Before The Watergate

…Before the Water Gate

Nehemiah 8: 1-12

A sermon preached by Charles J. Tomlin, DMin

All the people gathered together into the square before the Water Gate. They told the scribe Ezra to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the LORD had given to Israel.

2 Accordingly, the priest Ezra brought the law before the assembly, both men and women and all who could hear with understanding. This was on the first day of the seventh month.

3 He read from it facing the square before the Water Gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of the men and the women and those who could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive to the book of the law.

4 The scribe Ezra stood on a wooden platform that had been made for the purpose; and beside him stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah on his right hand; and Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hash-baddanah, Zechariah, and Meshullam on his left hand.

5 And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was standing above all the people; and when he opened it, all the people stood up.

6 Then Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God, and all the people answered, "Amen, Amen," lifting up their hands. Then they bowed their heads and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground.

7 Also Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, the Levites,1 helped the people to understand the law, while the people remained in their places.

8 So they read from the book, from the law of God, with interpretation. They gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading.

9 And Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, "This day is holy to the LORD your God; do not mourn or weep." For all the people wept when they heard the words of the law.

10 Then he said to them, "Go your way, eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions of them to those for whom nothing is prepared, for this day is holy to our LORD; and do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength."

11 So the Levites stilled all the people, saying, "Be quiet, for this day is holy; do not be grieved."

12 And all the people went their way to eat and drink and to send portions and to make great rejoicing, because they had understood the words that were declared to them.

(Neh. 8:1-12 NRS)

The most Bible-quoting Hollywood movie I’ve ever watched was the post- Apocalyptic movie staring Denzel Washington, entitled “The Book of Eli.” The movie is completely fiction; science fiction, that is; placed in the setting of 30 years after “the war”.

“In the opening scene a man walks across the wasteland that was once America. Empty cities, broken highways, seared earth- all around him. There is no civilization and no law. Everyone left is either predator or prey. Water is so scarce that people bathe with leftover wet wipes from KFC. Food is so inadequate that many resort to cannibalism. Eli makes his way westward across the charred, barren landscape. He has an impressive amount of fighting equipment strapped to his torso and an iPod. A warrior, not by choice, but necessity. Eli will kill anyone who threatens him.

Interestingly, it’s not his own life he is guarding- but rather his hope for the future- a hope he has carried, wrapped and hidden in his pack for thirty years. The prize possession Eli so zealously guards is a heavy, leather bound Bible, that he calls “the book.” It’s the last known copy in existence. Now, maybe you’re beginning to understand why I watched this sci-fi movie.

According to the plot, this ‘book’ is also coveted by a sleazed named Carnegie who has assembled a bunch of thugs and runs a makeshift town in the middle of nowhere. Like Eli, Carnegie remembers the days before the war, and he also remembers his Bible. He tells his henchmen- “It’s not a book. It’s a weapon. People will do whatever I tell them if the word comes from that book.” He thinks that he can control and subjugate the world if he can only get his hands on a Bible. That’s the wrong way to use the Bible, which some still try to do.

Eli, however, is the good guy in the story, who is driven by his commitment and guided by his belief in something greater than himself. He keeps doing what he he knows he must do to survive. He keeps moving to the west where he believes he will deliver the Bible to restore a ravaged humanity. His strength comes from his belief in the power of the Book, the Bible he carries that he protects with his life” (Synopsis adapted from Dr. Teri Thomas, https://www.northminster-indy.org/sermon/the-book-of-eli-sermon/).