Transcript

Nehemiah 8:1-8. Why don’t I do this? Why don’t I unpack it as I go? Um, I’m not recommending that for you younger pastors out there, you have to pastor 40 years before you do that, okay? But, um, the prominent message of Nehemiah 8:1-8 is the priority of the word and the priority of the preaching of the word. Here we actually have a a worship service as such centered on the word of God and, um, starting in verse 1 notice how it’s worded. Now a little of the context, um, the people have returned from exile in Babylon. They’ve been there quite a while and Ezra is something in semi-retirement, Brother David, Ezra is semi-retired, you’re semi-retired so you guys kinda the same, but he still hangs around and helps out which is what you’re doing, or being a problem whichever help out, whichever whichever it is. But Ezra is hanging around and he’s helping the governor, Nehemiah, and, uh, here’s what happens. Verse 1, Nehemiah 8, “And all the people gathered as one man at the square which was in front of the Water Gate, and they asked Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses which the LORD had given to Israel.” Now I want you to grasp as we go through the the greatness, the reverence, the awesomeness, the foundational element of the word of God and the preaching of the word. So the Lord, last part of verse 1, the Lord had given this book to Israel through Moses.

Verse 2, “Then Ezra the priest brought the law before the assembly of men, women and all who could listen with understanding, on the first day of the seventh month.” Now they had a special observance the first day of every month and this was the time for the reading and preaching of the word, not that it didn’t happen other times but it was a special meeting. And notice men and and women are included and that was not common in ancient Israel. Uh, so it kind of shows you the uniqueness and the specialness of this.

Verse 3, “He read from it before the square which was in front of the Water Gate from early morning until midday,” now that’s a long service, six hours or so maybe even longer, “in the presence,” again, “of men and women, those who could understand; and all the people were attentive to the book of the law. Again, another emphasis on the reverence and importance of the word and the preaching of the word.

Verse 4, “Ezra the scribe stood at a wooden podium, “uh, you could say a wooden pulpit. It was a raised area, again, to give esteem and priority to this ministry of the word, “which they had made for the purpose. And beside him stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah on his right hand; and Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zechariah and Meshullam on his left hand.” Now these are the associate pastors as such, these are associate priests. They’re all assembled there to give support to and to, uh, uh, to build to the esteem and the reverence of the moment.

All right, verse 5, “5 Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people for he was standing above all the people,” and that’s why our forefathers in the faith, Baptist and Puritans alike, built churches with the pulpits in the center and elevated because we do not build the church on priestcraft, we do not build the church on a so-called altar and there are no altars. Altars are gone. The only after we have is Calvary. You can have steps and you can kneel at the steps and make it an altar as such, but you can kneel there and make it an altar. You go out in the mall and kneel and make it an altar. And we had one dear senior adult man who went out to his Ford truck and sat there for 30 minutes after a service and that became his altar where he was saved. We don’t, we don’t worship in certain buildings and places. This is not more holy than there. It’s the gospel that saves, not the church structure that saves.

I got off on that, but he opened the book and the people stood up. Verse 6, “Then Ezra blessed the LORD the great God. And all the people answered, ‘Amen, Amen!'” Look at the reverence and all they have, “while lifting up their hands; then they bowed low and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground.” Here’s a people that have been in Babylonian pagan captivity and they’ve neglected the ordinances God gave Israel and one of them was the word and the the reading and the preaching of the word, and they’re recovering it back. Notice that. Ezra’s just beginning, he’s just come to the pulpit and the people just bowed and said, “O God, O God, this is just so amazing.” Have we grown so accustomed to the word that we’ve lost our reverence for what it is?

And again, to add to the esteem and the reverence in th