On the first day of the seventh month, Ezra was called upon to bring the Book of the Law of Moses and all the people gathered together in the open square in front of the Water Gate (v1-3). God was at work in them and gave them the desire to meet together ‘as one man.’ They were united to hear God’s Word. What a great way to start! The Book of the Law was the first five books of the Old Testament- Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy, God’s book of history and instruction for His people.
Ezra brought the book and read it from morning until midday, probably about six hours. I often wonder if we would spend so long hearing God’s Word. We are repeatedly told today that our concentration span is very limited, and preachers shouldn’t preach long sermons. That may be true for young people, but they will spend long periods in front of a computer playing games.
I remember as a teenager going to listen to Dr Martin Lloyd-Jones for the first time, knowing that he rarely preached for less than an hour. At first, I thought, do I have to listen for so long, but let me tell you, when he finished, I thought, ‘does he have to stop,’ I was enthralled. The late Derick Bingham once said, ‘Sermonettes produce Christianettes’, referring to the suggestion that sermons were too long. People spend hours watching television and films or sport but complain if a church service goes on for more than an hour and a quarter.
I am not saying that all sermons must, of necessity, be long or short. They certainly should be instructive and interesting. Nothing can be worse than listening to a preacher droning on, repetitive, uninteresting and irrelevant. Not all sermons are going to tickle our fancy, sometimes we have to be taught the ‘nuts and bolts’ and the heavy stuff but we can make it interesting (see 2 Timothy 3:16 quoted below). Jesus was the Master Teacher, He regularly illustrated His words with ‘pictures’ known as parables, which were usually everyday things, e.g. sheep, fishing, farming, easily recognisable by his listeners. His sermon on the mount was not short and there were men, women and children present. However, the listener must be encouraged to see and understand God’s Word and not just the picture being used to illustrate it. We are not entertainers but that doesn’t mean that our sermons must be drab and lifeless.
We lead Bible studies in prisons which have lasted for one, two or even three hours. Men and women are hungry for God’s Word. We have short breaks of course, but I have been amazed that men have asked to go on longer.
Ezra was a scribe as well as a priest. As a scribe he would faithfully copy out the scripture and thus the Bible was precious to him. He read this carefully to the men and women who gathered, and the people were attentive. The Bible is God’s Word to us, and it behoves us to read and listen to it attentively. It is the word of life, a light in the darkness, a light to our path and a lamp to our feet. It is the bread of life and living water to quench our thirst.
We must ever remember that it is God’s Word which is powerful, not our words, but at the same time we need God’s help for us to explain it clearly to those who will listen. 2 Timothy 3:16 tells us “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” Let us remember, therefore, that God’s Word is divinely inspired so let us pray that our reading and teaching of it will be similarly inspired by Almighty God.
Science is a wonderful gift from God where we’re discovering things which God has already created. However, science is changing all the time in the light of discoveries. People believe scientists and other very clever people when they speak of the latest discovery, but it can change tomorrow. How much more reliable is God’s Word which never changes.
The pulpit is not the place for airing political views, not that Christians should not necessarily be involved in politics, seeking to make our world a better place and correcting sinful practices and immoral laws etc. Recently a leading churchman gave his ‘sermon’ and a journalist commented that it was a pity he didn’t preach the gospel rather than condemning political ideologies. Let us never forget that the gospel is life-changing and when God changes a person’s or a communities’ life, things will inevitably be different. As Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:17 ‘the old has gone and the new has come’. We are urged to pray for our government, for those in authority.
In verses 4-6 we read that Ezra was stood on a large wooden platform supported on both sides by faithful men, six on one side and seven on the other. When Ezra opened the book all the people stood up. Some have suggested that they stood for the whole six hours. When Ezra blessed The LORD the people answered, ‘Amen Amen’ lifting up their hands and bowing their heads to worship.
In verses 7,8 another group of men, thirteen, possibly Levites or in addition to the Levites, were appointed to help the people to understand the Book of The Law which was read to them. Those of us who are preachers and teachers must seek God’s help to explain His Word so that our listeners can understand it.
We regularly say that the Bible is a living book, The Living Word of our Living God, and however many times we have read it or heard it, it speaks afresh to us, we often see/hear something we have not encountered before. That’s the beauty of God’s Word.
I’m sure all we who aspire to be teachers and preachers long to see a response from our listeners. It is not something we can ‘work up’, rather, it is brought about by The Spirit of God, and we read (v9-11) that the people responded by weeping. Whilst this might be a good response and could appear to be genuine repentance on hearing the Word of God, it was not what Nehemiah, Ezra and the Levites were looking for. Rather they said, “This day is holy to the LORD your God; do not mourn nor weep.” Weeping may be perfectly appropriate in some circumstances but, in this case, it was not. “…. he (Nehemiah or Ezra) said to them, “Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our LORD. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.” So the Levites quieted all the people, saying, “Be still, for the day is holy; do not be grieved.”
It was not a day of sorrow, but a day of rejoicing. It seems that the Word of God brought about sorrow for their sin, and rightly so. Sometimes we need conviction, but we need to remember also that we have been cleansed from our sin by the precious blood of Christ, and it is a time to rejoice. Our gift of salvation was costly, but it is the greatest gift ever given. We can go in ‘the joy of the Lord’. The joy of The Lord is our strength.
The people understood the explanation and went out with joy (v12), and the leaders came back on the next day for more of God’s Word. One might have thought that six hours one day was enough, but their hunger was aroused, and they came back for more (v13). As leaders they realised their responsibility to lead the people, and the answer was more of the Word of God.
Are we so keen and committed to The Lord, or is it enough to come for an hour once a week?
They found in the Law that God had commanded Moses that during the seventh month they should keep the Feast of Tabernacles (v14-18). They were to dwell in booths which they were to make on the roofs of their houses or in the courts of the house of God, and in the open square of the Water Gate and the open square of the Gate of Ephraim. This dwelling in booths or tents was in commemoration of their journey through the wilderness from slavery in Egypt to the Promised Land. The people did as instructed, celebrated the Feast which had not been done since the days of Joshua. They had been instructed to do this every seven years (Deuteronomy 31) but it seems that they had failed once Joshua had gone. In 2 Chronicles 34 the good king Josiah ordered that they should read the Book of the Law. It seems to indicate that ‘they found it’, so maybe it had been ‘lost’ in the dust.
They were filled with gladness, something which happens when we are obedient to God. Never think that obedience to God is a chore and something to be merely endured. It is a joyful experience. Sadly, we seem to think that doing our own thing will bring us joy and happiness, but be sure of this, it won’t. It might for a while, but it certainly will not last. We do not know best, only God does!
Ezra continued to read from The Book of the Law of God every day from the first day until the last. They kept the Feast for seven days and on the eight day there was a sacred assembly as prescribed. It was a time of praise and thanks to God for rescuing them from slavery and giving them a permanent home, which sadly, had been forsaken by their disobedience and subsequent captivity in Babylon. Now they were back home, and it was all God’s doing, and they were to give Him praise and honour for His marvellous work.
