Nehemiah 8 breaks down into three sections. In the first, Ezra the scribe reads the Law of Moses to the people from morning until noon. The event was a solemn occasion. Ezra stood on a platform above the people, with other leaders surrounding him. As the people listened other leaders stood among them and told them the “sense” of what was being read. What an amazing truth: Sometimes we need help in interpreting God’s word, especially when we are younger in the faith. The Law of Moses had not been read for a long time, so those who understood it, helped those who did not to understand. In the second section, Nehemiah and Ezra challenged the people not to cry, because this was not a day of mourning. While the reading of the Law was convicting, the goal was to challenge and encourage the people. They reminded the people to celebrate, to eat and to share with others. They also offered this amazing truth: The joy of the LORD is your strength! Sometimes when we are not feeling the joy we own as Jesus’ followers, we must remember the LORD’s joy is in us and provides us strength. Finally, on the second day of coming together to hear Ezra read the Law, the people discovered the LORD’s command to celebrate the feast of booths. This feast had not been celebrated since the time of Joshua, before the monarchy began! The people celebrated the feast together, and each day they continued to read the Law. As Jesus’ followers, we need to read God’s word. From Genesis to Revelation, God reveals Himself to us. As we read each book, chapter and verse we gain more understanding, and become better equipped to live in His ways. While reading the word without application in the power of the Holy Spirit doesn’t change us, much transformation comes when we do read it and apply it in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Nehemiah 9 offers an amazing recounting of how the people responded to their reading of the Law. First, they read for a quarter of a day. Then they cried out in confession to the LORD for a quarter of a day! Imagine that–an entire people group confessing their individual and corporate sin before the LORD. So often, we who are Americans believe we need only confess our sins individually, but my sin impacts the entire group of believers, as does yours. After they confessed their sins, they called out to the LORD and “reminded” Him of all He had done, and all they had done. The LORD had called them to faithfulness, and they had acted in disobedience. Whether in Egypt, or in the wilderness, or in the Promised Land, the people responded to God’s great mercy and love with disobedience. At times the LORD subjected the people to judgment and punishment at the hands of other nations, but each time He forgave them and reestablished them. What incredible grace and mercy God has for us! He forgives us time and time again. At the close of the chapter, the people signed a new covenant. It wasn’t new in the sense that Jesus established a new covenant with us by dying on the cross, paying the penalty for human sin, and rising again. It was new in being a recommitment to live the Law of Moses.
As we turn to Chapter 10, we find a list of those who signed or sealed the Covenant, starting with Nehemiah, the governor, and including many of the officials and religious leaders. After sealing the Covenant, the people reminded themselves of what they were agreeing to do. They would not marry foreigners. They would not do business on the Sabbath. They would give offerings to support the work of the House of the LORD and the priests and Levites who served in it. Sometimes in our lives, we need to recommit ourselves to the LORD’s will and work. We need to recommit ourselves to living in relationship with Him and in the power of the Holy Spirit. As Jesus’ followers, we are redeemed from sin and death, and we have a new spirit, the Holy Spirit within us. That does not mean we never fall back into sin or forget who we are and whose we are. The new covenant Jesus made with us was sealed in His blood, so we don’t need to re-seal it. We do need to make a fresh commitment to live in it on a regular basis.
As we return to Matthew 8, the Sermon on the Mount has ended, and Matthew shares a number of healing miracles with us. Their order is different from that in Mark. Why? Matthew organized his gospel so it would be easier to memorize. Remember, printing presses would not be invented for centuries. The only way to transmit truth was to make written copies, or to memorize information and pass it on orally. While we live in a culture that doesn’t memorize much, because we can “Google” what we want to know, in Matthew’s culture, memorization was pivotal. Matthew tells us about Jesus healing a leper, a Roman centurion’s servant, Peter’s mother-in-law and the people of her town, as well as two demon-possessed men. He also includes Jesus’ calming of a storm. All these miracles are recorded in Mark, but in different places throughout Mark. The different order doesn’t tell us they didn’t take place. Rather the confirmation of two authors deepens the evidence they happened. The details differ a bit, as we would expect when two sources provide information on the same event. The key is Jesus was unlike anyone who had lived before Him or who has lived since, because He was and is the Son of God!