Tears & Joy at the Water Gate (Nehemiah 8)

1. ICEBREAKER

• Something related to a mirror, in line with lesson of the Law as a mirror;
  e.g. 2 groups. Each group takes turns to do a pose (can be solo, 2 or more people); the other group must mirror it exactly.

2. LESSON: Tears & Joy at the Water Gate (Nehemiah 8)

• REVIEW: Nehemiah so far …
  • Nehemiah: cupbearer to king of Persia
  • Inspected rubble of Jerusalem by night
  • Building the wall
  • Gospel of the Gates — How many? (10) Name some that you remember
  • Who’s the Gate of our Salvation? (Jesus)
  • Opposition: Sanballat, Tobiah and Geshem etc
  • Wall completed in 52 days!

• READ: Nehemiah 8
  • The Water Gate
    • No repairs were needed
    • Water Gate: Picture of the Word
      Where people gathered for the reading of the Law
    • Now that the wall had been rebuilt, everybody gathered by the Water Gate to listen to the reading of the Law.
    • Who read the Law?
      Ezra – the teacher of the Law who returned to Jerusalem 13 yrs earlier
    • When did he read it? From 1^st  to 8^th day of the 7^th month (Feast of the Trumpets)
    • How long did he read it aloud? (From daybreak till noon)
    • How did the people respond? Did they fall asleep? Play with their phones? 😉
      (They listened attentively; understood; lifted their hands in response; bowed down and worshipped; wept)
    • Why did the people weep?
      (Because the Law showed them how far they had fallen from God’s perfect standards)
    • What did Nehemiah do?
      (He pointed them to the goodness of God — “This day is holy to the Lord your God. Do not mourn or weep. 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.” (v9-10))
    • The written word cannot save us, but the Word of God (JESUS) can.
      The Good News the Jesus came to give us is the grace of God:
      • Even though we have fallen from God’s standards, even though we fail and still sin, even though we deserved the worst, God’s grace is there to cover us in love.
      • Result of the grace of God:
        • Changes us from inside out
        • Makes us want to walk better
        • Helps us to serve others and show His love to them (“send some to those who have nothing prepared”)
    • What was the response of the people?
      • They went to celebrate with great joy (God’s good news always brings joy) because they now understood the words that had been made known to them.
      • If we see the Bible as a list of do’s and don’ts, we will end up feeling condemned and sad.
      • If we see the Bible as God’s love letter to us, revealing the beauty of Jesus and His finished work on the cross, we’ll be able to celebrate with great joy!

• On the 2^nd day of the 7^th month, when the people gathered again to listen to the reading of the Law. What did they learn?
  • The celebration of the Feast of the Tabernacles — the people were to live in temporary shelters during the Festival to remember how faithful and good God was to them when they wandered through the desert for 40 years (under Moses’ leadership after they escaped from slavery in Egypt).
  • So everyone went out to get branches from trees to make temporary shelters and lived in them. Their joy was very great.
  • Celebration of the Feast:
    • Lamps: torches placed along the walls of the temple
      • Picture of Jesus, Light of the World (John 8:12)
      • Water: high priest carries water from pool of Siloam and pours into silver basin beside the altar in the temple
        • Picture of the Holy Spirit (John 7:37-38)

• Why do we read and study the Bible week after week?
  • We read the Bible not to know about God but to know God
  • The Bible tells us about Jesus and His finished work on the Cross
  • From Genesis -> Revelations
    Even in OT book like Nehemiah, we see pictures of God’s grace and love for us.

3. SHARE: How can we encourage each other to read the Bible regularly and see Jesus in the Scriptures? Perhaps give them some workable suggestions that the youth group can do together through this year. E.g. Read through the Gospel of Luke or go through a devotional book.