READ THE BOOK…DON’T WAIT FOR THE MOVIE PART 2

RESPONDING TO THE WORD OF GOD.

Nehemiah 8:1

Nehemiah 8:1 (GW) - {When the seventh month came,} all the people gathered together in the courtyard in front of Water Gate. They told Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of Moses' Teachings, which the Lord had commandedIsrael {to follow}.

INTRO:  Last week we started a AM series entitled, “Read the book, don’t wait for the movie.”  We looked at seeking God through Scripture.  We looked at the question, Why Read the Bible?  We gave two reasons; (1) because the Bible has the power to transform us; (2) It is our authoritative guide for living.

This morning we are going to preach from the subject, “Responding to the Word of God.”

We can never talk too much about how powerful God’s Holy Word is.  There is just not enough to say concerning it.  It should be a joy and a blessing just to read it.

Here are a few things the some great men of the past has said concerning the Word of God.

• Victor Hugo – England has two books, the Bible and Shakespeare.  England made Shakespeare, but the Bible made England.
• George Washington – It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible.
• Andrew Jackson – That book, sir, is the rock on which our republic rests.
• Theodore Roosevelt – Almost every man who has by his life – work added to the sum of human achievement of which the race is proud, of which our people are proud, almost every such man has based his life-work largely upon the teachings of the Bible.

Going into the context of Chapter 8, construction of the wall has just been completed.  The people have established their family lines.  This was the beginning of the Jewish New Year.  They were going to start the New Year off right, with the reading of God’s Word.  So they gathered at the Watergate and called for Ezra the scribe to come and read from the Word of God.

Now using chapter 8 as our guide, we are going to see four things that the people did to with the Word of God:

1.  They honored the Word.

Verses 1-3 (HCSB) - ¹ all the people gathered together at the square in front of the Water Gate. They asked Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses that the Lord had given Israel .
² On the first day of the seventh month, Ezra the priest brought the law before the assembly of men, women, and all who could listen with understanding.
³ While he was facing the square in front of the Water Gate, he read out of it from daybreak until noon before the men, the women, and those who could understand. All the people listened attentively to the book of the law.

A.     First, they honored the Word with their attendance (verse 1).

1.      The People gathered together publicly in a open square to hear the reading from God’s Word.  You see, chances are most of them hadn’t really heard it, or read it for that matter.  They were making a new commitment by gathering together in unity to hear the Word being read.

2.      What can we learn from this:  When you and I faithfully attend services where the Word is being preached, we are not doing it to just boost attendance numbers, but we should be doing it to honor the preaching of the Word!  You are declaring that the Word is worth taking time out of your busy schedules to be heard.

Hebrews 10:24-25 (GW) – 24 We must also consider how to encourage each other to show love and to do good things. 25 We should not stop gathering together with other believers, as some of you are doing.  Instead, we must continue to encourage each other even more as we see the day of the Lord coming.

3.      But you may say Pastor, what if I don’t agree with everything being preached.  Number 1, study what is said in context, you may need to correct what you believe, and number 2, it doesn’t matter, as long as the gospel is peached.

Philippians 1:18 (HCSB) – What does it matter?  Just that in every way, whether out of false motives or true,  Christ is proclaimed (preached).  And in this I rejoice.

B.     They honored the Word with their attention (v. 3).

1.      Notice the HCSB says they listened attentively.

2.      They listened for about 5 to 6 hours daily.  And if you study this out, this lasted for about one week.

3.      When you and I sit in church, we need to make sure that we give our full attention to what is being delivered unto us.  It is not the time to play hangman on the bulletin’s.  Nor is it the time to catch up on our reading of the Bible on our own, or leaving each other notes on what people are wearing, or where we want to go to lunch.  Pay attention, write down what it taught so that you can go home and study it.

4.      Here is something interesting I read, the Bible in 50 words:  God made, Adam bit, Noah arked, Abraham split, Joseph ruled, Jacob fooled, bush talked, Moses balked, Pharaoh plagued, people walked, sea divided, tablets guided, promise landed, Saul freaked, David peaked, Prophets warned, Jesus born, God walked, love talked, anger crucified, hope died, love rose, Spirit flamed, Word spread, God remained, Jesus comes again.

2.  They sought to understand the Word.

Verses 4-8 (HCSB) - ⁴ Ezra the scribe stood on a high wooden platform made for this purpose. Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah stood beside him on his right; to his left were Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hash-baddanah, Zechariah, and Meshullam.
⁵ Ezra opened the book in full view of all the people, since he was elevated above everyone. As he opened it, all the people stood up.
⁶ Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God, and with their hands uplifted all the people said, “• Amen, Amen!” Then they bowed down and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground.
⁷ Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, and Pelaiah, who were Levites, explained the law to the people as they stood in their places.
⁸ They read the book of the law of God, translating and giving the meaning so that the people could understand what was read.

A.     First before understanding, notice how they honored the Lord with their attitude (v. 6).

B.     Notice that there were men there to translate the Word to the people so that they could understand.

1.      They translated to possibly two different ways: (1) The languages the Jews had brought with them in captivity; (2) they explained in ways easier to understand the proper meaning of the words they were hearing.

C.     It is not enough just to hear or read the Word of God, but to seek to understand it.

1.      There are many modern tools that help:  Translations, commentaries, Bible handbooks, language helps.  I encourage all these to be used.

2.      But the best help is the Holy Spirit as He explains the context of each book to you.

D.     How understanding came to those who heard in this passage.

1.      Through public proclamation – like our preaching services.

2.      Through personal instruction – This would be like our one on one just meeting together with only one agenda, to know His Word more, not to argue; small groups; Sunday School classes.

3.  They rejoiced in the Word.

Verses 9-12 -  Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who were instructing the people said to all of them, “This day is holy to the Lord your God. Do not mourn or weep.” For all the people were weeping as they heard the words of the law.
¹⁰ Then he said to them, “Go and eat what is rich, drink what is sweet, and send portions to those who have nothing prepared, since today is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, because your strength [comes from]rejoicing in the Lord.”
¹¹ And the Levites quieted all the people, saying, “Be still, since today is holy. Do not grieve.”
¹² Then all the people began to eat and drink, send portions, and have a great celebration, because they had understood the words that were explained to them.

A.     The people probably hadn’t heard the Word read or explained (preached) to them because of the fact they were in bondage and captivity.  Here after all these years they hear it and begin to weep.

1.      The Levites had to tell them not to weep, but to rejoice.  It was time to party!  Why?  Because God’s Word was being read and explained to them.

Jeremiah 15:16 – Your words were found, and I ate them, and you word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart; For I am called by Your name, O Lord God of hosts.

B.     Sometimes our seriousness can be a hindrance in what God wants to do through His Word.

1.      When the Word goes forth, it should be a time of celebration.

C.     Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.  who was a member of the US Supreme Court for 30 years said, “I might have entered the ministry if it wasn’t for the fact that Ministers seemed to act more like undertakers.”

4.  They obeyed the Word.

Verses 13-18 -¹³ On the second day, the family leaders of all the people, along with the priests and Levites, assembled before Ezra the scribe to study the words of the law.
¹⁴ They found written in the law how the Lord had commanded through Moses that the Israelites should dwell in booths during the festival of the seventh month.
¹⁵ So they proclaimed and spread this news throughout all their towns and in Jerusalem, saying, “Go out to the hill country and bring back branches of olive, wild olive, myrtle, palm, and [other]leafy trees to make booths, just as it is written.”
¹⁶ The people went out, brought back [branches], and made booths for themselves on each of their rooftops, and courtyards, the court of the house of God, the square by the Water Gate, and the square by the Gate of Ephraim.
¹⁷ The whole community that had returned from exile made booths and lived in them. They had not celebrated like this from the days of Joshua son of Nun until that day. And there was tremendous joy.
¹⁸ Ezra read out of the book of the law of God every day, from the first day to the last. The Israelites celebrated the feast for seven days, and on the eighth day there was an assembly, according to the ordinance.

A.     Their obedience was found in the fact that they celebrated the feast (or festival) of booths (or tabernacles) for the first time in hundreds of years.

B.     This feast or festival was for three purposes:

1.      To look back – to the days of wandering through the wilderness.

2.      To look around – at all the blessings that God had bestowed upon them.

3.      To look ahead – To the coming of the glory of the Lord.

CONCL:  Let me leave you with this story.  A teenage boy who was a follower of Christ really wanted to kiss his girlfriend, but he felt that he needed some Scripture to tell him that it was okay.  He looked up and found the verse, “Greet each other with a holy kiss.”  But when he studied the context, he saw that this was just a typical greeting in the time o the Apostles and still that way in the Middle East today.  So he just gave up and decided not to kiss her.  His girlfriend was getting frustrated about it, and so one day out of desperation, she grabbed him and planted a big wet one right on his lips.  He panicked and said, “We need a Bible verse.”  She answered back, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you!”

Church, God’s Word is important to read, hear, understand the context, and apply and obey.  We aren’t here just as a social club, but we are here to rejoice in the Word being preached, to have it explained, and to apply it and obey it.  Let’s be people of the Book.