Komstad Evangelical Covenant
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Proper Respect The rest of the book is worth a look. In chapter six, the wall is completed. That's good to know. After beginning this impossible project and facing discouragement and danger along the way, the people actually see the result of their work. The wall is complete. The city now has a future. And at this moment, the people face an unforeseen danger. They could believe that they have done it all themselves. I don't know which is worse. Discouragement can cause your feet to drag until you just can't walk. But overconfidence can take you far from where you need to be. The fact is that the city was destroyed when people tried to live their lives without God. Now after all the material that God supplied, after all the problems he solved, after all the protection he provided, he could be left out. But no. Chapter eight. All the people gather and Ezra brings out the book of the law. Scripture. The Bible. He stands before the people and reads the word of God. So they won't forget. The Picture Everyone is there. The people are spread out around a platform built especially for this day. On the platform, around Ezra the scribe, a group of leaders stands to add their personal affirmation to the words that are spoken. And in front of the platform, the people stand. No one looks at a watch. They simply stand to hear the word. Men, women, and children. Anyone who can understand is invited to hear. And as they read, the readers take the time to explain what they are reading. There is rich history here, and the books have not been opened for years, so the history may have been lost. Today it will be given back to the people. The Levites seem to carry the primary responsibility for teaching. This is a Sunday School in the open air. And everyone is involved in the learning. The Reaction From the body language of the people, everyone understands why they are there. For starts, they stand in respect. Maybe there was no other option but to stand. No benches there that day, so they couldn't sit. But they could walk away. Or talk among themselves. On that day, however, they stood and listened. And they raised their hands. This bothers me, being a strait-laced person from a traditional background. People like me think things through, without betraying our thoughts. But some things deserve a response. When they raised their hands to God, the people invited his presence. They asked for his help. They turned their eyes upward in prayer. And when they heard the words, they bowed low, with their faces to the ground. Just as they knew that they wanted the presence of God among them, they knew that they didn't deserve it. Sin is an epidemic. Maybe the word today should be pandemic. It's everywhere. It's in every life. Compared to the glory of God's holiness, we are marred people at best. At worst, we are broken and hurting. You can follow the link on this page to Jeff's background study on this passage. He reminds us that part of the rebuilding of Jerusalem was the renewal of worship. And so a part of the message of the word of God as it was preached that day was the sacrifice. The sacrifice. A lamb was slain as a substitute for the sins of the people. Just as God knew the need that crippled me the most, he also provided a solution to that problem. He provided a sacrifice in Nehemiah's time. Today, he has given us a Savior. At the moment that we feel the hurt of sin, God leads us to the cross where Jesus died for my sins ... and yours. It's a simple thing. A gift. God offers me a gift of life through Jesus, my Savior. Where sin had left me broken, Jesus makes me whole. Seeing the tears on so many faces, Nehemiah tells them to celebrate a feast of joy, because the joy of the Lord will be their strength. Not just the presence of God. The joy. Cool! The Lesson But they had taken the right road to get to the joy. You can't have a great joy without a proper respect for God's word. Or, in other words, you have to let God speak ... to you. You have to lift your eyes to God. You have to feel the weight of the sin that separates us. And you have to know that the gift is for you, the sacrifice, the Savior, the solution ... for you. And they did. They stood to listen. They lifted their hands. They sagged under the weight of their sins. And they celebrated! Not because of the wall. That was pretty good, but it wasn't reason enough for this celebration. But God was. |
Open
my eyes so that I might see great and
wonderful things in your word.
Psalm 119:18
Psalm 119:18
Beresford,
South Dakota
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