# 11 Getting Back To God's Word Series

The cry came from the people to bring out the book! Ezra, we want to be revived, we want to know God. We want to put away all that rubbish that we’ve known for years in captivity that’s done our hearts no good. We need to hear something good for a change.

I wish we could hear that cry more often today! You don’t see many people striving to get to hear the Word of the Lord. No - it’s bring out everything but the book!

Most people don’t even bring the Book to church? They aren’t hungry to hear the Word of the Lord. They would rather hear what is happening on American Idol almost to the point that it does become an Idol to them. They would rather watch to see who is the last Survivor on an Island called Palau, or in the Australian Outback than to learn how to survive and be victorious in this world of sin and death. Where is the cry for more of God’s Word? Where is the cry to know Him more?

Nehemiah 8:4-8, "And Ezra the scribe stood upon a pulpit of wood, which they had made for the purpose; and beside him stood Mattithiah, and Shema, and Anaiah, and Urijah, and Hilkiah, and Maaseiah, on his right hand; and on his left hand, Pedaiah, and Mishael, and Malchiah, and Hashum, and Hashbadana, Zechariah, and Meshullam. And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people; (for he was above all the people;) and when he opened it, all the people stood up: And Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God. And all the people answered, Amen, Amen, with lifting up their hands: and they bowed their heads, and worshipped the LORD with their faces to the ground. Also Jeshua, and Bani, and Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodijah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites, caused the people to understand the law: and the people stood in their place. So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading."

Who was there when Ezra began to read? Who was there crying out to hear from God? The men were there, women were there, and all who could understand were there, including the youth and children who had the ability to understand what was going on.

Too many people use any excuse in the book to keep from hearing from God’s Holy Book. You don’t need a PHD to understand God’s Word. You don’t need a High School Diploma to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit speaking to you. God’s Word was not written, and it isn’t given from this pulpit, only for the educated elite. I’m not one of those educated elite who can talk above your heads but even so, I try to make it as simple as I can, so that everyone can get something from it. I’ve always heard it said that, “You get out of something, what you put into it.” From what many put into the church, it’s no surprise that some just don’t get anything out of it. You won’t get anything if you aren’t willing to listen and hear what is being said.

So Ezra began to read out loud, in public, from a pulpit that had been raised just for him to speak from so more of the people could hear what he read, just like we do here from this pulpit. His pulpit probably wasn’t a stand or a desk like we have today. It was more than likely either a tower of some sort where he could see and be heard above the crowd, or just an elevated place where he could move about and speak to the whole congregation. Ezra stood over the people, in that pulpit and read the word of God constantly, from daybreak until noon every day.