Nehemiah 8 - Esther 1: Preach the Word

Nehemiah 8:1-8   And all the people gathered themselves together as one man into the street that was before the water gate; and they spake unto Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the LORD had commanded to Israel.  2 And Ezra the priest brought the law before the congregation both of men and women, and all that could hear with understanding, upon the first day of the seventh month.  3 And he read therein before the street that was before the water gate from the morning until midday, before the men and the women, and those that could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive unto the book of the law.  4 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.  5 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:  6 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.  7 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.  8 So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading.

     Many are unaware of the centrality of the word of God in Christianity . Preaching of the word of God has been relegated to a secondary or nonessential status. Many congregations gather for what has been termed "praise and worship" for an hour and a half followed by a twenty minute time of sharing. Preaching has become the ugly duckling of the meeting time of the church. This was not always so.

     We find here, in verses one through three, that all the people were in attendance when the Bible was preached. The children were present as well during the time of preaching of the word of God. The Bible declares that all the people gave the attention to the preaching. There was no texting or talking because the people were interested in what God had to say.

     We also see something of the style of preaching that was being carried out. The bar stool is conspicuously absent. In it's place stands a pulpit of wood. This pulpit is on a raised platform so that the people can see and hear without interference. The people stood in reverence to the word of God, and shouts of "Amen!" were heard. Verse six makes it plain that this was genuine worship.

     The content of the preaching was really quite simple. The text of Scripture was read distinctly. Ezra gave the sense of the text or explained what the text was teaching or demanding of the listeners. Lastly, according to the latter part of verse eight, he counsels his listeners to understand what God was teaching in the text. No theatrics, no drama, no rhetorical gymnastics, but an honest effort to make the Bible understandable to the listeners.

     Preaching has not become passe'. We need only to return to the original pattern and obey God's directive to preach the Word. God will do the rest.

2 Timothy 4:1-2   I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom;  2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.     

Daily Devotional- Matthew 21:1-27 Jesus Comes To Jerusalem