The Power of God’s Word | Nehemiah 7:73 - 8:18

You're listening to The Bible Guys, a podcast where a

couple of friends talk about the Bible in fun, in

practical ways.

Hey everybody, it's Friday, Friday. Yeah, Fridays are good. We're

the Bible Guys. This is Chris and Kyle because and

by the way, I don't know if you if you're

watching on video, look it says the Bible Guys with

Kyle and Chris.

With either sure gray hair or very blonde here. Yeah, yeah, yeah,

I appreciate it.

Yeah on video.

Good job Desiree for doing that. So Jeff's out of

the country. So that's what Kyle's with us today. We're

the Bible Guys, and today we have an exciting chapter

Ezra or excuse me, me and Maiah, chapter number seven

and eight. We're gonna be talking about Ezra joining the

crew and reading the law and healing the people, not

just protecting them physically, but protecting them spiritually. So before

we dive into that, however, we have a segment today, Kyle,

do you want to introduce.

Yeah, Actually, this one is one I've heard people say

is a fan favorite. It's called what made Chris Mad

This week. Now, before we even get into this because

I'm gonna le Chris think about this for a quick moments.

One of the things that Desrey pointed out is that

that I was the one It says that obviously Kyle

was the mastermind behind everyone's favorite segment, which I think

is quite a.

I don't know mastermind.

I don't know if I would say that, but I

will say for anybody who wants to understand even how

this podcast came to be, Jeff Forster actually had a

vision for it a few years ago, pulled together a

creative meeting and we tried to thinking of some segments

that would be a fun you know, to kick off

the podcast. And I remember, you know, there's a bunch

of different things that were thrown out. There's some that

are currently still going. Like I know one of the

masterminds behind but I don't know if it was Jeff

or his DESIREE had the Babylon b which I think

people love that as well. Reading some of those that

would you rather thinks. But I remember one of the

things that stood out is that Chris, the more I

got to know him and work with him, is he

would sometimes come into meetings or he would come into

a situation, and then's the things that would bother him,

like about just everyday things were always just very precise, very.

Detailed and very it was like superlative. Yes, very well,

that's a part of it too.

And I remember just being like honestly enamored with how

like the things that I almost just took for granted

and a negative like I was just like used to

certain things, like you could point out every little detail

about what bothered you. And I remember just thinking, what

if we just said, like what made Chris mad this week? Like, yeah,

let's try it one week, and then I've heard of

people and then to your demise some of it, they

keep on bringing stuff up and messing with you.

But also I think it's it's it's great. A lot

of good laughs over the years.

Yah yeah, yeah, yeah, I've definitely gotten good and bad

food back from it. Got a bad rap, but nevertheless,

as soon as but you know, this is the reason

why it is a good segment, because as soon as

I thought what made Chris mad this week?

It took me about five seconds.

That's all it took.

And I thought, I thought, oh, yeah, I was mad

this week at something, and here it is. You ready

for this.

I walked into a restroom at a public restaurant and

I realized that first of all, it was not clean,

and uh and and and I won't get it of

the restaurant, right, Yeah, I'm not gonna mention the name restaurant.

What is it?

Right?

But it was but it was in Shelby Township.

And which is a local place, you know locally here

people understand that in Michigan.

But uh, I'm not going to say it was. It

was off of Van Dyke.

But listen, the point is is, uh, this restaurant, No, listen,

this restaurant, it was not Italian, had really bad bathrooms

and I'm not going to go into it because it's gross.

Uh So that part was gross.

But then I go to wash my hands and I

realized that water was everywhere, like everywhere, like like like

all over the counter.

I'm like, what's going on?

And then I walked I looked over and I realized

that there was no paper towels, and so I get

these wet hands and then I go over to the

to the air dryer and it doesn't work. And so

literally I looked over and I realized there are no

paper towels, and and there's no hair dryer, which means

or there's no hand dryer, which means the people who

own the restaurant, they obviously know that the handwriter doesn't work.

Might as well just put out of order on it

or something.

So but but it then forces you to make certain

that there's always paper towels.

So we've run out of paper towels.

And I can tell that it's been a while because

there's water everywhere. Right, So I thought to myself, this

is unacceptable, right, And I'm telling you, if you have

a place of business and you can't keep the bathroom clean,

then then close it down, buddy, Like close it down,

like this is not acceptable. Bathrooms are one of the

worst things to be a part of while you're in

public anyway. Right, if you have to go to the

restroom in public, it's like it's a big deal.

Yeah, right, it's almost like alarming.

Like when you go into a place, especially if it's

I'm assuming you read a nicer restaurant, you go into

a bathroom and when it's like catches you off guard,

when it just feels like nobody's even thought about it.

And then on the other end, when you find out

a place super clean or like put together, it makes

you like the place.

Yeah.

Well, like like you ever travel long distances going to

the South and.

You see BUCkies. BUCkies are amazing and they're known.

For they say clean, best bathrooms, best best restrooms, that's

what they're known for. And they'll literally advertise it. Then

you walk in and then.

And you're like, how could they be that that good?

Then you walk in and you realize.

There's eighteen.

Amazing and it's like you're actually enamorate with the with

the restrooms and everybody wants tom sit and you know,

clean places or being clean places.

So here's here's my here's my confession.

And by the way, I don't normally get this vulnerable

on the Bible guys, but I'm gonna I'm going to

tell you something negative that I do that I should

not do. Okay, uh Now, I've made a statement before

about people who do not return their buggies in.

Parking lotscha, gotcha.

When people don't return their buggies, I do not retaliate.

I do not like take the buggies. I've seen videos

where people put it behind the cars, right, and they

do things which is hilarious.

I love it. But I've never done that. I've never

gotten angry enough.

Okay, but I do this thing when I come across

a restroom in a public place that is not serviced,

and it is horrible. I do this thing where I

should not do. So I have these wet hands and

instead of like drying them on my pants and getting

my pants wet, what most people probably do is just

shake them, right, But what I do is I shake

them on the mirror.

Okay.

Now again, it's not a horrible thing because it's gonna

you know, it's eventually the water is just gonna go

away anyway, right, So it's not.

Like they're gonna come in and go, oh my goodness water, right,

They're not going to do that.

But what I do is I do it on the

mirror to send a message to anybody who might happen

to walk in, or the people that come after me,

so that they walk in.

And go what is going on in this place?

Right? But I literally just spray mirror and now it's

covered in water droplets because I want it to be

known this bathroom needs attention by either a worker or

by the people who followed me, and that.

Is not very nice of me.

No, just mention it to the server.

Yeah.

You know, one time you and I were at lunch,

like a couple of years ago or whatever, and I

remember one time we're talking, you were like just looking

over my head the whole time, like, oh, I should

say the whole time. For a couple of minutes you

were like something like was behind me that you were really.

Dialed in on.

And then you got up and then went and maneuvered

their painting about three degrees east and straight it out,

like all right, I feel better now, Yeah, because it

was crooked.

Because it was crooked. Yeah, you're like, this asked me face,

I am. There's justice to this.

Place, justice to the I didn't ask anybody.

No, no, no, no, that one. You're just like, I'm fixing it.

I can't sit.

And the funny thing is, unfortunately, I would imagine that

was there for weeks like.

That, right, Oh, I'm sure just just off.

By three degrees and no one even cared enough to

fix it.

No, nobody cared.

Yeah No, that's good. So yeah, all right, make Chris

mad this week.

So if you ever follow behind you're in a restaurant

and you happen to see a bunch of water on

a mirror.

Just look around for Chris our bo probably just look

at the bathroom.

Well, I don't want that to be the takeaway. I

want to be that Chris is mad for the world.

Okay.

Chris is not just mad for Chris. Chris is angry

for the all the people of the world who go

into a public restroom and go, oh, this is awful, right,

especially if it's by a nice restaurant. If you're an

owner or even a worker, never underestimate the importance of

a clean restroom for your public.

Yes, okay, So go ahead and comment in if you're

somebody who is in the same boat you agree with

Chris gross bathrooms gross you out.

Go ahead, let us know we want to hear from you.

All right, let's hear your transition to this one, Bud.

Speaking of.

Smelly things, I would say that, oh, I can't even

do it. I can't even do it, because there's nothing

smelly about Ezra reading the Law of Moses und twenty degrees. Okay,

I would say, speaking of attention, of maintenance and attention,

how about that on a positive side, Ezra and me

and Maiah both as as companions. What a contemporaries. They

recognize that the people need attention and maintenance spiritually.

That's great.

That's where we open up in me and Mayah seven

or actually starting in verse number seventy three B. Actually

we're going to go all the way to the beginning

of chapter eight, and it says this. In October, when

the Israelites had settled into their towns, all the people

assembled with a unified purpose at the square just inside

the water gate. They asked Ezra the Scribe to bring

out the Book of the Law of Moses, which the

Lord had given for Israel to obey.

So on October eighth, Ezra.

The Priest, which by the way, they finished on alcober

second right right. So less than a week later, Ezra

the Priest brought the Book of the Law before the assembly,

which included the men and women and all the children

old enough to understand. He faced the square just inside

the water gate from early morning until noon and read

aloud to everyone who could understand.

All the people listened closely to the Book of the Law.

Ezra the Scribe stood on a high wooden platform that

had been made for the occasion. To his right stood Metatayah,

sima Anayah, Uriah Kayah and Messiah. Wow, dude, that's great

kids that were Maybe they're in the same family, they'd

be cool. To his left stood Padaiah, Michelle, Michael, Malkaha, Hashum, Zechariah,

and Mashula.

Again haa haa.

Ezra stood on the platform in full view of all

the people. When they saw him open the book, they

all rose to their feet. Then Ezra praised the Lord,

the Great God, and all the people chanted Amen, Amen

as they lifted their hands. Then they bowed down and

worship the Lord with their faces to the ground. The

Leevites Joshua, Banni, Shariba jaymn Ah should have had you

read this chapter. A bunch of other people. Hayin en

Peliah then instructed the people in the law. While everyone

remained in their places, they read from the Book of

the Law of God and clearly explained the meaning of

what was being read, helping the people understand each passage.

Then Niamiah, the governor Asra, their priests inscribe, and the

Leevites who are interpreting for the people, said to them,

don't mourn or weep on such a day as this,

For today is a sacred day before the Lord, your God.

For the people had all.

Been weeping as they listened to the words of the law,

and Niamiah continued, go and celebrate with a feast of

rich foods and sweet drinks, and share gifts of food

with people who have nothing prepared. This is a sacred

day before our Lord. Don't be dejected and sad, for

the joy of the Lord is your strength. And the

Leevites too quieted the people, telling them, hush, don't weep,

for this is a sacred day. So that people went

away to eat and drink at a festival meal, to

share gifts of food, and to celebrate with great joy

because they had heard God's words and understood them.

Let me see that's it.

In October ninth, one day later, the family leaders of

all the people, together with the priests and levites, met

with ezrav Described to go over the law in greater detail.

As they studied the law, they discovered that the Lord

had commanded through Moses that the Israelites should live in

shelters during the festival to be held that month. He

had said that a proclamation should be made throughout their

towns and in Jerusalem telling the people to go to

the hills to get branches from olive, wild olive, myrtle, palm,

and other leafy trees. They were to use these branches

to make shelters in which they would live during the festival,

as prescribed in the law. So that people went out

and cut branches and used them to build shelters on

the roofs of their houses, in their courtyards, in their

courtyards of God's temple, or in the squares just inside

the water gate and the frame gate a frame gate.

So everyone who had returned from captivity lived in the

shelters during the festival, and they were.

All filled with great joy.

The Israelites had not celebrated like this since the days

of Joshua, son of None. Ezra read from the Book

of Law of God on each of the seven days

of the festival. Then on the eighth day they held

a solemn assembly as was required by law.

Wow, that's great.

Yeah, So Ezra is the same Ezra from the Book

of Ezra. Obviously, he is actually a descendant from Aaron,

Aaron the brother of Moses, and so he has the authority.

He is a scribe, and he is a person of

very much prominence. And actually he actually led I looked

this up. He actually led the second group of exiles.

Back to Babylon.

From Babylon back to Jerusalem and four fifty eight BC

under the reign of King art de Xerxes. Okay, this

was about eighty years after the first group had returned

under King Zarubable.

Okay.

So Ezra was therefore down in Jerusalem, right, And so

he was just a teacher of the law. He had

a great authority, and so him and Neemi were contemporaries.

And as we can see, Nehemiah is referenced as the

governor of the city now, right, So they had been

there long enough where they've established you know, he's been

there for months at this point in time, not years,

but months, and they've built shelters for themselves, they have,

you know, rebuilt the wall, and I'm sure, I'm sure

it probably took them months even to organize things, right,

So they finished the work in fifty two days, But

it's definitely been enough time where Nehemiah is looked at

and voted as governor of the area. And so then

Ezra then reads this Law of Moses, and people are

standing around thinking to themselves. Man, feel like a city again,

We feel like a community again. We feel like these

are the practices that are required. Remember, they they would

build shelters, and they would even in the times of Jesus,

they would still do that, Right, they would build these

temporary shelters and read the Book of Moses, and and

they would celebrate and worship in this way. And so

here Ezra is doing this and he reads from morning

until noon. That's a long time, right, it was a

long time. Yeah, and people couldn't read just you know,

sat there listening because they wanted to, they wanted to understand.

Yeah.

And just to point out because I know when when

you know you read this, it said it's about as

are reading the Book of Laws. It's referring that's actually

the Pentituoke, which is the first five books of Scripture.

So you got like this story Adam and Eve creation,

then you get into the fall of Man, you get

into some of you know, just just for anybody who's wondering,

like what book of law is? This is just like

a law book, you know. They they're trying to get

a degree like what is going on here? And so

it even has the whole and I imagine even for

people who are new learners of this to hear about

the Israelites and and God's promise for them, I imagine,

I mean this was this was a joyful time for

them to come together. So we hear about reading from

what you say, it goes from from morning till till noon,

morning till noon, ti till noon, I mean, long time

to be reading this, right, But at the same time,

this was a celebratory moment.

So usually when they say from morning, they're referring to

six am, six am, because that yeah, because because that's

when the Jewish calendar started. A day started at six am,

so six hours. Yeah, so usually it's six hours, so

that's when the sun would break and come up and

and uh and yeah.

But they but this would have been something that would

have been not a boring six hours for them. I

think this would have been a joyful time. They're reading

about where they came from. And then even it said

it in there, it said the Israelites had not celebrated

like this since the days of Joshua.

So this was this was a this.

Is a great moment, this festival and everything they got

to experience.

Yeah, so the first five books of Moses are Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy,

and and uh. And a lot of those stories are

the same, but they also include some of the greatest miracles.

So Moses was revered and is still revered as one

of the greatest prophets of God. Uh. And still you know,

just one of the greatest deliveries. One of the greatest

revered miracles of the Bible was the parting of the

Red Sea, the delivery of slavery for hundreds of years

God's chosen people, uh, you know, and and all the

great miracles that God had shown up for for his people.

And so I think that it probably felt very emotional

for a lot of people, and they were probably connected

to their ancestral stories, right, stories that were passed down.

I mean, think about it, you know.

So, Uh, it's it's been a couple of generations, you know,

at least there's it's been it's been I think, I

want to say, a couple hundred years since since Daniel. Right.

So, uh, when was the Book of Daniel written.

Here's an answer from Christianity dot Com.

Yeah, sixth century, right, and so and so we're talking

about five hundred and thirty, right, and then and then

Ezra leads the second group of people down in four

hundred and forty ish. So uh yeah, so it's been

it's been one hundred and fifty years. Yeah, so think

about it. That's uh, that's at least a couple of generations, right,

that's three generations at least.

Yeah.

And it's interesting because I was I was listening to

podcasts the other day from Theologian talking about just how

it's so hard for us rapper head around their oral

tradition of them share like the way they would share.

But this is what they this is what they looked

forward to. It wasn't like they had the Bible, Reddit

or chat GPD readily readily available, and I think we

sometimes forget that, right, Yeah, just this is like, this

is what they this is the stories have been passed

down and how to hear Ezra come as this profit.

But one of the things that stood out to me

from this, and it's kind of even mentioned even in

the Life Application Study Bible, is that Ezra was actually

seen as a spiritual leader of this group of people. Yeah,

you already mentioned that Neamyah was the a leader in

a lot of different ways. He was the governor, he

was the leader, he was almost the architect, he was

the project inerger, he was all those things, but it

was actually Ezra who's a spiritual leader over that time.

And it shows you, like I think you mentioned earlier,

they needed a team. There's a group of them together

that were they were working together on that. But also

a reminder to anyone, you know, you don't have to

just be a preacher or even to be able to communicate,

even well honestly in order to help further God's mission,

God's kingdom on this earth. And so maybe you're here

right now and you're like, man, I really want to

make an impact. I really want to help lead people

to Jesus. I really want to you know, share my faith.

But you feel like there's all these obstacles, there's maybe

or maybe you need a platform. In reality, what God

shows throughout the story through Nehemiah is that he used

someone like Neamiah. He used his wisdom, he uses a sermon,

he used his strategy in order to help rebuild the walls.

He used what people were called weak and feeble to

build the walls. He used, like you mentioned earlier, all

the different tradesmen to do all this work. So don't

ever underestimate what God or the gifts and skills and

abilities God has given you, and how He wants to

use that to glorify Him. That you don't just have

to be a preacher or a pastor or a speaker

in order to reach people.

So I love that part of the story.

Yeah.

I think another sermon that's hidden in here somewhere too

is the prominence of God's word being in the center

as a community. So it says that they built a

wooden podium for the purpose of Ezra to stand.

In it, right, yeah, or to stand behind it or

on it.

I don't know what kind of podium it was, but

obviously he was elevated, it says. And it says that

he was prominent on the city and everybody sat around

as a community and they heard God's word. And you know,

the only time I really do that in my family,

I mean we you know, we growing up, we would

have devotions all the time. And obviously, I because I

write sermons so much, I obviously very often I'll sit

the whole family down and I'll.

Say, okay, okay, here we go.

I wrote the Eastern Message and I'm going to run

this by you, and you know, let's see what you

think of this. And I'll sit there in front of them,

and I read scripture sometimes, but this feels a little different.

The only time I ever picture myself doing this with

my family is at Christmas time we read Luke chapter two, right,

so you know, everybody sits down on the tree and

you know, you you already sort of know Luke chapter two.

You know, at least in my household, we do. And uh,

and you already know what's coming. But you're doing it

to what to elevate the birth of Christ on Christmas Day.

You're doing it to remind everybody the focus of Christmas

Day to to uh, you know, as a reminder of

all things. And even though you know the story already,

there's a there's a there's an elevation of the importance

of scripture and the focus of that day on that

in that in that moment, and that's sort of how

I feel here. I mean, number one, it was tradition

for them to do it this way right as a community,

So so that's one thing it was. It was it

was tied back to their tradition. But number two, it

feels like it doesn't say so, but it feels like

this is the first time that they've done this since

the return of Jerusalem. And they've been at Jerusalem for

some of them, probably for several years, maybe even for

well for decades, right, because the first group came down

and then it says then Ezra came down eighty years later, right,

So so uh and it says, well, we haven't worshiped

like that since the days of Joshua, which means that

they haven't felt like a community, right, They haven't felt

like like like you know, they've been They've been wandering

around and existing trying to survive for for for a

couple even generations, and then all of a sudden, now they're.

There, you know, they're this. Uh, they have this moment

where it feels like, hey, the word of God is prominent.

Uh.

And so all that to say this, Uh, here's how

we relate.

We relate by is the word of God prominent in

your family? Is there is there a culture where God's

word is made to be the center the focus, uh,

you know, of of of that community.

That you live in and your home that you live in.

Because for them, they had said, man, it feels like

everything's right again, and that's that's really what we want

for our homes.

Yeah, yeah, sorry that I love that that it's a

focus on scripture and then a festival right after.

It's like celebration.

Yeah, and that's a good life right there, right, focus

on scripture, celebrate life, live life to the fullest and

uh here. And I just think it's really cool to

put that in the forefront. That it's like sometimes when

you focus on God as a family, you have no

choice but to celebrate whatever that may be. You know,

it doesn't be partying obviously, like let's throw a big bash,

but it's almost the idea of like Sabbath.

I love the idea of Sabbath.

When you take that rest, you're able to focus on God,

and then the next day it feels like like life.

I mean, Sabbath is great on its own, but even still,

it feels like the things when you take a rest

from something, when you get back to work, when you

get back around family, it's like all of a sudden,

like things have new meaning. Color is different, that food,

you know, it's it's one of those things where I

think it's the way God intended differ it to be

for us to put him at the forefront and everything.

Well that's great.

Well, hey, that is our time, and so we will

pick up with the rest of Nehemiah on Monday.

And I think Jeff will be back with us. Jen.

Although we love you Kyle, we love Jeff as well.

So hopefully we will see you guys back with us

on Monday on the Bible guys, mhmm