Nehemiah 8:1-3; 5,6; 8-10 (page 435, NKJV) “Stop Reading the Bible!” + + Epiphany 5 / February 5, 2012 + + Summerlin Evangelical Lutheran Church, Las Vegas, NV
“Now all the people gathered together as one man in the open square that was in front of the Water Gate; and they told Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses, which the LORD had commanded Israel. So Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly of men and women and all who could hear with understanding on the first day of the seventh month. Then he read fromit in the open square that was in front of the Water Gate from morning until midday, before the men and women and those who could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law…And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was standing above all the people; and when he opened it, all the people stood up. And Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God. Then all the people answered, ‘Amen, Amen!’ while lifting up their hands. And they bowed their heads and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground….So they read distinctly from the book, in the Law of God, and they gave the sense, and helped them to understand the reading. And Nehemiah, who was the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people aid to all the people, ‘This day is holy to the LORD your God; do not mourn nor weep.’ For all the people wept, when they heard the words of the Law. Then he said to them, ‘Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.” [Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer. Amen.] In the name of Jesus, fellow saints by His blood,
She pours his coffee just the way he likes it – a little honey for sweetener and generous portion of half and half;she scrambles his eggs melting just a little cheese on top, and then gently slides his plate in front of him. With barely a grunt of acknowledgment he remains buried in the morning newspaper. He prefers reading a report about the latest political happenings, a list of scores from yesterday’s games, and the opinions of a couple of columnists he’ll never meet rather than listen to the voice of the person who is there every day to share his life. A voice that promises love and hope, that expresses emotional depth and intellectual curiosity on a level far greater than anything he could find in any paper. Sometimes reading gets in the way of listening.
Do you ever find when watching the news you read the updates scrolling along the bottom of the screen instead of listening to the broadcaster who’s telling you what’s going on? Or when we show the WELS Connection video with closed caption text (as we did last week) do you catch yourself reading the words instead of listening to the person speaking? Maybe you know a teen who prefers texting to really talking or conversing. There is a difference. Sometimes reading gets in the way of listening.
One pastor I respect as a linguist noted that breakfast scene I just described, and then stated, “Listening and reading are not the same thing … Listening is an interpersonal act; it involves two or more people in fairly close proximity. Reading involves one person with a book written by someone who can be miles away or centuries dead or both … When I read a book the book does not know if I am paying attention or not … I can read by myself; I cannot listen by myself.” He then offers this alarming statement, “Reading Scripture is not the same as listening to God.” So STOP READING THE BIBLE! And instead, listen to the Bible; listen to God in His Word extending an interpersonal act that involves attention, exploration, discovery, and faith.
Recognize Christ. Last week we heard about Jesus in the synagogue when He stood up to read words from the prophet Isaiah about a Promised One from God who would come to preach good news to the poor. ThenHe rolled up the scroll, gave it back to attendant and said, ‘Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing,’ (Luke 4:21). The Bible goes on to say that the people who heard him in the synagogue that day “…marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth,’ (22). But within minutes, after Jesus explained that He Himself was the fulfillment of the Scriptures as the promised Savior, ‘…all those in the synagogue … were filled with wrath,’ (28)and a mob tried to throw Jesus off a cliff. They were okay with Jesus talking about God, but not okay with Jesus being God. They were okay with the Bible offering sensible guidelines for religious living, but not okay with the Bible stating unequivocally that it finds its fulfillment not in us obeying its rules but in Jesus Christ obeying the Father’s word. Looking for the Bible only to solve family problems, or regulate behavior, or point the way to financial fortune is as much as throwing Jesus off a cliff if we don’t first listen to the Word and find Jesus, who says, ‘…the Scriptures…testify about Me,’ (John 5:39).
Page to any book of the Bible and you can find Jesus the Christ. In GenesisHe is the Offspring of Eve and in Samuel the Son of David. In IsaiahHe is Immanuel (God with us) and in Mark the Servant of all. In EphesiansHe is the Head of the Church and in Revelation … well … the Beginning, the Firstborn from the Dead, the Victorious Lamb, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and the End … just to name a few. Go anywhere in God’s Word, and listen, and you will find Jesus Christ there, as the Emmaus disciples listened – with their hearts burning – and found Him walking by their side.
Respond in joy. “…all the people…told Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses…Ezra opened the book …he read from it in the open square…and the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law…and all the people stood up…then answered, ‘Amen. Amen!’ while lifting up their hands. And they bowed their heads and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground,” (Nehemiah 8:1ff). For many of God’s Old Testament people, the Scriptures had become a relic during their 70 years of captivity, and sadly even before that when the temple still stood. Their Old Testament Bible occupied a place in their culture like a dusty trophy from years ago in a school’s display case--inspiring no more than a collective yawn.
Listening attentively to the words of God spoken to them through Moses and then Ezra, the returned exiles cried in sorrow when they realized how their sinful neglect and refusal to listen had hurt their Savior God. “…do not mourn nor weep,” Nehemiah encouraged them, “…for the joy of the Lord is your strength,” (1:9, 10). Listening attentively to God’s Word can be like examining an X-ray and seeing those dreadfully white streaks of torn ligament or broken bone. Tears of fear may flow but also a rush of relief that doctors finally know the problem and can treat it. Listening attentively to God’s Word helps people finally recognize, for example, that friction in a relationship isn’t always somebody else’s fault but more often our own sinful pride, neglect, or refusal to listen. Tears of regret and repentance flow, but also a rush of relief that we know the real reason for the friction and the real problem in the relationship – our sin. Listening attentively to God’s Word helps us believe that our worst sinful failures find their end at the cross of Jesus Christ our Lord and need not hurt us – or others – anymore, and helps us believe that our new life already began before today in the empty tomb of Jesus Christ our Lord.“Do not mourn nor weep…for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” Jesus takes our sin. We take His strength, living in the joy of the Lord who loves us and leads us to respond to His Word.
Revoice to others. The 1st century Christians as we read earlier “…raised their voice to God with one accord and said: ‘Lord, You are God…for truly against Your holy Servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together…now, Lord…grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word,” (Acts 4:24, 27, 29). Reading the Bible like a newspaper can mean we note with interest what God did in the lives of Abraham, Job, or Mary, or we nod in agreement that Jesus rose from the dead and ascended into heaven. Facts fill our heads as much as “two plus two equals four” is a piece of data stored in some file folder in our brain. Bible knowledge is good, but it is not the end of listening to God’s Word. These 1st century believers not only knew the Scriptures, but applied them to their circumstances, then they held these living truths in heart and mouth, revoicing God’s words to God in prayer and to others in witness. We just invented a word—revoicing.
God speaks to us in His Word not as a lecture about our bad behavior but as a love letter eager for our reply, not as a monologue to gain our attention but as a dialogue to engage our involvement. Listen to God and revoice His precious words back to Him in prayer. He’s eager to hear from you and me. Let’s listen to God and revoice His life-changing words by speaking of Him to others, with great boldness when required.
If you haven’t heard of this phenomenon, you have experienced it. Postmodern pundit, Neil Postman, calls it the “Low Information-Action Ratio” (LIAR). Lots of information gets little or no response. In our information age we’re so bombarded with data that we’re paralyzed. Not able to, or not willing to, act. Eventually we fail to act even on the important information. Like God’s Word. We can read it like a passing billboard, junk e-mail, or trivial status update of a Facebook friend and dismiss it without a second thought. The good news is, “the word of God is living and active” (Hebrews 4:12).The Word of God is an information technology in a category all by itself because God will not let it be nothing. God will not let us be nothing. His words, filled with power, life, fulfillment, and Himself call us to a High Information-Action Ratio (HIAR).
STOP READING THE BIBLE and, better still, in it listen to the voice of God. Amen.
Response: Confession of Faith (sung – page 5 of Folder)