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A Remnant Attitude
Ezra and Nehemiah are two of my favorite Bible characters. Both of them
came on the scene at the time of the restoration of Israel in the late 5th
century BC. Nehemiah was the governor of the returned exiles and is best
known for his unswerving leadership of the project to rebuild the walls
of Jerusalem. Ezra was a priest and teacher of God's Word who led a large
number of exiles back to their homeland and then called them to return to
God and his Word.
We are told of Ezra that he had "devoted himself to the study and
observance of the Law of the LORD, and to teaching
its decrees and laws in Israel" (Ezra 7:10). I am drawn to this man
and his mission because I think it is precisely what is needed in our day.
Our nation and the church of Christ in our nation are in a very weak position,
much like the Israelites in Ezra's day. We need the ministry he came to
provide: to study, observe, and teach the Word of God to the people of God.
Only this will lead to true restoration of past blessings.
In Nehemiah 8 we read the record of how all Israel assembled in Jerusalem
to hear the Law of God read. The congregation included "men and women
and all who were able to understand" (v. 2). Ezra read the Law aloud
"from daybreak till noon" (v. 3). He was assisted by some Levites
who also read the Book of the Law "making it clear and giving the meaning
so that the people could understand what was being read" (v. 8).
What is especially heartening is the response of the people. As they
heard the Word of the Lord and realized how they had not been living by
it they grieved and wept for their sins (vv. 9,10). But the Levites calmed
the people and urged them to see this as a day of celebration. Nehemiah
himself said, "Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD
is your strength" (v. 10). "Then all the people went away to eat
and drink, to send portions of food and to celebrate with great joy, because
they now understood the words that had been made known to them" (v.
12).
What a cause for celebration! They had heard and understood the Word
of God after a long period of neglect. It was like a treasure had been returned
to them after having been lost for a long time. So they celebrated. They
soon realized that the Law called for them to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles,
and they did so. Soon afterward the Levites led the people in a day on national
confession of sin. All the people were united in their desire to know and
obey the Word of God.
I believe that God is calling our nation and the church back to his Word.
What we need is for men like Ezra and the Levites to first study and practice
the Word themselves, but then teach it to the people also. We need a people
who are willing to stand, as it were, from daybreak to noon, sparing no
effort to hear and understand what God has to say to them. And then we all
need a spirit of grief and repentance over how we have let the treasure
of the Word be neglected among us. Perhaps then we too will have a cause
for celebration.
I believe we have seen a beginning of this process in the family renaissance
movement. We can see the evidence of a people who are willing to pay the
price to obey God at any cost. Certainly parents are not choosing to teach
their own children because it is the easiest way to go. They do not choose
to live on one income because it makes life easier. I sense, on the part
of many, a deep desire to return, with their families, to the God of the
Bible, to obey his Word in every portion of their lives.
Time will tell. Certainly my prayer is that the Lord would increase the
desire for thorough biblical restoration among his people. I pray that the
home schooling movement among Christians may be the harbinger of a time
of deep renewal, rooted in a renewed understanding of God's Word and what
it requires of us.
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