Revival of the Word (I)

[Nehemiah 8:1-5]

Do you know the difference between bewilderment, sadness and shock? Bewilderment - when you go through the Old Testament, thinking that the sermon text the book of Hebrews is from the Old Testament, Sadness - when you can't find the text of the Bible and wander around, but the pastor told me to read it first, Shocking - when you open the Bible to read the text, but it's a Chinese Bible (Internet). In this age we live in, we are facing the phenomenon of a drought in which we do not listen to God's word. Look at Amos 8:11 – “’The days are coming,’ declares the Sovereign LORD, ‘when I will send a famine through the land-- not a famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the Words of the LORD.’” This era we live in is an era that denies the existence of absolute truth, an era in which emotional arousal through psychological manipulation draws more attention than the true Word of God, an era where people talk about the God’s word more than do the word, and an era which even if we have ears, we cannot hear the Word of God (God’s voice). Next year's church motto is ‘Running toward the Word of the Lord’ (Ps. 119:32). May the Lord bring about a revival of the Word in our church. I hope and pray that our church will be firmly established on the rock of the Word. Then our church will not be shaken. We will not be shaken no matter what temptations, adversities, and crises may come our way. So, I would like to think about one thing today under the title of “Revival of the Word (I)” centered on the text of Nehemiah 8:1-5.

First, we must long for the Word of God.

How do we know that the Israelites longed for God's Word? We can tell in 3 ways:

They asked to preach the word of God.

Look at Nehemiah 8:1 – “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.” After God rebuilt the city of Jerusalem through Nehemiah, we now see him rebuilding the hearts of the Israelites through the scholar Ezra. Who is Ezra? He was a scholar who had already been in Jerusalem thirteen years before Nehemiah went to Jerusalem, and Ezra 7:10 says about him: “For Ezra had set his heart to study the law of the LORD and to practice it, and to teach His statutes and ordinances in Israel.” Ezra was a man with great ambitions. The purpose of his life was to study, practice, and teach the law of God. In other words, his aspirations included action. It was because of this that he was able to become an extraordinary person (White). God used this spiritual leader, Ezra, to bring about the revival of the Word in the square in front of the Water Gate for the rebuilding of the Israelites' hearts. An interesting fact is that all the Israelites voluntarily came to the Water Gate Suare and asked Ezra to read the book of the law of Moses. It wasn’t even advertised. Although the city of Jerusalem could have turned into a festive atmosphere, the Israelites wanted to gather in front of the Water Gate Square to hear the word of God. Why did the Israelites do that? ‘The Israelites knew an important truth. They knew they couldn't be happy with just the fact that the construction of the wall was complete. They knew they needed God's Word. They knew the truth that man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God’ (Lee). But the question is, how did the Israelites know such an important truth? That is what the Israelites would have learned through Nehemiah's exemplary life. The Israelites, who rebuilt the city of Jerusalem under the leadership of Nehemiah for 52 days, saw and learned through their leader Nehemiah the life of faith in which they fear God and keep the word of God even in the face of the danger of assassination. They wanted to listen to the word of God without holding a feast afterwards. Another thing I think I learned from watching the life of obedience to the words of the scholar Ezra. With good reason, the Holy Spirit used the exemplary lives of Ezra and Nehemiah to arouse hunger and curiosity in the people (White).

What phenomenon do we see among us these days? What do we really feel and see in the church? The church, the preacher, hopes to amuse us, to rid us of our boredom or indolence (Packer). That's why the pastor's sermon is changing into 'very entertaining'. What should we be? Just like the Israelites in the text, we should ask our pastor, ‘Pastor, teach me the words of God. Please deliver God's true message' and become people who want to listen to the Word.

The Israelites listened to the Word from early morning until midday.

Look at Nehemiah 8:2-3: “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. He read from it before the square which was in front of the Water Gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of men and women, those who could understand; and all the people were attentive to the book of the law.” The Israelites who asked the scholar Ezra to explain the book of the law of Moses heard Ezra read the book of the law at the Water Gate Square from early morning to midday [about six hours (Lee)]. This was very surprising. It is not easy to listen to a 40-minute sermon these days. But imagine if the pastor read the Bible for 6 hours. How many people do you think there will be in the congregation who will open their eyes and ears and listen to the Word to the end? The wife of Pastor In-joong Kim of Ansan Dongsan Church said: I think ministry is a battle between remembering names and keeping time. … My husband impresses me by memorizing his name, but he loses points by being on time. It takes 23 years to burn the pain of preaching for more than 50 minutes even though the time for worship is tight. Why is the pastor’s wife like that? I just want 5 more minutes. You don't know my husband, but everybody likes him. It would be nice to listen to the silent eyes of the public and the wife's mantra. ... Those who know the characteristics of long sermons, if they want to request a 30-minute sermon, ‘Pastor, please shorten it to 15 to 20 minutes. Place a special order. So 30-40 minutes... . I nag that good instructors are punctual. Then you try... (Internet). It's not once or twice when I think about shortening it a little while watching your faces when the sermon is getting longer. But isn't it surprising that the Israelites had been listening to the law of Moses through Ezra for about 6 hours? This is the revival of the Word. True spiritual revival arises from a thirst for the Word of God and a thirst for the truth (Lee).

The Israelites stood and listened to the Word.

Look at Nehemiah 8:5 – “Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people for he was standing above all the people; and when he opened it, all the people stood up.” Why did the Israelites stand and listen to God? The reason is because they thought they were listening to the Word of God, not just listening to people (1 Thess. 2:13). This was the behavior of the Israelites to show humility and reverence before God (Park). That's why our church stands up and receives the word of God when I read the Bible during worship. How long did the Israelites stand and listen to God? They continued to stand until the end of the explanation of the law of Moses to be read and understood (8:7). That is, they stood up from early morning until midday to hear the word of God (v. 3). In terms of time, they stood and listened to the Word for about 5 to 6 hours. This is very surprising. Imagine you stood up and listen to the sermon not 30-40 minutes, but about 6 hours. Imagine standing up and listening to the words of God. Can you imagine?

It is still an unforgettable experience. Before marriage, I asked to be a bridesmaid at my middle school friend's wedding. I remember that the wedding service lasted about an hour. And I stood upright with tension for an hour. But after the wedding service, my legs didn't feel like mine. But what I have nothing to say is that my wedding went on for over an hour, and I wonder if my friends who were bridesmaids were shocked. One friend told me that she would never stand up for a friend's wedding again because it was so hard to stand there wearing a suit for so long all her life. Lol. However, the Israelites stood and listened to the word of God for about 6 hours, not 1 hour. I think this is impossible if we do not long for the word of God. But what is even more surprising is that the Israelites listened to the word of God not just for one day, but for a week (7 days), standing for about 6 hours every day (8:18). Of course, I think that Ezra probably gave the Israelites time to rest. Still, the fact that they wanted to stand and listen to the word of God for so long every day for a week shows how much the Israelites longed for the word of God.

A traveler traveling in England was passing by the coast and saw many seagulls lying dead on the sand. The sea was clean and it was a perfect environment for seagulls to live in. So he thought it would not be an ordinary death. So, the traveler asked the cause of death to a man who was clearing up dead seagulls. Then he answered: ‘Many travelers come here. Travelers throw delicious food such as sweets and candies to the seagulls. That's harmful to seagulls. As the seagulls eat these delicious foods, they completely lose their appetite for natural food. When the season passes and tourists stop coming, the seagulls leave a lot of food in the sea that is good for them and wait for the food from the tourists and die of starvation.’ Things that harm us are sometimes so sweet that we forget good food to satisfy our soul's hunger and thirst (Internet).