I’ve been studying Nehemiah recently and just finished chapter 8. Chapter 8 is a fairly detailed account of how Ezra taught from the Book of the Law of Moses. This is only time I can recall in the Old Testament, where there is a willing people that came to their leaders and asked to be taught from the Law. Ezra went and got the scroll and the people gathered to hear it.

So Ezra the priest brought the law before the assembly which included men and women and all those able to understand what they heard. (This happened on the first day of the seventh month.) Nehemiah 8:2

Those who gathered were all the adults, men and women, and those old enough to understand what they heard. Why are children 10 years old and above not in the main sanctuary to hear the teaching of the Word? I think if its properly taught, they’ll understand.

Procedure for Teaching the Word According to the Bible

1. Stand in a prominent place in clear view of the people.
2. All the people are to stand when the book is  opened.
3. The people have their hands lifted high, and the reader will bless the Lord, the Great God, in the presence of the people.
4. Then all bow down and worship the Lord with faces to the ground.
5. The people will then stand and remain standing while being taught.
6. The Word is read and then explained to impart insight, with the goal of understanding from what is read.

The Result

It says the people wept when they heard the words of the Law. Here is how Nehemiah and Ezra responded to them:

He said to them, “Go and eat delicacies and drink sweet drinks and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared. For this day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.” 11 Then the Levites quieted all the people saying, “Be quiet, for this day is holy. Do not grieve.” 12 So all the people departed to eat and drink and to share their food with others and to enjoy tremendous joy, for they had gained insight in the matters that had been made known to them. Nehemiah 8:10-12

They not only heard the Word but gained insight. In that, there was great joy. Do you have the joy of the Lord when you get proper insight from His Word?

The Follow Through

On the second day of the month the family leaders met with Ezra the scribe, together with all the people, the priests, and the Levites, to consider the words of the law. Nehemiah 8:13

Have you ever heard the Word of the Lord on a particular Sunday and then recognized you needed to do something about it? If you are a pastor or elder, have you ever had some of your members come in to your office Tuesday morning to consider with you what steps the church needed to take based on your teaching last Sunday morning? Wouldn’t that be a hoot!

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20

A Scenario

From a pastor’s perspective, let’s say there was a teaching on the above passage Sunday morning and you did a REALLY good job challenging the church with a very insightful teaching. The following Tuesday morning, half a dozen people come in to your office and sit down. No appointment, they just show up.

“You know you really need to make an appointment, but since you are here, what’s up?” said the pastor.

“Um well, if I may speak for the group, we considered the teaching last Sunday and we were wondering about a few things. First, none us here know how to share the gospel. We feel some training would be helpful. Also, how do we do a better job of making disciples? It doesn’t seem many people in our church really understand that much about our faith. We love Sunday morning teaching but it just doesn’t seem a few hours a week is helping people grow in their faith. We have a few ideas.”

What would be your reaction?

Taking Action

Here is what happened on that day in Jerusalem:

They discovered written in the law that the LORD had commanded through Moses that the Israelites should live in temporary shelters during the festival of the seventh month, 15 and that they should make a proclamation and disseminate this message in all their cities and in Jerusalem: “Go to the hill country and bring back olive branches and branches of wild olive trees, myrtle trees, date palms, and other leafy trees to construct temporary shelters, as it is written.” 16 So the people went out and brought these things back and constructed temporary shelters for themselves, each on his roof and in his courtyard and in the courtyards of the temple of God and in the plaza of the Water Gate and the plaza of the Ephraim Gate. Nehemiah 8:14-16

The passage speaks for itself. The people and the leaders were convicted by the Word of the Lord that they should be obedient and implement the Law’s requirements, in this case, the Feast of Tabernacles. (They happened to be in the month in which it was celebrated.) Verse 17 goes on to say that the festival had last been celebrated in the time of Joshua! None of the kings, not even David had celebrated this festival in compliance with the Law.

The Lesson From Ezra

The point here is about teaching from the Word of God and the desired response from the people and the leadership of the assembly. The process described above in the Book of Nehemiah shows not only correct procedure for teaching, but also great respect to the Word of the Lord. When the Word is opened, the people stood as a sign of respect and attentiveness. Ezra then blesses the Great God as the people raise their hands prior to reading the Word. Then all the people bow before the Lord. The Word is then taught that people would not just hear it but gain insight and understanding. In this, the people find great joy that should motivate them to consider the Word and determine together a path to obedience.

Sort of sounds like the parable of the soils doesn’t it?