Nehemiah 9:1

 Nehemiah 9:1 says, Now in the twenty and fourth day of this month the children of Israel were assembled with fasting, and with sackclothes, and earth upon them.  On the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month the people had humbled themselves.  They did so by fasting, wearing sackcloth, and covering themselves with dirt.  This was symbolic of how they viewed themselves in comparison to God.  We may not go to this extreme today when we worship God, but we need to still know that we are worthless before God of our own merit.  Until we are willing to humble ourselves before God, we cannot truly worship Him. 

Verse two adds, And the seed of Israel separated themselves from all strangers, and stood and confessed their sins, and the iniquities of their fathers.  The people of Israel then separated themselves from all strangers and stood and confessed their sins and the sins of their fathers to God.  I don’t believe we are to physically separate ourselves from non-believers as Christians, since we cannot reach them with the gospel if we do, but we are to spiritually separate ourselves from the world.   Also, we only have to confess our sins to God and not those of others, since each individual must confess their own sins in order to be saved. 

Verse three continues, And they stood up in their place, and read in the book of the law of the Lord their God one fourth part of the day; and another fourth part they confessed, and worshipped the Lord their God.  For a fourth of the day, they read God’s book of law and for another fourth of the day they confessed and worshipped God.  We might have left after an hour or two, or tuned out if we didn’t, but worship service should still consist of reading and learning God’s word and confessing our sins to Him and worshipping and singing praises to God.  Worship should be something we enjoy and not something that can't be over quick enough.

 

Nehemiah 8:9

Nehemiah 8:9 says, And Nehemiah, which is the Tirshatha, and Ezra the priest the scribe, and the Levites that taught the people, said unto all the people, This day is holy unto the Lord your God; mourn not, nor weep. For all the people wept, when they heard the words of the law.  Nehemiah the ruler and Ezra the priest along with the Levites told the people not to weep, because this was the day of the Lord their God.  They were weeping because when they heard the words of the Law, they knew they were guilty, just as we are guilty under the Law of God, but they were told not to weep, because through faith they could be made free. When we come to a saving knowledge of God, if we weep, it should be happy tears, because by faith, we are set free from the penalty of sin. 

Verse ten adds, Then he said unto them, Go on 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.  Once more, the people were told to enjoy their day, to eat and feed those for whom nothing was prepared because this was a joyous day of the Lord.  When we gather as the church today, we should be a rejoicing people, and we should also be willing to help those in need.

Verse eleven continues, So the Levites stilled all the people, saying, Hold your peace, for the day is holy; neither be ye grieved.  The Levites, those who served in the worship services, then told the people once more to rejoice and not be grieved.  Once we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord, there is no need to continue to grieve.  We don’t need to carry around the burden of our sins, because the slate has been wiped clean. 

Verse twelve concludes, And all the people went their way to eat, and to drink, and to send portions, and to make great mirth, because they had understood the words that were declared unto them.  The people rejoiced because they had understood the words proclaimed to them.  Anytime we understand what God is saying to us and respond to it by accepting His word by faith, we should go on with our life but now do so by rejoicing in the salvation that God has provided for us. 

Verse thirteen states, And on the second day were gathered together the chief of the fathers of all the people, the priests, and the Levites, unto Ezra the scribe, even to understand the words of the law.  The next day, all the leaders of Isreal, along with the priests and Levites, gathered to understand God’s word better.  We should always gather together to understand God’s word as followers of Christ, and we need to pray that our preachers and teachers do so.  If we are going to follow God, we need to know what His word says, especially if we are a Christian and have accepted God’s gift of salvation. 

Verse fourteen adds, And they found written in the law which the Lord had commanded by Moses, that the children of Israel should dwell in booths in the feast of the seventh month:  They understood that the children of Israel, God’s chosen people, were to live in tents during the seventh month.  We today do not have feasts that we must keep, but we do have the command to live by God’s word under the leadership of the Holy Spirit. 

Verse fifteen continues, And that they should publish and proclaim in all their cities, and in Jerusalem, saying, Go forth unto the mount, and fetch olive branches, and pine branches, and myrtle branches, and palm branches, and branches of thick trees, to make booths, as it is written.  The people were told to go and gather the branches necessary to make booths so that they could fulfill God’s Law.  They may have been God’s chosen people, but the still needed to obey His law.  As Christians, spiritually we are a part of God’s chosen people, but we still need to do everything we can to follow the leadership of the Holy Spirit as we worship and do God’s will today. 

Verse sixteen says, So the people went forth, and brought them, and made themselves booths, every one upon the roof of his house, and in their courts, and in the courts of the house of God, and in the street of the water gate, and in the street of the gate of Ephraim.  The people obeyed the word of God that had been presented to them and so must we today if we are going to be successful in both our spiritual everyday life.  I don’t believe that we can separate the two.  We cannot live by God’s word when we are gathered together to worship Him and not live by His word the rest of the time.  Everything we do as followers of Christ should be done under the leadership of the Holy Spirit.

Verse seventeen adds, And all the congregation of them that were come again out of the captivity made booths, and sat under the booths: for since the days of Jeshua the son of Nun unto that day had not the children of Israel done so. And there was very great gladness.  The people who had come out of captivity to return to Israel made booths in accordance with Gods word, something they hadn’t done since the days of Joshua.  If we find that we haven’t been doing what God calls us to do, we need to repent and return to following the leadership of the Holy Spirit and doing what God has called us to do. 

Verse eighteen continues, Also day by day, from the first day unto the last day, he read in the book of the law of God. And they kept the feast seven days; and on the eighth day was a solemn assembly, according unto the manner.  The people continued to do what God had commanded as the book of the Law, God’s word, was read to them, and they declared a solemn assembly on the eighth day of the month in accordance with God’s word.  We likewise need to gather together to worship God and learn more about what His word says to us. All that we do should be done in accordance with God’s word under the direction of the Holy Spirit.

Nehemiah 8:1

Nehemiah 8:1 says, And all the people gathered themselves together as one man into the street that was before the water gate; and they spake unto Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded to Israel.  All the people gathered in with solemn or sincere attitude to hear the word of God read to them.  We still need to do this, and when we do, we need to be sincere in being there to hear the word of God spoken to us.  I believe if we are gathered with our fellow believers just to be entertained or to socialize, then we are not truly worshipping God. 

Verse two adds, And Ezra the priest brought the law before the congregation both of men and women, and all that could hear with understanding, upon the first day of the seventh month.  Matthew Henry points out that this was the day of the feast of trumpets and was also the day that the altar was set up to offer their burnt offerings after their return from captivity.  Every Sunday should be a glorious day for Christians as we gather to worship God and celebrate the fact that He has brought us to a right relationship with God. 

Verse three continues, And he read therein before the street that was before the water gate from the morning until midday, before the men and the women, and those that could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive unto the book of the law.  Ezra read for a long time and the people who listened to him began to understand what god's word says. We don't need to be in a hurry when proclaiming God's word or hearing it proclaimed if we expect to understand it.

Verse four states, And Ezra the scribe stood upon a pulpit of wood, which they had made for the purpose; and beside him stood Mattithiah, and Shema, and Anaiah, and Urijah, and Hilkiah, and Maaseiah, on his right hand; and on his left hand, Pedaiah, and Mishael, and Malchiah, and Hashum, and Hashbadana, Zechariah, and Meshullam.  Ezra was called by God to be a prophet, and we need preachers and teachers who are called by God today.  Ezra stood on a wooden pulpit that had been made for him and had several other men there with him.  Today, when preaching God’s word, the preacher is usually on the pulpit by himself physically, but hopefully he is not alone spiritually.  We need to be with him in our prayers and especially in our spiritual support of him. 

Verse five adds, And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people; (for he was above all the people;) and when he opened it, all the people stood up:  When Ezra opened the book of the Law to read it, he did so in the sight of the people, and the people all stood up.  We don’t stand when the scripture is read as much as we used to, but we need to show this same respect for God’s word today.  Also, preachers and teachers need to ensure that people know that what they are teaching comes from God’s word, the Bible. 

Verse six continues, And Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God. And all the people answered, Amen, Amen, with lifting up their hands: and they bowed their heads, and worshipped the Lord with their faces to the ground.  Ezra then blessed, or I believe praised God.  When we gather to worship God today, we need to make sure that He gets the praise.  It says that Ezra did this because God was a great God, and He still is.  For this reason, we should humble ourselves before God.  The people all said amen, amen, while lifting up their hands and bowing their heads.  Some people are more vocal and demonstrative in worship service than others, but we do have the Biblical example for saying amen and raising up our hands with our heads bowed.  If we do, it must be done to bring honor and glory to God and not because someone else is doing it or to bring attention to ourselves. 

Verse seven says, Also Jeshua, and Bani, and Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodijah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites, caused the people to understand the law: and the people stood in their place.  Those who were there with Ezra helped the people understand the law, and the people stood in their place to learn what the word of God said.  It is not enough to just hear God’s word read or to read God’s word.  We must also learn what it means to us in our life.  I may be able to quote a lot of scripture, but if it has no real meaning to me or effect on my life, then it does me no good. 

\Verse eight adds, So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading.  Like these men then, when we read the Bible, we need to be made to understand what it means, and if we are teaching it, we certainly need to understand what it says.