Wednesday: The People’s Response
When Ezra opens up the Word of God, the Hebrew Torah, the people stand up. Before Ezra reads, he blesses God. After he reads, the people respond with “Amen, Amen!” (Neh. 8:6; NKJV) in unison as they lift their hands toward heaven. They then bow their heads down and worship with their faces to the ground.
Read Nehemiah 8:9-12. Why did the leaders tell the people not to “mourn nor weep”?
The People’s Response
“So, in later years, when the law of God was read in Jerusalem to the captives returned from Babylon, and the people wept because of their transgressions, the gracious words were spoken: “Mourn not…. Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the Lord is your strength. Nehemiah 8:9-10” – Ellen G. White, The Ministry of Healing, p. 281.
As the people were listening to the words of God, they were struck by their own sinfulness and began to weep. When God reveals Himself to us and we begin to grasp that God is full of love, goodness, mercy, and faithfulness, our own inadequacies and failure to be what we should be come to the forefront. Seeing God’s holiness through His Word causes us to see our terribleness in a new light. This realization caused the people of Israel to weep and mourn, but they were not to sorrow, “for the joy of the LORD is your strength” (Neh. 8:10). In other words, despite their failures, they could trust in the power of God.
This was also a special day, a holy day, the Feast of Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah), on which short blasts of the trumpets signaled the importance of “heart” preparation for the judgment of the Lord (Day of Atonement, celebrated on the 10th day of the month of Tishri). The blowing of the trumpets signaled a call to stand before God and repent. Because the day was designed to remind the people to turn to God, the weeping and mourning is understandable. But the leaders reminded them that once they had repented, God had heard them, and therefore it was time to rejoice in God’s forgiveness.
| What should it tell us about just how bad sin is that it put Jesus on the cross as the only way to solve the problem of sin and give us hope? |
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There are a couple of references in Nehemiah 8 that should not go unnoticed by the modern reader.
The instruction to eat and drink was an important one and if you look at the ancient Israel tithing systems, you will see provision was made for these celebration feasts. (https://ssnet.org/blog/tithe-in-israel-a-summary/) When you are eating and drinking, and sharing with others you have the opportunity to understand one another better. Our spiritual lives are not just about “God talk” but the sharing of experiences and ideas contribute greatly to our’s and other’s spiritual well-being. So, the humble potluck has a Biblical precedent.
Maybe this is what Paul had in mind when he wrote to the Corinthians:
The post-exilic period was a time of reconciliation between the exiles and non-exiles. What better way to do that than to eat together.
Maurice thank you so much for taking the time to share thoughts and your knowledge with us. I so look forward to reading your comments and absorbing what you teach us. Thank you
Acts 2
37 Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” 38 And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
The people knew they had done wrong and asked for forgiveness and wanted turn away from the way they were living.
When we are at peace with God, there is a sweet joy that fills our heart.
Luke 24:17
17 He asked them, “What are you discussing together as you walk along?”
They stood still, their faces downcast.
The disciples were sad because they did not understand why Jesus had to be crucified? .
32 They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”
33 They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together 34 and saying, “It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.”
Once understood and experienced the resurrection of Christ no dark night could keep them from sharing the message they returned at once to the other disciples.
"Just before the end the Advent people will review their past history and see it in a new light. ... We must acknowledge and confess the mistakes of our fathers and see to it that we do not repeat them and thus further delay the final triumph of the Advent Movement. The history of the past must be reviewed and studied in the light of these mistakes and their consequence in a long delay of the coming of Chris" (Taylor G. Bunch, The Exodus and Advent Movements in Type and Antitype, Privately Published Facsimile, cir. 1937, pp. 107, 168)." [2]
"Sabbath School Today" is on the Internet at: http://1888message.org/sst.htm
When you have experienced Christ, you cannot sit still.
When did your heart burn with fire?
It was usually during baptism, camp meeting, evangelistic seminar and revival meeting.
Why? You had altered your life style.
Do not let satan quench out that fire from your heart.
Come and fall in love with him.
Individuals realized how far their hearts were from being in the image of the LORD. The elders realized they had in fact been leading the people away from the LORD's way.
It is possible that as a group decisions have been that in fact are not entirely according to the LORD's will.
Are we brave enough to stand up and nail our 95 thesis to the door of the church as Martin Luther did on that 31 October?
God is the only safe port for us. We know nothing about the future! He is the owner of the Universe, and above all, God is love!
Guidance by the spirit of God.
When the Spirit of God is in a place the worship takes on a different meaning. Could we survived with that type of worship as it was in Ezra-Nehemiah time? Are we saying their worshiping style was wrong? Is there a wrong or right type of worship? Do cultures worship differently? Does worship styles matters? The question is, how do I know the Lord accepts my style of worship over another person worship? Nehemiah 8:5,6. This sounds to me like the people was having a Pentecostal moment. The Amen, Amen, the lifting up of their hands towards heaven, their heads bowed down and worship with their faces to the ground.
But what does those things mean? Those people were truly sorry for their sins. They mourned and repented. Each need to search our own heart to see where we stand before the mercy throne.
Satan can take people to the far left or far right thinking we are doing the right thing in love for God. Prayer, preaching, singing, discussion etc etc in or out of church means nothing anymore to us. We find faults in everything saying they were too loud, too noisy, too Pentecostal, too long they saints are weary, etc. This was a special day in Israel, a day of rejoicing. Do we have special days by us, how is the atmosphere?
What about when our team wins a game, do we mourn or rejoice?
Give him the glory and praise, he is worthy of our praises.
Regarding the people being told not to mourn:
The issue seems to be the day. It was a holy feast day that God had commanded to be kept with joy and gladness.
It is interesting to note that not long after, the people held a day of fasting and repentance.
The people mourned..and were told to rejoice.
We're no longer lifetime sinners After having earnestly realised and confessed our sins for our Heavenly father hears and forgives.
Let each human accept the forgiveness