Monday, August 25th

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Monday, August 25

Nehemiah 10:28-39

“The rest of the people, the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, the temple servants, and all who have separated themselves from the peoples of the lands to the Law of God, their wives, their sons, their daughters, all who have knowledge and understanding, join with their brothers, their nobles, and enter into a curse and an oath to walk in God's Law that was given by Moses the servant of God, and to observe and do all the commandments of the Lord our Lord and his rules and his statutes.

A number of years ago FBCG’s East Campus was serving as a polling place for an election and the lobby was filled with people who weren’t part of our church family. At some point in the morning I stepped out of my office for a moment and was greeted by one of the election officials. I didn’t recognize him because he didn’t worship at FBCG, but I offered a polite “Hello,” and then was surprised when he kind of nodded back over his shoulder toward the sanctuary and said, “So what are you doing in there?”

I said, “Excuse me?”

He repeated, “What are you doing in there?” with the same nod toward the sanctuary. This time he followed up with a little more explanation of his question. He continued, “I drive by here on Sunday mornings and there are cars parked all over the place! So I’m just wondering what you are doing in there to get all these people to come to church?”

This time I understood his question, and responded the best I could on the spur of the moment. I said something like, “Well, we just do our best to worship God and preach his word.”

That’s where we are in the story of Nehemiah as well! Let’s recap the journey so far:

Nehemiah hears the walls of Jerusalem are still broken down and he grieves and prays to the God of heaven.

Nehemiah receives permission from the King to travel to Jerusalem for the purpose of rebuilding the wall.

He puts together a plan and inspires the people to join him.

He leads the people to rebuild the wall in 52 days, overcoming great opposition along the way.

He then seeks to repopulate the city with the descendants of the first exiles who had returned decades earlier.

Then Nehemiah leads the people in a re-reading of God’s word and a time of communal confession of sin.

Now he leads the people of Jerusalem in a public commitment to obey God’s word.

The rest of the people... all who have knowledge and understanding, join with their brothers, their nobles, and enter into a curse and an oath to walk in God's Law that was given by Moses the servant of God, and to observe and do all the commandments of the Lord our Lord and his rules and his statutes.

Nehemiah knew it wasn’t enough for the people of God to have a restored wall and a restored Temple. He knew they needed to also be a people of God’s word!

Think of it this way.

Not many of us ever get so busy that we forget to eat; at least I rarely forget to eat! Yet, I think many of us use our busy lives as a kind of excuse for not spending more intentional time reading and thinking about God’s word.

The Bible itself teaches that God’s word is like food for our souls.

In 1 Peter 2:2 we read:

...like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation...

At FBCG we preach from God’s word in every worship service but hearing from God’s word once a week is like having one meal a week! If you are reading or listening to “10 Minutes with God” you are seeking to nourish your soul on a daily basis and I would simply encourage you to share these daily devotionals with someone else who may need such spiritual nourishment from God’s word.

Last year we did a whole series of messages from Psalm 119 and we memorized together the key verse from that series. I think there’s a good chance Nehemiah had this verse memorized as well!

I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word. Psalm 119:16

Just as we don’t neglect to nourish our bodies, may we not neglect the nourishment of our souls. May we, too, be a people of the word!

Pastor Brian Coffey