Thou Art the Lord

August 4, 2013

Lesson: Nehemiah 8:13–9:6

Key Verse: Nehemiah 9:6

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Introduction

Nehemiah, “Jehovah is comfort,” was the son of Hachaliah (Neh. 1:1). Armed with the authority of the king of Persia, Nehemiah returned, as many did before him and with him, from captivity, for the purpose of rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. The wall was finished in fifty-two days. He had received permission to go to Jerusalem, and was given letters from the governors of Syria and Palestine. One of the letters was for Asaph, the keeper of the king’s forest. From there, Nehemiah obtained the timber to rebuild the fortress and the temple. Nehemiah was also appointed governor of the province of which Jerusalem was capitol.

Nehemiah worked at social and government reforms, having the people instructed in the Law of God through public readings: “So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading” (8:8). Faithful ministers and teachers of God’s Word instruct God’s people, the Holy Spirit bringing understanding to His people. Nehemiah and Ezra worked together on many of these reforms.

The study of the Word of God renews both the character and worship of the child of God.  The life and worship of the people of God testifies, then, that “thou, art Lord alone; thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth, and all things that are therein, … and the host of heaven worshiped thee” (Neh. 9:6).

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Consider the Word—Nehemiah 8:13–15

Nehemiah, Ezra, and the Levites taught the people, saying, “This day is holy unto the Lord your God; …For all the people wept, when they heard the words of the law” (8:11). On the second day, the chief or head of the fathers of all the people, priests, and Levites, gathered themselves before Ezra, “even to understand the words of the law.” Their instruction brought them to the passage that taught them of a commandment of the Lord given to Moses: “that the children of Israel should dwell in booths in the feast of the seventh month” and “that they should publish and proclaim in all their cities,” saying, “Go forth unto the mount, and fetch olive branches, and pine, …to make booths, as it is written” (see Lev. 23:41–43).

The feast of booths, or tabernacles, was to last seven days. It would remind the people that the Lord was with them, and of their pilgrimage to the Promised Land, living in tents until they settled in that land. The Gospel must be preached strongly and faithfully to both those outside the church and to those within the Body of Christ. We must always be reminded of our pilgrimage on this earth, and that we are our heavenly Father’s children. We are to remember our Savior’s death in the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper, we are to be daily reminded and taught of what His death and resurrection mean to our faith and practice. The study of the Word of God is the proclamation of God’s love and will for us in Christ. Let us not neglect the booths of study and fellowship which teach and nourish us in Christ.

Discussion: What was the result of the peoples’ consideration of God’s Word?

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Obey the Word—Nehemiah 8:16–18, 9:16–18

The people obeyed the Word of God and “made for themselves booths” from the roofs of their houses to the streets of their city. They sat under their booths for the allotted time, hearing the “book of the law of God. And they kept the feast seven days.”

We are not only to be hearers of the Word of God, but doers of that Word. The people were also reminded of how their fathers were proud of heart, so that they hardened their necks, not giving their undivided attention to the commandments of the Lord. In not giving their commitment to the Word of God, they “refused to obey, neither mindful of thy wonders that thou didst among them; but hardened their necks.” Disobedience is nothing less than a refusal to obey God’s Word, and in so doing, denying the Lord Himself.

This hardening of the hearts resulted in “their rebellion,” shown by their appointing a captain to lead them back to Egypt and so to bondage. Transgression and disobedience make God’s people look into darkness to find a way they think is good, which leads only to death. In juxtaposition to this darkness is what God has in store for His people, that which they do not seek, nor do they deserve: “but thou art a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and forsook them not.”

Discussion: What does it mean to obey or disobey the Word of God?

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Confession of Sin—Nehemiah 9:1–3

It was the twenty-fourth day of the month when the “children of Israel were assembled with fasting, and with sack-clothes, and earth upon them.” The reading of the Law brought about a time of humbling to the people of God. The Israelites showed their repentance and confession of sin in fasting, wearing of rough sackcloth, and dusting their heads with the soil of the earth. This is a picture of humble contrition (Psalm 106:6–8). We need to learn this lesson of repentance today.

The people continued to confess their sins, remembering the iniquities of their fathers, by separating themselves from the strangers. It is not in the eyes of the world that we lay contrite before God, but in His sight. He alone can forgive, for it is against Him alone we have sinned. We must also denounce the world in our confession and repentance.

This fasting and prayer and repentance do not stand alone, they are measured by both the heart of the believer, and, most especially, the word of God. The people spent one fourth of the day in the reading “in the book of the law of the Lord their God.” In another fourth, “they confessed, and worshiped the Lord their God.” They spent at least three hours for each exercise of faith and repentance. True repentance and faith result in a desire for the Word of God, and encourage the heart to worship and praise their Lord.

Discussion: What elements of confession, repentance, faith, and worship do you see in the fellowship of believers, the church?

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God’s Glorious Name—Nehemiah 9:4–6

Jeshua and other Levites cried out, “Stand up and bless the Lord your God forever and ever; and blessed be thy glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise. Thou, even thou, art Lord alone; thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, and all things that are therein, the seas, and all that is therein, and thou preservest them all; and the host of heaven worshiped thee.” What a wonderful song we have to sing, to the Lord, expressing with praise and thanksgiving, all the wonders He has done. What prayer or petition should be uttered without praise? What preaching should be heard from the pulpit without a measure of praise? We praise Him, as did Nehemiah and God’s people, for His deliverance from bondage to sin; for His Creation; for His providential care of His Creation, and His Saving grace; for His Son who is our Savior; for His Spirit, who has given us a new nature, as well as the gift of faith; for Himself as our Father, who loved us from before the world began.

Discussion: What praises can we add to what has been given in our lesson?

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Lessons are based on the International Sunday School Lessons for Christian Teaching, copyright © 2013 by the Committee on the Uniform Series.