Nehemiah 8 – 10; Psalms 1, 91

The return TO Jerusalem was the beginning of the return OF Jerusalem. The walls needed rebuilding and the homes needed to be reoccupied for the city to come to life. The rebuilding of the walls was the beginning of the return of the LORD to Jerusalem, as the temple would be rebuilt and God would be with them. The rebuilding of the temple would be the beginning of the countdown to Messiah – a people prepared for “the fullness of time”. A people. God’s people. This is not a story of walls, temples and rituals.

The rest of the people, the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, the temple servants, and all who have separated themselves from the peoples of the lands to the Law of God, their wives, their sons, their daughters, all who have knowledge and understanding, join with their brothers, their nobles, and enter into a curse and an oath to walk in God’s Law that was given by Moses the servant of God, and to observe and do all the commandments of the LORD our Lord and his rules and his statutes. We will not give our daughters to the peoples of the land or take their daughters for our sons.

Nehemiah 10:28-30

After 70 years of exile, the people were broken from their adulterous idolatry and renewed their commitment to Yahweh Elohim Shaddai, the LORD God Almighty. How did they arrive back at this place? Not the physical place, but the spiritual one of repentant humility. It happened to them the same way it happens to us – they were pierced in the heart by the Word of the Living God. That godly sorrow then produces repentance.

And all the people gathered as one man into the square before the Water Gate. And they told Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses that the LORD had commanded Israel. So Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly, both men and women and all who could understand what they heard, on the first day of the seventh month. And he read from it 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. And the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law.

Nehemiah 8:1-3

The people had had enough of the suffering that comes from rebellion against the will of God. They endured the long walk home, the taunts of Sanballat and his friends and they completed the walls in 52 short days. Dependence upon God was starting to change their hearts and minds and now they were willing to listen and understand.

And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was above all the people, and as he opened it all the people stood.

Nehemiah 8:5

If the people had kept the Law from the start they would never have had to rebuild the wall because it never would have been breached. For them, it wasn’t about the wall it was about the Law. The very words and instruction that was so easily ignored a generation ago now compelled the people to stand out of reverence.

And Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God, and all the people answered, “Amen, Amen,” lifting up their hands. And they bowed their heads and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground. Also Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, the Levites, helped the people to understand the Law, while the people remained in their places. They read from the book, from the Law of God, clearly, and they gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading.

Nehemiah 8:6-8

Reverence for the Word of God compelled the people to worship the LORD. So important is the Word to the spiritual wellbeing of the people that the priests and Levites took great care to assure everyone fully understood not merely the words, but the sense of these teachings. This was never meant to be cold ritual, rather God intended this to produce a covenant relationship through repentance and forgiveness. And so their hearts were pierced.

What happens next is crucial to our understanding of God’s will for our lives in Christ. Just as on Pentecost, we are confronted not with the Law of Moses but the Word of God become flesh. Jesus the Lamb of God sacrificed for our sin. The commanded response of the Holy Spirit to those whose hearts are pierced is to repent and be baptized into Christ for the forgiveness of sins.

In both circumstances – the Hebrews in Jerusalem and the newly born-again Christian in the church – we need to clearly understand that God does not leave them to wallow in sadness. What are we to do when pierced in the heart and godly sorrow compels repentance? Rejoice!

Go your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.” So the Levites calmed all the people, saying, “Be quiet, for this day is holy; do not be grieved.” And all the people went their way to eat and drink and to send portions and to make great rejoicing, because they had understood the words that were declared to them.

Nehemiah 8:10-12

Listen to TRUTH. Enjoy God’s BLESSINGS. Live your NEW LIFE. When we wrongly reduce our relationship to God down to rule keeping, we are robbed of joy. All attempts to be justified by works of law result in our own works becoming our measure of strength. God never intended this. Yahweh expected reverent, obedient devotion from His people shining brightly in their everyday lives. The same is true in the church.

What do we do when we are pierced in the heart and repent? Go your way and LIVE! Only when we live our new life in Christ daily can we come to understand the sense of the of the words, “The joy of the LORD is our strength”.

Consider His nature.  Consider His ways.  Strive to love Him more!