NEHEMIAH 8 - EXPERIENCING SPIRITUAL RENEWAL
Nehemiah 8
Under the leadership of Nehemiah, the people of Israel rebuilt the wall and settled into their cities (ch. 1-7). This fulfilled the necessary physical reconstruction of Jerusalem. However, under the leadership of Ezra the scribe, Jerusalem would undergo a spiritual reconstruction. All the people gathered together as one in the open square so that they could hear Ezra preach the word of God (v. 1).
People gather in this kind of way when they are experiencing spiritual renewal.
Ezra was a forerunner to Nehemiah, having returned to Jerusalem thirteen years prior (Ezra 7). He was a scribe, one who was trained in handling the Book of the Law of Moses, and he would give the people understanding of all the God had commanded (v. 2). For six hours a day, the people listened attentively as Ezra read aloud from Genesis to Deuteronomy (v. 3)
People listen in this kind of way when they are experiencing spiritual renewal.
These gatherings at the Water Gate became the place where people wanted to be. They constructed a platform for Ezra to be seen and heard better, and he had leadership support to his right and left (v. 4). These practical helps gave support to an atmosphere of preaching, worship, and prayer (v. 5-6). The people longed to have sense and understanding of what they were hearing, and the leaders did everything they could to facilitate that (v. 7-8).
People help one another in this kind of way when they are experiencing spiritual renewal.
The more that people understood what they were hearing, the more they were cut to the heart. Conviction set in so deep that people began to weep (v. 9). They realized what they had been missing out on with the Lord. As weeping filled Jerusalem, the loving and wise leaders instructed the people to turn their mourning into laughter (v. 10-12). The realization of their need for God was not cause for sorrow, but for joy.
People are capable of deep sorrow and rich joy in this kind of way when they are experiencing spiritual renewal.
As days went on, fathers came out to hear Ezra explain the Word of God (v. 13). They wanted to lead their families closer to the Lord and walk in obedience to his commands. They found a celebration in the law that they had not kept, and it was a wonderful thing for families to do together (v. 14). The Feast of Booths was a celebration where families would go into the mountains and gather branches to make outdoor tents (v. 15). The tents would be set up on rooftops or backyards and the families would sleep together under the stars and remember how God had brought them out of Egypt and through the wilderness (v. 16-17).
People live with this kind of family and community gladness when they are experiencing spiritual renewal.
Day by day the people continued to live in this time of spiritual renewal. They sustained this season by continuing in the word of God and assembling together as God had prescribed his people to do (v. 18).