Hello, I'm Andrew Russell
and welcome to Let God Speak.
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God has graciously
revealed Himself in the written
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scriptures. He has
also revealed the one way of
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salvation. As we read the
scriptures ourselves today, we
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will see the impact it's words
had on the Jewish people of
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Ezra and Nehemiah's day. ¤ ¤
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On our panel today we have
Morgan Vincent and Ettienne
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McClintock. Welcome Gentlemen.
As is our custom, let's begin
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with a word of prayer. Heavenly
Father, we just want to thank
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You again, Father, that we
can study Your word together. We
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know Lord You love to speak to
us and these special revelations
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Father, they come from Your
inspired word, Lord, we know
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they're life changing so Lord
renew us and reform us today
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is our prayer in Jesus' name
Amen. Well why don't we begin
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with reading from the book
of Nehemiah, that's our study.
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Nehemiah 8:1-2. Let's read
Nehemiah 8:1-2. I notice it says
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here. And all the people
gathered themselves together
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as one man into the street that
was before the water gate and
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they spoke unto Ezra the scribe
to bring the book of the law of
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Moses which the Lord had
commanded to Israel. Ezra the
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priest brought the law before
the congregation, both of men
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and women and all that could
hear with understanding upon the
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first day of the
seventh month. And some of you _
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Ettienne what's happening here
as we read in chapter eight.
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This is an exciting few verses
especially if you're a pastor
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or a church here like this
because what happens is the
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people are asking for the
message to be presented to them.
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They are asking Ezra the scribe
to bring the book of the Law.
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This is really a grass roots
movement and it is a movement
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that is inspired by people
wanting to learn more of God's
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will. Really exciting.
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It's very particular in terms
of the timing of this event.
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Why do you think that, you know,
this is being outlined here for
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us? Well look at
the last verse of
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of the chapter just preceding
that in chapter 7. It says it's
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the seventh month when the
children of Israel came to the
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cities. And so, the seventh
month is really important. The
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walls are being built well,
they are dwelling in the city
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themselves and this is the first
day of the seventh month Now the
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first day at the beginning the
Feast of Trumpets at the blowing
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of the trumpets which is to
prepare for judgment. Then of
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course on the 10th day we've
got Yom Kippur, or the Day of
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Atonement and then also on the
15th day you've got the Feast of
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Booths or the Feast of
Tabernacles. So all those events
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were significant and the Feast
of Tabernacles was to remind
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them that they used to be
slaves in Egypt and they are now
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dwelling in booths to remember
the time that they were actually
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strangers and pilgrims before
they entered the promised land.
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Ah. And this feast had special
significance, didn't it? It not
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only pointed to the God of their
deliverance, Israel, the plan of
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salvation and so forth. And so
it's quite a timely event here
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that this gathering is taking
place. Now Morgan, what's the
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purpose of this gathering?
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Yeah. There's a real key purpose
here. By reading the book of the
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Law of Moses it's referring
to God's acts of how He had been
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with His people in the past.
So it's, if you would, a history
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lesson of sorts where they're
recounting the acts of God in
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centuries and
millennia of time ago.
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Okay, so they come
together and they're recounting
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the acts of God in their history
Was this something new to them
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to do this?
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No it wasn't. It wasn't a new
thing and we find... I'm just
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going to just quickly turn in
the book of Deuteronomy. We find
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there that something really
special happens in the Book of
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Deuteronomy. I'm going to read
in verse 9-11 in chapter 31.
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The Bible says, So Moses wrote
this law and delivered it to the
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priests. So he was saying Moses
is writing and he's delivering
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it to people. The sons of Levi
who bore the Ark of the Covenant
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of the Lord and to all the
elders of Israel. Verse 10 says.
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And Moses commanded them, saying
At the end of every seven years
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at the appointed time in the
year of release, at the Feast of
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Tabernacles. We've spoken of
this just before. Then verse 11
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is key: When all Israel comes
to appear before the Lord your
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God in the place which He
chooses you shall read this Law
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before all Israel in
their hearing. And so it wasn't
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anything new. It
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was a practice done a
long time before that.
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Hmm. So it's consistency here.
And Nehemiah seems to be aware
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of that, of that consistency.
So when we get to Nehemiah 8:1.
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it's an interesting term that
we read there in chapter eight,
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verse one. It says that and all
the people gathered themselves
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together as one man into
the street that was before
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the water, at the gate there.
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Ettienne what's the significance
of this? What does it mean
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gathered them all
together as one man.
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As one man. That's an incredible
unity that exists amongst
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the people.
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Obviously the work that Nehemiah
had done and also the work that
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Ezra had done had had an effect
on the people. Yeah. If you can
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think of God as always in the
center of everything that we do,
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the closer we come to God, the
closer we come to one another
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as well. So we see this unity.
And even the psalmist talks
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about how good and how pleasant
it is for brethren to dwell
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together in unity. And that
unity of believers is really
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important. Even Jesus speaks
about it and says by this all
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men will know, you know, that
you are followers of the true
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God of heaven and earth. By
our unity; if we're one with God
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and then also
one with one another.
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Hmm. Yeah. It's incredible. And
God often refers to Himself as
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One God isn't it the wise God
and it's really an expression of
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that unity of the Godhead itself
and so we see that being played
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out here amongst God's people.
Now what's included now? It was
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mentioned there, the Book of
the Law in verse 1 there, the
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Book of the Law of Moses.
What's included in these words?
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Well the Book of the Law was
actually put beside the Ark of
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the Covenant. You know they had
the 10 Commandments in there,
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but it pretty much refers to
the Torah, or the five books of
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Moses. So it includes from the
creation account right through
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to Deuteronomy which is the law
repeated for the second time.
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Yeah. And it's got all the feast
days and the significance of
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salvation, the constitution
pretty much of Israel, you know.
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It's got the old and new
covenants, both were in there.
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It's just a wonderful
revelation of God's plan for
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Israel and also His purpose for
Israel and even the constitution
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of heaven now being adopted
or adapted to meet man in the
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fallen condition.
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Amen, amen. So it's really
foundational stuff isn't it?
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Absolutely. You
know, there's one thing I
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love about the Bible; you can
never get bored of it. You go
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back, you reread, you learn
something new, precious jewels
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that just speak to your heart
and help you. So this we can
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very much apply to our day as
well. Well let's move on. Let's
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go to verse 3 of Nehemiah
chapter 8, verse 3 and let's
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read that together. It says:
And he read therein before the
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street that was before the water
gate, from the morning until
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midday, it says, before the men
and women and those that could
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understand and the ears of all
the people were attentive upon
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the book of the law.
That's a long reading, Morgan.
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How did the people cope? Yeah
how did Nehemiah carry that out?
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It seems like they'd be
bored or falling be asleep, but
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interestingly enough just one
point that I'd like to bring out
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is that if you could understand,
male or female, then you were
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there. God wanted you to be
there. It reveals the heart of
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God in that He wants everyone
to understand who He is as God.
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But the end of verse three
it says and the ears of all the
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people were attentive to the
book of the law. So there's this
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sense in which they were
attentive, they were listening
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they weren't falling off asleep
but they were very much wanting
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to know what God wanted them to
do at this point in time, having
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just come out of Babylonian
captivity and here they wanted
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to see where God would lead
them for the future. They were
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attentive, they were
listening to understand Him.
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It's amazing how attentive the
human mind can be with a little
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bit of training. Unfortunately
in our time in which we live you
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know, every seven to ten
minutes there's an ad break on
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television programs so people
tend to spend most of that
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seven to ten
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minutes and then you need a
little bit of a break and then
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you got to get back into
it again. But not here so with
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these people and under the
influence of the Holy Spirit
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it's incredible how much you can
actually concentrate and retain
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when the law of God is
read or the word of God is read.
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Were they kind of suddenly
keen to hear what the law was
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saying? You
know, this is beautiful
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because we're reading here Ezra
and I'll just quote from Ezra
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7:10. You find there that
there's three things that Ezra
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set his heart to seek the Lord
their God. He wanted to do it,
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or do what the law of Moses,
the writings of Moses, said. But
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also it goes on and it says
he wanted to teach the statutes.
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In other words, Ezra didn't
just want to hear and to be
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attentive for himself, but he
also wanted to share that with
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others. So it wasn't something
new or unexpected for Ezra. He'd
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been doing this for
many years, for many years.
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For 30 years he'd been doing
this. I'm still laboring on your
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point, Ettienne, the attention
span. You know in churches
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today you go
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and how long do we sit and
listen to the message for. But
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I think there's a real emphasis
on the keenness of the people.
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The consistency of
Ezra's ministry, that he'd been
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teaching these things, but the
people also keen to hear and to
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know about the God. And that's
what really holds us isn't it?
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It wasn't a yawn fest.
People were really eager.
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That's right, that's right. So
it works both ways in a sense.
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How did Ezra manage to read
for four hours straight Ettienne
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No microphone. This is from
daylight pretty much, they read
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through till mid-day. Could
be four, could be more hours.
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But that's a lot of reading
for one man. But we read in
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verse four. It says: Ezra the
scribe stood on a platform of
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wood which they had made for
that purpose and beside him at
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his right stood (I'm probably
going to butcher these names)
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but there's Mattithiah, Shema,
Anaiah, Urijah, Hilkiah, and
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and Maaseiah and on the left
hand side he had another bunch
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of people there as well. And
if we go to verse seven it says
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that all these men then helped
the people to understand the law
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and the people stood in their
place. So he wasn't the only
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one that was
actually helping and going
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through the instruction.
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He had the help of at least 13
other men there to help him and
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assist him
through the processes.
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There's that one man aspect
again, isn't it. Even just in
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this work, working together
as well. In verse eight of
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Ezra it uses an interesting text
here, or interesting phrase.
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It says that they read in
the book of the law of God
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distinctly and gave the sense
and caused them to understand
the reading, giving
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them the sense of what they
were hearing, isn't that right?
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It's true. How
important is that?
00:11:46.43\00:11:48.17
Very important. There may be a
factor that the language of some
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of the young people have come
through, which would have been
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in Aramaic out of Babylon
may have been a factor at play.
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Of course, then they're reading
out of a Hebrew book and to help
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them understand. Quite often you
go to churches nowadays where
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the old people still speak
their language, for example in
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Auckland it's Samoan and _
churches and the young people
00:12:05.55\00:12:08.52
wouldn't understand the
language so well so they cover
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those bases but more than that
I think they were given a deep
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sense of what these texts
actually mean when they are
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speaking to the people and
teaching the people. And that's
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exciting when you see something
and you understand the actual
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meaning and relevance of the
text to your own life and your
00:12:23.54\00:12:26.14
life and your
relationship with God.
00:12:26.17\00:12:27.51
Yeah, yeah. So understanding
is important. I just think of
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myself and maybe other ministers
We still sometimes use the King
00:12:31.31\00:12:34.58
James Bible. The kids
say, ah that's the old English.
00:12:34.62\00:12:36.92
But it's amazing how you can
still get the understanding and
00:12:36.95\00:12:40.62
the lessons across
that God's people need to...
00:12:40.66\00:12:43.12
Paul even when he was
addressing the Corinthians
00:12:43.16\00:12:44.83
he talks about how
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important it is to understand,
you know. He talks about them
00:12:46.23\00:12:49.50
speaking in tongues and
he'd rather they pray with the
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Spirit and the understanding,
and sing with the Spirit and the
00:12:52.37\00:12:55.34
understanding. So the under-
standing rather than just going
00:12:55.37\00:12:58.77
through a set of words, you know
00:12:58.81\00:13:00.98
maybe more like a
ritual. There's actually deep
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significance in the word of God
and of course we know that these
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are living words, they're
powerful words, they're words
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from on high._ was
through God's holy prophets.
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Hmm. That what makes us keen
the hear and keen to learn more.
00:13:12.89\00:13:15.86
Um, is there some
00:13:15.89\00:13:17.23
risk, Morgan, in having someone
else give you the scriptures?
00:13:17.26\00:13:22.36
Yes and no. And the reason I say
yes is that we all need to know
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the scriptures for ourselves.
For those tuning in we need to
00:13:28.90\00:13:34.98
know what the scripture says
for ourselves. But then there's
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a time when we do need help
and I want us to turn to Acts
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chapter eight in the New
Testament. We find in the book
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of Acts chapter eight an account
of where a preacher or an
00:13:46.59\00:13:52.49
apostle was needed to explain
scripture to someone. So in Acts
00:13:52.53\00:13:57.83
chapter eight and from verse
27 the Bible says: So he... the
00:13:57.87\00:14:03.20
Bible tells us in verse 26 that
it's Phillip. So he arose and he
00:14:03.24\00:14:07.31
went and behold a man of
Ethiopia, a eunuch of great
00:14:07.34\00:14:11.25
authority under Candace the
queen of the Ethiopians, who had
00:14:11.28\00:14:16.62
charge of all her treasury. So
this is a man of esteem. And had
00:14:16.65\00:14:21.02
come to Jerusalem to worship.
Verse 28: He was returning and
00:14:21.06\00:14:24.73
sitting in the chariot, he
was reading Isaiah the prophet.
00:14:24.76\00:14:28.63
You just imagine if you're
walking down the street and see
00:14:28.66\00:14:32.03
someone in their car or at a
bus stop. They're just reading
00:14:32.07\00:14:34.17
their Bible and it would be a
situation that would delight us.
00:14:34.20\00:14:39.34
The Bible goes on and says in
verse 29: Then the Spirit said
00:14:39.37\00:14:43.24
to Phillip go ye and overtake
this chariot. So Phillip ran to
00:14:43.28\00:14:48.55
him and heard him reading the
prophet Isaiah and said, Do you
00:14:48.58\00:14:52.82
understand what you are reading?
And verse 31's the clincher.
00:14:52.85\00:14:56.66
And he said, How can I unless
someone guides me. And so he was
00:14:56.69\00:15:01.83
in the case of this Ethiopian
eunuch asking a question of
00:15:01.86\00:15:06.07
Phillip, well how can I know?
I need someone to teach me.
00:15:06.10\00:15:09.00
So this is where we need
to listen to someone like a
00:15:09.04\00:15:14.81
someone like a preacher.
00:15:14.84\00:15:16.18
So clearly he's reading the
scripture but there's a role for
00:15:16.21\00:15:19.51
the teachers and in the New
Testament teachers, evangelists
00:15:19.55\00:15:22.52
preachers...
00:15:22.55\00:15:25.72
One of the gifts of the
Spirit is teaching isn't it?
00:15:25.75\00:15:27.09
That's right, that's right. I
remember sitting in the library
00:15:27.12\00:15:28.46
one day reading my Bible. It
was the local community library
00:15:28.49\00:15:31.29
and a guy came up to me
and said you know what you're
00:15:31.33\00:15:33.96
reading about? We struck up a
conversation. Ended up being he
00:15:34.00\00:15:37.43
loved the word of God as well.
So there is certainly a role
00:15:37.47\00:15:40.57
therefor the teachers and
so forth but of course the
00:15:40.60\00:15:43.71
purpose was for the people to
learn God better and to know His
00:15:43.74\00:15:48.41
will better. Isn't that right?
And of course, that didn't
00:15:48.44\00:15:51.31
exempt them from reading the
scriptures as well. Well let's
00:15:51.35\00:15:53.78
go to Nehemiah chapter eight
verse nine now. Let's go to
00:15:53.82\00:15:58.29
Nehemiah 8:9. Let's read
that together. And it says here,
00:15:58.32\00:16:02.06
verse nine it says and Nehemiah
which is the Tirshatha and Ezra
00:16:02.09\00:16:09.06
the priest, the scribe
00:16:09.10\00:16:10.43
and the Levites that
taught the people said unto all
00:16:10.47\00:16:13.97
the people, This day is holy
unto the Lord your God; mourn
00:16:14.00\00:16:18.44
not nor weep for all the
people wept when they heard the
00:16:18.47\00:16:22.94
words of the Law. So what
were they doing here? They were
00:16:22.98\00:16:26.35
weeping because they heard the
word of the Law. Why were they
00:16:26.38\00:16:30.25
weeping do you think there?
00:16:30.29\00:16:32.12
It says at the end there
they were weeping only when they
00:16:32.15\00:16:37.29
heard the word of the Law. And
we've established so far that in
00:16:37.33\00:16:41.23
the word of the Law is the
history of God's faithfulness to
00:16:41.26\00:16:45.60
His people and when we see God's
holiness, when we see God's
00:16:45.63\00:16:48.97
character in direct contrast to
our sinfulness, our unworthiness
00:16:49.00\00:16:53.98
it's overwhelming and you know
when you see that it stirs up
00:16:54.01\00:16:59.61
within us the sense of weeping
and sorrow for how far short
00:16:59.65\00:17:03.89
we fall of God's glory.
00:17:03.92\00:17:06.19
Because one of the things really
with the book of Nehemiah is
00:17:06.22\00:17:11.33
that Nehemiah is zealous for
God's people and he's zealous
00:17:11.36\00:17:13.80
for his God but there's this
reproach that has come upon his
00:17:13.83\00:17:16.56
people, isn't that right?
Because of their own sins,
00:17:16.60\00:17:18.93
because of their own departure
from the living God and now
00:17:18.97\00:17:23.14
when they hear now of God's
faithfulness, they hear of God's
00:17:23.17\00:17:26.88
love again and here he is
showing up to be that Savior
00:17:26.91\00:17:31.71
and deliverer once again
they weep in the sight of God's
00:17:31.75\00:17:35.25
goodness. Yeah,
there's a thing in the
00:17:35.28\00:17:36.99
Bible that's referred to as
a godly sorrow and the Apostle
00:17:37.02\00:17:39.45
Paul talks to the Corinthians
about that when the word came to
00:17:39.49\00:17:42.09
them and understood that there
was a godly sorrow as well.
00:17:42.12\00:17:44.53
Ettienne can we tease this out
a little bit more? This sense of
00:17:44.56\00:17:51.57
mourning or godly sorrow.
00:17:51.60\00:17:53.40
Yeah definitely. You know the
prophet Zechariah talks about
00:17:53.44\00:17:56.50
you know that God will pour
out on His people a spirit of
00:17:56.54\00:17:59.41
supplication and His grace will
be upon them and there will be
00:17:59.44\00:18:02.08
an element of mourning
especially when they look on Him
00:18:02.11\00:18:04.35
whom they have pierced. And I
want to go to Isaiah 53 because
00:18:04.38\00:18:06.98
we read there about Jesus.
Matter of fact, the eunuch was
00:18:11.19\00:18:12.52
reading Isaiah 53 you know when
Phillip was sent to help him
00:18:12.55\00:18:14.36
understand the reading. Yes,
that's right. And let's look at
00:18:14.39\00:18:17.59
maybe three verses there. Yeah,
Isaiah 53:4 says Surely He has
00:18:17.63\00:18:22.53
borne our grief. Now the
word borne there in the original
00:18:22.56\00:18:25.47
language is nawsaw. It also
means to forgive. But in God
00:18:25.50\00:18:29.30
forgiving He has to
carry and bear our sins.
00:18:29.34\00:18:31.81
surely He has borne our
00:18:31.84\00:18:33.98
griefs, carried our sorrows
and we esteemed Him stricken,
00:18:34.01\00:18:36.95
smitten by God and afflicted.
So there's a misunderstanding
00:18:36.98\00:18:39.38
there, you know. He's bearing
our griefs, our sorrows but we
00:18:39.41\00:18:42.58
think God is just inflicting
it on Him for some other reason.
00:18:42.62\00:18:45.72
But then in verse five it
says But he was wounded for our
00:18:45.75\00:18:48.46
transgressions, he was
bruised for our iniquities, the
00:18:48.49\00:18:51.93
chastisement our peace was upon
Him and by His stripes we are
00:18:51.96\00:18:55.66
healed. And it says, We all as
sheep have gone astray, we have
00:18:55.70\00:18:59.03
turned every one to his own way.
So God wants to turn us from our
00:18:59.07\00:19:02.40
own way because that way seemed
right to us but the end of it is
00:19:02.44\00:19:05.84
death. Turned everyone to his
own way, but the Lord has laid
00:19:05.87\00:19:10.08
on Jesus or Christ the iniquity
of us all. So we look at that
00:19:10.11\00:19:12.91
when we see the big price that
was paid for our sins and it
00:19:12.95\00:19:16.45
really comes home through the
Holy Spirit and through the Law
00:19:16.48\00:19:19.25
then the Law's our school master
to bring us to Christ, to show
00:19:19.29\00:19:23.12
us our sin and our need of
a Savior. When we recognize
00:19:23.16\00:19:25.79
what God has actually done for
us in Christ, in Christ we have
00:19:25.83\00:19:28.96
been made acceptable and in
Christ we have been redeemed,
00:19:29.00\00:19:32.23
we have been justified. When we
see the goodness of God in that
00:19:32.27\00:19:35.44
day there will be a moment
of weeping. But after that will
00:19:35.47\00:19:38.24
also be followed by moments of
rejoicing and gratitude because
00:19:38.27\00:19:41.51
of salvation.
00:19:41.54\00:19:42.88
That kind of leads into my next
question. I was going to ask you
00:19:42.91\00:19:44.91
then why were they told
not to weep and mourn then?
00:19:44.95\00:19:47.78
Okay, well let's go back to
verse eight there that you read
00:19:47.82\00:19:53.15
just the last part there.
So you know it's verse 10.
00:19:53.19\00:19:58.79
My mistake.
00:19:58.83\00:20:00.20
It says for do not sorrow for
the joy of Lord is your strength
00:20:00.23\00:20:06.50
So in other words, there's some
strength in joy. And as we look
00:20:06.53\00:20:10.44
at that we can even consider
that where would that joy come
00:20:10.47\00:20:12.94
from, you know that? It
could only be something that God
00:20:12.97\00:20:15.41
plants in the heart. I mean,
they're sad, they're sad for a
00:20:15.44\00:20:18.11
reason. I think there's a time
to weep and a time to mourn, a
00:20:18.15\00:20:20.45
time to laugh, but obviously
after we have repented. You
00:20:20.48\00:20:24.45
don't stay in that mournful
condition. You now transition
00:20:24.49\00:20:27.22
into the joy of salvation. Even
the psalmist, you know, I think
00:20:27.26\00:20:30.93
it was David, when he repented
of his sin with Bathsheba, said
00:20:30.96\00:20:33.76
Lord restore unto me
the joy of Thy salvation.
00:20:33.80\00:20:37.13
So do these sins
matter though, Morgan?
00:20:37.17\00:20:41.27
They matter, yeah absolutely
they do matter and it's this
00:20:41.30\00:20:45.81
great turn of situation where
yes the sins matter because of
00:20:45.84\00:20:52.31
what it cost God, but God
didn't want them to stay in that
00:20:52.35\00:20:56.58
mournful, sorrowful state.
You know when we repent of our
00:20:56.62\00:21:01.52
sins, when we receive the pardon
and the forgiveness of God, then
00:21:01.56\00:21:05.23
that's where we can see that
the joy of the Lord truly is our
00:21:05.26\00:21:09.06
strength. A verse comes to mind
in the New Testament in Hebrews
00:21:09.10\00:21:13.17
12 and verse two it says
you know looking unto Jesus the
00:21:13.20\00:21:17.31
author and finisher of our faith
who for the joy that was set
00:21:17.34\00:21:21.38
before Him He endured the cross
despising the shame. And so it's
00:21:21.41\00:21:27.05
here where we find that our
greatest joy comes in seeing
00:21:27.08\00:21:31.69
what Jesus has done for us and
yes we have this sorrow but when
00:21:31.72\00:21:37.89
we really see what God's done
for us in Christ, we see that
00:21:37.93\00:21:42.16
He's seated in
heavenly places for us.
00:21:42.20\00:21:45.03
So we kind of interpret joy
to be something that's really
00:21:45.07\00:21:50.01
overrated, right?
00:21:50.04\00:21:51.67
I don't think so. You shouldn't
feel guilty when you have joy
00:21:51.71\00:21:55.28
unless it's joy in sin, of
course. But when it's joy in
00:21:55.31\00:21:57.81
salvation, by all means grasp
everything that you have and
00:21:57.85\00:22:01.68
enjoy it, the gift
that God has given us.
00:22:01.72\00:22:04.59
I was just
thinking of that text you
00:22:04.62\00:22:06.22
said that He despised the
shame and that's really what sin
00:22:06.25\00:22:09.82
brings to us, isn't it? It
brings shame, in our shameful
00:22:09.86\00:22:14.96
actions. It's destructive. This
is what Israel experienced and
00:22:15.00\00:22:18.40
yet God now is willing in
His covenant, His mercy and His
00:22:18.43\00:22:23.91
mercy and His deliverance. And
so it's not general kind of joy
00:22:23.94\00:22:30.61
in sense of mere fun. This is
deep seated, long lasting joy,
00:22:30.65\00:22:35.48
the kind of joy that will see
you through even in challenging
00:22:35.52\00:22:40.42
times you can still find cause
to joy because God is with you.
00:22:40.46\00:22:44.99
Where do we say this joy
really comes from I think?
00:22:45.03\00:22:49.06
Well ultimately the Bible tells
us that it is a fruit of the
00:22:49.10\00:22:54.14
Spirit. So we go to Galatians
chapter five and verse 22.
00:22:54.17\00:22:59.41
But the fruit of the Spirit is
love then joy. It's second thing
00:22:59.44\00:23:04.58
mentioned there. Joy, then peace
and so forth and then it goes on
00:23:04.61\00:23:07.02
So joy ultimately is a gift
of God. When the Holy Spirit has
00:23:07.05\00:23:11.12
done its work of convicting the
world of sin, of righteousness.
00:23:11.15\00:23:13.86
I think in that conviction
of righteousness, which is after
00:23:13.89\00:23:16.56
the sin conviction and judgment
that's when the joy actually
00:23:16.59\00:23:19.59
comes in and ultimately we're
talking about the blowing of the
00:23:19.63\00:23:22.53
trumpets, the day of atonement
which is the day of judgment,
00:23:22.56\00:23:24.93
and then of course the feast
of tabernacles. The feast of
00:23:24.97\00:23:27.27
tabernacles is actually just a
reminder of deliverance. You're
00:23:27.30\00:23:30.14
no longer slaves. You've been
set free. And that's where the
00:23:30.17\00:23:33.11
joy ultimately come in.
00:23:33.14\00:23:35.44
Yeah, so it's something we only
really get from God isn't that
00:23:35.48\00:23:41.58
right? So we
00:23:41.62\00:23:42.95
don't get it of ourselves. We
get it from God and that's what
00:23:42.98\00:23:46.72
it's all about here. Just
delighting in God's goodness,
00:23:46.76\00:23:51.59
just delighting in God's
faithfulness, His righteousness.
00:23:51.63\00:23:55.46
How do we find then, Morgan,
balance between mourning over
00:23:55.50\00:23:59.83
our sins and rejoicing in
the Lord. I think this is a very
00:23:59.87\00:24:04.14
relevant question because some
people get so bogged down when
00:24:04.17\00:24:07.88
they've seen they make the
mistakes they do. I heard one
00:24:07.91\00:24:12.75
man say that he knew someone
who went and committed suicide
00:24:12.78\00:24:15.75
because he didn't feel that
they could live up to walking
00:24:15.78\00:24:20.39
uprightly. So some people
can really get bogged down.
00:24:20.42\00:24:23.79
I believe Satan's really
whispering there trying to keep
00:24:23.83\00:24:26.43
us held down, not really in the
faith of Christ and what he's
00:24:26.46\00:24:30.77
done. So how do we
strike that balance?
00:24:30.80\00:24:32.80
It is a balance. There's this
sense in which yes you may feel
00:24:32.83\00:24:38.37
that sense of shame and remorse
for things you have done, but
00:24:38.41\00:24:42.41
text we looked at earlier
in Hebrews 12:2 where Jesus
00:24:42.44\00:24:46.35
despised the shame. For our
shame Jesus put our shame to
00:24:46.38\00:24:51.19
shame on the cross, if that
makes sense. So He's done away
00:24:51.22\00:24:55.86
with that and though we may feel
it, thought we may experience
00:24:55.89\00:24:58.89
it, that's where faith comes in.
Faith in God's promises, faith
00:24:58.93\00:25:04.23
in God's forgiveness and pardon
for us. Yeah, the cross of
00:25:04.27\00:25:08.10
Christ, He is our Savior, a
living Savior as well and so
00:25:08.14\00:25:12.97
that's a powerful hope for us
to lean into and to believe in
00:25:13.01\00:25:16.95
Really holding onto the
sacrifice of Christ. Being sure.
00:25:16.98\00:25:22.32
and if you're sure of the
sacrifice and all the prophets
00:25:22.35\00:25:25.05
spoke about, you can be sure
of God's mercies. And you know
00:25:25.09\00:25:28.42
the Holy Spirit is convicting us
isn't it? And if the Holy Spirit
00:25:28.46\00:25:31.23
is convicting us we know that
God is working, He's working
00:25:31.26\00:25:34.26
with us. Now going back to
Israel, they all decided to
00:25:34.30\00:25:39.93
continue reading the next day
so they gathered together in the
00:25:39.97\00:25:43.91
morning again and they
discovered something else in the
00:25:43.94\00:25:46.47
scriptures. Morgan, what was it?
00:25:46.51\00:25:47.84
We're going to read in chapter
eight, Nehemiah chapter eight
00:25:47.88\00:25:50.55
and verse 13 and 14. It reads,
Now on the second day the heads
00:25:50.58\00:25:56.99
of the fathers houses, of all
the people, with the priests,
00:25:57.02\00:26:03.39
Levites. They were gathered
together to Ezra the scribe in
00:26:03.43\00:26:06.03
order to understand the
words of the Law. So they were
00:26:06.06\00:26:09.26
gathered together for a purpose,
to understand. Verse 14 says,
00:26:09.30\00:26:12.53
They found, and if you're
finding something, it's because
00:26:12.57\00:26:16.20
you're seeking. So they found
written in the Law which the
00:26:16.24\00:26:20.28
Lord had commanded by Moses that
the children of Israel should
00:26:20.31\00:26:24.61
dwell in booths or in
tabernacles or in shelters
during the feast of
00:26:24.65\00:26:28.48
the seventh month. So
they discovered this feast of
00:26:28.52\00:26:32.69
tabernacles, this feast of
dwellings, where God would be
00:26:32.72\00:26:35.42
with them ultimately.
00:26:35.46\00:26:36.79
And what did they
end up doing, Ettienne?
00:26:36.83\00:26:38.59
Well they actually start getting
the plans together and building
00:26:38.63\00:26:41.36
booths in their houses in their
garden area, in the open squares
00:26:41.40\00:26:45.43
and they start living in those
as a reminder of being strangers
00:26:45.47\00:26:50.21
and pilgrims once upon a time.
00:26:50.24\00:26:52.64
It's really an expression of
now their safety, their God now
00:26:52.67\00:26:58.05
is their haven of security once
again. And so, no matter where
00:26:58.08\00:27:01.48
we've been God can continue
to be our haven of security if
00:27:01.52\00:27:04.99
we'll just look to Him and
come to Him by faith. So we must
00:27:05.02\00:27:09.99
never be discouraged, never
allow Satan to discourage us
00:27:10.03\00:27:12.63
but look to Jesus. Well we're
going to leave it there today
00:27:12.66\00:27:15.30
gentlemen. It is clearly a
healthy thing to sorrow and
00:27:15.33\00:27:18.27
repent of our sins, but it
is our privilege to move on from
00:27:18.30\00:27:22.44
that and rejoice in our
forgiveness and new status as
00:27:22.47\00:27:26.31
children of God. We are glad
you joined us on Let Got Speak
00:27:26.34\00:27:30.11
today. You can watch all
past programs on our website
00:27:30.15\00:27:32.61
3abnaustralia.org.au and
Sabbath School teachers will
00:27:32.65\00:27:36.92
find notes there. If you wish
to send an e-mail send it to
00:27:36.95\00:27:39.89
lgs@3abnaustralia.org.au.
Do join us again next time and
00:27:39.92\00:27:45.19
God bless you.
00:27:45.23\00:27:46.86
¤ ¤
00:27:46.90\00:47:22.44