The Everyday Prayer

Re:Verse passage – Nehemiah 9:1-3 (day three)

“The sons of Israel assembled with fasting, in sackcloth and with dirt upon them.”

One of the hallmarks of a depressive state is the lack of care for the body, sometimes manifesting as the cessation of eating, apathy towards personal grooming, and lack of attention to hygiene. In such a state, time slows to a crawl and the seconds of the day stretch into one undifferentiated moment in which, from the standpoint of the person experiencing the mood disorder, nothing happens and no changes occur. The act of communal confession chronicled here does not present people in a depressive state. There is a pause in giving attention to the body, yes. There is a mood of deep solemnity and sorrow, certainly. But the people are experiencing a time of repair, not despair. God accepts them, the breach is healed, and they become whole.

Re:Verse passage – Nehemiah 9:1-3 (day two)

While they stood in their place, they read from the book of the law of the Lord their God for a fourth of the day; and for another fourth they confessed and worshiped the Lord their God. v. 3

The confession of God’s people should be a cathartic experience. Whenever we confront our sin, we cycle through many emotions. No one wants to grieve the heart of God, and shame can often accompany our confession. Our confessions may recognize hurt and anguish as we let go of self and assume a repentant posture. When viewed from the outside this seems to be a lonely and uncomfortable place to be, and for anyone who has repented their sin they can attest to that discomfort. Whatever has brought us to a place where repentance is needed should grieve our hearts, but the catharsis is the release. Even without the promise of forgiveness, which we have, the unburdening of our hearts is cause for worship. To have a God who will hear our cries is a tremendous comfort. Worship may feel different when we are in a repentant posture than we are celebrating, but it is no less genuine. May our repentance always have an element of worship.

Re:Verse passage – Nehemiah 8:9-12 (day seven)

because they understood the words which had been made known to them. vs 12b

This was not the first time the Israelites had heard the laws from Scripture be told to them, but this was the first time they heard The Law in a way that touched them to the core.

As we wind down the summer, I reflect back on Impact Camp. Something special happens at camp where students hear and understand scripture on a level that touches them to the core. The speaker is saying the same thing that we tell them every week, the Holy Spirit is the same God, and their Bible is the same Bible. What makes camp so special? Separation, Saturation, and Expectation. They are separated from their normal pattern of life, saturated in Scripture all week, and they expect for God to do something big.

What if it wasn’t just camp? What if we saturated ourselves in Scripture all week? What if we were to walk into Sunday morning Bible Study and Worship with the same expectation as youth do for camp? What if it wasn’t just something we checked off the box? What if we really listened to understand the sermon instead of just hearing another word? Maybe we too will weep. Maybe we too will be filled with the joy of the Lord. Expect for God to do something Big!

Re:Verse passage – Nehemiah 8:9-12 (day six)

So the people went away to eat and drink at a festive meal, to share gifts of food, and to celebrate with great joy because they had heard God’s words and understood them. Nehemiah 8:12

Ezra, Nehemiah, and the Levites make one thing unmistakably clear: this day was sacred, and sacred days are cause for celebration and generosity.

Why does hearing and understanding God’s Word lead to generosity?

Because the Word of God always moves in two directions: upward and outward. It draws us upward in love for the Lord with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. And it sends us outward in love for our neighbor.

When the Word takes root, it doesn’t end with us. It overflows.

Re:Verse passage – Nehemiah 8:9-12 (day five)

Have you ever sung this VBS song?
“I’ve got joy, down in my heart, deep deep down in my heart.
J-O-Y down in my heart, deep deep down in my heart.
(Where’s it come from?) Jesus put it there, and nothing can destroy it, stroy it, stroy it.
I’ve got joy, down in my heart, deep deep down in my heart.”

I’ve led this song on guitar no less than a thousand times.

In actuality, the song asks a very deep and meaningful question. “Where’s it come from?“ The song quickly answers the question with a significant truth. “Jesus put it there.” Yes, as believers we do have joy. But left to our own strength, effort, and energy, we cannot produce it. Just like His other gifts and provisions, we must steward God’s joy.  The joy OF THE LORD (my emphasis) is your strength. This is what the people in our Re:Verse text were promised and experienced. God’s joy and His strength. Make no mistake, it is His, it comes only from Him. Same for us today. See John 15:11. “These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.”  (Blog for another time- the connection between God’s Word and joy).

Re:Verse passage – Nehemiah 8:9-12 (day four)

I love that throughout Scripture, God commands fasting and feasting in equal measure, often in symmetry to each other. Our God is not one who commands constant mourning or asceticism, nor does he desire for us to live in unending indulgence and leisure. Both fasting and feasting are good and proper ways to respond to God’s word, and we see them both displayed by the heroes of our faith. Depending on the people in question and the way God is moving amongst them, some encounter God’s law and holiness and rightly fall on their face, mourning over their sin. Others, as we see Nehemiah encouraging here, rightly breakout in rejoicing because the Lord of Lords is on their side, and as the writer of Lamentations states, “His mercies are new every morning.” Both are needed – we must mourn over our sin and tremble at God’s holiness, but we must also rejoice that such a holy God pursues us with love and grace. The more we understand Scripture, just as the Jews did in this passage, the more we will feel led to both fast and feast in response to God’s Word.

Re:Verse passage – Nehemiah 8:9-12 (day three)

“For all the people were weeping when they heard the words of the law.”

For these Jews, the words of the law were not just a solemn recitation. These words of the law were the history of their own people’s interactions with God. They heard Moses’s cry: “Hear, O Israel.” And they couldn’t breathe. Moses was alive again, calling out to them to remember the sweep of history, the rescue from Egypt, the passing through the sea, the manna from heaven, the water from the rock, the Ten Commandments, the year of Jubilee, the welcome to the foreigner, the God who hears from heaven – all of it. They heard, and they remembered. Even those who might not have ever heard these exact words heard the word that fit their souls as if they were now home. And they were.

Re:Verse passage – Nehemiah 8:9-12 (day one)

So the Levites calmed all the people, saying, “Be still, for the day is holy; do not be grieved.” v. 11

We are told in the book of Ecclesiastes there is a time for everything under heaven. A time to weep and a time to laugh; A time to mourn and a time to dance. Ecclesiastes 3:4 – Nehemiah and Ezra recognize the need for both joy and sorrow in people’s lives. As we continue in our study next week, we will enter a time of sorrow and repentance, but on this day there was joy. Much repair was needed. Not in the physical wall anymore, but in the hearts of the people. The wall was a representation of the broken relationship between the people of God and God himself. The people had drifted and abandoned the teachings of the Lord. When confronted with the truth, they were understandably upset. They came face to face with their sin. Their reaction was warranted. Ezra and Nehemiah are not trying to sugar coat the need for repentance, but they are giving the people hope and reminding them they are loved by God who will welcome them back. There may be hard days ahead, but it is important to know that there is a path forward. Sometimes, even before everything is fixed, it is important to remember you are heading for hope. Celebrate this truth.