A Day Set Aside
Griffith Baptist Church – 1/04/09
P.M. Service
Text: Nehemiah 13:15-22
Key verse: Nehemiah 13:17 - Then I contended with the nobles of Judah, and said unto them, What evil thing is this that ye do, and profane the sabbath day?
Premise: There is a day that we as Christians use for worship with each other. This day is special and should be kept special.
The Introduction
In a certain mountain village in Europe several centuries ago, a nobleman wondered what legacy he should leave to his townspeople. At last he decided to build them a church. No one saw the complete plans for the church until it was finished. When the people gathered, they marveled at its beauty and completeness. Then someone asked, "But where are the lamps? How will it be lighted?" The nobleman pointed to some brackets in the walls. Then he gave to each family a lamp which they were to bring with them each time they came to worship. "Each time you are here the area where you are seated will be lighted," the nobleman said. "Each time you are not here, that area will be dark. This is to remind you that whenever you fail to come to church, some part of God’s house will be dark." -- Church Bulletin Bits
The importance of worship can never be minimized.
The importance of worship together is just as important if not more so.
In recent times, we have seen the attendance in our churches today fall off by vast proportions
Here, another problem arises for Nehemiah. The Sabbath day has been violated.
Why is this day so important? Why should we prize this day above all others? Before we answer that, let’s take a look at the predicament here.
Body
1. The Problem Concerning the Sabbath Day
A. The Violation – 15-16
i. Two problems were evident:
a. The people were working and selling on the Sabbath (15)
b. They allowed foreigners to sell on the Sabbath (16)
ii. All of this was in violation of God’s command to keep the Sabbath holy:
a. The Sabbath was all about honoring God.
b. It was part of the commandments - Exodus 20:8-11 – 8Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: 10But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: 11For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
c. It was to be kept regardless of the time of year - Exodus 34:21 – Six days thou shalt work, but on the seventh day thou shalt rest: in earing time and in harvest thou shalt rest.
d. They were not to work - Jeremiah 17:21-22 – Thus saith the LORD; Take heed to yourselves, and bear no burden (carry no load or work) on the sabbath day, nor bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem; 22Neither carry forth a burden out of your houses on the sabbath day, neither do ye any work, but hallow ye the sabbath day, as I commanded your fathers.
e. It even extended to animals and non-Jews - Deuteronomy 5:14 - But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy manservant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou.
B. The Confrontation – 17-18
i. The nobles of Judah were the upper crust and the influential:
a. The nobles were lazy and did not help with the work (3:5)
b. Nehemiah had trouble with them before in the loan scandal they were involved in (5:7)
c. They were compromisers with Tobiah (6:17) [sent letters to Tobiah]
ii. Nehemiah’s message:
a. Didn’t you learn from history? Did not your fathers thus,
b. Don’t you know that God has judged before and will do so again? and did not our God bring all this evil upon us, and upon this city?
c. Don’t you understand what you have done is profane (defile, pollute, desecrate) this holy day by your actions? yet ye bring more wrath upon Israel by profaning the Sabbath.
2. The Prescription Correcting the Sabbath Day
A. Closing the Town – 19
i. The gates were shut – no access to the marketplace or the temple
ii. The gates were to remained closed till the next day – no exemptions
iii. The gates had guards – to ensure closure remains in effect
B. Cautioning the Traders – 20-22
i. The merchants try to circumvent the order by plying their trade outside the walls (20)
ii. Nehemiah warns them he will make arrests if they do not comply (21a)
iii. This scared them off (21b)
iv. God’s service requires purity – Isaiah 52:11 - Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch no unclean thing; go ye out of the midst of her; be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the LORD.
a. This was a ceremonial cleansing and was both physical and spiritual
b. This applies to believers today – 2 Corinthians 6:17 - Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and 2 Corinthians 7:1 - Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh (physical) and spirit (spiritual), perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
3. The Present Day Application
A. Our worship together has precedent
i. The early church met on this day (Sunday)
• Acts 2:1 - And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. - Pentecost means “fiftieth.” It is the New Testament name for the Feast of Weeks (Ex. 34:22–23), or Harvest (Ex. 23:16), which was celebrated fifty days after Passover. In post-exilic Judaism, it also celebrated the giving of the Law to Moses. The Spirit’s coming on that day was linked to the pattern of feasts in the Old Testament. God’s redemptive New Testament timetable is pictured in the feasts of Leviticus 23. The first great feast mentioned in that chapter is Passover. The killing of the passover lamb pictured the death of Jesus Christ, the ultimate Passover Lamb (1 Cor. 5:7). A second feast was the Feast of Unleavened Bread, celebrated on the day after Passover. During that feast, an offering of the first fruits of the grain harvest was made. Leviticus 23:15 commands that offering to be made on the day after the sabbath. The Sadducees and Pharisees differed on what that sabbath was. The Sadducees interpreted it as the weekly sabbath, and hence the grain offering would always be on a Sunday. The Pharisees interpreted the sabbath as the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. According to that interpretation, the grain offering would always fall on the same day of the month but not the same day of the week. Until the destruction of the Temple in A.D. 70, the Sadducees’ interpretation was normative for Judaism (F. F. Bruce, The Book of the Acts [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1971], 53 n. 3). Hence, the day the first fruits were offered would have been on Sunday. That provides an apt picture of the Lord Jesus Christ’s resurrection as the “first fruits of those who are asleep” (1 Cor. 15:20). Fifty days after the first Sunday following Passover, the Feast of Pentecost was celebrated (Lev. 23:15ff.). At Pentecost, another offering of first fruits was made (Lev. 23:20). Completing the cycle of the typical fulfillment of the feasts, the Spirit came on Pentecost as the first fruits of the believers’ inheritance (cf. 2 Cor. 5:5; Eph. 1:13–14). Further, those gathered into the church on that day were the first fruits of the full harvest of believers to come. God sent the Spirit on Pentecost, then, following the pattern of Leviticus 23, not in response to any activity of men. (John MacArthur, MacArthur’s New Testament Commentary, Acts 1-12)
b. Acts 20:7 – And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight.
ii. It is to celebrate the day of Christ’s resurrection (John 20:1; 20:19) – He arose on a Sunday
B. Our worship together has meaning
i. It is not just a social event
ii. It is a time of corporate worship
iii. It is a time of deepening our spiritual life
iv. It is a time of drawing strength
v. It is a time of preaching, praying, participating, and preparing
C. Our worship together is healthy
i. It is beneficial – so the Holy Spirit can work in our hearts
ii. Christ is present when done properly (in my name) - Matthew 18:20 – For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.
iii. It is a deterrent to sin’s deceit - Hebrews 3:13 - But exhort one another daily, while it is called today; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.
iv. It promotes spiritual devotion – The decline and departure from rest and spiritual emphasis on Sunday will always evidence a decline in spiritual devotion. (John G. Butler, Nehemiah)
v. It produces accountability
a. Others see you in worship and you see them – we draw strength from each other as well as the Lord
b. When people miss, then they don’t have to deal with things like accountability, conviction, and a deeper knowledge of God’s Word.
D. Our worship together is obedience
i. It is commanded – Hebrews 10:25 - Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
ii. It is necessary
a. For strength
b. For building up - Colossians 3:16 - Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
Do you rush, push, shout and become generally unpleasant on Sundays? Do you complain about church? Are you irregular in your attendance? Are you over-conscientious about matters that are not really important? Do you always criticize the pastor, the choir, the length of services and the usher crew? Then don’t be surprised if your children grow up to look at Sundays as the worst day of the week. Karen Burton Mains
Conclusion:
What does Sunday mean to you?
How do you approach this day of worship?
Do you prepare for full, all-out participation or come half-hearted and ready for it to be done before it even begins?
How we approach our Sunday’s reveals much about our spiritual condition.
