Nehemiah’s Legacy: Dedication and Renewal – Nehemiah 12:27-47b

SPEAKER 01 : 0:08

Welcome to Expository Truths, where we exalt Christ by bringing clarity of truth through the scriptures with Dr. John Kyle, pastor of Faith Community Church in Vacaville. As Christians, we are called to know the truth and be able to proclaim it. We can know the truth when we know the Word of God, which is precise, without error, powerful, and effective for both salvation and spiritual growth. Let’s join Pastor Kyle as he takes us verse by verse through the book of Nehemiah, an incredible book showing us how God sovereignly used the faithfulness of Nehemiah to lead the people to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem in the midst of many mighty and powerful enemies.

SPEAKER 02 : 0:57

Please bring your Bibles to Nehemiah chapter 12, verses 27 through 47. Nehemiah 12 says, 27 through 47 now remember god led nehemiah to go to jerusalem and to rebuild the ruined walls of the city which was an absolutely remarkable task but even more god led nehemiah along with ezra to be the catalyst in bringing the people back to repentant faith in the living god At this point, the wall has now been finished, and it’s been an amazing month as the people have been celebrating corporately at both the Feast of Trumpets and then the Feast of Tabernacles. And then as they gathered together to observe a national day of repentance, followed by the signing of a covenant, where together they committed themselves to honoring and obeying God once again out of their great love for Him. It was back in chapter 6, verse 15, that says that the wall was finished on the 25th day of the month of Elul in 52 days, which is absolutely amazing, right? I mean, that is an incredibly… amazing task it’s now been a month since that wall was finished an incredible month of great excitement and great spiritual renewal and now we come to this verse here in chapter 12 verse 27 now it says this now at the dedication of the wall of jerusalem stop there Here we see the event which we are now going to look at, which is this. The dedication of the rebuilt month-old wall around Jerusalem. Now that the people have had a month to get right with the Lord by diving into the Word together, by repenting together, by getting back to loving God and loving others correctly, and worshiping the one true God the way He really is worthy of, they now turn to dedicating the wall by having a corporate worship service. And why not? I mean, how could they not celebrate God? How could they not celebrate the goodness of God and the fact that Jerusalem now has a wall around it when only God’s hand upon them could have accomplished that? Now they needed to celebrate. They needed to formally celebrate. They needed to formally give praise to the Lord together. They needed to sing His praises together in light of the wall being finished. A wall that still has portions standing today. And so they dedicated the wall. Note that this wasn’t just a time of praise to God in a general way that the wall was completed, but it was a way to recognize this particular city, the holy city, and how after a long period of neglect and desecration, it’s been restored to its rightful owner. As one noted, the dedication consisted in a solemn ceremony in which the leading authorities, accompanied by the Levitical singers, summoned from all parts of the country, and by a vast concourse of people marching in imposing procession around the city walls and pausing at intervals to engage in united praises, prayer, and sacrifices, supplicated the continual presence, favor, and blessing on the holy city. So, this was a very important dedication. day. This was a very important ceremony in the life of the people. So they dedicated the wall and the first thing they did was celebrate. And celebration took place throughout this whole event. Look, verses 27 through 30. Now, at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem, they sought out the Levites in all their places to bring them to Jerusalem to celebrate the dedication with gladness, both with thanksgiving and singing with cymbals and stringed instruments and harps. And the sons of the singers gathered together from the countryside around Jerusalem, from the villages of the Netophethites, from the house of Gilgal, and from the fields of Geba and Asmaveth. For the singers had built themselves villages all around Jerusalem. Then the priests and Levites purified themselves and purified the people, the gates, and the wall.” So look, the purpose of this wall dedication service is made very clear. It was to celebrate the dedication with gladness. The first thing that they did was seek out the Levites and all their places to bring them to Jerusalem. Why? Because the Levites, who were descendants of Jacob’s son Levi, they were the people who were selected by God to lead the people in worship. Some of the Levites were priests, but the rest were servants and ministers and all things that had to do with the worship of the one true God, supporting the priests and doing whatever was needed for the tabernacle and the temple and then the general worship of the Lord. And so one of the jobs of the Levites was to lead the people in songs of worship and praise to God. So the Levite singers from all around the area have gathered together for a big celebration. Second, purification took place, verse 30. Then the priests and Levites purified themselves and purified the people, the gates, and the wall. And so the priests, Levites, the people, the walls, and the gates were all purified. What did that look like? Nehemiah doesn’t provide us with details of what this cleansing ritual involved, but it seems clear that it involves such actions as ritual sprinkling with water, animal sacrifice, fasting, and abstinence from sexual intimacy. That said, it was an external action that was done to represent an internal reality. See, the spiritual leaders and the people in general, they needed cleansing for the great obstacle in worship is sin. And so, for sinners to come into God’s presence, the defilement of sin must be removed, the filth of sin must be washed away. And these purification rituals were symbolic of the need for spiritual cleansing. See, these rituals were supposed to ignite the hearts of the people and then turn the them to repentant faith in God as their only hope of forgiveness, cleansing, and life. See, all these things really pointed to Jesus. And while the people didn’t fully understand Christ and what he would do for them in the future, they were all pictures of that reality. And the call was for the people to put their faith in God as their only Savior and as their only Lord, and to trust what He had revealed to them up to that point in the Old Testament. And as they trusted God and what He had said to them, and as they put their faith into action which proved their faith, those sins of every true believer in the Old Testament were rolled forward and placed unto Christ on the cross, where He paid the full, eternal, and deadly wages of the sins of every believer in all of history, including ours.” The sins of true believers in the Old Testament were rolled forward and placed onto Christ. The sins of Christians since the cross were rolled back and placed onto Christ. And he was punished for all that sin in our place as believers on the cross. He was made sin for us who believe. Our sin, as believers, was imputed to Jesus and punished in Him. And our call is to put our repentant faith in Christ as Lord and Savior, in His person and in His work, and the result of that is true spiritual cleansing, true forgiveness, eternal life instead of eternal wrath, by grace through faith in Christ alone. See, the ritual of purification pointed to the fact that our hearts are spiritually unfit for the worship of the Lord God Almighty. The one who may enter into God’s presence has clean hands and a pure heart. And the only way for these people in Nehemiah’s day to truly come into the presence of God was through repentant faith in God because of what Christ would do for them later on on the cross. And Jesus really is the center of all of it. And the cleansing ritual was all a picture of this. Note that even the walls and the gates were purified. See, given that the city had been in the hands of Gentiles for so long and the fact that many Jews had died on those walls during the Babylonian siege of the city a century and a half earlier, the purification of the walls and gates was viewed as necessary, as well as the people, of course. The prayer is that as the people did this ritual cleansing, sprinkling of water and the sacrifices and everything else, the prayer is that their hearts were right while they did it, right? That’s always a danger, isn’t it? Isn’t it? It’s possible for the people, even the priests and the Levites, to be ritually cleansed on the outside, but to be spiritually dirty on the inside. Right? It’s possible for the people to look very godly and very religious on the inside, but to have sin taking over their mind and their heart. And that’s a warning because God hates that. And God certainly sees it. During his ministry, Jesus frequently encountered religious zealots who were far more concerned about external cleansing than true inward holiness. He exposed the Pharisees for carefully washing the outside of the cup and the dish, while inwardly they were full of greed and self-indulgence. Beware your own heart. See, this is a warning for you. It’s a warning for me. Take heed to make sure that you’re not like that. The worship of God… is a very serious thing. And being a child of God is nothing to be flippant about. Hey, nothing is more important than your relationship and your walk with God. And too many Christians treat that as if it’s no big deal. They make Jesus a part of their life instead of being the center and core of their life. They think Jesus is content to standing alongside a bunch of other loves, but guess what? He’s not. What will you give in exchange for your soul? What’s more important than your walk with the Lord? Look, if there’s one thing to be serious about, it’s this. It’s this. And so we find that the true people of God, they are very serious about Him. Very, very serious. And we also are very joyful and thankful and loving and happy in Him. What about you? Third, two large choirs sang loudly. Verses 31 through 43. So I brought the leaders of Judah up on the wall and appointed two large thanksgiving choirs. One went to the right hand on the wall toward the refuse gate. After them went Hashiah and half of the leaders of Judah… And Azariah, Ezra, Meshulam, Judah, Benjamin, Shemaiah, Jeremiah, and some of the priests’ sons with trumpets. Zechariah, the son of Jonathan, the son of Shemaiah, the son of Madaniah, the son of Micaiah, the son of Zechur, the son of Asaph, and his brethren, Shemaiah, Azarel, Bilali, Gilali, Ma’ai, Nathanael, Judah, and Hanani, with the musical instruments of David, the man of God. And Ezra the scribe went before them. By the fountain gate in front of them, they went up the stairs of the city of David, on the stairway of the wall, beyond the house of David, as far as a water gate eastward. The other thanksgiving choir went the opposite way. Can you picture it? They’re going opposite directions, on the wall, they’re going to meet somewhere. I was behind them with half the people on the wall going past the tower of the ovens as far as a broad wall and above the gate of Ephraim, above the old gate, above the fish gate, the tower of Hananel, the tower of the hundred, as far as a sheep gate. And they stopped by the gate of the prison. So the two Thanksgiving choir stood in the house of God. That’s where they ended up. Likewise, I and half of the rulers with me and the priests, Eliakim, Messiah, Benjamin, Micaiah, Eloyanai, Zechariah, and Hananiah with trumpets. Also, Messiah, Shemaiah, Eleazar, Uzzah. Jehohanan, Melchizedek, Elam, and Ezer. The singers sang loudly with Jezrehiah, the director. Also that day they offered great sacrifices and rejoiced, for God had made them rejoice with great joy. I love that. God made them rejoice. The women and the children also rejoiced, so that the joy of Jerusalem was heard afar off. You try to picture that, I mean, what a time. The singers were gathered together in Jerusalem. They formed two great big Thanksgiving choirs. One choir along with Ezra and some of the leaders moved in a southerly direction around the city on top of the wall. while the other choir and half the leaders went with Nehemiah in a northerly direction. And it seems that they probably started near, and you can see this, near the valley gate and moved around the city walls, singing and praising God. And they finally met up in the temple area. Try to picture it. I mean, what a time. When they finally met up together in the temple area, the two choirs were singing loudly with Jezrehiah as the director. What’s their focus? Their focus is on God, right? Not on themselves, it’s on God. That’s the clear focus of this entire dedication ceremony and it should be the focus of their daily lives. And the same is true with us in Christ today. And while corporate worship is a great thing that greatly honors the Lord when done from the heart and when done the way God prescribes in spirit and in truth, it’s only great when His people have been worshiping Him daily in their individual lives. See, true worship is a way of life. And when God’s people are worshiping Him as living sacrifices day by day, then think about this, coming together corporately to worship Him is truly a wonderful thing to the heart of God. But only then, when you’ve been worshiping Him yourself throughout the week. And let me just say this, corporate worship is important. The people in Nehemiah’s day were all in… They were repentant. They were focused. They were driven by the Word and prayer and worship. They were living obediently, fighting sin and pursuing righteousness, which is the way it should be for the people of God. And the question is, is it for you? And so this corporate time together was truly an amazing time where God had to have been well-pleased. Right? I mean, the external action was right. But even better, the internal heart was right. And that’s what God looks to first and foremost. What a day. What a day. Fourth, the people offered great sacrifices and they rejoiced. Verse 43. Also that day they offered great sacrifices and rejoiced. God had made them rejoice with great joy. And women and their children also rejoiced. So the joy in Jerusalem was heard afar off. The sacrifices mentioned here would have been animal sacrifices, which was a significant part of worship in the Old Testament. See, in the Old Testament, the slaughter of countless millions of sacrificial animals graphically illustrated the high price for sin. When you sin, you had to kill an animal. And while no animal could truly atone for sin, those sacrifices drove home the point that sin results in death. And death is required to satisfy the demands of God’s law when it’s violated. God is utterly holy, and sin is high treason against holy God. And the penalty for our crime is death, eternal death, hell forever. See, every sin deserves death in the eyes of holy God because every sin is utterly wicked and in His perfect and spotless sight. And sin committed against an infinite and eternal God is worthy of infinite and eternal wages. And so, in the Old Testament, God allowed an animal to die in your place as your temporary substitute. But those animal sacrifices only pointed to the one who would pay for sin once and for all, God the Son, Jesus Christ. And when He came, and when He died on that cross, and paid the full wages of the sins of every believer in history, that’s when animal sacrifices ended. Because he became the once and for all sacrifice for sin for all who believe. But, until Christ came, offering animal sacrifices in repentant faith was a great act of worship to God. And that’s what the people did with rejoicing. And look, the joy of Jerusalem was heard afar off. Isn’t that good? I mean, the joy was heard afar off. The city of Jerusalem sits on a hill. with the Kidron Valley on one side and the Hinnom Valley on the other. It’s easy to imagine the sounds of loud singing music and general joy and rejoicing reverberating across the valleys and onto the Mount of Olives and the other hills around Jerusalem. I mean, what a time. You can hear it afar off. This too applies to us today. For as a people of God, we are called to be salt and light in this very dark, dying world. We are the living letters that are to be read by all people. We are the aroma of Christ to those around us. And people should see and they should hear Christ in us very clearly. I mean, how can we keep silent about Him? How can it not show that we love Him? As one said, Christians are to be walking billboards of Christ. And that should be the outflow of a heart that loves Him. Is that true of you? Look, if you long for something, if you love something, if you’re excited about something, you’re going to talk about it to others, and that excitement will be clear. Are you clear about the one thing that truly matters? Lord, help us to be clear. Fifth, The people willingly gave. Verse 44. At the same time, some were appointed over the rooms of the storehouses for the offerings, the firstfruits, and the tithes, to gather into them from the fields of the cities the portions specified by the law for the priests and Levites. For Judah… Rejoiced over the priests and Levites who ministered. Both the singers and the gatekeepers kept the charge of their God and the charge of the purification according to the command of David and Solomon his son. From the days of David and Asaph of old, there were chiefs of the singers and songs of praise and thanksgiving to God. In the days of Zerubbabel and the days of Nehemiah, all Israel gave the portions for the singers and the gatekeepers a portion for each day. They also consecrated holy things for the Levites, and the Levites consecrated them for the children of Aaron. Nehemiah now describes a commitment of the people to give to the support of their spiritual leaders. In other words, the lay people in Judah rejoiced in what the priests and in what the Levites were doing. They were pleased because the priests and Levites, singers and gatekeepers, performed the service of their God according to the commands of David and Solomon, his son. And look… as the spiritual leaders did things the right way, as they did things the biblical way, the people rejoiced in that. How good is that? Just as they did from the times of David and Solomon, just as they did in the times of Zerubbabel a century earlier, They are now, even this day, doing the same, and they are giving willingly and thankfully, verse 47. Again, what a time, an incredible time. Think about this. The spiritual leaders are doing things the right way, and the people are rejoicing because of that. Isn’t that good? That’s the way it should be. That’s the way it should be. It reminds me of Zacchaeus. Remember after Zacchaeus got saved by amazing grace, his first response was, “‘Look, Lord, I give.'” Luke 19, 9. Why? Because giving is a great way to respond to the salvation that Christ has freely given to us. First, giving yourself to Christ, and then whatever else He wants. Look, too many Christians approach the Christian life like it’s more of a burden than their crowning joy. I’ve got to serve God now. I’ve got to go to church. I’ve got to give money. I’ve got to go to Bible study. I’ve got to battle sin. Got to change my behavior. Oh, boy. Come on. What about I get to? What about it’s my joy to? Whatever happened to the joy of being able to please God with your fading life? Zacchaeus got it. The people in Nehemiah’s day got it. I pray we get it. Hey, we get to honor and please and glorify God. Come on. I mean, we get to. God who created us. We can glorify God, the one true God, creator of heaven and earth. We can please God. How? In many ways. But it starts in the heart and it flows up and out in our actions daily and corporately and how we battle sin and pursue godliness and purity and heartfelt singing in our giving and how we handle the Word of God in our prayer life, in our joy and thankfulness and so on. So many ways. Lord, help us to get to it. What a day. As we will find out, the day was short-lived. How sad. As soon as Nehemiah returns to Persia, things deteriorate quickly. Again, how incredibly sad. May that not be the case here. Lord, help us to always be incredibly sensitive to sin. Repentant, joyful, thankful, and intent on giving the glory of God here until he calls us home. Lord, help us. Let’s pray. Heavenly Father, thank you, Lord, for your wonderful word of truth. Thank you for Nehemiah, the example of him and Ezra and the faithful people. Help us, Lord, to celebrate you every day the way they celebrated the wall. May we dedicate our lives to you, Lord. Speak to us, encourage us, move us along for your glory. May we encourage one another in your truth. We love you. We thank you. Bless us now. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

SPEAKER 01 : 23:47

Thanks for joining us for today’s exposition from the book of Nehemiah on Expository Truths with Dr. John Kyle. dot org faith community church seeks to exalt christ by bringing clarity of truth through the scriptures with a commitment to glorifying god through the pure deep and reaching message of the gospel pastor john is the preaching pastor at faith community church of vacaville a seminary professor and a trainer of preaching pastors overseas Join for services at Faith Community Church Sundays at 9 and 1045 a.m. 192 Bella Vista Road, Suite A. To learn more, visit vacavillefaith.org or call 707-451-2026. That’s 707-451-2026. Or visit vacavillefaith.org.

SPEAKER 1 : 25:57

Thank you.