On the first day of the seventh month, the people came together in the open area in front of the Water Gate. Then they asked Ezra, who was a teacher of the Law of Moses, to read to them from this Law that the Lord had given his people. Ezra the priest came with the Law and stood before the crowd of men, women, and the children who were old enough to understand. From early morning till noon, he read the Law of Moses to them, and they listened carefully.
(Nehemiah 8:1-3)
Ezra was up on the high platform, where he could be seen by everyone, and when he opened the book, they all stood up. Ezra praised the great Lord God, and the people shouted, “Amen! Amen!” Then they bowed with their faces to the ground and worshiped the Lord.
(Nehemiah 8:5-6)
The people started crying when God’s Law was read to them. Then Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and teacher, and the Levites who had been teaching the people all said, “This is a special day for the Lord your God. So don’t be sad and don’t cry!”
(Nehemiah 8:9)
Background
For over 100 years the Jerusalem wall had been in shambles. And the people of God had been scattered with little protection. God seemed distant…so far away.
But redemption from the rubble was coming. God needed a capable and willing volunteer. Nehemiah obediently stepped up to lead a project that had been part of God’s plan for his life. Hope was being birthed. It was time.
The completion of this critical project was tedious, dangerous and met with opposition. Most critical kingdom projects typically are.
God’s fingerprints on the successful completion of the project were not lost on God’s people. This was simply an answer to prayer. A miracle. It was now time to give credit where credit was due. The people asked Ezra, the priest, to read them the Law.
And this passage paints a sobering picture of their reverence for the Law. They all stood when the Law was opened. They shouted “Amen! Amen!” and then bowed to the ground and worshipped God. They proceeded to cry when the Law was read to them. And they listened attentively for at least the following 6 hours.
The Law was a precious gift that demanded their attention and affections.
Reflections
Easy access and abundant supply can breed complacency regarding the view of an object’s worth. The bible in western culture is so easily available in bookstores; motel and hotel rooms and a plethora of online resources, including Bible apps. And with such easy access, I get nervous that we too easily lose sight for the value that scripture provides.
Scripture is one of God’s primary vehicles for communicating with us. For illustrating his crazy love. For giving us hope and comfort in times of distress. For deepening our faith. For providing instruction and wisdom. For drawing us to pursue righteousness. And for providing whisperings for our life’s plans.
But do we really attach precious value to the gift of scripture, as people did in the Nehemiah narrative? Setting aside even that high mark, do we spend more time in scripture compared to the pursuit of our entertainment preferences? Or our on-line favorite web sites? Or even our favorite Christian authors or blogs?
A few years ago I responded to a pastoral challenge to spend more time in scripture for a season. The Holy Spirit used this time to literally reset my priorities; focus and longings. While so more needs to be done to reshape me… I’m a much different person today than I was years ago. And becoming much more committed and disciplined in my approach to scripture has been at the center of this change. There is simply power in the word.
Lord, there is so much power in scripture. It is a very precious gift. You were so gracious years ago to help me absorb this simple truth. This wasn’t me. You pursued me. Please help my hunger here to be elevated still. Continue to use your word to draw me nearer to you. Use it to change my heart. And to give me your eyes. I love you. Amen.
What if the full church body dedicated themselves to even just 40 days of very disciplined scripture reading and prayer as a start?
What if... 