Focal Passage: Nehemiah 8:1-3, 7-12
Do you have a hearing problem? Some people tragically cannot hear because the internal mechanisms of the ear no longer work. However, many of us do not hear because we do not comprehend or process what is being said to us.
When Jesus called the seven churches of Revelation to hear He was not asking if the hearing mechanisms of the ear worked; He was commanding them to listen, process, and embrace what was being said (Revelation 2:7, 11, 17, 29; 3: 6, 13, 22).
The power of hearing the Word of God is demonstrated in the companion books of Ezra and Nehemiah, the priest and the politician God used to restore Israel and rebuild Jerusalem. Nehemiah helped rebuild the walls of the city of Jerusalem and Ezra helped restore worship of God’s people. In restoring the worship of God, Ezra centered his work around the Word of God.
Location and the Word of God (Nehemiah 8:1-3). In order to hear the Word of God we must put ourselves in a position to hear it. Nehemiah 8:1 notes that after the walls were built in 52 days, “the people gathered together at the square in front of the Water Gate.” The time of the year was the Day of Atonement and the Feast of Booths. It was a time of debt cancelation, a season of renewal (Deuteronomy 31:10-11).
Every person who could listen and understand assembled themselves to hear and understand God’s Word. And oh my how Ezra did read from God’s Word aloud, “from daybreak until noon” (Nehemiah 8:3). To everyone’s utter amazement, “All the people listened attentively to the book of the law” (v. 3). The reason they could listen is because God’s people had put themselves in a position to hear and understand.
How do we put ourselves in a position to hear God’s Word. We do so in two ways. First, we read the Bible for ourselves, daily, consistently and regularly. Second, we gather with God’s people to hear the Word of God read and explained as we worship together. You cannot hear what God is saying to you unless you put yourself in the position to hear it.
Understanding the Word of God (Nehemiah 8:7-8). Ultimately, we do not simply hear or read God’s Word. The goal is to understand, comprehend, and obey God’s Word. As God’s people gathered to hear Ezra read from the Book of the Law, he was “translating and giving the meaning so that the people could understand what was read” (v. 8).
This may be the single, most comprehensive verse in all of Scripture as to the true nature of preaching and teaching — the exposition of what is being read. The goal of teaching and preaching is not novelty or cuteness, but the clear explanation of the meaning of God’s Word. Why? Because the goal is for God’s people to hear, understand and obey God’s Word.
Responding to God’s Word (Nehemiah 8:9-12). The response of God’s people to Ezra’s expositional reading of God’s Word was both sorrow over their sin (repentance) and the unmitigated joy of God’s sweet salvation. As God’s people heard the Word they understood the nature and depth of their own sin, producing sorrow and mourning. Yet, because of God’s sweet grace they were told to rejoice in what they had heard, “because the joy of the Lord is your strength” (v. 11).
God’s people rejoiced “because they had understood the words that were explained to them” (v. 12). Hearing God’s Word produces repentance and joyful obedience. This is why we need to hear God’s Word. B&R