Revival of the Word
“Ezra praised the LORD, the great God; and all the people lifted their hands and responded, ‘Amen! Amen!’ Then they bowed down and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground. The Levites--Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan and Pelaiah--instructed the people in the Law while the people were standing there. They read from the Book of the Law of God, making it clear and giving the meaning so that the people could understand what was being read. Then Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who were instructing the people said to them all, ‘This day is sacred to the LORD your God. Do not mourn or weep.’ For all the people had been weeping as they listened to the words of the Law.” (Nehemiah 8:6-9)
The world has become morally lax. These days, we hear the term "moral hazard" frequently. Originally, this term meant that when people are insured, they tend not to be careful. For example, when someone has car insurance, they may not fear traffic accidents as much, and when someone has life insurance, they may not pay much attention to their health. It's like how the sense function on a remote control can eventually stop working—our conscience becomes dulled. It means we lose the ability to discern right from wrong. This phenomenon of moral hazard is not new, but it shows that there seems to be a lack of standards (Internet). So, what is our standard? It is the Bible. The Bible is referred to as the "canon." The original meaning of "canon" is a "measuring stick" or "rod." If we borrow the words from Amos 7:7-8, it is called a "plumb line." A plumb line is a tool used in construction to ensure something is perfectly vertical by attaching a weight to a string. This is the function and role of God's Word. If we live without the Word of God, we will inevitably live according to our own whims (Internet). That’s why Judges 21:25 says: “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” Based on today’s passage, I would like to think of three signs of the revival of the Word, under the title “Revival of the Word.”
The first is praise and worship.
Look at Nehemiah 8:6: "Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God, and all the people answered, 'Amen, Amen,' lifting up their hands; then they bowed down and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground." In Pastor Seong-geon Hong's book “The People God Seeks,” he describes two stages of worship. Regarding the first stage of worship, "praise," the author says: "It is the stage where we come to God relying on what He has accomplished for us through Jesus Christ. … When we worship God, the starting point is remembering and giving thanks for the work that God has already accomplished in Jesus Christ. Then, we sing about it, proclaim it, and praise it." Regarding the second stage of worship, "worship," the author says: "When we approach God, we come remembering and thanking Him for what He has done in us. But when we reach the throne of God, we see His glory. At that point, we no longer focus on what God has done but on who God is—God Himself. We praise Him for His grace, love, holiness, mercy, and majesty. … At this point, we no longer praise God for what He has done, but we worship Him for who He is" (Hong).
In today's passage, verse 6, we see Ezra praising and the Israelites worshiping: "Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God..." Ezra knew that the great God, with His great power, had accomplished this great work—the rebuilding of Jerusalem—through His mighty ability (1:10, 6:16). So, Ezra praised the great God in front of all the people of Israel gathered at the Water Gate, eager to hear the law of Moses. Look at Ezra 3:11: "And they sang, praising and giving thanks to the Lord, saying, 'For He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever toward Israel.' And all the people shouted with a great shout when they praised the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid." At that time, the response of all the people of Israel was to "worship the Lord." Now look at the second part of Nehemiah 8:6: "And all the people answered, 'Amen, Amen,' lifting up their hands; then they bowed down and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground." This is truly a remarkable and genuine revival of the Word. The Bible tells us that all the people of Israel who had gathered at the Water Gate, responding to the praise of the "great God" by Ezra the scribe with "Amen, Amen," humbled themselves and "worshiped" the Lord. In other words, the people of Israel acknowledged that the great God, with His mighty power, had accomplished a great work—rebuilding the city of Jerusalem—and that is why they responded with "Amen, Amen." Furthermore, the people did not stop at participating in the praise of Ezra because of the historical work God had done, but they went further to worship with humility and reverence, honoring God for His greatness as "the great God."
Like Ezra, we should praise God for His actions, seeing His good hand fulfilling His promises to our Victory Presbyterian Church, particularly the promise in Matthew 16:18. We should praise God for His work and His fulfillment of this promise. Furthermore, like the people of Israel, we should humbly acknowledge God’s faithfulness, grace, goodness, and His being God, and approach His throne of grace to worship Him.
The second is understanding.
Look at Nehemiah 8:7-8: “Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kalita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, the Levites, helped the people to understand the law, while the people remained in their places. They read from the book of the law of God, making it clear and giving the meaning so that the people understood what was being read.” When the scribe Ezra praised God ("blessed" God), the people of Israel responded with "Amen, Amen," worshiping God. Then, in verse 7, the Levites, standing in the Water Gate, taught the people the law. Here, we can find several principles for teaching the Bible.
(1) Reading the Bible.
The Levites "read from the book of the law of God."
(2) Clarifying and interpreting what the Bible teaches.
The Levites "gave the meaning of the book of the law of God" to the people of Israel. More specifically, the Levites interpreted the Mosaic law in a language that the people of Israel could understand. This was necessary because the Hebrew language used by Moses in writing the first five books of the Bible (Genesis to Deuteronomy) had changed over time by the period of Nehemiah and Ezra. Therefore, the Levites made the Mosaic law understandable to the people of Israel. J. I. Packer notes that the Levites helped the people of Israel apply the law to their lives by interpreting the meaning of the law of God.
(3) The purpose of Bible study is to help learners understand God's Word.
The Levites helped the people of Israel understand God's law.
In John Milton Gregory's The 7 Laws of Teaching, the first law, "The Law of Teaching," defines teaching as follows: "Teaching, in its simplest sense, is the communication of experience. … It is painting in the mind of another the picture in one’s own – the shaping of the thought and understanding to the comprehension of some truth which the teacher knows and wishes to communicate" (Gregory). Here, "communication" does not mean simply transferring intellectual knowledge, but helping the learner produce the teacher’s experience in their own understanding. Gregory further explains that the teacher must thoroughly know the lesson they wish to teach. This means teaching with a full heart and clear understanding. Teachers should use language that is clear and understandable both to themselves and to the students.
The third and last is weeping.
Look at the first part of Nehemiah 8:9: "When the people heard the words of the law, they wept …." As the people of Israel listened to the law of Moses, they all wept. The reason for their tears was that through the law, they became aware of their sins. Look at Romans 3:20: "...through the law we become conscious of our sin." J. I. Packer explained that the reason the people of Israel wept was because the realization of God's Word struck their hearts. People weep when they are overwhelmed by their emotions, and the tears resulting from those emotions are due to a clear awareness of some particular reality. The root of personal and communal spiritual revival is always a clear awareness of God's holiness, goodness, mercy, and the reality of our personal sins—wickedness, shame, rudeness, and suicidal foolishness.
When have we ever wept after hearing God's Word? When have we shed tears of repentance because the Word pierced our hearts and exposed our sins? Why are our tears of repentance dry? I find the reason in Amos 8:11: "A famine for hearing the words of the Lord." Because of this famine, we fail to recognize our sins.
This is Thomas Watson's view on "Repentance": "Repentance is needed for hypocrites. Hypocrisy is the disguising of holiness, and the hypocrite, or actor, goes a step further than the moralist by dressing up in the garments of religion. He pretends to have the form of godliness but denies its power (2 Timothy 3:5). The hypocrite is like a house with a beautiful appearance, but every room is dark. He is a beautifully gilded, rotten pillar, hiding the festering sores of his plague under the mask of a confession of faith. The hypocrite opposes the painting of his face but puts on the makeup of holiness. Outwardly he appears good, but inwardly he can be truly wicked. The hypocrite seems to have his eyes fixed on heaven, but his heart is filled with impure desires. He goes against his conscience and lives in secret sin. He hears the Word, but only with his ears. He is zealous for church dedication, and others see and praise him for it, yet he neglects private prayer in his home and closet. The hypocrite pretends humility, but it is for worldly success. He claims faith but uses it as a mask rather than a shield. He carries a Bible under his arm, but does not carry it in his heart. Take the candlestick of the Word and examine your heart, and see if you can find any area of repentance within it" (Internet).
We have entered a time of famine for hearing the Word of God (Amos 8:11). The prophet Habakkuk said in Habakkuk 1:4, “... the law is paralyzed, and justice never goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous; so justice goes forth perverted.” In such a time, when the law is paralyzed, what should we, the saints, do? Seeing this, the prophet of God, Habakkuk, prayed: "O Lord, I have heard the report of You, and I fear. O Lord, revive Your work in the midst of the years; in the midst of the years make it known; in wrath remember mercy" (3:2). The Hebrew word used for "revive" here is “hayah,” meaning to desire God to pour life into us. In the Hebrew perspective, revival always leads to repentance and “returning to God.” In the New Testament, returning to God is also referred to as revival. Revival is to abandon what we were pursuing for our own glory and return to the Lord. It is about kindling a fire in our weakened hearts and “becoming hot again.” Revival is a time when the faith of the saints grows, and unbelievers return to God in concentrated focus. We must quickly turn back to God, repenting of our sins and living lives of obedience to Him.