Portions
This week's study is on Nehemiah 8:10-12:
These verses come after the Israelites had found an old copy of the law and read it and were horrified at how badly they had been living. They started crying and freaking out over how sinful they were. There's a point in the repentance process where conviction of sin has to turn into a game plan for change, and the nation of Israel had reached that point. Feeling bad wasn't going to do them any more good.
So what do you do at that point? You can't cry your way to a fulfilling and righteous life. The Israelites didn't know at the time that Jesus would pay the price for our sins and make everything okay, but they knew the goodness of God. The joy of the Lord is our strength, not his condemnation. Nehemiah and the clergy went around and reminded people to be happy to have reached the turning point. Because they had realized their mistakes, they had time to change course. That's a good thing!
Nehemiah tells them to eat choice food and sweet drinks. Other translations say "fat" food. This is holiday food they're talking about, like Christmas and Thanksgiving food. And sweet drinks were hard to come by in the days before refined sugar and refrigeration. They're probably talking about fresh fruit juice or new wine. Think new years champagne. Nehemiah is underscoring the fact that this is a good day, one worth celebrating.
The best thing though is that he tells them to share their awesome holiday food with people who don't have any. It's awesome because it wasn't just an "every man for himself" kind of celebration. It was more like the love feasts that the early church used to have, where they all enjoyed the good food, even those who had no way to get that kind of awesome cuisine on their own. It was edible grace. Even the worst scoundrel and the laziest man in the village could enjoy a five star meal on that day.
And also great was the fact that this was an unusual thing. People weren't pampering themselves every day. And they weren't sharing their good fortunes with scoundrels as a matter of course. It wasn't communism. There was still an incentive to work hard and to be able to coast a bit as a result. For better or for worse, there were still class boundaries, but they weren't impermeable. On that one holy day they were pieced like the temple veil, and everyone got to enjoy the wealth of kings.
The holidays are a good time to think about this sort of thing. As sinners redeemed by Christ, we're kind of like those scoundrels and groveling dirt farmers who for one day got to enjoy the best blessings. We understand the words that have been made known to us and are included anyway. We taste things that we could never earn on our own. We didn't get invited because of our skills and achievements but because the day is holy.
Thank God that we get to eat at Christ's table! That instead of mourning how doomed we have made ourselves, we can rejoice in the hope of our bright future! Thank God for our new covenant and our new beginning!
Nehemiah said, “Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”
The Levites calmed all the people, saying, “Be still, for this is a holy day. Do not grieve.”
Then all the people went away to eat and drink, to send portions of food and to celebrate with great joy, because they now understood the words that had been made known to them.
These verses come after the Israelites had found an old copy of the law and read it and were horrified at how badly they had been living. They started crying and freaking out over how sinful they were. There's a point in the repentance process where conviction of sin has to turn into a game plan for change, and the nation of Israel had reached that point. Feeling bad wasn't going to do them any more good.
So what do you do at that point? You can't cry your way to a fulfilling and righteous life. The Israelites didn't know at the time that Jesus would pay the price for our sins and make everything okay, but they knew the goodness of God. The joy of the Lord is our strength, not his condemnation. Nehemiah and the clergy went around and reminded people to be happy to have reached the turning point. Because they had realized their mistakes, they had time to change course. That's a good thing!
Nehemiah tells them to eat choice food and sweet drinks. Other translations say "fat" food. This is holiday food they're talking about, like Christmas and Thanksgiving food. And sweet drinks were hard to come by in the days before refined sugar and refrigeration. They're probably talking about fresh fruit juice or new wine. Think new years champagne. Nehemiah is underscoring the fact that this is a good day, one worth celebrating.
The best thing though is that he tells them to share their awesome holiday food with people who don't have any. It's awesome because it wasn't just an "every man for himself" kind of celebration. It was more like the love feasts that the early church used to have, where they all enjoyed the good food, even those who had no way to get that kind of awesome cuisine on their own. It was edible grace. Even the worst scoundrel and the laziest man in the village could enjoy a five star meal on that day.
And also great was the fact that this was an unusual thing. People weren't pampering themselves every day. And they weren't sharing their good fortunes with scoundrels as a matter of course. It wasn't communism. There was still an incentive to work hard and to be able to coast a bit as a result. For better or for worse, there were still class boundaries, but they weren't impermeable. On that one holy day they were pieced like the temple veil, and everyone got to enjoy the wealth of kings.
The holidays are a good time to think about this sort of thing. As sinners redeemed by Christ, we're kind of like those scoundrels and groveling dirt farmers who for one day got to enjoy the best blessings. We understand the words that have been made known to us and are included anyway. We taste things that we could never earn on our own. We didn't get invited because of our skills and achievements but because the day is holy.
Thank God that we get to eat at Christ's table! That instead of mourning how doomed we have made ourselves, we can rejoice in the hope of our bright future! Thank God for our new covenant and our new beginning!
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