Loving Respect For The Word

...do not be grieved, for the joy

of the Lord is your strength.

Nehemiah 8:10b

One could take a poll of Christians as to what their favorite person or incident is in the Bible other than Jesus and His ministry. In younger years, I went through stages. For a time, Moses was a hero of mine and by the way, still is. For a time, I moved to favor David, the man after God's own heart. I also at one time leaned toward Daniel, then Peter and of course Paul. However nestled into a part of the Old Testament book of Nehemiah is a precious incident. I have through a period of time, come to love Nehemiah and Ezra. Both of them are post captivity prophets if I may refer to them as such.

Nehemiah was allowed to return to Jerusalem to aid in the planning and rebuilding of that decimated city. It's interesting to read how he handled all of the opposition that came his way. In the book of Nehemiah we also see that Ezra returned to Jerusalem as well. God's purpose in his return was to encourage revival in the hearts of the people. Many returning from Babylon had never been in the blessed city of Jerusalem after a lengthy captivity of God's people. Many didn't even have a good grip on their faith, having been away from all of the laws and customs. Something dynamic was about to happen to the people and Ezra was in personal preparation for the moment.

I love Ezra 7:6 that says that Ezra came from Babylon and he was a scribe skilled in the law of Moses. All he did was because the the hand of the Lord his God was upon him. As a scribe, it was Ezra's job to make copies of whatever Scripture he had available to him. In that process, he became a real student of the Word. However, the real excitement was about to happen.

We go to Nehemiah 8, and there we find the following in some verses in that chapter.

In verse 1, we find the people gathered at the Water Gate asking Ezra to bring the book of the law to them. Verse 2 shows us Ezra bringing the Word before the people to read to those who could listen with understanding.

I find it interesting that Ezra read from the law from early morning until midday. Can you imagine that? We go to church and expect a service to last one hour and one hour only. Woe be to the pastor who preaches too long. Not only that, but when Ezra opened the book to read it, ALL of the people stood up in one accord. So in all of that time, their respect ran so deep that they couldn't do anything but stand out of love and respect.

The people responded to the reading by answering the reading with “Amen, Amen!” They were lifting their hands and then verse 6 tells us that they bowed low and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground. There were men...interpreters of sorts...who were roaming through the crowd translating Ezra's words for those who no longer spoke Hebrew.

Further into verse 9, we find something interesting. We are told that all the people were weeping when they heard the words of the law. Ezra encouraged them to go, eat and regard the day as being holy. He then spoke to them to not be grieved...

“...for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

These folks were so starved for the Word of God, they could hardly wait for Ezra to mount the wooden podium that had be built especially for that moment when the Word would be read in Jerusalem to returning exiles perhaps for the first time in 70 years. They shouted, stood, then bowed and finally wept because they were so touched by the precious words being read by Ezra.

I am finding in our day an almost disregard by God's people for God's Word. Why do the atheists seem to get their way all the time? I think it's because we have an “I-don’t-care attitude” as Christians. We somehow feel we are entitled and that we will always be free in the study and preaching of God's Word. Those Israelites did watch a “clock.” They couldn't get enough of just the reading of the Word. They didn't need a special, entertaining speaker to read those precious words. They were so hungry for the Word, they would do anything to be within the hearing of the reading of it.

So I ask myself:

How enthused am I about hearing God's Word read and preached?

How long would I be willing to STAND listening to it?

When was the last time the reading of the Word brought me to tears?

When was the last time I uttered an “Amen” during the preaching or teaching of it?

I dearly love this incident that God chose to include in His Word about a dedicated Scribe (Ezra) and a people so hungry to hear God's Word read that they could hardly stand it. I look at this incident periodically when I want my heart rewarmed toward the Scriptures.

Ezra didn't want the people grieved and crying. He knew the source of the peoples strength....the joy of the Lord. That same strength is available to us as well today. May we just “splash” around in the Lord's joy, knowing He will pour His strength into us. Remember the following?

The B-I-B-L-E

Yes that's the Book for me.

I stand alone on the Word of God

The B-I-B-L-E!!!

Thank You, Lord Jesus for Your Word. The only captivity I can really know is a self imposed captive to self and forgive me for that. I want a genuine and loving enthusiasm toward Your Word, not as some gimmick but in order to walk in obedience and to know You like I haven't known You before this moment. I love you.....Amen