The Water Gate
There are certain words that come to mind when we think of Nehemiah: Leader, builder, encourager, prayer warrior, endurance, discernment, overcomer. But what about worshipper?
“So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of Elul, in fifty-two days. And it happened, when all our enemies heard of it, and all the nations around us saw these things, that they were very disheartened in their own eyes; for they perceived that this work was done by our God.” (Nehemiah 6:15–16, NKJV)
There are certain words that come to mind when we think of Nehemiah: Leader, builder, encourager, prayer warrior, endurance, discernment, overcomer. But what about worshipper?
In chapter 6, we see that, to the chagrin of their enemies, they had completed the walls around Jerusalem. It was not necessarily that they had finished the wall, but that the project, which was an impossibility, could only have been done because God was with them. If that was the case then nothing the enemy could do would be able to stop them. I like this because it means that when we trust God and have the victory, the enemy trembles because he knows we are unstoppable. Unfortunately, he does not go away nor does he stop the attacks. In fact, they increase as we see with Nehemiah’s story. Not only did he deal with the external enemy, but also the internal corruption among the leaders.
The wall was built. The city was safe. But the people were not inside. It is interesting to note that the people built the walls and then stayed on the wrong side of them! What kind of walls are we building that are keeping us from the safety and security of the presence of God? We must take stock and see if we are living on the wrong side and have substituted work for worship.
Worship: A firm foundation
I think it is significant that they gathered together as one man at the Water Gate in Nehemiah 8:1-6. Monica and I went to Harvest at the Honda Center last month, which was more of a worship time with artists like Chris Tomlin, the Harvest Worship Team, and others I just can’t remember, but it was amazing to hear Michael W. Smith lead us all in the song,
We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord
We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord
And we pray that our unity will one day be restored
And they'll know we are Christians by our love, by our love
Yeah they'll know we are Christians by our love
We will work with each other, we will work side by side
We will work with each other, we will work side by side
And we'll guard each man's dignity and save each man's pride
And they'll know we are Christians by our love, by our love
Yeah, they'll know we are Christians by our love.
When God’s people meet together as one, there is something special that happens. Unity brings such peace. (Ephesians 4:3; Psalm 133:1; see Romans 12). I always think of the Tower of Babel when I think of unity. God acknowledged that nothing will be withheld from those that are unified. (Genesis 11:5–9) Obviously this wasn’t a good thing, but it illustrates that if we are gathered in unity in the cause of Christ, then God does amazing things.
They met at the Water Gate.
There is a lot of significance to this gate. The word of God is compared to water in Ephesians 5:26, where a man is encouraged to wash his wife with the water of the word of God. The Water Gate was one of the few that did not need to be repaired. They did some work around the gate, but not the gate itself. The word of God does not need repairing, it is complete and perfect. The word cannot be destroyed by man, so it survived the attack of Nebuchadnezzar’s troops. It is where Nehemiah wanted to meet to let the people hear the word of God, making it a symbol of God’s word.
But there is something else significant here. The Spirit of God is also called water.
“On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying,
“If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.” (John 7:37–39, NKJV)
I love the saying,
“The Spirit of God works through the word of God to transform the people of God.”
And this is what is happening here in Nehemiah 8:1-6. When they hear the word of God, they were “cut to the heart” (Acts 2:37; 7:54) and were convicted, but instead of rejecting God’s word, they began worshipping with their heads bowed.
Teaching the Word of God
It is pretty clear from Nehemiah 8:7-9 that Ezra and the others teaching meant for the day to be full of joy because God’s word was finally being taught once again in God’s nation! But when the people heard of their blessings and responsibilities, they began to break down and weep.
As worship leaders, we can never tell what the response will be as we worship. Some people are just singing songs. Others are emotional and want to dance and shout.
Still others respond by weeping, hearing of the great things God has done in his word and as we worship Him in song. As someone who brings God’s word to people, I also cannot tell how people are going to take it. Yes, I have in mind what to teach, and if I have prayed and received from the Lord what to teach, it is actually not my responsibility to illicit a response, that is up to the Holy Spirit.
That is why it is important for us to bring people to the Water Gate, spiritually, in order for the Spirit of God to work through His word to bring the proper response, whether it be tears of joy or tears of sadness.
Response to the word of God: Weeping
I don’t know what Ezra and his fellow priests and leaders read the people that morning in Nehemiah 8:10-12. Perhaps it was Torah or the first five books of the law, or Pentateuch. There is so much to be thankful for in those five books, but there are also responsibilities. When shown those responsibilities, the people immediately knew they had failed. Think about it. They were living in their homeland that was governed by a secular king! God had removed them from their land because of their iniquity. They were a remnant and began to mourn and sob uncontrollably.
When we stop and think about the holiness of God and His awesome power, and realize that at any moment He could squash us for our sins, it can become overwhelming. When the law is presented, it brings death. Remember what happened when the people looked into the Ark and saw the law without the mercy seat (1 Samuel 6:19)? Death came. When the law was first given on Sinai, that very day, thousands were judged for their sin (Exodus 32:19–28). Death came. I am sure it was in the back of their mind. But Ezra wanted the people to know that they were a special people to God and that He was blessing them. God provided the wall for them so they could have a secure place to worship. He brought them there from a faraway land. He wanted them to be blessed and receive the blessings of the word of God. So they did.
Response to the word of God: Obedience
When they realized what time it was in Nehemiah 8:13–18, and saw that they were supposed to live in booths to remind them of their time in the wilderness, they were obedient and did so. The significance of this is that this world is not our home. Remember, we are sojourners and aliens. Heaven is our home. Every time we lead people into the presence of God, we give them a little taste of what home will be like. Notice this is on the eighth day. More on this in a moment.
Worship: Repentance
They confessed their sins
Three weeks later, on the 24th of the month, the people gathered together to once again listen to the word of God and worship in Nehemiah 9:1-3. Worship, by the way, was always in response to the word of God. We hear the great things God has done, or we hear of our responsibilities to obey, and we respond with worship and repentance. This is what the people did as they gathered. Of course, ya’ll know that worship is much more than singing. It has to do with an attitude. Our hearts worship God in our daily life by making right choices, by doing what it says in Micah 6:8,
“to do justly, To love mercy,
And to walk humbly with your God?”
They saw their sins once again.
They knew they were guilty.
There is something about being in the presence of God, like I said earlier, that cries out for repentance and holiness. They separated from foreigners. That is, literally, holiness. To separate from the things of the world and focus on the things of God. Holy living happens not when we are perfect or when we follow a set of rules. Holy living happens when we are in the presence of a Holy God and realize our insignificance and filth. Then we can worship without shackles.
Worship and praise
There are eight Levites mentioned in Nehemiah 9:4-5. I am not sure why that number, but perhaps these were the leaders that were available to teach along with Ezra. The number eight is significant in the scriptures. It is the number of new beginnings:
God rested on the seventh day, then the next day, the eighth, was the beginning of a new week.
After the seven weeks of the spring harvest, the next day, the 50th day, is Pentecost. This is "day eight" of the seventh week.
This 8- and 50-day combination pictures the first resurrection of the dead (1 Corinthians 15:20-23, Revelation 20:4-6). 1
After the seven days of the Feast of Tabernacles, there is an eighth and final Feast day called the Last Great Day.
This fall period is the most joyous of all of God's annual days to worship him. [1]
Whatever the meaning, they were the ones crying out in worship and praise.
Let’s look at how they began:
“Stand up and bless the Lord your God
Forever and ever!
“Blessed be Your glorious name,
Which is exalted above all blessing and praise!
You alone are the Lord;
You have made heaven,
The heaven of heavens, with all their host,
The earth and everything on it,
The seas and all that is in them,
And You preserve them all.
The host of heaven worships You.”
Nehemiah 9:5-6
Always start your prayers, and your worship, with intentionally magnifying God. Jesus taught us to pray. Worship is basically prayer put to music.
He began with,
“Pray like this: Our Father in heaven,
may your name be kept holy.
May your Kingdom come soon.
May your will be done on earth,
as it is in heaven.
Give us today the food we need,
and forgive us our sins,
as we have forgiven those who sin against us.
And don’t let us yield to temptation,
but rescue us from the evil one.”
(Matthew 6:9–13, NLT)
Notice how much Jesus wants us to focus on the greatness of God, rather than our own problems or even our own sinfulness. Think about that. It is almost the end of the prayer when Jesus tells us to ask for forgiveness. I often wondered about that because I want to start out my prayers with asking for forgiveness so that He WILL hear my prayers in the first place! But that gets things backward. We have to know how great God is before we can truly know if He can forgive our sins or not. Also, it teaches us to focus our attention upon the greatness of God, not the weakness of our sin. We must put this into perspective.
Worship: Repentance
Tempering judgment with mercy
I encourage you to read Nehemiah 9:7-37 on your own. This is more than likely what was read to the people this time. It tells of their responsibilities and failures, but sprinkled in the midst are great verses on mercy, grace and forgiveness! Verses like:
“…You are God, Ready to pardon, Gracious and merciful, Slow to anger, Abundant in kindness, And did not forsake them.” (Nehemiah 9:17b, NKJV)
“Even when they made a molded calf for themselves, And said, ‘This is your god That brought you up out of Egypt,’ And worked great provocations, Yet in Your manifold mercies You did not forsake them in the wilderness. The pillar of the cloud did not depart from them by day, To lead them on the road; Nor the pillar of fire by night, To show them light, And the way they should go. You also gave Your good Spirit to instruct them, And did not withhold Your manna from their mouth, And gave them water for their thirst.” (Nehemiah 9:18–20, NKJV)
“Nevertheless in Your great mercy You did not utterly consume them nor forsake them; For You are God, gracious and merciful.” (Nehemiah 9:31, NKJV)
You see, they didn’t get “all law.” They were given hope. People need hope or they will give up and be discouraged. We must never beat the sheep into submission. No, they must be told the precarious position they are in if they refuse to repent. They must be told about the expectations of God, but it must be tempered with the grace of God. When that happens it turns cold submission into loving obedience. People want to serve the gracious Father who loved us so much He sent His only beloved Son to die for us.
Response to worship: Commitment
Their response after hearing of the failures and the results of sin is to pledge to enter back into the covenant with God.
“And because of all this, We make a sure covenant and write it; Our leaders, our Levites, and our priests seal it.” (Nehemiah 9:38, NKJV)
They have responded to the word of God and it is beautiful.
Worship is a response to the greatness of God, the wonderful works of God and the awesome power of God. Worship is a response to the beauty of His holiness and the precious blood of Christ that gives us access so we no longer have to fear or be in doubt. We don’t have to mourn. We get to rejoice! We’ve gone from Work to Worship.
https://www.biblestudy.org/bibleref/meaning-of-numbers-in-bible/8.html
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