Tuesday, November
14, 2017
They read from the Book of the Law of God and clearly
explained the meaning of what was being read, helping the people understand
each passage. Then Nehemiah the
governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who were interpreting for
the people said to them, “Don’t mourn or weep on such a day as this! For today is a sacred day before the Lord your
God.” For the people had all been
weeping as they listened to the words of the Law. 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!” And the Levites, too, quieted the people,
telling them, “Hush! Don’t weep! For
this is a sacred day.” So the people went away to eat and drink at a
festive meal, to share gifts of food, and to celebrate with great joy because
they had heard God’s words and understood them.
Nehemiah 8:8-12(NLT)
Some
things stick like an unbreakable weld in your mind – that feeling of being
surprised on a memorable birthday, or the smell of your first car, or being
caught with your hand in the cookie jar.
Some things are meant to stick!
One
of those phrases I will probably take to the grave is what Dr. Charles Graham
said in the Old Testament course I was taking in seminary. When Dr. Graham came to the verse that said
the people had all been weeping as they listened, he stopped and said:
You don’t find that much in our
culture anymore; we seem to have lost the ability to blush!
Blushing
is an involuntary physiological response to being embarrassed. You spoke when you shouldn’t have, or lied
and were called on it, or you’re standing on that step stool at the kitchen
counter and Mom just walked in and busted you for that hand you’ve got foraging
deep in the cookie jar.
What
Dr. Graham was getting at was that we aren’t much embarrassed by our sins
anymore. Our culture seems to take the
approach that, no matter what we’ve done, it either wasn’t our fault (we were
dropped on our head as a child), or we’re just following our natural instincts,
or some other excuse. The whole concept of
culpable, 100% first-degree sin, where you choose what you want to do over what
conscience and clear common sense say is right
to do…well, that whole thing is just so cute and Grandma-ish down at the church house kind
of thinking, but it has nothing to do with reality – we are not
sinners; we are modern, sophisticated adults who have choices. There’s no such thing as sin.
It
wasn’t so in Nehemiah’s experience. When
Ezra, the scribe read God’s Word to the assembled people, all the inhabitants
of Jerusalem, they stood from early morning to noon listening. And what’s more, they took it to heart, saw where
their behavior was in direct disobedience to God’s Word and began to weep.
They
knew how to blush; we don’t. They
(properly so) were embarrassed by the simple understanding that they were
sinning against Almighty God; we aren’t.
As a direct result of this cultural blunting of the odiousness of sin we
have cut off the ability to repent.
People laugh-off the notion that “I’m OK; you’re OK” is really a
lie. We go on believing that the whole
concept of sin is antiquated and so unsophisticated; with nothing to be sorry
for, nothing to repent over, we find no difficulty in elevating ourselves to
having the right to claim, rather assertively, without the slightest blush: I’m
a good person, and you ought to be ashamed for trying to make me feel guilty!
An
honest study of Scripture would say otherwise.
Every prophet came to tell humanity otherwise. Paul said it without stuttering:
For everyone has sinned; we all fall
short of God’s glorious standard. Romans
3:23(NLT)
When
the people blushed over their sins, it was the initial, critical step in
repentance. And with that step, the
forgiveness of God was close at hand, and the leaders were quick to tell the
people to put away their tears.
For You
Today
You
chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road…have a blessed day!
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