Worshipping Together (Nehemiah 8:1-8)

Bible Passage: Nehemiah 8:1-8

In the previous section of Nehemiah, we are told that the building of the walls was completed. In some ways this feels like it should be the end of the story. Nehemiah is a book of 13 chapters and the wall is finished in chapter 6. There is still over half of the book to go, what part of the story is there left to tell?

Actually, what is left to tell is the most important part of the story. There is adoration, reading of the word, keeping festivals and holy days, confession of sin, and appointment of leaders for service in the temple. In short, there is worship.

With the wall completed, the focus of the story turns from the building project to the worship in the city.  The point of building was to bring people to a worshipful response to the word of God. It is important to keep this response in mind as the goal of building for God:

In this passage we see some of the features of their worship together.

All the people gathered. Whilst it is true that we can worship God in everything we do, this is not a replacement for gathering together in worship as the people of God. Both are important, and there is something unique about gathering with other believers and meeting with God. We are told in Nehemiah that they gathered as one, and this spirit of unity is a marker of true worship. It is difficult to bring our hearts before God in an atmosphere of division or animosity.

They listened to the word of God. The priority for the people was to hear what God had said. They specifically called for Ezra. He was the one who had access to the Bible (at least what they had of it in that day) and then with a team of other teachers, they ‘gave the sense’ of the text. As well as reading, they explained, preaching the word to the people, enabling them to understand and respond to the God who inspired it. Out worship together is to be ‘Bible based’, and should include spaces where the Scriptures are taught and applied.

They praised with hands raised. As Ezra blessed God and declared his greatness, the people gave a hearty amen with hands raised. The physical posture is important. They were choosing to praise God with both their words and their bodies. In many walks of life, people express devotion through raised hands and loud songs (concerts, sports games etc.). How much more important is it to do this with the Lord God?

They worshipped on their face. There is a place to stand in celebration with arms high, but there is also a place to humble ourselves, worshipping on our face before God. He is God and we are not. He is holy and we are not. He is the king and we are not. When we come to worship him, it can be appropriate to recognise this and fall prostrate before him.

The story doesn’t end with the walls. It begins and ends with God. He gets the worship that he is due.

Potential Applications:

• In a lot of ways the applications of this passage are obvious. You could lead in to a time of sung worship together, and encourage people to raise hands/kneel/fall to the floor as ways of expressing their hearts to God.
• Sometimes we can deprioritise gathered worship and drift into attending infrequently, or substitute individual acts of devotion in place of the gathered. This could be a moment for a gentle challenge to make the gathered times together a priority again.