Restored Jubilation
Restoration: Our Ruins His Restoration • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Nehemiah 12:27-47 Page 480
In Nehemiah 11 we see the Israelites repopulating the cities outside of Jerusalem and living by their covenant we saw in chapter 10.
We come to one great example of celebration in Nehemiah 12, which tells of the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem.
We do not know exactly when this dedication occurred,
but it cannot have been long after the events of the previous chapters,
since Nehemiah was a practical, hard-driving man who would not have delayed this climax to the achievements of the beginning of his governorship of Judah for more than a month at most.
He had completed the wall within fifty-two days of his arrival in Jerusalem, on September 21, 444 BC.
He had delayed the wall’s dedication until the important festivals of the seventh month could be observed.
But these were now behind him; the revival and rededication of the people had been achieved,
and he called the people together for a celebration.
In the passage we will be looking at today, Nehemiah lists the various people with him and the places along the wall. And he describes how the people were singing and celebrating.
He lists the things the people used in the dedication of the wall – musical instruments, harps, congregational singing, and choirs.
We see that in verse 40, “So the two thanksgiving choirs stood in the house of God,” and Nehemiah lists all the people who were with him, all the people are singing and then verse 43 states,
Neh 12:43 “43 And they offered great sacrifices that day and rejoiced, for God had made them rejoice with great joy; the women and children also rejoiced. And the joy of Jerusalem was heard far away.”
Joy is found in the worship of God
Joy is found in the worship of God
This is a great verse that captures the moment succinctly and memorably. The word “joy” or “rejoice” occurs five times!
3 activities and 3 implications
Purification before the Worship of God
Purification before the Worship of God
Neh 12:27 “27 And at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem they sought the Levites in all their places, to bring them to Jerusalem to celebrate the dedication with gladness, with thanksgivings and with singing, with cymbals, harps, and lyres.”
In the opening verses of the passage, beginning at verse 27, we read that the people sought out the Levites and gathered them together at Jerusalem.
They were scattered here and there in the surrounding villages, so the people got them all together.
Verse 30 tells us that, along with the priests, they will prepare themselves and the people for worship,
Neh 12:30 “30 And the priests and the Levites purified themselves, and they purified the people and the gates and the wall.”
We are not told how they purified themselves, the people, the gates, and the wall, but more than likely they did so through ritualistic washings with water; washing their bodies, washing their clothing, and washing the walls.
The Hebrew word meaning “to be clean or to purify” is ṭāhēr.
It is a common word in Old Testament law.
references to purity “do not refer to a physical removal of absence of dirt,
but to a theological state of purity before God that he imputes to his people through liturgical rites and sacrifices he prescribed.
This vocabulary is part of the Old Testament theological terminology of justification and sanctification.”
The point is that they were going to be
Worshiping in the presence of God
And they needed to be cleansed
In order to be in His presence.
It is theological terminology for New Testament believers
also as we are cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ (Heb 9:14)
Hebrews 9:14 (NLT)
14 Just think how much more the blood of Christ will purify our consciences from sinful deeds so that we can worship the living God. For by the power of the eternal Spirit, Christ offered himself to God as a perfect sacrifice for our sins.
and yet also called to purify ourselves in the process of sanctification (1 John 3:3).
1 John 3:3 “3 And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.”
The people make sure they are right with God before entering into this time of worship and dedication.
It should be a reminder to every believer that when we come to worship the Lord
Psalm 66:18 “18 If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.”
IMPLICATION:
We cannot be a joyful people If we remain a sinful people.
We cannot be a joyful people If we remain a sinful people.
There is no deep-seated joy without purification.
We cannot be a joyful people if we are a sinful people.
We cannot be truly happy apart from true holiness.
Rejoicing requires repenting.
One of the reasons it may be difficult to sing in a worship service is because we have not taken time to prepare ourselves;
taking time before we leave the house to go to the cross and appropriate the Gospel afresh and anew.
Taking time as we enter corporate worship to make our heart right before God.
Spurgeon said, “It does not spoil your happiness . . . to confess your sin. The unhappiness is in not making the confession.”
God is the source of all happiness (Joy)
and that sin separates us from God—
leads us to this conclusion: sin separates us from happiness (JOY).
It’s like trying to turn on a light that’s unplugged. You can change the bulb, put on a new lamp shade, and polish the lamp, but you’ll remain in darkness. The lamp is separated form the power source.
Sin separates us from the source of happiness and joy, God himself.
Satan is the enemy of God’s happiness and ours.
While he can’t rob God of happiness,
he specializes in sabotaging ours, catching us on the baited hook of pleasure.
The first hit of a drug, the buzz of alcohol, or the thrill of illicit sex seems so good at the time.
But then the very thing that brings us a taste of joy
robs us of true and abiding joy.
Sin is the ultimate killjoy.
To sin is to break relationship with God.
Therefore, sin is the biggest enemy of happiness,
and forgiveness its greatest friend.
Confession reunites us with the God of happiness.
Confessing our sin, repenting, turning back to the Lord, and resubmitting ourselves to His Lordship.
We should take time in the worship service to do this as well.
We want our worship to be true, authentic, and real.
It will never be joyful praise if there remains unconfessed and unreported sin in our lives.
We cannot be a joyful people
If we remain a sinful people.
Sin robs us of our joy. Confess it daily. Repent from it regularly.
(7 Minutes)
Secondly
Dedication of the Wall
Dedication of the Wall
Nehemiah 12:31-42 “31 Then I brought the leaders of Judah up onto the wall and appointed two great choirs that gave thanks. One went to the south on the wall to the Dung Gate. ... 38 The other choir of those who gave thanks went to the north, and I followed them with half of the people, on the wall, above the Tower of the Ovens, to the Broad Wall, “39 and above the Gate of Ephraim, and by the Gate of Yeshanah, and by the Fish Gate and the Tower of Hananel and the Tower of the Hundred, to the Sheep Gate; and they came to a halt at the Gate of the Guard. 40 So both choirs of those who gave thanks stood in the house of God, and I and half of the officials with me...
In these verses, we have the dedication proper, the dedication itself.
The people are positioning themselves upon the walls, walking over the tops of the walls, dedicating the walls to God.
The city is, after all, the city “of God.”
It is His city,
His temple,
His buildings,
His walls.
The picture is of this great procession, a processional of two choirs,
Neh 12:31 “31 Then I brought the leaders of Judah up onto the wall and appointed two great choirs that gave thanks. One went to the south on the wall to the Dung Gate.” one going to the right or south (verse 31) a
and the other choir going the opposite way or north
Neh 12:38 “38 The other choir of those who gave thanks went to the north, and I followed them with half of the people, on the wall, above the Tower of the Ovens, to the Broad Wall,” (verse 38). Ezra behind the one choir and Nehemiah behind the other choir. ,
Get a picture in your mind –
half of the people are gathered on top of the wall marching in one direction;
the other half in the other direction,
singing, rejoicing, praising God,
Nehemiah 12:40 “40 So both choirs of those who gave thanks stood in the house of God, and I and half of the officials with me;”
and then they meet together at the location in front of “the house of God,” (verse 40), or the temple.
These are called “thanksgiving choirs,” the people thanking God for His providence, providing the people all the resources, time, and energy needed to rebuild the walls.
They likely sang some of the Psalms as they made their procession around the walls, marching around and singing, maybe Psalm 48:12-13 for example, “Walk about Zion, go around her, count her towers, consider well her ramparts, view her citadels, that you may tell of them to the next generation.”
The people all around the tops of the walls, up and down the stairs, the two choirs meeting together here, horns blowing, and people singing.
By the way, do you remember Sanballat and Tobiah?
Those rascals back in the earlier chapters?
They were trying to discourage Nehemiah and the others from rebuilding the walls.
In chapter 4 and verse, Tobiah specifically had ridiculed and taunted the people of God as they were getting the first stones up
and he said, “Look at that pathetic wall! It would not even hold the weight of a small animal!
If a fox were to climb up on that wall it would break it all down!.”
Well . . . Wonder what Tobiah would say now!?” This was a sort of in your face to their enemies
Hundreds upon hundreds of people walking across the tops of the walls.
God is good . . .
He has provided!
IMPLICATION:
Singing is an intrinsic part of our faith
Singing is an intrinsic part of our faith
Nehemiah 12:27 “27 And at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem they sought the Levites in all their places, to bring them to Jerusalem to celebrate the dedication with gladness, with thanksgivings and with singing, with cymbals, harps, and lyres.”
Nehemiah brought in the Levites to lead the celebration “joyfully,” and with songs of thanksgiving, and with instruments like cymbals, harps, and lyres. Why the Levites? Men from the tribe of Levi?
That’s a great question and to learn the answer you’ve got to go back more than 500 years before the dedication of the wall,
when David appointed the Levites to accompany the ark of the covenant with songs of praise and accompanied by the very instruments we just read about.
In 1 Chronicles 23:5 we read that David appointed 4,000 Levites to praise the Lord with musical instruments.
God’s people have always been a singing people.
Those Hebrew slaves were singing when they came out of Egypt.
The book of Psalms is the hymnbook of the Jewish people. Psalm 137 tells us that while God’s people were enslaved in Babylon, the Babylonians asked them to sing some of the songs of Zion.
Mary sang when she was told she was going to give birth to the Messiah.
Did you know that in the first group of exiles who made their way back from Babylon there were singers. We read in Ezra 2:65, “and they also had 200 male and female singers.”
God’s people have always been a singing people.
And it’s not just in joyous times that God’s people sing.
We also sing in times of sadness and grief.
We sing when we are joyful
We sing when we are depressed
We sing when we are afraid. (Psalm 23)
We sing when we are grieved over sin (Psalm 52)
We sing when we are oppressed (imprecatory Psalms)
Singing praise to our God is not an option,
it’s not an outlet for those who like to sing,
and neither is singing simply an opportunity for those who have a good voice–
it’s a command to every person who has experienced the grace of God and has a voice. A command? Yes sir! Psalm 96 says,
Psalms 96:1-3 “1 Oh sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth! 2 Sing to the Lord, bless his name; tell of his salvation from day to day. 3 Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples!”
James Montgomery Boice writes,
Singing has always been a striking feature of the worship of God’s Old Testament and New Testament people. This is not true of other religions. Many use repetitive chants. In some, clergy sing. But generally, the religions of the world are grim.
It is only in biblical religion that the people of God are characteristically joyful and express their joy in great singing… Why is this? Obviously because Christianity is itself joyous. It is a response to the great acts of God on our behalf, particularly in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, which secured our salvation. (Boice, James Montgomery. Nehemiah. pg. 130)
We’ve got much to sing about,
even in times of desperation and sorrow,
we’ve got much to sing about.
Let us not miss out on the importance of singing for our joy and growth. (10 Minutes)
Lastly
Nehemiah 12:43 “43 And they offered great sacrifices that day and rejoiced, for God had made them rejoice with great joy; the women and children also rejoiced. And the joy of Jerusalem was heard far away.”
Jubilation in their Worship
Jubilation in their Worship
This verse reminds me of the verse in Matthew’s Gospel where the wise men make their way to Bethlehem to see baby Jesus.
And Matthew 2:10 “10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.”
It was not just joy, or great joy, but they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy!
They offered “great sacrifices.”
These were thank-offerings to the Lord, a way of praising God, and thanking Him for what He has done.
Most present in their minds would be their gratitude to God for enabling them to build the wall in 52 days.
But they were thankful for much more –
thankful for what they had learned recently in His word,
thankful for forgiveness, t
thankful for restoration after having been in captivity for 70 years in Babylon.
The writer of Hebrews tells how thank offerings continue in our day through worship. In Hebrews 13:15 “15 Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.”
Our thank offerings continue today through our worship.
We sing to God and that singing is a “sacrifice of praise.”
God loves to receive this sacrifice.
He loves to hear us give thanks to Him through praise.
Singing praise to God is one mark of a true Christian.
Singing to the Lord is natural for the believer. It is a way of life.
Ephesians 5:18-19 instructs us to, “And be not be drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.”
Colossians 3:16 tells us to, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.”
The joy of God’s people in verse 43 is a resounding joy!
As you read the account of this dedication service, you get the distinct impression that these people were enjoying themselves!
IMPLICATION:
Our worship should be wholehearted.
Our worship should be wholehearted.
Chuck Swindoll (p. 186) pictures it as a sort of Jewish Disneyland Parade!
Note the emphasis on joy in 12:43: (5 times)
Neh 12:43 “43 And they offered great sacrifices that day and rejoiced, for God had made them rejoice with great joy; the women and children also rejoiced. And the joy of Jerusalem was heard far away.”
Then look at the last of the verse: And the joy of Jerusalem was heard far away.” “
Outsiders heard their joy!
Have you ever been outside of a stadium when a ball game was going on inside, and suddenly the crowd roars?
You know when that happens that something good happened inside!
Probably someone for the home team just hit a homerun.
In the same way, people should be able to walk by the church and think,
“Something good is going on in there!”
In fact, God has hit a grand-slam homerun for us through Jesus Christ.
We need to so caught up with what God has done that His great joy radiates from this place!
(10 Minutes)
Nehemiah 12:43 Reminds Us of the Joy of Christ
In Christ, we have been given a joy that supersedes circumstances.
In Christ, we have been given a joy that supersedes circumstances.
It is an awesome picture and it makes me think about all kinds of Psalms where we see the Psalmist singing with great joy, with loud songs of joy.
There should be times in our life and particularly in the church,
when yes, there’s times for mourning,
there’s times for reflection,
there’s times for quiet meditation,
there’s times for calm singing even,
but then there’s time for loud rejoicing, shouting, dancing before God in our lives, in the church,
as we declare the wonders and the glory of God.
There is much to rejoice over.
I just love how there’s been a lot of pain and a hardship all throughout the book of Nehemiah,
They had external opression.
There was hunger
there was heart ache.
They experienced family relational problems
They doubted God
but as we’re getting to the end, what we see is Nehemiah chapter 12 verse 43 like fives time in one verse, joy, joy, joy, joy, joy.
They had all the issues you could think of and yet they were able to find joy in the blessings of God.
Even today despite all of the hardship and pain we experience we can have joy because we have joy not in our circumstance, but we have joy in Christ.
We have joy because through the cross we are redeemed despite our sin and our shame,
We have joy because we can have a relationship with Christ.
In our fallen world, troubles and difficulties are constants.
Joyful people look beyond their circumstances to someone so big that by his grace,
even great difficulties become manageable—
and provide opportunities for a deeper kind of happiness..
God, we thank you.
We thank you for the joy you give. You are life giving.
Your grace is life giving.
Your mercy is overwhelming.
It causes our hearts to erupt in worship, in praise.