(This is especially from 12:43ff)
Today we come to the end of our study in Nehemiah—not that we have mined all the truths therein—we have only TOUCHED on chapter 13, which ends the book on a bit of a downer—seeing what happens when people don’t stay dedicated to God
But that is NOT our focus today. Today our scene opens up with a GRAND celebration
Dedication of the Walls of Jerusalem
Dedication: When the Bible refers to “dedicate” it usually refers to setting something aside for the Lord’s purpose—or devoted to Him. God had brought about the vision that Nehemiah had to rebuild the wall—“laid it on my heart”—and helped them throughout the process, overcoming opposition, raising up a strong leader like Nehemiah, and turning the hearts of the people toward him. Jerusalem was the city where God had his temple—his dwelling place. The people responded to the help and presence of the Lord with a festive, worshipful time of praise, music, prayers and sacrifices.
The Hebrew word underlying “dedication” is where we get the term “hannukah” which was used to name the feast we all know—which is even referred to in the Bible as the “Feast of Dedication.” It celebrated the capturing and cleansing of the temple by the Maccabees just a century or two before Jesus was born.
The people were bearing witness to the watching world that God had done the work, and He alone should be glorified. The enemy had said that the walls would be so weak that a fox could knock them down (4:3), but here were the people marching on the walls! What a testimony to the unbelieving Gentiles of the power of God and the reality of faith. It was another opportunity to prove to them that “this work was wrought by our God” (6:16).
Their worship is “noisy and tumultuous” (festivals, sacrifices, etc)
Singing is mentioned eight times in this chapter, thanksgiving six times, rejoicing seven times, and musical instruments three times. (Wiersbe)
application: as God’s people, CHOSEN by Him, they were His. Solely his. ALL for Him. Their lives were to be lived out by following his Word. Their city was home to God. Their walls were built by his care. They were resettled under his good hand. Their whole way of life was to be dedicated to serving and obeying him, and being blessed by him.
Our blessing does not come with a political nationality or race, or necessarily even a geographical location. It comes from being chosen as his children. His eye is on us, His Spirit with us. Are OUR lives dedicated to him? Do we see his hand in our lives? Do we acknowledge that?
Key Point: When We Build with God at the Center, We will Overflow with Joy from God
We started off this series by saying “our lives are better when built with God at the Center. Now we are going to look into just HOW they can be better! We will look at the joy that come from God, a joy deep within, that is not a fleeting emotion.
Transition: What makes the Christian experience have depth is our ability, in the Lord, to experience that:
1. Our Joy does Not Come from Problem Free Life
The trials of Nehemiah and the people dedicated to rebuilding the wall
• I have been thinking that joy is a thing we all want. It seems hard to come by, and yet is a mark of the life of not only God’s people (as we see in Nehemiah) but especially of the Christian. But even as joy came abundantly to the Israelite nation as they rebuilt and resettled Jerusalem and their country, the road there was hard and fraught with toil and hardship. Ridicule, threats, compromise, social injustice from within, all threatened to wreck not only their lives, but any future joy and the completion of the project. It took a strong leader, prayer, diligence, being prepared to fight, working very hard, and above all the hand of God.
• Did they experience joy during those hard times? Hard to say. Probably many of them didn’t. Perhaps some with the faith and vision, like Nehemiah, did. It is possible for Christians to experience joy in hard times. Paul did. He rejoiced in prison. He passionately taught and encouraged people to rejoice ALWAYS. Was he being realistic?
Jesus
BEN PATTERSON, writing in the Leadership Journal, recalls when A tribe witnessed a movie—AND the live of Jesus for the first time together one evening:
Imagine the mystery and delight of not just hearing, but seeing the story of Jesus for the first time, almost as an eyewitness.
That’s what happened to a tribe in the jungles of East Asia, when missionaries showed them the Jesus film. Not only had these people never heard of Jesus, they had never seen a motion picture. Then, all at once, on one unforgettable evening, they saw it all—the gospel in their own language, visible and real.
Imagine again how it felt to see this good man Jesus, who healed the sick and was adored by children, held without trial and beaten by jeering soldiers. As they watched this, the people came unglued. They stood up and began to shout at the cruel men on the screen, demanding that this outrage stop.
When nothing happened, they attacked the missionary running the projector. Perhaps he was responsible for this injustice! He was forced to stop the film and explain that the story wasn’t over yet, that there was more. So they settled back onto the ground, holding their emotions in tenuous check.
Then came the crucifixion. Again, the people could not hold back. They began to weep and wail with such loud grief that once again the film had to be stopped.
It wasn’t easy for Jesus.
It won’t be easy for us:
• People at work may scoff at us
• Our decisions to follow God—to put him at the center--will be unpopular with our old friend base
• We may incur the wrath of our children
Transition: One of the reasons difficulties don’t bother us deeply or destructively is that:
2. Our Joy Comes From Seeing God Lovingly At Work in Our Lives
The Christian life is going to God. In going to God, Christians travel the same ground that everyone else walks on, breathe the same air, drink the same water, shop in the same stores, read the same newspapers, are citizens under the same government, pay the same prices for groceries and gasoline, fear the same dangers, are subject to the same pressures, get the same distresses, are buried in the same ground.
The difference is that each step we walk, each breath we breathe, we know we are preserved by God, we know we are accompanied by God, we know we are ruled by God.(obtained by Preaching Today.com Eugene Peterson, A Long Obedience in the Same Direction (Intervarsity Press, 2000), p. 45;)
In both OT and NT joy is consistently the mark both individually of the believer and corporately of the church.
Ps 16:11 You will make known to me the path of life;
In Your presence is fullness of joy;
In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.
Rom 15:13 Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
The God of hope WAS their source of joy
some background insight into the religious rites and results of the Hebrews:
todah—either a confession of SIN or a confession of GOD’s character and works (TWOT). It was usually a time of joy (as is our case, Neh 12:43) and was often accompanied with singing (as here, or Psalm 147:7), and sometimes with a “thank-offering.”
Sacrifices--The æáäéí were chiefly thank-offerings which, terminating in feasting upon the sacrifices, - and these feasts in which the women and children participated, - contributed to the enhancement of the general joy, the joy which God had given them by the success He had accorded to their work of building their wall. (K&D)
Joy—note the superlatives of this JOY! It is rooted in what God has done for them. It would be hard to think of having such joy without it penetrating your whole body and and exploding throughout, so that your eyes light up and shine, your laughter sparkles, your hands raise high, your feet float on the ground.
"You cannot play the piano well unless you are singing within you."
—Concert pianist Arthur Rubenstein (1887–1982)
(Back to the tribal experience, as told by Ben Patterson:)
. So they composed themselves and sat down to see what happened next.
Then came the resurrection. Pandemonium broke out this time, but for a different reason. The gathering had spontaneously erupted into a party. The noise now was of jubilation, and it was deafening. The people were dancing and slapping each other on the back. Christ is risen, indeed!
Again the missionary had to shut off the projector. But this time he didn’t tell them to calm down and wait for what was next. All that was supposed to happen—in the story and in their lives—was happening.
Christian author Brennan Manning calls us to examine the cause of our emotions:
To ascertain where you really are with the Lord, recall what saddened you the past month. Was it the realization that you do not love Jesus enough? That you did not seek his face in prayer often enough? That you did not care for his people enough? Or did you get depressed over a lack of respect, criticism from an authority figure, your finances, a lack of friends, fears about the future, or your bulging waistline?
Conversely, what gladdened you the past month? Reflection on your election to the Christian community? The joy of saying slowly, "Abba, Father"? The afternoon you stole away for two hours with only the gospel as your companion? A small victory over selfishness? Or were the sources of your joy a new car, a Brooks Brothers suit, a great date, great sex, a raise, or a loss of four inches from your waistline?
Poem
My Lord is a consuming Fire
He sets my heart ablaze
He is the truth and the Light
Who dispels this worldly haze
My Lord is the Living Water
in Him, I will thirst no more
He is the Spirng welling up to eternal life
by His blood I am restored
He is the Bread of Life
He wants to feed us all
He came to deliver us from death and strife
Won’t you heed His call?
My Lord is the Rock of Ages
In Him I find strength and peace
onthis Rock, I rest my faith
His grace has set me free
My Lord is the King of Glory
His Power and holiness sustains all things
I joyfully and on bended knee proclaim:
You are my Mighty King!
by Gary Betway, member, Monroe Christian Church
