A Brief Summary
We have spent the past two months in our Friday updates looking at the life and example of Nehemiah. We have been focusing specifically on leadership lessons which we can learn from Nehemiah as we try to model the type of lifestyle that “stands in the gap” and follows God’s calling despite difficulty and opposition. We have noted that we need more individuals like Nehemiah in our world!
The Right Focus
As we finish this series today, I would like to focus on the end of the book of Nehemiah. Nehemiah eventually did complete his task, though it was not without difficulty and opposition. When the task was finally completed all of the people who had worked and labored with Nehemiah gathered, and we see a renewed emphasis on something that had been apparently left behind amidst the people—the Word of God. After all that the people had done to accomplish God’s mission for them, they took time to remember that whatever they were able to accomplish, it was done through the power of God. Despite their work and effort, God was the one who guided and directed them as they fulfilled His mission. What an important truth for God’s people to learn today!
In addition to focusing on God as the force behind their mission, the people of Israel also renewed their focus on God’s Word. We read in chapter 8 that all the people gathered as Ezra the priest read the book of the law. Verse 2 tells us that all who were able to listen gathered there. The entire congregation of God’s people recognized the importance of giving the word prominence in their midst and gathered to hear it read and taught. We learn in verse three that Ezra read from morning until midday and all the people were attentive. What a thought! Sometimes we struggle with an hour-long church service, but the people of Israel listened to God’s Word for several hours! Later on in the text, we see that the people responded with joy and celebration at the reading and explanation of the word. They answered with “amen, amen, with the raising of their hands and they kneeled down and worshipped the Lord with their faces to the ground.” What a moving experience this must have been for God’s people as they celebrated God’s leading in the past project and worshipped Him for His goodness to them!
We have many lessons to learn from this excerpt in the book of Nehemiah. I think the greatest lesson is the importance of emphasizing God’s Word. The remnant in Israel never forgot where they came from and who brought them to where they currently were standing. As they committed themselves to the plan and purpose of God in the past, they remembered to praise Him for what He had done and focus on His leading in the present and future. To do this, they made time to focus on His Word. They did that as a group; they gathered around as God’s people to emphasize His Word, because it is only through understand God’s revelation that they were going to fulfill the next plans God had for them, and there was more to do!
Final Thoughts
For churches today, whether we have just finished a large project or initiative like Nehemiah, or we are simply continuing with the regular aspects of ministry, we need a renewed emphasis on God’s Word. We need to give it precedence in our assembly—every member needs to be attentive to it! We need to give ourselves to the preaching and teaching of God’s Word, and just as we see the Levites helping Israel to understand the text, so we need to honor and value the preaching and teaching of the Word so that we can fulfill God’s plan for our lives both corporately and individually. I have heard it said that any significant movement of God throughout history has always been preceded by a renewed emphasis on the preaching of the Word. As the remnant in Israel prepared for the next phase of God’s plan for them, they took time to focus specifically on understanding God’s Word. Let us continue in this commitment that has always marked the people of God—a commitment to hearing, knowing, and doing God’s Word!
