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Sermon
of 05-31-03
Nehemiah 8 "The Desire to Change"
by Dr. D. A. Farmer, pastor
Scripture: Romans 12:2; "And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God."
Today we look at chapter 8 of Nehemiah. We've already looked at the 1st 7 chapters. In our studies so far we have seen how Nehemiah accomplished the task assigned to him to rebuild the walls and gates of Jerusalem.
Chapter 8 highlights the fact that after reconstruction there was a great need for re-instruction from God. Before we are though today, we will look and see if we need any re-instruction from God. I hope to prove that we need too need to change the way we think about ourselves and about life.
All of us have been greatly affected by the philosophy of the world, probably much more than we are aware of. We have picked up from the media ideas and attitudes that we are hardly aware of what is wrong. And I feel we need to be re-instructed about these matters.
Lets begin with what I feel is the New Testament verse that corresponds with what we learn in Chapter 8, Romans 12:2:
"Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind."
The instrument of that renewing is always from the Word of God. If you need to change things in your life then change must come through the knowledge of the Bible.
It shouldn't be surprising to see chapter 8 opening with a demonstration of a great hunger for the Word among these people in Jerusalem. Listen to verses 1-3;
"And all the people gathered themselves together as one man into the street that was before the water gate; and they spake unto Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the LORD had commanded to Israel.
V: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.
V:3 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 unto the book of the law."
By the time, the seventh month came the Israelites had settled in their towns. All the people assembled - "as one man" in what you might call the town square just before the Water Gate. They told Ezra to bring out the
"Book of the Law of Moses, which the LORD had commanded for Israel" (v. 1). So Ezra brought the Book of the Law out and read from it. Notice that this seems to be a spontaneous gathering. No invitations were sent out. No public notice was given. People were hungry for answers to their problems. People wanted and needed guidance from the Word from God. So with one accord they gathered before the Water Gate.
The Book of Moses that Ezra read from was probably the entire Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. This indicates the tremendous desire of these people for truth. They listened, while standing, from daybreak until noon! They had no comfortable pews! And did you notice that Ezra read from the Scriptures from daybreak until noon! So please, no more disapproval of long services!
This shows us today how deeply they wanted and needed answers from God. This is also the first time Ezra the priest appears in the book of Nehemiah. Thirteen years earlier, he had led a return from Persia to rebuild the temple and to teach the Law of God. Apparently, he had been occupied doing this task all through the rebuilding of the wall and gates. Now that the people have finished their work, they wanted to hear what God had to say to them, so they sent for Ezra to read to them. They were hungry for the Word.
What about us today? Are we hungry for the Word of God? The prophet Amos predicted that there would come a famine in the world for the Word of God. Listen to Amos 8:11-12;
"Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD: V12 And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find it."
Amos says a time would come when the people would actually be starving for answers to the problems of life. And many will not find it. I feel we have come to that time in our own life. I find everywhere a deep hunger between churched and non-churched people wanting to know what Gods Word says. Some find it - some do not. It all depends on your relationship with Jesus if you will find it or not.
When Kathy and I were in Russia, we had people coming up to us asking all kinds of questions about the Bible. One story I recall a lot is about a woman by the name of Eya' and her daughter, Anya. They were not Seventh-day Adventist. In fact the mother was not even sure she believed in God. The church members before we arrived had rented their apartment for us to stay in.
One afternoon they came to us and said that if I, (the Pastor), did not heal her little girl, we could not stay there any longer. We had nowhere else to go. There wasn't a motel in this city of 300,000 people. Our Dr. said An-ya was dying from a kidney disease and needed to go to the hospital right then. I quickly said that I could not heal her daughter, only God can do that.
I took her to James chapter 5 where we have the formula of anointing people with oil for healing from God. At first, she said she would think
about it. I thought, problem solved. But they were back in a few days and this time Anya was worse. I again told her about the anointing service of James 5. This time the mother said yes and so we anointed Anya there and the next morning she was back in school.
This made Eya' hungry for the Word of God and she was baptized and joined the church. And this is only one story of people we met there in Russia hungry for the Word of the Lord. And the people here in Nehemiah 8 are hungry too.
Verse 4 says that Ezra stood on a platform made from wood, which had been built for the reading of God's Word. Now listen to verses 5-8;
"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: V: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 worshipped the LORD with their faces to the ground.
V:7 Also Jeshua, and Bani, and 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. V:8 So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading."
If you have ever wondered where I get asking you to stand as I read the Scripture, now you know. It comes from Nehemiah 8:5. To me, these verses make it clear how our church services ought to be conducted! The primary business of any Christian Church is to understand the Word of God. It is important to know what the Scripture says, but it is even more important to know what it means!
In verse 9 there follows a description of the impact of this upon those who heard. Listen;
"And Nehemiah, which is the Tirshatha, and Ezra the priest the scribe, and the Levites that taught the people, said unto all the people, This day is holy unto the LORD your God; mourn not, nor weep. For all the people wept, when they heard the words of the law."
Ever wondered why were they weeping? It was because the effect of the Word of God had on them. As they listened to the reading of the Scriptures, they saw their own lives were not in harmony with what God wanted from them. They saw the beauty of God and the ugliness of their own lives. They saw that the evil of the world and the pride in their hearts.
What about us today? When we read or hear Scripture does it have an effect on us? Does it make you want to weep when you realize that you and I are not living up to God's Word? It should friends! It should. In fact it must!
If reading God's Word doesn't make you want to change, make you want to weep, then you need to check your Spiritual life out. You need to know if God lives in your heart. Because if Jesus does live in your heart, then you will be wanting to change from your evil ways daily. Jesus said in Matthew 5:6:
"Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled."
Now Nehemiah and Ezra speak up and tell the people what to do next. Listen to verses 10-12; "Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the LORD is your strength.
V:11 So the Levites stilled all the people, saying, Hold your peace, for the day is holy; neither be ye grieved. V: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 unto them."
What a powerful statement of the effect God's Word had on the people! And it will us too! When you and I understand what the Bible says and keep it as God instructed us too, it brings joy in our life!
Notice how Nehemiah urges the people to send portions of food to those who had nothing prepared. Sharing with others that have nothing is another way joy is brought in to ones life. Nothing can make a person happier - more joyful than to give something to another person that has less.
In Russia, I would find people on the street that had one or two items of food for sale and buy from them before I went to the market. Sometimes I gave back to them the cabbage or what I
may have bought and told them to go home and fix it for her family. The smile that they gave brought joy to me like I have never felt before.
By the way, in case you didn't know it; - Jesus said in Matthew 25:34-40;
" Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
V:35 For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
V:36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. V:7
Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? V:38
When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? V:39
Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
V:40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me."
Now listen to verses 8:13-17; "And on the second day were gathered together the chief of the fathers of all the people, the priests, and the Levites, unto Ezra the scribe, even to understand the words of the law.
V14 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:
V:15 And 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. V:16
So the people went forth, and brought them, and made themselves booths, every one upon 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. V: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 Jeshua the son of Nun unto that day had not the children of Israel done so. And there was very great gladness."
This is the Feast of Tabernacles, a reminder that they were called as a people out of Egypt. They were not even to sit down when they ate the Passover meal, they had to eat it standing up. They were to have their staffs in their hands, dressed in traveling clothes, ready to leave. They left Egypt in one night. When they got into the desert and night fell, where were they to find shelter? Moses had been told by God that they were to collect branches and limbs of trees. And they were to build booths for shelter. Then God ordained that they were to do this once every year. Even though later they had homes to dwell in, they were to build these booths and live in them for seven days. This was to teach them that they were always pilgrims and strangers on the earth.
This world was not their home. And it is not our home either. This is how the old gospel hymn puts it:
This world is not my home.
I'm just a-passing through.
My treasures are laid up
somewhere beyond the blue.
The angels beckon me
from heaven's open door,
And I can't feel at home
in this world anymore.
That is the truth that will deliver us from the pressures of life. We must not hold on to the things of the world but hold on to God and His promises of a better life to come. My favorite author puts it this way: "While you are laying up treasure here, you will be forgetting the treasure above, forgetting that you are only passing through this world as strangers and pilgrims; therefore you are not to lay up your treasure upon earth, but lay up your treasure above. It is safe there, and nothing will ever deprive you of your treasures." R and H 1870
What will enable us to remember that? Listen to verse 18; it gives us the answer;
"Also day by day, from the first day unto 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."
Every day we must read the Scripture. Everyday saturated your mind in the Word of God. And when you do, you will see more and more the evils of the world and the pride in your own heart. You will begin to see yourself the way you really are. Then hopefully you will desire to change. Make things better. You will start preparing for your home above.
Friends, I've learned to appreciate the Bible because it brings me face to face with God! It is to reveal God to us. That is the reason for Scripture.
And I pray that as you read them, you too will have the desire to change;
"And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." Romans 12:2
When we continue, we will look at Nehemiah 9 which records the longest prayer in the entire Bible.
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