Hearing the title (2)/Nehemiah 8:6-12
Contents
Bible: Nehemiah 8:6-12
Title: Hearing the Word (2)
On the first day of July, when Ezra read the Book of God's Law from the wooden pulpit in the square in front of the floodgates, several things happened. There were no instructions on how or what to do.
What is surprising, however, is that changes and events took place among the people who were listening to the law Ezra read.
Let's take a closer look at what those events were.
1. Amen, I answered with Amen.
Verse 6 says, "Ezra blessed the Lord God, the great God, and all the people raised up their hands and answered, Amen, Amen."
The word "amen" means "truly". And it has the meaning of agreement and sympathy.
So, when the people said Amen and Amen, it means, “Ezra, we believe that the words you read are true” and “we also bless the God whom you have blessed”. As we believe, so we believe.”
There are two attitudes that those who hear the Word take.
The first is the attitude of saying Amen.
In Acts 2, when Peter's long sermon ended, the reaction of those who were listening to the sermon was shown.
Because of their piercings, they repented and took an attitude of self-correction.
The second is the attitude of resistance.
Acts 7:54 shows the attitude of those who heard Stephen's long sermon. "When we heard these words, we were pierced in our hearts and gnawed our teeth at me."
Those who heard Peter's sermon were pierced, and those who heard Stephen's sermon were also pierced in their hearts.
However, the former repented and said, “What should I do?” The latter sharpened their teeth and stoned Stephen to death.
The important thing is that those who hear the word and say Amen will be blessed, and those who grind their teeth will be cursed.
We should imitate the beautiful attitude of the people who shouted Amen just by reading Ezra's words.
2. They worshiped God.
In the second half of verse 6, it is said, “He bowed down and bowed his face to the ground and worshiped the LORD.
When the words of blessing God were read through Ezra, all the people responded with Amen and Amen, and they knelt down and worshiped God with their faces to the ground.
Kneeling and putting your face to the ground is the attitude a servant takes when worshiping his master (slave worships his master).
Setting the object of worship is important. Success or failure is determined by who you trust, follow and worship.
Years ago, the Jogye Order of Buddhism, Seong-cheol Lee, made the main point in the Coal-Il Beop language, "Come, Satan. We worship Satan. The Buddha is Satan." So Buddhism is Satan worship. It is a religious story.
However, during this year's Coal Day, there were also the following words among the ordinances announced by Jongjeong Lee Seong-cheol.
“The abode of the Buddha, who has no self-exaltation under heaven and earth, is that cruel and terrifying hell. The Buddha is always in hell to take the place of all sentient beings who suffer and groan in hell, to take them to a comfortable place, and to help them.”
The theory that Buddha is Satan and that Satan is always in Hell is unmistakable.
The important thing is that the matter of eternal existence and dwelling place is determined by who is worshiped.
The Christian profession of faith believes and confesses that "He sits at the right hand of God, and from there he comes to judge the living and the dead."
Depending on who you worship, you can either go to heaven or go to hell.
Professor Dongil Kwak's team from the Department of Neuropsychiatry, Korea University College of Medicine, recently investigated and analyzed the characteristics of religious delusions and hallucinations in 57 neuropsychiatric hospitalized patients (18 males, 39 females) with religious symptoms.
Most of the patients were indulging in religious delusions and hallucinations.
First, if you place the object of your faith as the same person as yourself
Second, if the object of faith approaches you
Third, it is classified as a case of approaching the object of faith.
It is noteworthy that all religious delusions place themselves on or on the object of their faith.
If I believe in myself, I'm bound to become a psychopath who eventually falls into hallucinations or delusions.
The reason why there are more mentally ill patients than in the past is because there is a trend of absolute evaluation of human ability and underestimation of God's ability due to the pervasiveness of humanistic ideas and materialism.
In other words, there is a problem in setting the object of faith.
Even after a thousand years or ten thousand years, the object of our praise and worship is only one, God.
Revelation 5:13 says, "To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power for ever and ever."
3. All the people wept when they heard the word.
Verse 9 says, “When the people heard the words of the law, they all wept.”
They were shocked by the words of God that Ezra read that day.
While listening to those words, their sins were revealed, their faults were exposed, and their mistakes were exposed.
However, just because our sins are revealed, our faults are exposed, and our mistakes are exposed, it does not mean we cry and repent.
The prophet Jonah entered the city of Nineveh and proclaimed that it would be destroyed in 40 days. As soon as he heard his cry, the king, his ministers, and all the people put on sackcloth and ashes and repented. .
However, in the days of Noah, Noah built an ark on the top of Mount Ararat and cried out to enter into the ark because the flood would come and perish. Then they all perished.
The same is true of Sodom and Gomorrah. They ate, drank, had fun, and were indulging in pleasure, and all the people, including his son-in-law, who ignored Lot's words, were burned to death.
The people gathered in the square in front of the floodgates repented when they heard the words Ezra read.
He read the book of the Law of Moses as it was without explanation, but the people repented after hearing the word.
We are now standing at a point where we need to humbly tear our clothes before God and repent. The reason is because we are facing a great national trial.
Experts are of the opinion that if politics shakes like this and the economic crossroads are shaken, the growth that has been made in blood and tears will collapse sooner or later.
And there are growing concerns that a communist revolution may occur if ideological chaos is left as it is.
No one can blame anyone at this point. First, we Christians, like the people who gathered in the square in front of the floodgates, must strike my heart, rip my clothes, sprinkle ashes on my head, and repent.
The tragedy of our time is to strike others' hearts without hitting our own, rip other people's clothes without ripping our own, and throw ashes on the heads of others without sprinkling ashes on our heads.
Repentance is doing what is good and not doing what is bad. To throw away what to throw away and take what to take.
Repentance is established when we hear the Word and put it into practice.
4. It was fun.
Verse 12 says, “And immediately all the people went to eat and drink and share, and rejoiced greatly, for they understood clearly the words that were read.”
When the people's weeping became uncontrollable, Nehemiah, Ezra, and the Levites calmed the people and told them not to weep. Then they appealed to them to eat, drink, and rejoice.
There are three reasons.
First, because peace came through repentance.
The moment they repented of their sins and repented of God, peace came to their hearts.
Repentance brings peace.
Sin does not leave anxiety, but repentance gives peace of mind. True repentance must precede true peace in order to have true peace.
Second, because it was a holy day.
Verse 11 says, “Today is a holy day, so be quiet and do not be troubled.”
Holy Day is a day to worship, praise, and please God.
That day is the day when you can surrender all your worries and anxieties to the Lord and possess true joy.
It is a day to possess the true peace that the Lord has given you, even if you have brought your worries, worries, sorrows and pains by putting them all in front of the Lord's altar.
So, Holy Day is a day of rest, a day of peace, and a blessed day.
In other words, when we come out before the Lord, even if we come out with a worried look, this is the day when we must worship and sing in front of the glory of the Lord and change our faces to the faces of peace.
Third, it is because we realized the deep meaning of the Word.
In the second half of verse 12, it is said, “Because I know clearly the words that have been read.”
Those who deeply understand the Word will no longer need to be careful or worry.
The reason is because you can put it into practice.
Confucius said that if one realizes the Way in the morning, it is still acceptable to death in the evening.
How much more can we not rejoice and rejoice more if we hear the word of God and realize the deep truth?
But hearing is like a beast that hears and does not understand, but will perish.
Let's realize the words that are given each day. Only then will we be filled with joy and the meaning of life will deepen.
Let's understand why he is giving these words to me today.
There is something that people who have heard the Word and received grace say it in the same gender. It is, “Maybe he knows everything about me and awakens me with the Word…”.
Everyone!
Let's hear the word and be changed.
Let's listen to the Word and give us strength.
Let's hear the word and rejoice.