Nehemiah 8:10 - God's Word Never Fails

Written ~ 09-25-2023

Nehemiah 8:10

“And Nehemiah continued, ‘Go and celebrate with a feast of rich foods and sweet drinks and share gifts of food with people who have nothing prepared. This is a sacred day before our Lord. Don’t be dejected and sad, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.’”

In the Book of Nehemiah, we see that the people of Israel have returned from exile. Because of their past sin and their blatant disobedience to the Word of God, the LORD exiled them, scattered them to foreign lands for 70 years. Nehemiah was not living in Jerusalem at the time but was hearing about the destruction of the city and how the gates and the wall had been destroyed. Nehemiah spent several days fasting and praying; he wanted to go to Jerusalem to rebuild the wall. After getting the approval from the King he set off to Jerusalem. As soon as Nehemiah reached the city he rallied the people together, got the leaders on board and got started right away with the rebuilding of that great city wall. Even though there were several enemy nations trying to sabotage the rebuilding, Nehemiah did not get discouraged, instead he continued with the LORD’s plan. Eventually the task of rebuilding the gates, the walls and homes of the people was complete. Nehemiah registered the people by family groups and various roles for the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, and the singers was established.

Once everything was settled, Ezra, a priest and scribe took out the Book of the Law of Moses and began reading it aloud to all the men, women, and children who had gathered around. As the Law was being read it was also being interpreted and thoroughly explained so all could understand the meaning of the Law of God. It was then that the people understood what they had done, they were weeping and mourning as they heard the Words of the LORD. But Nehemiah stepped up and said “Don’t mourn or weep on such a day as this! For this is a sacred day before the LORD your God!” (Verse 8:9) It was now a time for celebration! Which brings us to our verse for today…

When we disobey God, it may not be that He exiles us because of our sin and our turning away from His Word. But if we decide to turn our eyes away from the Lord, disobey, disregard the instructions in the Scriptures, we could very well be exiling ourselves. When we abandon the relationship with our precious Savior, even for a short time, we have left ourselves vulnerable to all sorts of darkness to flood our hearts and minds. But when we turn back, when we see the light of the Lord, shining brightly, we realize it was not He that turned away, it was us. We’ve got to remember this… God will never abandon us; He will never throw His hands in the air and give up on us. He is right there just waiting… He’s waiting to see that spark in our spirits again, He’s watching to see us recognize our disobedience and He is ready with open arms to welcome us back into His care. So, when we do turn back, we do repent, we can now rejoice! It is time for great celebration! There is a time for mourning, yes, but now is the time to rejoice and celebrate your return into the Lord’s arms. Don’t remain “dejected and sad… for the joy of the Lord is your strength!”

If it has been a while since you have poured over the Scriptures, ask the Lord for His strength, ask Him to get your heart and mind back in line with the Words of Truth found in the Bible. When you ask the Lord for His strength, the joy that fills your entire being is overwhelmingly wonderful!! When we confess our sins, ask God for forgiveness, and HE WILL FORGIVE!! And then? It is time for great celebration!

When we read about the people of Israel, it may cross your mind that their story was so long ago how could we possibly relate to them. But their story really isn’t any different than ours! They were disobedient, they heard the Word of the Lord, they repented, and God forgave them. Same rings true to us.

So, it’s the time of truth. Have you been holding off giving your heart over to the Lord, completely? Have you only had one foot in, just to say you are a believer but haven’t committed both feet to walk closely in the footsteps of Christ Jesus? Do you hold on to unconfessed sin which is holding you back from fully enjoying the strength and joy of the Lord? What will it take for you to see what lies ahead if you will just repent and seek the Lord wholeheartedly? Don’t be like the Israelites and have 70 years of exile separate you from the joy of the Lord.

Let’s all gather around those who are coming back to the Lord and celebrate with them! Let’s encourage and strengthen each other in the joy of the LORD!! Let’s stand before the LORD GOD ALMIGHTY…

Nehemiah 9:5b-6,

“Stand up and praise the LORD your God, for He lives from everlasting to everlasting!” Then they prayed: “May Your glorious Name be praised! May it be exalted above all blessing and praise! You alone are the LORD. You made the skies and the heavens and all the stars. You made the earth and the seas and everything in them. You preserve them all, and the angels of heaven worship You…”

Let’s worship and praise the LORD together! Nehemiah came to Jerusalem for one purpose, to rebuild a city that had been crushed. My prayer would be that your life would remain on the strong foundation of Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. But if you ever feel like the walls are crashing down around you, my prayer is that you would have someone like Nehemiah to come along side you, rally your spirit, get you excited about rebuilding your life and help focus your attention on obeying the Word of God. The people of Israel did this, and in verse 8:17 it says, “…they were all filled with great joy…”

“…don’t be dejected or sad, for the JOY of the LORD is your STRENGTH!”

~AMEN~