"Not just a building project"
So the people went away to eat and drink at a festive meal, to share gifts of food, and to celebrate with great joy because they had heard God's words and understood them. (Nehemiah 8:12 NLT)
The wall was completed in chapter 7. So why 13 chapters in the book? Nehemiah is more than just a building project. It has more to do with rebuilding from spiritual ruins than physical ones. It was their spiritual rebellion against God that led to the physical destruction around them.
The center of spiritual reform is chapter 8. Ezra reads the law & the people of God listen. They are convicted, repentant, & they change. All of this comes from the Word of God.
If we are going to be spiritually reformed like they were, we have to get back to the Word of God. There are 3 actions around the Word that they took.
We have to read the Word. If we don't read the Bible we can't be changed by the God of the Word. The Bible is living & active & sharper than a two-edged sword. If we never read it then we can never know it. And if we don't know it, we can't know God. Read it.
Not only read it, but we must reverence it. The people stood when the Bible was read. They gave it a place of influence & significance in their lives. They gave it priority. Similarly, the Bible must be our source of life & practice. We must reverence it.
We must also respond to it. The people responded with weeping & repentance. We too must not just be hearers of the Word but doers also! If we read it & reverence but don't do it, then we will find ourselves without the renewal we most need.
What kind of priority does the Word of God have in our lives?
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