If you understand the title
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8. I read the book of God's law and interpreted its meaning so that the people could understand everything I read.
9. And all the people wept when they heard the word of the law, and Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, “Do not mourn or weep, for today is holy to the Lord your God.”
10. And Nehemiah said to them, Go ye, eat the fat, and drink sweet, but give to the unprepared; this day is holy to our Lord; do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.
11. The Levites also chastened all the people, saying, “Today is a holy day, so be quiet and do not worry.
12. At once all the people went and ate and drank and shared and rejoiced greatly, for they knew clearly what they had read.
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12. Everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.
13. Evil men and deceivers become worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.
14. But abide in what you have learned and have been convinced of; you know from whom you have learned.
15. And from childhood you have known the Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.
16. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.
17. That the man of God might be perfected, equipped for every good work.
Content
Subject: When you understand the Word~
Text: Neh 8:8-12, 2 Timothy 3:12-17
The place of the ‘Bible’ in the Christian faith is absolute. This is because it serves as the basis for all of our religious life, as a guide, and as a guide. This is why “Sola Scripture” is the common slogan of the Reformers. The great theologian Karl Barth called the Bible “the completion of revelation.” There are many studies related to the Bible, but the Bible tends to become a book that is opened only during public worship. It is necessary to train yourself to read the Bible and meditate on its meaning (Psalm 1). In today's Old Testament text (Nehemiah 8:8-12), how did the saints in the old days deal with the Bible? gives instruction. The return of the captivity to Babylon took place three times (Zerubbabel, Ezra, and Nehemiah), and the construction of the walls of Jerusalem was completed in 52 days after a thousand years of hard work (Nehemiah 6:15). You've finished your role assignments with loyal people.
And the General Assembly of Israel is convened in the square in front of the floodgates. It was a general meeting to read the book of the law (around October 8, 444 B.C.). “All men and women who could understand” (Nehemiah 8:3) were gathered together. The 70 years of exile in Babylon left many scars as much as the 430 years of slavery in Egypt. Those wounds needed to be healed. It was necessary to unite them together. This is what Ezra, a scholar and priest, who was the second return leader, decided to return home after 4 months (Ezra 7:9-10). All the people stood up when they climbed a specially made wooden pulpit and opened a book in front of the assembled people (Nehemiah 8:5). It's an expression of awe. “Ezra blessed the great God, and all the people raised up their hands and said, Amen, Amen, and bowed down and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground” (Nehemiah 8:6). This was his attitude toward the Word of God.
When I read the book of God's law and interpreted its meaning with the helpers, I realized everything I had read. 1) All the gathered people shed tears (Nehemiah 8:9a). The meaning of the tears must have been gratitude and repentance (Psalm 49:20). 2) Continued teaching. “Today is a holy day to the Lord your God. Do not mourn or weep” (Nehemiah 8:9b). He told me to lay down my sorrows and worries in the story of tears (Neh 8:11b). 3) He taught that the true meaning of the Holy Day is in joy. “The joy of the Lord is your strength” (Nehemiah 8:10b). He also commands a feast for the joy of the Lord (Nehemiah 8:10a, 12). “Rejoice in the Lord, you righteous” (Psalm 33:1a). There is a saying that the answer to the Westminster Faith Small Catechism No. 1 (the chief purpose of man?) is “to glorify the Lord and to please Him.”
Today’s New Testament text (2 Timothy 3:12-17) is to deal with ‘the time of suffering in the last days’ (2 Timothy 3:1). The symptoms of spiritual crisis appearing (2 Timothy 3:2-5) are extreme addictions of spiritual disorder and chaos. If you are a parent with children, you may have heard the term ‘hakwon addiction’. Following the world leads to spiritual ruin. How can I go back? Be prepared for persecution (2 Timothy 3:12). And he tells us to become people of the Bible (2 Timothy 3:13-17). So, what does the life of a saint who has been perfected look like? Melancholy or gloom is unthinkable. What would it look like to ‘live a life perfected as a man of God and equipped to do all good works’? We are reminded of the three practical lessons of the saints given through the apostle Paul (1 Thessalonians 5:16-22). It is a life of joy and peace (Philippians 4:4-7).