in my heart; inasmuch as both in my bonds, and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, ye all are partakers of my grace” (Philippians 1:7). Those who had a heart for the things of God were important to him. Therefore, “fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind” (2:2). “For the same cause also do ye joy, and rejoice with me” (2:18).
Their joy of fellowship was rooted in the love and service of Christ, as well as His sufferings, “that I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death” (3:10). So, rejoice!
(JDM, The Institute for Creation Research)
Good Trouble
Let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream! Amos 5:24
When John Lewis, an American congressman and civil rights leader, died in 2020, people from many political persuasions mourned. In 1965, Lewis marched with Martin Luther King Jr. to secure voting rights for Black citizens. During the march, Lewis suffered a cracked skull, causing scars he carried the rest of his life. “When you see something that is not right, not just, not fair,” Lewis said, “you have a moral obligation to say something. To do something.” He also said, “Never, ever, be afraid to make some noise and get in good, necessary trouble.”
Lewis learned early that doing what was right, to be faithful to the truth, required making “good” trouble. He would need to speak things that were unpopular. The prophet Amos knew this too. Seeing Israel’s sin and injustice, he couldn’t keep quiet. Amos denounced how the powerful were oppressing “the innocent and tak[ing] bribes and depriv[ing] the poor of justice in the courts,” while building “stone mansions” with “lush vineyards” (Amos 5:11–12). Rather than maintaining his own safety and comfort by staying out of the fray, Amos named the evil. The prophet made good, necessary trouble.
But this trouble aimed at something good—justice for all. “Let justice roll on like a river!” Amos exclaimed (v. 24). When we get into good trouble (the kind of righteous, nonviolent trouble justice requires), the goal is always goodness and healing.
By Winn Collier
Churches’ Dilemma: 80 Percent of Flock Is Inactive: A recent survey shows that 80/20 principle is a fact of church life in most congregations — only 20 percent are heavily involved, while 80 percent are minimally involved and attend infrequently at best. For example, a National Congregation Survey shows the Southern Baptist Convention had a membership of 16,160,088 people in 2008, but a yearly attendance rate of 38 percent. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America had a membership of 4,542,868 in 2009, but the yearly attendance rated rested at 28 percent. According to The Christian Post, researcher Scott Thumma said, “So many pastors that I’ve talked to recognize the problem, don’t know what to do about it and then instead of trying to tackle it, they kind of put it aside.” Thumma and fellow researcher Warren Bird recorded their findings in the book “The Other 80 Percent.” (Religion Today Summaries – June 28, 2011 Compiled & Edited by Crosswalk Editorial Staff )
That is what we need in the United States. Instead of honoring the Word of God and hungering after it as the people of Judah did in the days of Nehemiah and Ezra, our country seems intent on doing everything possible to keep the Bible and even religion itself from public life. It is strange that this should be so, since our country was founded with a conscious attention to and respect for biblical principles.
We have been told that our founding fathers were for the most part unbelievers or at best deists. While there is some truth to that, it is also a distortion.
Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) was a deist, but that does not mean he utterly discounted the Bible. On the contrary, he said, “The Bible is the cornerstone of liberty.”
Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790) was a skeptical unbeliever, but he believed in prayer. He inaugurated the practice of prayer before deliberation, which still prevails in Congress.
George Washington (1732–1799) gave strong testimony of faith. In a small prayer book composed when he was about twenty years old, Washington wrote:
O most glorious God … remember that I am but dust, and remit my transgressions, negligences and ignorances, and cover them all with the absolute obedience of thy dear Son, that those sacrifices (of sin, praise and thanksgiving) which I have offered may be accepted by thee, in and for the sacrifice of Jesus Christ offered upon the cross for me.… Direct my thoughts, words and work; wash away my sin in the immaculate blood of the Lamb; and purge my heart by the Holy Spirit.
John Witherspoon (1723–1794), president of the College of New Jersey (now Princeton) and the only clergyman to sign the Declaration of Independence, wrote, “He is the best friend to American liberty who is most sincere and active in promoting true and undefiled religion.”
Andrew Jackson (1767–1845), seventh president of the United States, said, “The Bible is the rock on which our Republic rests.”
Daniel Webster (1782–1852), the great American statesman and orator, said, “There is no solid basis for civilization but in the Word of God. If we are to abide by the principles taught in the Bible, our country will go on prospering.… The Bible is a book … which teaches man his own individual responsibility, his own dignity, and his equality with his fellowman.”
William McKinley (1843–1901), twenty-fifth president of the United States, declared, “The more profoundly we study this wonderful Book, and the more closely we observe its precepts, the better citizens we will become and the higher will be the destiny of our nation.”
Each of these men, though possessing various degrees of spiritual understanding and differing in their ecclesiastical traditions, recognized that a nation is only as strong as its underlying faith in God and that the Bible is essential for survival. (Boice, J. M. (2005). Nehemiah: an expositional commentary (pp. 90–91). Grand Rapids, MI: BakerBooks.)
The One Real God
“For all the gods of the nations are idols: but the LORD made the heavens.” (Psalm 96:5)
As the apostle Paul reminded the Corinthian Christians, “though there be [many] that are called gods, . . . to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him” (1 Corinthians 8:5-6).
Every person has his own “god”; even atheists order their lives by some principle of their own choosing that thus becomes in effect their “god”! There are multitudes of others who follow various other gods. For example, the Hindus have almost innumerable gods. Muslims, on the other hand, strongly argue for just one god, whom they call Allah, but it was not Allah who “made the heavens.” The truth revealed in the Bible is that it was God’s “dear Son” by whom “were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth” (Colossians 1:13, 16). Allah denies that he even has a Son, and he calls those who believe otherwise (meaning Christians) infidels. The Koran is alleged to consist of the verbally inspired words of Allah, but it (and therefore Allah) also denies the Trinity, as well as the death and resurrection of Christ, and so also denies that the Son of God provides salvation for all who believe on Him. That is more than enough to prove that Allah is not the God of the Bible.
In our text above, the word “idols” simply means “vanities.” It is all “in vain” to put one’s faith for eternity in a false god. The Lord Jesus alone, having created all things and paid the awful price to redeem all things, can truly provide eternal salvation. “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). He Himself verified that “I am the way, . . . no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6). (HMM, The Institute for Creation Research)
Thankful for the Change
You were continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls. 1 P ETER 2:25
“It almost seems as though our family has moved out of this house and another family has moved in.” That’s how one couple described the transformation that God brought about in their marriage after they attended one of FamilyLife’s Weekend to Remember marriage conferences.
Another woman told how she threatened her abusive husband that she would end their marriage if he didn’t go to the conference with her. She had the divorce papers in her pocket, ready to sign. “I am so thankful he chose to go. He cried for the entire weekend as we broke down 20 years worth of brick walls. His entire attitude and outlook have done a one-eighty.” We host more than 150 of these getaways every year in cities all over the United States, helping thousands of couples rediscover what they saw in each other in the first place . . . and more. But it’s not just because we’re there. It’s because God is there. Working.
One couple, who admitted that their fighting and bitterness toward each other had only increased in the weeks leading up to the conference, shared how on Saturday night—the date night of the weekend—“we communicated about issues we never even thought to talk about before. We laughed. We cried. In fact, we were so caught up [that] when we looked up at the clock, we realized it was almost 9 P.M. We hadn’t even had dinner! We have never been as open and honest with each other.”
Maybe you’re not the conference-going type. Maybe you prefer the ongoing process of working things out every day. But I promise you, you’d be surprised to see what God can do with one weekend devoted solely to seeking Him and His best for your marriage. (Moments with You Couples Devotional by Dennis and Barbara Rainey)
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