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- Preaching the Living WORD through
the Written WORD - 2 Tim 4;:2 - |
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THE PEOPLE
EVIDENCED THE RESULTS OF REVIVAL (Pt. 2) (Neh 9:1‑6) 7/25/10 Grace Bible Church,
Gillette, Wyoming Pastor Daryl Hilbert I. THE EVENTS AFTER THE
FEAST OF TABERNACLES (9:1‑6) A. [Intro] Nehemiah records that it was the twenty‑forth
day of Tishri. This would have been two days after the Feast of the
Tabernacles. The month of Tishri (seventh month of Jewish calendar, Sep‑Oct
of Gregorian calendar) began with the celebration of the Feast of Trumpets: 1. 1st
day (8:2) ‑ The beginning of the Feast of Trumpets. 2. 2nd day (8:13) ‑ The
leadership came to Ezra for instruction according the Law concerning the
Feast of Tabernacles. 3. 10th day (not recorded in
Nehemiah) ‑ The Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur). 4. 15th ‑ 21st
(8:18a) ‑ The Feast of Tabernacles was celebrated. 5. 22nd (8:18b) ‑ The
eighth day, the day after the Feast of Tabernacles there was a solemn
assembly. 6. 24th day (9:1) ‑ Israel
assembled with fasting, confession, the reading of the Law, and worship (9:1‑6). B. [9:1] The sons of Israel assembled after the
Feast of Tabernacles to fast and wear sackcloth and ashes. There is nothing
recorded in Nehemiah that the Day of Atonement was observed, but Ch. 9 is
carried out in the spirit of Yom Kippur. 1. “Fasting”
(tsom) was only required by the Law of Moses
during the Day of Atonement (Le 16:29). However, we do see Israel fasting on
other occasions (Es 4:16; 1Sa 7:6; 2Sa 12:16; 1Ki 21:27; 2Ch 20:3; Ez 8:23; Ne 9:1; Jer 36:9). Literally, it means to
deprive the body of nourishment or comfort. Figuratively, it is a sign that
one is experiencing great sorrow or mourning. It reflects the idea of self‑abasement,
penitence, subduing the flesh to the spirit, and an expression of sorrow for
sin. 2. “Sackcloth” (saq)
was a thick coarse cloth that usually was made of goat’s hair. Sackcloth was
worn as a garment by those who mourned or expressed contrition (Ge 37:24; Es
4:1-4; Ps 30:11; 35:13; 69:11; Is 22:12; 32:11; 37:1-2; La 2:10; Da 9:3). 3. The people had been convicted by the Law
and were expressing their sin and contrition. Earlier, when convicted by the
Word, they were exhorted by Nehemiah, Ezra, and the priests, not to mourn
during the celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles (8:9). Now that the Feast
was over, and still under the conviction of the Law, the people mourned over
their sin. C. [9:2] Israel had been convicted of their sin by
the reading and the revelation of Law of Moses. 1. All
throughout Israel’s history, God had commanded them not to intermarry with
women from other nations (De 7:3‑4; Jos 23:12; Ez
9:11‑12). Thirteen years earlier, Ezra attempted to deal with this
unbiblical compromise (Ez 9:1‑4; 10:1‑44).
After the reading of the Law, those who had married foreign wives, separated
(badal cp. Ez
10:11 and yatsa ‑ put away Ez 10:3, 19; “divorcing all lawful wives taken from among
the heathens” MacArthur) from them in order to preserve the ethnic
integrity of the nation and keep the Messianic line pure. 2. The people stood and confessed (yadah ‑ acknowledgement of sin) their
sins and the sins of their forefathers. This showed that there was genuine
sorrow for sin. Confession of their forefather’s sins was foremost in their
minds because it was because of Israel’s past disobedience that they were
taken into captivity. D. [9:3] Once again, Nehemiah records that they
read from the book of the Law. A revival was going on among the people and
therefore it intimately involved the Word of God. For a fourth of the day (3
hours) they read the Law and for another fourth they prayed, confessed their
sins, and worshiped. E. [9:4]
The Levite’s platform was mentioned earlier as a wooden platform from
which Ezra read on the 1st of Tishri. There were eight priests on
the platform. They all cried out to the Lord with loud, passionate, convicted
souls. It was a revival that affected the spiritual leaders and members of
Israel. F. [9:5]
Five of the priests mentioned in vs. 4 (Jeshua, Bani,
Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Sherebiah) are mentioned in vs. 5, in addition to three
more (Hashabneiah ‑ “Yahweh has accounted”, Hodiah ‑ “Yahweh is my splendor”, Pethahiah) who led the assembly to stand and worship. 1. They
asked the assembly to “arise” in an act of reverence toward God. 2. They asked the assembly to “bless the
Lord” as an act of humble adoration. “Bless” is the Hebrew word barak, and in regard to blessing the Lord
means to humbly bow the heart to the Lord , give Him His due honor and
praise, and gratefully recognize all blessing comes from Him. G. [9:6] The priests’ worshiped the Lord with a
penitent prayer (9:5b‑38), which is the longest recorded prayer in the
Bible. Their prayer begins with adoration towards God the Creator of all the universe and the Giver of life on earth. II. THE EVIDENCES OF REVIVAL
(CONT.) A. A greater desire to study
the Word (8:13, 18) 1. It was
the teaching of the Word that caused a revival in the hearts of the people
and revival increased their desire for the Law of the Lord (1Pe 2:2). 2. The revival that started in Nehemiah’s
time was due to the saturation of the Word of God in one month. a) The
people gathered to hear Ezra read the Law of Moses (8:1‑5, 8) b) The leadership came to Ezra to be taught
the Law in detail (8:13‑15). c) The book of the Law was read “from the
first day to the last day.” (8:18a). d) Israel assembled after the Feast to hear
the Law read again (9:3). B. A greater desire to carry
out biblical principles (8:14) 1. The
leaders under Ezra did not merely want knowledge, they wanted to know the
knowledge of the Law and how it was to be applied. 2. The application of God’s Word is the
purpose for studying the Word. Application is what is necessary for the
believer to become more like Christ. The subject of revival is popular in our
day, but true revival is evidenced in genuine conformity to the Word of God
(cp. Jn 14:15). 3. An evidence of revival is not doing novel
things, different things, or even bizarre things. Revival is simply and
obediently applying the Bible to your life. C. A greater desire to help
others carry out biblical principles (8:15‑16) 1. An
evidence of revival in the heart of a believer is that he possesses not only
a genuine desire to change, but a genuine desire to see edification in
others. 2. Revival begins in an individual, but will
not stop there. A genuine heart for God’s holiness possesses a respect for
God’s holiness over everyone and everything. 3. This includes a greater desire for the
fellowship of like‑minded believers who are pursuing holiness and an
all‑out commitment to Christ and His Word. D. A greater desire to
recommit to old biblical convictions (8:14, 17b) 1. There
may have been biblical standards that a believer once held, but through
various reasons may have compromised or forgotten those biblical convictions. 2. An evidence of revival is re‑establishing
old biblical standards and convictions (Such as personal and family
devotions, evangelism, church attendances, values, integrity). E. A greater joy in doing the
Lord’s ministry (8:17c) 1. An
evidence of revival is a greater joy because there is greater obedience and
ministry for the Lord. 2. When a believer is firing on all
spiritual cylinders, the evidence is a joyous and revived heart. The joy of
the Lord is the strength of an obedient believer. F. A greater desire to be set
apart unto God (9:2) 1. An
evidence of revival is when believers are overcome with God’s holiness and
their need to be holy before Him. 2. Not only should the believer desire to be
holy, but should separate separate himself from sin
and separate himself aside for God’s holy use. G. A greater compulsion to
confess sin and repent. (9:3) 1. A
believer is to confess his sin the moment he sins (1Jn 1:9). In addition, men
of the past have also confessed the sins of their generation, as well as the
sins of their ancestors. 2. Repentance (Gk. metanoia)
means a change of mind that leads to a change of action and behavior. H. A greater desire to worship
the Lord in spirit and truth. (9:4‑5) 1. True
worship is God‑centered and focuses on the Lord Himself, His
attributes, His works, and His promises. It is not self‑centered and
focused on my personal preferences or the inclusion fleshly desires. 2. It can only be done by the “Spirit” and
through the “truth” of the Word of God (Jn 4:24). Note that confession of sin
was a part of genuine worship. |
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