Repair to Reform (Nehemiah 8:1-8)

A revival is a heightened level of normal spiritual activity that takes place among the people of God. In every revival, we see an increased in repentance of sin, a focus on God’s word, changed lives, holiness desired and lost people come to Christ. God’s people give themselves to God.

A reformation is the recovery of right practices.

In our passage tonight, we see the beginnings of a reformation, rather than a revival. Here, God’s people recover the things that they are supposed to do because they understand.

(A) Begin to reform: what happens in the assembly (Neh 8:1-2)

To understand the significance of this chapter, we need to understand what has taken place in the book of Nehemiah up to this point, especially in light of Israel’s history. In 2 Chronicles 36:11-23, we read of how Zedekiah was the last king of Judah. He tried to rebel against Nebuchadnezzar (2 Chron 36:13). As a result, him and the people were destroyed, and Judah lay in a desolate state for 70 years (2 Chron 36:21). However, 2 Chronicles ends with some hope for Cyrus’ proclamation meant that some will return (2 Chron 36:22-23). The first (under Zerubabbel) and second waves (under Ezra) return, according to the permission of Cyrus the great, the king of Persia (c.f. Ezra).

God has worked in space-time history. These are events that really happened and the Jews did return, according to the will of Cyrus the Great. He also sponsored the rebuilding of the temple.

Nehemiah led the third wave back. (c.f. Neh 1:1-2:16) In these opening chapters of Nehemiah, we see how Nehemiah came to return. (c.f. Neh 3:1-4:23) He also enlists the people to rebuild their own city. There is also some external opposition. (c.f. Neh 5:1-7:4) Internal division threaten to divide the people while Nehemiah is dealing with external threats. (c.f. Neh 7:5-73) But finally, the walls are completed. Nehemiah also discovers the list of initial returning Jews.

All of this has taken place and now they are ready to read the law in Nehemiah 8.

But what is the significance of this history? God is still working, even when His people had been ripped out of the land that He has promised them (and that they took so long to enter!). God did not forsake them then, so why would He forsake us now. He will keep to His promises, especially the Davidic covenant. Even though the last king messed up but God still preserved the line. His covenant with David was not over and broken by the rebellion of His people. (c.f. Ps 48) Jerusalem symbolised God’s presence among the people. Thus, lacking it meant lacking God’s presence.

The people “gathered as one man” into the square before the Water Gate (Neh 8:1a, c.f. 3:26). They had already retuned to their towns (Neh 7:73) and Jerusalem was unpopulated. Thus, Nehemiah brought them back into Jerusalem and assembled in the square (i.e. inside the city) because the walls had been rebuilt.

When they gathered, they called for Ezra to bring the Book (Neh 8:1b). They were asking for the Law to be read. Just like we read in Deuteronomy 31:10-13, there is no sense of individualism among the people of God. Their calendars were organised around the Sabbath (weekly) and days of holy feasts throughout the year. They were used to gather and assembling on a regular basis. The core activity was to hear the word of God.

This might seem jarring compared to what we experience in the Christian life today. We might seek to worship just by tuning into a podcast and going for a walk. When in your week do you ever hear the word of God read out loud — not preached or at Bible study, but simply read? In 1 Timothy 4:13, Paul tells Timothy to devote himself to the public reading of God’s Word. We should never tire of hearing His word!

We are introduced to Ezra in Nehemiah 8:1b-2. Who is he? In Ezra 7:1-10, we learn about Ezra’s lineage. He hailed from the line of Aaron, Moses’s brother. He was competent and skilled in handling the law. He came to Jerusalem and we see also his focus and resolve to “set his heart to study the Law of the Lord, and to do it and to teach his statutes and rules in Israel” (Ezra 7:10. He wanted to study, obey and teach the Law.

Ezra sought to be like the man described in Psalm 1. He sought to meditate and obey God’s word, and flourish. Ezra made some choices and decided that this is where He is going to live. He also knows that he cannot teach what we do not live, and will not live what we do not understand. Does this describe you?

This Ezra was called upon to bring the people the book in Nehemiah 8:1b.

(B) Basis for reform: what is read, the attention it receives and how it is seen (Neh 8:3-6)

Ezra read from the book, 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 (Neh 8:3). He was standing on a wooden platform, visible to all and the people could see him reading from the book (Neh 8:4-5). As he read, the people stood (Neh 8:5).

Why is this so important? For more than seventy years, they had not heard the word of God. God’s voice had not been heard by His people. Think about the great privilege that we have to read and read out God’s word to each other!

In Nehemiah, God’s people were delighted to gather and hear the Word read (Neh 8:3b). They were attentive to the book of the Law and heard it read for 6 hours (Neh 8:3b). They could not help but listen, for they treasured it.

Notice how all — men, women and all who could understand — were gathered. This also included the children, and Nehemiah was highlighting how even they could understand and comprehend. This was a gathering for the people to hear and understand the word of God, and the people knew that! They responded by being attentive in their hearing.

As he opened the book, the people stood out of reverence (Neh 8:5). Ezra blessed the Lord and the people responded by saying “Amen, Amen” and lifted up their hands, bowed their heads and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground (Neh 8:6). They affirmed what is being read (“Amen, Amen”) and praised the great, covenant-keeping God.

All worship is responsive. And they are responding to the word read out. Have you been in a gathering like this, when the people of God are so acutely aware of their sin and God’s grace? Have you forgotten what it’s like to recover once again our sin, God’s grace and His patience for us?

(C) Work of reform: clearly giving the sense for understanding (Neh 87-8)

The Levites went among the people to help them understand the Law (Neh 8:7). The reading of the Law was not all that took place. Ezra and his team unpacked, explained and made clear the word that is read.

The Levites read from the book, from the Law of God and gave the sense so that the people understood the reading (Neh 8:8). They sought to help the people understand what the text says.

We too, desire to understand the Word rightly. With right understanding comes right feeling and doing. The problem with so much of our Christian life is that we just want to do the right thing and find ourselves with no power to do so, because we want the wrong things.

In Jeremiah 36:3-32, we see a jarring and opposite response of a man, Jehoiakim, who had no interest in the word of God. He cut off bits of the scroll and threw it in the fire. He did not care that God has spoken.

Today, there are also so many Christians who do not care that God has spoken. They might as well be tearing off the pages of God’s word and throwing it into the fire, for their Bibles are closed and never read. When we keep God’s word closed or when we close our hearts to His word when His word is open, we are doing exactly the same as Jehoiakim here.

Do you care about God’s word? Are you interested in knowing the word and getting the sense? Maybe you do not know why people around you stand when God’s word is read, and you feel bored when it is so. Consider: something very wrong might be going on in your heart. pray that God will help you see yourself with clarity. The way we see His word is how we see God. May God help us to honour His word as we honour Him.