Scripture: Nehemiah 8:1-3; Nehemiah 8:8-12, 18; Matthew 15:7-14
Why do you think scripture should always be an
intentional part of our worship? Why
should Bible Study also be crucial for the faithful Christian life? The truth is that without an honest and
committed understanding of God’s desire for the life we live, we will simply be
carried along on the winds of the world, without even a hit of the Lord’s
presence to guide us.
But just as important to our life in faith, the one
who we learn from must also be immersed and prepared to teach us in the truth
of God. In James 3:1-6,
the author warns the church that “Not many of you should become
teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be
judged more strictly.” James
goes on to refer to the tongue as “a fire, a world of evil among the parts
of the body”.
This advice isn’t only given to those who
intentionally misrepresent the word of God, but also to those who are
unprepared to present the truth of scripture, and wind up giving the wrong
impression of God’s word to those who have come to learn. In
today’s readings, we will see several references to both those who
instruct – that they should be helping others to understand the Lord’s commands
- and those who come to learn – that we
should come to listen, and learn, and understand, and to be eager and enthusiastic in
acknowledging all that Christ has taught us and won for us.
This is what is required for authentic worship and
praise – that the truth that the Lord imparts to our lives should never go
wanting.
Read Nehemiah 8:1-3
The temple restoration had been completed,
reconstruction of the wall surrounding the city had been finished, and now, a
short time later, it appears that the people had also become hungry to hear the
word of God once again. So much so that
they pleaded with the priest to open the Lord’s Book for them. And who came to hear? Men, women, and “those who could
understand” – in other words, entire families - husbands, wives, and their
children – they all had come together to hear Ezra read from Torah. And not just a few short passages, for the
reading lasted about 6 hours, and the assembly listened intently!
The point of this gathering is that everyone was
welcome to hear, not just the priests, which, in the past, had always been the
norm. And as Ezra read of God’s desires
for the people, we read later in verse 6,
that “6 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.
And what did these responses signify? The lifting of their hands revealed their
admiration and reliance on God’s word; the proclaiming of AMEN, not
once, but twice, was a profound expression of their agreement and acceptance of
God’s commandments; the bowing of their heads and prostrate worship was a sign
of submission and obedience to all that they were receiving that day.
Worship and praise was coming together in the
people’s lives, and the understanding of just who their Lord God Jehovah was
for them had come alive once again.
Read Nehemiah 8: 8-12, 18
Not only were the people hearing the word of God,
but it was being clarified - they were learning what it all meant for
them. The day was proclaimed to be holy,
and the people wept. But were the tears
based in joy at hearing the word again, or were they signs of guilt for not
following God’s way during the many years past?
Regardless, they were told to set aside the signs of mourning, and let
their hearts rejoice and remember in holiness!
It was time to party, and to include those who may not have had the
resources to be as extravagant as they had been.
And why was this a time to celebrate? Not only had they been hearing Yahweh’s word once again, but they now understood why
God had given them to the nation in the first place, and they had come to know
what those words meant for their lives.
The Law of God was never intended to be punitive or restrictive in the
lives of His people, but rather to be seen as words of guidance to lead them
and all of humanity, toward the love, the peace, the freedom, the grace and
mercy that allegiance, and obedience, can bring into their battered spirits through
God’s divine presence.
Now
admittedly, scripture is full of instances of struggle, punishment, conflict,
defeat, and death. But those times
represent the failure of humanity to follow the way of the Lord, when they
strike out to make their own ways through worldly influence. The way of God brings love, peace, joy and
hope to those who are faithful to His word, while following the ways of Earth will
only result in disillusionment, suffering, loss, and abject failure.
Worshiping in the Lord’s way should always be a
reason to celebrate.
Read Matthew 15:7-14
This prophecy of Isaiah, found in Isaiah 29:9-16, was a proclamation against false teaching,
while at the same time, was a condemnation of what people were learning, and
were beginning to accept from those false teachers! They were incorporating the word of God into
an interpretation and understanding that is actually based in worldly concepts
and practices! Lip service worship can appear
to be legitimate, but without divine truth and purpose in the heart, this kind
of worship is meaningless and destructive in every sense. It was as if the words had had been changed
to ones that Jesus had never spoken.
Jesus’ words regarding defilement, were, in all
likelihood, in contrast to the Pharisee’s teaching regarding the washing of
hands before eating (see the earlier verses in this chapter of Matthew’s
gospel). Not that washing your hands
before eating is a bad thing, but rather that it, in no way, is a sin! The point is that when you hear one thing
from the world, and teach others that it is an absolute commandment from God,
it is then that we have crossed the line from truth into sin.
And if we continue to accept the false teaching as
truth, even though the truth of the matter has been revealed to us, we become
as blind and insensitive as the one who professed the lie in the first place!
And even though we may continue to believe that the
lie is God’s truth, the Lord God Almighty will know that it isn’t, and this
leads Jesus to proclaim that it is akin to “the blind leading the blind”,
and that “both will fall into the ‘pit’”. And down in that horrid pit, there will be no
celebration!
Stay true to the way of the Lord, remain informed in
the fullness of His word, and celebrate worship in the raising of your hands,
with Amen after Amen, and in submissive obedience to the one and only way of
God – that which comes to us through faith in Jesus Christ.
