Parties of all shapes and sizes permeate the cultural
landscape today. Some parties are themed celebrations that attracted people
with something in common (Finale-watching parties, renaissance festivals); some
are thrown in an effort to help sell merchandise (Mary Kay, 31, etc.),
commemorate achievements (anniversary, birthday, graduation, super bowl, etc.),
say goodbye (going away party), or help out (wedding and baby showers). Some
are reverent events while others are out of control. However, all of these
occasions have at least one thing in common—they celebrate something that those
in attendance deem significant.
The same was true in the ancient world. Make no mistake,
those in the ancient world knew how to party (for better and for worse). Human
nature draws us together and gives us over to celebration. This is one reason
why God decides to use His own kinds of celebrations. In addition to connecting
with us as human beings, God designs His festivals and special occasions in a
way that brings those who believe in Him closer to Him.
ACTIVITY #1: The
Party Planning Committee Is Reinstated-8:13-15
The day after the Law was read, studied, and celebrated,
many returned to Ezra again for more of the same, “Then on the second day the
heads of fathers’ households of all the people, the priests and the Levites
were gathered to Ezra the scribe that they might gain insight into the words of
the law…” (8:13). Those in attendance here include the heads of the different
family clans and the religious leaders in Jerusalem. Their return on the
“second day” accentuates the commitment the people had to the revelation of God
at this point. Having been brought out of exile, protected against enemies,
provided for in famine, and given a new wall around their city, the people were
exceedingly motivated to pursue God in the study of His Word. For those
mentioned in verse 13, one grand event the day before was not going to satisfy
their hunger to know and celebrate God.
While studying the Law (that document which set them apart
from every other nation) “they found it written in the law how the Lord had
commanded through Moses that the sons of Israel should live in booths during
the feast of the seventh month” (8:14). Perhaps they were reading Leviticus 23.
Leviticus 23:37-43-“37 ‘These are the appointed times of
the Lord which you shall proclaim as holy convocations, to present
offerings by fire to the Lord—burnt offerings and grain offerings,
sacrifices and drink offerings, each day’s
matter on its own day—38 besides those of the sabbaths of
the Lord, and besides your gifts and besides all your votive and
freewill offerings, which you give to the Lord. 39 ‘On exactly the fifteenth
day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the crops of the land,
you shall celebrate the feast of the Lord for seven days, with
a rest on the first day and a rest on the eighth day. 40 Now
on the first day you shall take for yourselves the foliage of beautiful
trees, palm branches and boughs of leafy trees and willows of the brook, and
you shall rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days. 41 You
shall thus celebrate it as a
feast to the Lord for seven days in the year. It shall be a perpetual statute
throughout your generations; you shall celebrate it in the seventh month.42 You
shall live in booths for seven days; all the native-born in Israel
shall live in booths, 43 so
that your generations may know that I had the sons of Israel live in
booths when I brought them out from the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your
God.’”
Per Moses’ instructions, the Jews were commanded, at the end
of the Harvest (15th day of the month
of Tishri [mid-October]), to
celebrate the completion of the agricultural year and commemorate their
deliverance from Egypt by the hand of God. On the first day, the Israelites were
to cease from their daily work and proclaim a memorial by means of trumpets.
Then for seven days they were to present burnt offerings. After the seventh
day, they were to enjoy another day of rest and participate in religious
activities while making their offering. For the entire length of this feast,
the Israelites were encouraged to live in booths made from branches of palm
trees. This served as a reminder of the Lord’s care and protection during the
wilderness wanderings and His promise to protect them in the future. Originally,
this festival was intended to be one of the “big three” (in addition to Passover
and the Festival of Weeks) that every Jewish male was required to observe. However,
although Moses’ prescription is clearly recorded in the Law, God’s people paid
little attention to these instructions. In fact, the Old Testament records only
one king that fulfilled this obligation—Solomon in 2 Chronicles 8:13. This was
about to change.
As God would have it, the spiritual leaders in Nehemiah 8
happened upon these instructions on the second day of the seventh month (see
8:2, 13). This meant that this long-forgotten holiday was coming up in exactly
two weeks! Therefore, Inspired by Moses’ instructions in Leviticus and galvanized
by the time of year, the students around Ezra form a party planning committee
and begin to spread the word that there is going to be a festival, “So they
proclaimed and circulated a proclamation in all their cities and in Jerusalem”
(8:15a). In the spirit of “the more the merrier” and “we don’t want anyone to
be left out,” this message was not reserved for those inside Jerusalem’s walls;
it was for all of God’s people everywhere.
Therefore, the following message was spread by the party
planning committee to everyone possible, “Go out to the hills, and bring olive
branches and wild olive branches, myrtle branches, palm branches and branches
of other leafy trees to make booths, as it is written…”(8:15b). Using the
foliage available to them in the region, the people of God are encouraged to
join the party and plan accordingly for what will transpire in just a couple of
short weeks.
If in last week’s message we saw how God used His revealed
Word to distinguish His people from the world, here, God is going to
distinguish His people by changing the way they party!
ACTIVITY #2: The
People Participate in the Festivities-8:16-18
“So the people went
out and brought them and made booths for themselves…” (8:16a). Like the
Israelites who escaped Egyptian slavery, the people were obedient to the leadership
of the time and took the initiative to participate in the activity. In a subtle
way, this demonstrates that at least at this juncture, the people of God were
not only committed to reading about and understanding the Law; they were
determined to act in accordance with it and obey its commands!
As the festival approached, temporary structures punctuated
the entire region, “each on his roof, and in their courts and in the courts of
the house of God and in the square at the Water Gate and in the square at the
Gate of Ephraim” (8:16b). Some temporarily displaced themselves on their own
flat roof, while others displaced themselves in worship spaces or public
places. However, all, like their forefathers, took to living in temporary
dwellings and could not help but remember God’s faithfulness in the wilderness
experience.
“the entire assembly
of those who had returned from the captivity made booths and lived in them…” as
they participated in this nearly forgotten celebration (8:17). Just like the
Jewish population of Moses’ day, the people in Nehemiah’s day had been recently
held captive for hundreds of years (the former in Egypt and the latter in Persia).
However, in both situations, God brought them out. For Moses’ people, God
brought them out and led them to the Promised Land. For Nehemiah’s people, God
brought them home and rebuilt their wall. So many connections can be drawn
between Exodus and Nehemiah by means of this festival. However, in a unique
way, Nehemiah’s observance of the Feast of booths draws attention to another
dwelling place, Jerusalem. As the newly restored wall is being commemorated,
this festival solidifies God’s people as sojourners in the wilderness of this
world. Whether God’s people are made to temporarily dwell in tents or in a
fortified city, ultimately, “home” is temporary until God restores the world to
perfection and establishes His New Jerusalem. However, this festival also
teaches that God’s faithfulness goes with His people wherever they are made to
live. This specific festival celebration in Nehemiah 8 is ripe with divine
providence, special parallels, and charming connections to the person and work
of God throughout the ages.
Oh how the people of God had missed out every year in
failing to observe this feast up to this point, for, “the sons of Israel had
indeed not done so from the days of Joshua and the son of nun to that
day…”(8:17b). Though many in the past probably thought little of this feast’s
significance and decided that keeping it was of little consequence, even
today’s readers can appreciate the strong message it sends of God’s provision
for His people-- a message God’s people would have benefitted from on countless
occasions.
This year for God’s people was different. This year, “there
was great rejoicing” (8:17c). God’s people rejoiced because of the faithfulness
God had demonstrated in their immediate situation. However, in addition to this
realization, reflections of God’s faithfulness in the past and trusting in His
faithfulness for the future no doubt exaggerated their joy.
Accompanying the festivities of the feast of booths was the
reading of the Law, “He read from the book of the law of God daily, from the
first day to the last day…” (8:18a). As mentioned in the sermon last week, the
Law was not merely a cold code to follow for these worshippers, it was the
Scripture of the their time. Just as we reflect on our Scriptures during the
two big holidays we celebrate (Easter and Christmas), so too did these Jew give
special attention to their Scriptures during this feast. The Law for these Jews
was, in addition to revelation, their prescription for a right relationship
with God. What better time was there to bring it out and read it than when all
the Jews were gathered together? (Remember, copies of the law were not nearly
as available as our Bibles are today.)
After the celebration begins, the people party hard for
“seven days, and on the eighth day there was a solemn assembly according to the
ordinance…” (8:18b). Refreshed by both the reminder of God’s faithfulness and
the Sabbath rest on the final day, the people enjoy one final worship service
together before they head home, put up their party tents and head back home to
their more sturdy and yet equally temporary dwelling places.
So What?
I, for one, am excited that the party planning committed was
reinstated and that those in Jerusalem participated in this exciting festival.
In this passage we are reminded of God’s faithfulness in the exodus narrative
and in Nehemiah’s day. However, this passage, with all of its theological
nuance and delightful parallels, is also intended to encourage all who read it
by saying, “God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow (Heb. 13:8). Just as He
was faithful in the days of old, so will he be for His people today.” For
Nehemiah and the people of Jerusalem, this encouragement came by means of this
feast. For God’s people today, this encouragement comes by means of the Holy
Spirit’s witness in our hearts.
However, this passage also serves as a sober reminder that
this world and everything in it, including the home that God has graciously
given you, is temporary. We are, like those in the wilderness of Exodus and
those within Jerusalem’s walls in Nehemiah, sojourners passing through the
desert of this world. We would do well to remind ourselves of this in creative
ways (just as Moses prescribed in a feast) so that we live appropriately,
redeeming the time so as to fulfill our God’s given mission. Then, and only
then will we have something to truly celebrate.
No comments:
Post a Comment