Nehemiah 8

Good morning, Saylorville! If we haven’t met, my name is Kyhl. I’m one of the pastors here at Saylorville, and today we get to celebrate the Lord’s Table together. So as we get ready to celebrate the Lord’s Table, I’m going to ask you to turn with me to probably the most iconic communion passage you’ve ever read, Nehemiah chapter 8. [laughter] I’m glad that some of you laughed. You know your Bible’s well enough to get that joke. But I’m going to ask you to turn to Nehemiah chapter 8. And while we’re turning there, I have a confession that I have to make.

When I was growing up, I hated fences! I saw fences as a means to keep me penned in, to stifle my creativity, to stifle exploration… to kill fun. I spent hours of my life jumping fences, building forts to see over them, throwing things over them, crawling underneath them. Then… I had kids of my own. I brought my two children home to a beautiful century home on the East side of Des Moines… amazing character, hardwood floors for days… But what our house didn’t have going for it was there was no fence around the backyard. And our backyard ran parallel to East 14th, a state highway. Cars would tear up and down the street at all hours of the day and night. People would walk up and down the street all hours of the day and night. It was not uncommon for me to get up and to make breakfast in the morning and to look out the back window and to see strangers sitting on my swing set. There was no boundary and there was no fence. I, as a loving parent, couldn’t send my kids, my toddlers at the time, out into the backyard to play. Anyone could get in or, heaven forbid, they could do what kids do best and play and chase a ball into the street and get hit. That’s when my understanding of fences, boundaries, and if we’re honest, Laws changed. I realized that my parents didn’t have a fence around our backyard growing up to keep me penned in. My parents had a fence around the backyard so that I could explore the fullness that the yard had to offer without fear of the danger that lie on the other side. So with fences in mind, let’s dive into our text this morning, Nehemiah chapter 8, starting in verse 1. And I’m going to call on Audible, and I’m going to skip a little bit for, yeah… Bear with me.

Nehemiah 8:1-2, 5-6, 8-10

1 “And all the people gathered as one man into the square before the Water Gate. And they told Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses that the LORD had commanded Israel.

2 So Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly, both men and women and all who could understand what they heard, on the first day of the seventh month.

(We’re gonna jump down to verse five, and as we do, I’m gonna ask you to stand. You’ll see why in a second)

5 And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was above all the people, and as he opened it all the people stood.

6 And Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God, and all the people answered, “Amen, Amen,” lifting up their hands. And they bowed their heads and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground.

(jumping down to verse 8)

8 They read from the book, from the Law of God, clearly, and they gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading.

9 And Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, “This day is holy to the LORD your God; do not mourn or weep.” For all the people wept as they heard the words of the Law.

10 Then he said to them, “Go your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”

Thank you. You can be seated.

We’re jumping into history mid-story here. The tribe of Judah has been in exile in Babylon. They’re coming back into the Promised Land, and when they come back Jerusalem lies in ruins. Nehemiah, he hears the anguish of the people. He sees the need for the walls to be rebuilt, and he begins to pray. He prays fervently, and the Lord is gracious to provide the means and the people to start rebuilding the walls. We see in Nehemiah chapter 6 that the walls are rebuilt in 52 days. The city is still in ruins, but they are gathering the people as they have this hedge of protection around them. They gather the people, and they take a census and they count them. That brings us to chapter 8, where all the people are gathered as one man. In chapter 7, it tells us that it’s a little over 42,000 people that are gathered. They gather and they read the Law.

We’re going to talk a fair bit about the Law this morning, so I want to bring you up to speed. When it comes to the Bible, we talk about the Law primarily in two categories. We talk about the books of the Law, or the story of the Law, which is the first five books of the Old Testament, Genesis through Deuteronomy. But then we also have the specific commands of the Lord to His people, most famously the Ten Commandments, also the entire book of Leviticus. The story of how Israel received the Law from the Lord is contained in those first five books as well as the specific commands He gave them. And so what has happened is Israel was in Egypt. They were slaves, and the Lord has called them out at Passover. They had this picture of this sacrifice that set them free. And then once they are free, they are brought into the desert, and the Lord gives them the Law. The Law was never intended to save. The Law was given so that they would understand how life was best lived. Theologian and scholar J.A. Motyer, says it this way:

“The Law of God is not a system of merit whereby the unsaved seek to earn divine favor, but a pattern of life given by the Redeemer to the redeemed so that they might know how to live for His good pleasure.” J.A. Motyer

The Law was not designed to usher in salvation. Knowing that they wouldn’t and couldn’t live up to this standard, we are faced front and center with the sacrificial system, the reminder that it is the sacrifice that covers their sins, not their deeds. And so it’s with that cursory understanding of the Law and its purpose that we come to Nehemiah this morning. Pray with me real quick.

Gracious Heavenly Father, thank You for Your Word. May Your joy be our strength this morning. We love You and we praise You. And it’s in the matchless name of Jesus we pray. Amen.

So three things that we need to see about the Law from Nehemiah 8 this morning. First we need to see that the Law was commanded for our good. Look at verse 1 with me.

Nehemiah 8:1b, “And they told Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses that the LORD had commanded Israel.”

The Lord commanded Israel. It’s like my kids playing in the backyard in the safety of their fence, the Lord has established a boundary, a fence, if you will, within which the nation of Israel was to play. The Law was given for their good, and that is echoed all throughout Scripture. We see it in Deuteronomy chapter 4. We see it in Psalm 1. We see it in Psalm 119. We see it in Romans 7, but one of my favorite passages of all time referring to the Law is found in Psalm 19.

Psalm 19:7-8

7 “The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple;

8 the precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes;”

Does the Law of the Lord revive your soul this morning? It should. But we know that the Law is good, not merely because Scripture tells us that it is good. We know that it’s good because it is grounded in the character of God. In Matthew chapter 7, Jesus says:

Matthew 7:11, “If you then, (referring to all of you and all people throughout history… and me, If you then) who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!”

He is good and righteous, so much so that we cannot look at the fullness of Him and live as Moses found out in Exodus 33. We cannot come in contact with Him and remain the same as Saul, who became Paul, when he came face to face with Jesus in Acts 9. The Lord burns away all that is evil. Deuteronomy 4[:24] and Hebrews 12[:29] tell us that He is “a consuming fire.”

I know that we’re not supposed to put hydrogen peroxide on wounds anymore, but back in the day, that’s what we did when I would scrape my arm on the fence. And hydrogen peroxide, it would burn and it would sizzle, but it would cleanse. That’s what the Lord does. And I love the way that the Message paraphrases that verse in Hebrews 12.

Hebrews 12:[28b-29, the Message Paraphrase]

28 “… And do you see how thankful we must be? Not only thankful, but brimming with worship, deeply reverent before God. For God is not an indifferent bystander.

29 He is actively cleaning house, torching all that needs to burn, and he won’t quit until it’s all cleansed…”

But what’s most important to know about the Law being grounded in God’s character, God tells us in Malachi chapter 3, verse 6:

Malachi 3:6, “… I the Lord do NOT change!”

He doesn’t change! He has set the fence posts in place and they are immovable. It’s not only that the Law is good, but it is grounded in the character of God, and because it is grounded in the unmovable character of God, it stands in stark opposition to our sinful nature, and it shows us that we have flaws. The Law reveals our flaws. Look with me at verse 9.

Nehemiah 8:9b, “For all the people wept as they heard the words of the Law. “

A couple weeks ago Pastor Colton talked about dirty doctrine, the entire Jewish nation at this point has been consumed with dirty doctrine. They saw the Law as the means of attaining the salvation of the Lord, a list of rules and regulations that one must follow in order to be saved. But that’s not what the Law does. The Law is a mirror that we are to look at and see our flaws.

Several years ago, I fixed copy machines for a living, and primarily I worked out of my car, but every day I would come in at the beginning of the day, grab parts, talk with the techs about what had happened the day before. And on this one Monday, one of my coworkers walked in with a case of Bell’s Palsy. If you’re unfamiliar with Bell’s Palsy, it’s like half of his face was paralyzed. His eye was droopy, his cheek sagged a little bit, his mouth hung low, he slurred a little bit when he talked. I knew this guy. He taught me how to do my job. I have spent hours, days, if not weeks of my life riding around the state of Iowa with this guy… and I didn’t say anything. I didn’t want to make Him feel self-conscious… figured he knew. Everybody else figured the same thing. And so Monday came and went, and Tuesday came and went, and Wednesday came and went, and Thursday he comes walking in and he goes, “Why didn’t anybody tell me my face looked like this?” He went Monday to Thursday without looking in the mirror, and on Thursday he realized that there was a problem.

How many of you are walking around this morning with a droopy face because you haven’t looked intently into the Law of the Lord? And I’m going to be honest with you, I struggle with that. My wife is sitting here in the front row and she is notorious for sending me text messages in meetings saying:

“Remind your face that you love Jesus!” Charity Pearson to her husband, Kyhl

I need those reminders. But the Law is the mirror. The Law isn’t what saves us. Romans 3:20 says:

Romans 3:20, “For by works of the Law no human being will be justified in His sight, since through the Law comes knowledge of sin.”

Proverbs 25:28 says: “A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls.”

Without the Law we would not know the problem of sin, let alone the depth of it in us. The Law doesn’t act like a mirror. The Law is the mirror, and the people of Israel, they have just come face to face with not just the Law, but they have seen the physical destruction of the city of Jerusalem and realized that their hearts have been left without walls.

If we don’t have a standard laid for us, if we don’t know where the fence line is, we can do whatever we want. And ignorance is bliss, right? But since we have the Law, we are faced with two options. We can acknowledge our flaws and we can repent, or we can try to dig our way out from underneath them. ‘If only I can be better.’ ‘If only I can appear better.’ If that’s you this morning… working your hands to the bone to try to dig yourself out from all the problems that you’ve created, ‘if I can only stop lying,’ ‘if I can only stop stealing, or drinking, or doing drugs, or gambling, or lusting, or fornicating, or hiding Amazon packages from my spouse… whatever it is. (audience laughs) stop it! You can’t make yourself good enough. That’s what the Law is showing us. German reformer, Philip Melancthon says it this way:

“Some will not venture to profess Christ until they can profess themselves. They wait for worthiness to come to the Lord’s Table, not considering that it is unworthiness which they are to profess.”  Philip Melancthon

If that’s you, stop it! You can’t be good enough in and of your yourself, which brings us to our third point about the Law. The Law points us to our need for a Savior. Look at me with verses 9 and 10:

Nehemiah 8:9b,10b

9b “… This day is holy to the LORD your God; do not mourn or weep…”

10b … “Go your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”

At first glance, this seems wildly out of place, but we have to remember the time that this is happening. And so to remember the time, it tells us in the text. That’s convenient! Look back at verse 2.

Nehemiah 8:2, “So Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly, both men and women and all who could understand what they heard, on the first day of the seventh month.”

The first day of the 7th month in the Jewish calendar would have ushered in the Festival of Trumpets. On the 10th day of the seventh month would have been the Day of Atonement. If you’re not familiar with the Day of Atonement, you should be. It talks about it in Leviticus 16, and this was a special sacrifice offered once a year that consisted of two parts. There would be the traditional sacrifice of a goat, the blood offering, but then the high priest in Leviticus 16, Aaron, the brother of Moses, would take another goat, and he would lay his hands on the goat, and he would confess the sins of the people… their transgressions, their iniquities, their shortcomings, the things that they didn’t remember about the Law because there’s so many that they can’t remember them all, and symbolically, he would transfer the guilt and the sin of the people on to this innocent goat who would then be taken out of the city, never to return, symbolically making the innocent carry the sins away. It’s a foreshadowing of Jesus, a sacrifice necessary on behalf of the people because they went beyond the boundaries. They went beyond the fence. They were caught outside and they couldn’t see their way back in. And while the day of Atonement is not mentioned specifically in Nehemiah chapter 8, the first day of the 7th month is. And the 15th day of the 7th month is in verse 13, which we didn’t read. The 10th day falls in between those days. And I firmly believe that this entire chapter, this entire time would have revolved all around the day of Atonement. It’s a time dedicated to repentance and rejoicing. But these people, they have been lost without boundaries for so long, and it’s so easy to be confronted with the fence and be like, ‘Whoa… that’s a big fence! I’m just going to stand right here.’

We do that, right? It’s easy to cross from carefree to legalist. Right? —  to demand perfection of ourselves, to be overwhelmed with what we’ve done or haven’t done, to beat ourselves down for failing to be perfect. How many of you, if you’re honest… I’m not gonna ask you to raise hands… but how many of you, if you were honest, you’re here today and you are worried more about external actions more than heart posture? I’ll give you an example of this.

A couple years ago, a dear friend of mine had a run-in with his five-year-old son. They were getting ready to come to church. His son was playing video games and he asked his son to put the game down and to go upstairs and put his shoes and socks on so that they could leave for church. His son put the controller down, started to walk upstairs, but as he walked upstairs to his bedroom the first couple steps, my friends said, were okay, but then every… step… the son… took was a… stomp! He got to the top of the stairs and he slammed the door shut! So my friend, rightly so, was a little frustrated!  Gave Himself a minute to calm down, gave his son a minute to calm down, goes upstairs and knocks on the door. Turns the door knob, opens the door to find his son, who, by God’s grace has put his shoes and socks on… But he has stripped everything else off and is standing naked with just his shoes and socks on! He was obedient… but he was defiant!

This is the tribe of Judah. This is the nation of Israel. I’m willing to bet that it’s you, because I know it’s me. But remember when this is taking place. This is happening at the day of Atonement. It wasn’t going to happen at the perfection of the Jews. It wasn’t going to happen… It isn’t going to happen… It hasn’t happened… at your failed attempts at perfection. It was going to and now has only happened through the sacrifice that Jesus Christ made on the cross. The sacrifice that we can’t offer He made for us. Our atonement, Jesus… because Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

2 Corinthians 5:21 says, “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of Christ.”

He took our sins on the cross.

[Hebrews 12:2b] “… Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

This is what is being said of Jesus in 1 John, when it says:

[1 John 3:5] “You know that He appeared in order to take away sins…”

Church, do you believe that this morning?

[Nehemiah 8:10] The joy of the Lord is your strength.”

Church, do you believe that? — that Jesus, Who for the joy set before Him endured the cross so that the joy of the Lord could be your strength?

This is what we celebrate at the Lord’s Table. It’s not a time to elevate our sin and cheapen His sacrifice. It’s a time to acknowledge our sin, and to repent, and rejoice in the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross. J.I. Packer states it this way:

“What we need more than anything else at the Lord’s table is a fresh grasp of the glorious truth that we sinners are offered mercy through faith in the Christ Who forgives and restores, out of which comes all the praise that we offer and all the service we render… for this everlasting Gospel of salvation for sinners is what in Scripture the Lord’s table is all about… at the Holy Table above all, let there be praise!”

What I love most about this passage in Nehemiah chapter 8 is in verse 12:

Nehemiah 8:12, “And all the people went their way to eat and drink and to send portions and to make great rejoicing, because they had understood the words that were declared to them.”

Do you understand the words of Jesus this morning? Jesus says in…

John 5[:24] “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.”

Jesus also says in…

Matthew 5:17, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.”

Jesus didn’t come to tear down the fence. He came to perfect it.

If you’re not in the family of God, if you have never trusted Jesus as your Savior, if you’ve never placed your faith in Him, you’re outside the fence, and there’s nothing that you can do in and of yourself to scale it, or to go around it, or to dig under it. Jesus is the gate. He is the only way in.

That’s what we’re celebrating at the Lord’s Table.

At this point in time, the deacons are going to come forward and distribute the elements. As they do, I want to remind you that this is a time for believers, for those who have a relationship with Jesus. And if you’ve never placed your faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ, on the cross and the hope of His resurrection, don’t partake of the elements. They’re not for you. But I implore you, place your trust in Him today. If you are a believer, take the next few moments to reflect, not to beat yourself up, but to reflect on what we celebrate.

Thomas Schreiner once said:

“Be reminded of the cost of your sin, hate it afresh, and be reminded that your Savior has paid the debt. Be reminded of the grace of God that is greater than your sin.” Thomas Schreiner

Remember as you reflect that the joy of the Lord is your strength. We’ll come back in a couple minutes…

While I love Schreiner’s words about remembering the cost of our sin and hating it afresh, I also really like simple words. A man in our congregation was speaking to our men a couple weeks ago, and he said:

“You can’t enjoy the sweet until you’ve sat in the sour.” [Adam Fagnant]

We’ve spent some time in the sour. Now let’s celebrate the sweet.

On the night that He was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took the bread and He broke it, and He gave thanks and said, “This is My body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of Me.” In the same way, He took the cup and He said, “This is the New Covenant in My blood.” That Old sacrificial system I have perfected. “Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of Me.”

Gracious Heavenly Father, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, thank You for Your brutally beautiful joy that has become our strength. Father, delight us. May we delight in Jesus, because He’s the only One worth delighting in. Thank You for sending Him to die on the cross… and that He didn’t stay dead. He rose again on the third day so that we could have hope, and life, and reason to celebrate. We love You and, we praise You. It’s in the matchless name of Jesus we pray. Amen. [Music]