Nehemiah 8 is the continuing story of the return of the Jews from 70 years of captivity in Babylon…if you’re familiar with that story then you know their 70 year captivity exile in Babylon was God’s chastisement of the Jews for failing to live according to God’s Word.
These events in chapter 8 take place about a century after the Jewish exiles were allowed to return from Babylonia to Jerusalem…since their return life had not been easy…the people suffered from hostile neighbors and crop failures but even worse…they remained in defiance of God’s Word.
They still had mixed marriages [Neh. 6:18 / 10:30 / 13:23-30], they failed to observe the Sabbath [Neh. 10:31 / 13:15-18] …and they neglected their tithes and offerings to God [Nehemiah 10:33-39]…as a result Hosea tells them…speaking for God:
“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.” [Hosea 4:6]
When the Bible speaks of knowledge it’s not referring to knowledge in general… but of a religious sophistication that is arrogant…that causes pride…when God’s people were destroyed it wasn’t because God had lost His love for them…on the contrary…and it isn’t that God’s people are ignorant…it’s because His people lacked knowledge …religious knowledge…they have some knowledge…but not enough…they may have just enough to make them think they know it all.
There’s a couple key things to note when looking at Hosea 4:6… ‘destroying people for lack of knowledge.’
So, what kind of knowledge did they lack?
With knowledge comes understanding…but without understanding knowledge is useless…in the context…what they lacked was both the knowledge [Hosea 4:1] and an understanding [Neh. 8:3] of God’s Word.
Without a knowledge of God they had no understanding of God…they knew about God…perhaps a little…but not enough… maybe they felt they knew God well enough…but the reality is they don’t know enough about Him.
Jesus made an emphasis to ensure the disciples had an understanding of the Kingdom of God…in Matthew 13 He gave eight parables explaining how the Kingdom functions on earth…and other parables that explains the Kingdom in Heaven.
It has never been God’s intent to keep the workings of the Kingdom a secret…it is God’s desire that we have an understanding of how He functions on earth and to a certain degree what will occur Heaven.
The second kind of knowledge they lacked was the knowledge of God’s Word. Hosea says: ‘you have forgotten the law of your God’ [3:6]…they knew some of the Word of God…perhaps a little…but not enough…some felt they knew God’s Word well enough that they didn’t need to be taught…nothing you can tell me I don’t already know.
Another area they lacked in was knowing the ways of God…and especially in the area of God’s mercy…they had a misunderstanding of God’s Mercy.
God is so kind and so loving that of course He will forgive us
Jesus died for our sins out of sympathy
God will forgive us because we are sorry for our sins.
In understanding God’s mercy it’s important to know the difference between ignorance and rebellion…I like John Wesley’s explanation of God’s mercy…you must always differentiate between ignorance and rebellion in any given situation involving wrongdoing…even in the Old Testament there were provisions for sins that were made unintentionally.
If a wrong was committed merely due to a lack of knowledge, then that person should be shown mercy…however, if a person knows what God’s word says regarding a particular matter and transgresses it anyway…that’s rebellion…then that person was dealt with severely.
Secondly…what does it mean to “destroy” in the context ‘My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.’ does it mean that a person will physically die? …the definition in English means “to suffer death, typically in a violent, sudden, or untimely way.” Another definition is to “suffer complete ruin or destruction”.
When decisions need to be made in our life we’re puzzled on how to know the Lord’s mind…there are few subjects that Christians should get more intense about than being “led of the Lord”.
That’s another one of those phrases pastors throw out…being led by the Lord… that’s one of those confusing things that we are told to seek…but how do we approach seeking the Lord’s will?
As Christians we should want to insure we’re not acting out of self-sufficiency… by what we determine is best…when seeking the Lord’s will our initial response should be… is this according to God’s will? …do I have the prompting of the Holy Spirit? …am I being led by the Holy Spirit?
IF WE ARE IGNORANT OF GOD’S WORD — WE WILL ALWAYS BE IGNORANT OF GOD’S WILL
We should be diligent in seeking the Lord’s direction…here’s where many times things go awry…we seek God’s direction in our lives, but we are less diligent to insure we are LIVING in agreement with God’s Word. ‘you have forgotten the law of your God.’
You cannot find God’s direction in your life and expect to find it if you’re living a life that is in disobedience to God.
A phrase we as Christians should use in connection with every decision we make…every plan we form…every action we execute is: is this in harmony with God’s Word?
If you are not right with God, you can never turn your mind on anything but yourself…it’s called self-sufficiency.
The people came to that realization…they were intent on hearing the Word of God…realizing they had not been living in harmony with God’s word…so
‘They asked Ezra to bring the book of the law of Moses’ [8:1]
After 70 years Israel came back home to Jerusalem…they had returned to rebuild the walls of their city…to rebuild the Temple…but just as important was their need to rebuild their spiritual life.
In order for God’s people to reestablish their identity of faith, they needed to be reminded of the central truth of what made them unique among all the other nations of the world in the first place.
It wasn’t the temple…as impressive as that was because other nations had one as well…it wasn’t having a powerful city…they could have stayed in Babylon if that’s what they wanted…it wasn’t even a strong leader…Nebuchadnezzar had been the greatest king in the known world.
What made Israel unique among all the nations was that God had spoken directly to them and given them His Word…but for too long that Word had been neglected.
When we look at America today it seems that we have come to such a time as this …in fact it’s even prophesied by the prophet Amos that there would come a time when there would be a famine in the world for the Word of God.
People would actually be starving for answers to the problems of life…even among churched people there would be a longing to hear the Word of God.
The famous talk show host Oprah Winfrey (said in a new interview) she feels the reason behind the latest string of violence is that people are “missing” a “core moral center.”
“Churches used to do that… It was a central place you could come to and there was a core center of values about a way of living and being in the world. Until we can return to that we will continue to be lost,”…continue to be lost because of a lack of knowledge and understanding.
The key is we must learn to see life from God’s perspective…we need to change the way we think about ourselves and about life.
If that is not our desire, then what are we doing gathering together every Sunday if it’s not to read and understand God’s word?
Israel’s problem was they were outside of God’s will…punishment came upon the people of Israel because of their disobedience to God’s law.
When we’re outside of God’s will in our lives the Bible is nothing more than words on a page to us…it doesn’t matter how long you’ve been a Christian… when you’re outside God’s will the Bible has little influence in your life.
It’s how we saw the Bible before we trusted God to come into our lives … the Bible was just words to us…but suddenly the words become SPIRIT and LIFE — WHY?
Because Jesus re-speaks them to us WHEN our circumstances CAUSE the words to become new.
That is the way God speaks to us – not by visions or dreams…there’s no writing on the wall…but by words…God uses words to create something in the lives of those who listen – which otherwise could never have been known.
The people were ignorant of God’s word…it is a thin line between being ignorant of God’s Word and just being defiantly disobedient.
IF YOU ARE IGNORANT OF GOD’S WORD — YOU WILL ALWAYS BE IGNORANT OF GOD’S WILL
We read in Nehemiah that they told Ezra – bring the book…James calls God’s word the Perfect Law — inerrant — sufficient — complete — it encompasses God’s revealed will to us.
GOD’S SECRET WILL – God’s eternal unchanging purpose
GOD’S REVEALED WILL – defines our duty and responsibility…God gave us His revealed will to be obeyed and applied to our life.
1. For us to be knowledgeable of God’s Will we must read His Word. The people gathered and asked Ezra to bring the book of the Law of Moses… [8:1] …they read from it publicly from dawn until noon…standing up!
2. For us to be knowledgeable of God’s Will we must reverently hear His Word. As he opened the book with their hands uplifted all the people said Amen then they bowed down and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground [6]
3. For us to be knowledgeable of God’s Will…God’s Word must be taught. To properly apply the Bible, you must properly interpret it…to properly interpret it you must understand what the author meant for the people to whom he was writing in the context of that day.
4. For spiritual renewal, God’s people must respond to His Word.
It is spiritually dangerous to study the BIBLE without the goal of obedient response…knowledge apart from obedience leads to pride [1 Cor. 8:1]. …our aim should always be to transform our lives by Scripture.
and the people wept when they heard the words of the Lord. [9]
The Word of God was doing its intended work [2 Tim. 3:16] the working of the Holy Spirit in the life of a person will do two things…it is profitable for teaching, for correction, and for training in righteousness. [2 Tim. 3:16]
Here’s God’s General Rule…It is the duty of every Christian to know the Lord’s will for their lives…this was one of the reasons for the 70-year captivity of Israel by Babylon…for them…they knew God’s will…they just elected to ignore it.
If we are truly concerned in seeking to please God daily — in all details of our lives, great or small God will not leave us in ignorance of His will concerning that.
BUT if we’re satisfied with self-gratification…by leaning on our own understanding…by trusting in our own self-sufficiency…and only turning to God for help in times of distress – then don’t be surprised when God mocks us and allows us to reap the fruits of our own folly.
Prov. 3:5-6 5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.
This verse is a promise from God…but notice…like the other 99% of promises in the Bible…it’s conditional…conditional upon our meeting three requirements.
Many people think they want to be guided by God but when a crisis arrives… temptations…testing…when important decisions have to be made…few are prepared to meet the requirements or conditions in the scriptures.
Fact is God was rarely in their thoughts before the crisis…pleasing Him was not a priority when things were going smoothly…when the Babylonians were knocking on the front door wanting to get in and they were at their wits end… they then become suddenly very pious and turned to the Lord…suddenly they were throwing pathetic panic stricken prayers up to God and asking Him to direct them.
In Jeremiah 7th and 11th chapters here’s what God says to them: “Behold, I will surely bring calamity on them which they will not be able to escape, and though they cry out to me … I will not listen to them.”
People have told me that I’m too critical of God…that ‘God is good all the time’ and I don’t emphasis that enough…there are thousands of articles that convey that message…go online and look up ‘God is good all the time’ there’s pages that talk about that…there’s even a song out there (Don Moen) God is Good all the Time.
God is good (all the time)
And all the time (God is good)
God is good (all the time)
And all the time (God is good)
Actually this song is a “call and response” that is often used in the African-American church …the leader proclaims: God is good; and the congregation responds: All the time…then the leader echoes: All the time; and the congregation answers: God is good.
I certainly do not want to downplay the idea that God is good because He is…but far too often there’s a misunderstanding on what that means…because God is a judgmental God and a God of wrath.
Just so you know…I don’t believe God is a God who enjoys getting revenge on people who have offended him…I do not believe that…one of the attributes of God is that God is good all the time…but another attribute includes the wrath of God.
When you understand what the wrath of God means…then there is really no conflict between the two…it’s simply God’s righteous judgment against sinful humanity.
Nehemiah uses the word ‘understand’ three times to convey the importance of people grasping the significance of God’s Word.
Here’s what Oswald Chambers says about the need to be knowledgeable of God’s Word…having understanding:
When you develop the right condition inwardly the words of Jesus become so clear that you are amazed you did not grasp them before…the reason is…you were not able to understand them before because you had not yet developed the proper spiritual condition to grasp them.
God doesn’t purposely hide things from us but until we are prepared to receive them…He withholds them until we are in the right condition in our spiritual life to receive them.
Here’s the KEYs in not being ignorant of God’s Word and having a spiritual understanding of His will for our lives.
TRUST IN THE LORD – Count on Him in every emergency – look to Him for the supplier of every need — cast all our cares upon Him — rely upon His abounding mercy.
Give to God your undivided confidence, not looking to any other source for help or relief; trust in Him with childlike simplicity.
LEAN NOT UNTO YOUR OWN UNDERSTANDING – We are not to trust in our own wisdom. Not rely on our own self-sufficiency. Go back to God’s General Rule – seeking to please God daily in all details of our lives.
IN ALL THY WAYS ACKNOWLEDGE HIM – First, we must ask God’s permission for all that we do and more importantly — do not act without it… Anything on which I cannot ask God’s blessings is wrong…We are to seek God’s guidance in every undertaking we do with a complete dependency on Him…seeking God’s glory upon everything we do.
HE SHALL DIRECT YOUR PATHS – Meet the three conditions above and this is the sure consequence. Much needed uncertainty would be spared if only this principle were recognized…rushing ahead of the Lord or acting from a sudden impulse will usually have painful consequences [Lam. 3:25-26] – “The Lord is good unto them that wait for him.”
Obedience to the word is the most basic spiritual requirement and is the common denominator for all true believers…God has given us the written Word as a “lamp to our feet.”
That lamp to our feet is having our eyes opened so that we may turn from darkness to light…that’s conversion…their eyes are open, but they have received nothing… it’s more than an emotional experience…more than making vows – promises – or resolutions – BUT none of that is salvation.
A person must know certain things to experience conversion, but a knowledge of these facts alone will not save him…No matter how sincere I may be – mere intellectual acknowledgement and acceptance of divine truth does not bring salvation.
Salvation – means that we are brought to the place in our lives where we are able to receive something from God…His forgiveness of sin / Salvation /and the Holy Spirit.
The Jews in Nehemiah’s time were ignorant of God’s Word…they asked Ezra to read the book of Moses to them…but here’s the KEY…it was for those who could listen with understanding…because as long as
WE ARE IGNORANT OF GOD’S WORD — WE WILL ALWAYS BE IGNORANT OF GOD’S WILL