Go Ahead And Laugh!
Posted by: henkf <henkf@...>
Go Ahead And Laugh!
Text: Nehemiah 8:1-4a, 5-6, 8-10
Do not ride in automobiles; they cause 20 percent of all fatal accidents.
Do not stay at home; 17 percent of all accidents occur in the home.
Do not walk on the street or sidewalk; 14 percent of all accidents occur to pedestrians.
Do not travel by air, rail, or water; 16 percent of all accidents happen on these.
However, only .001% of all deaths reported occur in worship services.
Hence, right here is the safest place for you to go.
I want to talk in this message about a worship service that occurred almost 2500 years ago. It was certainly a safe place to be, but not a comfortable one.
Introduction:
Our text focuses upon the period following the invasion, captivity, and exile of the Israelites. While most of the exiled Jews chose to remain in the lands of their conquerors (i.e., Babylon and Persia) a small remnant, which still reverenced Jehovah, longed to return to their own country. Unlike their brothers, these people had not grown complacent or comfortable in the lifestyle, sins, and wealth of their captors. Their continual prayer was that God would bring them at last to the land of their fore-fathers.
First of those to return (B.C. 536) was a man by the name of Zerubbabel. It was to him that the promise from the Lord was given, saying: [Zech. 4:6] “This is the Word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord of hosts.” Against all odds Zerubbabel, and his companions, laid the foundations of the Temple. Often harassed by roving bands of thugs, still they persisted in their work. Their dedication in attending to the Temple before building their own homes revealed their conviction that unless the House of God is well established no other part of society could prosper.
The next group to return (B.C. 458) was led by Ezra, the priest. Under his ministry and leadership, the law and the rituals were restored. At almost the same time (B.C. 444) came another group led by Nehemiah. It is about this time that we meet Ezra and Nehemiah in our text.
I. Background
A. The Time
1. It is ‘the seventh month’ of the Jewish calendar....the month of the Day of Atonement and the Feast of Tabernacles (or, Booths).
a. The time, (according to the Law), when the Books of Moses or The Book of the Law were/was to be read publicly.
b. After so long a captivity, Ezra now re-establishes the authority of the Word and commands of God.
2. Not only has the Temple been rebuilt but the massive walls of the Jerusalem have, likewise, been restored. Time to seek the restoration of the people.
B. The People
1. Asked for the Word - desire to KNOW - Psalm 119:97, 77, 131
a. v. 37 - may need to give up some “worthless” things
b. Note Repetition of “my whole heart”
c. “A Bible that is falling apart usually belongs to someone who isn’t” - Charles Spurgeon
2. Within the security of the city walls the Hebrews all now are standing.
There in the Water Gate square they listen as Ezra, flanked by Levitical priests, begins to read from the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.
3. Grandparents, parents and children; merchants and workers; women and men; boys and girls...all stand reverently as the precious Word of God is read. For many of them, it is the first time they have heard the Books of Moses and the Law of God.
a. “Attentive”
b. Stood from “morning until midday”
+A few years ago, archaeologists at a dig in the Biblical city of Eshtemoa (Joshua 21:14) made an interesting discovery. They unearthed 62 pounds of 15th century silver. The gems and silver are worth about $6800. But the jewelry is estimated to be worth five million dollars. The jewelry was buried 18 inches beneath the dirt floor of a cottage that has been continually inhabited for 500 years. People have been living for centuries within reach of a treasure; yet for centuries have been oblivious to its existence.
4. We are living right on top of a buried treasure that can truly make us rich. Psalm 119:18, 14, 72, 127
5. Could it be that because we are old friends with the Word that we have forgotten its power? We read Scripture out loud as though we were reading income tax instructions to each other. There is nothing here to get excited about. You can buy dish towels with the Beatitudes printed on them. You can give Bibles to your children without worrying what they read will upset their lives. The Word that created heaven and earth, the Word that became flesh and dwelt among us, the Word that blew through an upper room and set the apostles’ heads on fire - that Word is still loose in a world that cannot contain it, still seeking those who will hear it and speak it, waking the sleepers, freeing the prisoners, raising the dead.
· Of course, we cannot expect the Word of God to hit us like a jolt of adrenaline each time we read or study it. Although the jolt may hit us periodically, the benefits of the Word of God act more like vitamins. People who regularly take vitamins do so because of the long-term benefits, not because every time they swallow one pill, they feel new strength surging through their bodies. They have developed a habit of consistently taking vitamins because they have been told that, in the long haul, vitamin supplements are going to have a beneficial effect on their physical health, resistance to disease, and general well-being. The same is true of reading our Bibles. At times it will have a sudden and intense impact on us. However, the real value lies in the cumulative effects that long-term exposure to God’s Word will bring to our lives.
6. This book will alter your life once you begin to “hide it in your heart” and meditate upon it. The only way to keep a broken vessel full is to keep the faucet turned on.
· “Our commitment is not to ‘study’ Scripture but to ‘listen’ to it. It is not as if Scripture were a subject like mathematics, a useful tool that we learn, nor is our goal to analyze Scripture as if it were any other piece of literature. We are not out to learn Scripture as we would various historical facts. The point of our reading is less to master the Words of the Bible than to offer ourselves to be mastered by the Word to whom they point.”
7. As they listen, they begin to understand that their years of suffering could have been avoided. If only their fathers had listened to these Words and obeyed them they could have been spared generations of captivity.
a. Tears begin to flow down their cheeks and here and there “Amen! Amen!” can be heard.
b. The poet has truly said,
“Of all sad Words of tongue or pen
The saddest are these,
‘It might have been!’”
c. They bow their faces to the ground and worship the God who does not lie.
The God Whose Word is Law and Truth! And still they weep for what might have been.
· The Way is not My Way
The Way is not My Will
The Way is not My Wants
The Way is not My Wishes
The Way is not My Way
The Way is Yahweh
d. Reason many do not want to be confronted with the Word - can be difficult to hear. Yet is speaks to our needs. It fits inside of us.
C. The Counsel of Ezra & Nehemiah
1. “This day is holy to the Lord your God; do not mourn nor weep.”
a. The tears of repentance must find the comfort of forgiveness or it all is in vain.
b. The fact that they were gathered in their own land, standing, once again, within the walls of Jerusalem in the shadow of the rebuilt Temple was evidence that God had forgiven their sins. Once, they were scattered, but now they are home; they were slaves, but now they are free!
c. It is not well to mourn when God is near in blessing.
2. “Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”
a. In a Word, Nehemiah and Ezra command the people to celebrate.
b. The kinds of food they are commanded to partake of are still the staple of any party.
(a) Rich (i.e. “fat”) foods we still find in cake and ice cream
(b) Sweet drinks we have in Coke and Kool-Aid.
(c) Celebrate - parable of prodigal son
(d) Share with others - therein lies the secret of JOY
c. “...for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”
A joyless people are a weak people. Psalm 119:25, 28, 162
Medical science has demonstrated the effect of our emotions and attitudes on our bodies. We now know that joyless, depressed, or angry people are many times more likely to develop cancer, arthritis, and certain types of heart disease than persons of a more cheerful disposition. “The joy of the Lord IS your strength!”
d. Medicine only confirms what the Word of God has declared for thousands of years: Proverbs 17:22 “A merry heart does good, like medicine, But a broken spirit dries the bones.”
What is the JOY OF THE LORD?
His Word
Jeremiah 15:16 - Your Words were found, and I ate them, And Your Word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart; For I am called by Your name, O LORD God of hosts.
Our Faith
1 Peter 1:8 - Whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory.
Our Relationship
Philippians 4:8 - Rejoice in the Lord always
His Presence
Psalm 16:11 - You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
Conclusion
A. “Go Ahead and Laugh!”
1. Job 8:19-21 19 “Behold, this is the joy of His way, And out of the earth others will grow. 20 Behold, God will not cast away the blameless, Nor will He uphold the evildoers. 21 He will yet fill your mouth with laughing, And your lips with rejoicing.”
2. There are two basic kinds of laughter: holy and unholy. Within this division there exist many different variations. For example, there is laughter that is sarcastic and cruel; and laughter that is happy and wholesome. Some laugh at filthy and base things; Others laugh for joy at things pleasant and tender.
a) It is my fear that there is too much laughter of the unwholesome kind and not enough of the other.
3. Like the Hebrew people of old, we have no reason to rejoice until we possess the proof of God’s pardon and salvation. Till then we should mourn and weep that we have grieved our God and, perhaps, injured others by our sins.
4. But when we seek and find God’s redemptive mercy we should live in the strength of the Joy of the Lord! There is always some cause to rejoice.
5 “The Joy of the Lord is your strength”—‘go ahead and laugh!’
+A student once asked a well-known Biblical scholar in Cambridge, England, “What is the rock-bottom essence of the Christian life?” The scholar replied: “I think I have found it. It sounds much too simple, but I am convinced of its merit. It is found in an old song whose chorus goes like this:
Trust and obey,
for there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus
but to trust and obey.”
http://www3.sympatico.ca/henkf
…
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