READ: Nehemiah 7
Verses
chosen for meditation: Nehemiah 7:1
Now
when the wall had been built and I had set up the doors, and the gatekeepers,
the singers, and the Levites had been appointed,
REFLECT
The
wall was completed and the city gates in place, but Nehemiah’s work was far
from over. He tackled other assignments pertaining to three issues close to his
heart. They are the physical, spiritual and intellectual needs of the
community.
He
appointed gatekeepers to address the physical need of protection. Originally,
Israel’s gatekeepers were tasked with being temple doorkeepers or stewards, but
Nehemiah, recognising lurking dangers, expanded their responsibilities to have
them supervise the city’s main entrances regularly. The newly fortified city
would hopefully lead to a thriving economy. However, the city was not known for
its military presence, so bandits and armies could be targeting it. Later chapters
showed that gatekeepers were also entrusted with moral responsibilities, ensuring
Pagan traders could not enter on Sabbath, to prioritise rest and worship.
Nehemiah
also appointed musicians, to address the spiritual need of worship. For
months, there was the matter of rebuilding and social problems, so much attention
was on those material and physical needs. However, Nehemiah was clear that
worship to God should take center stage, and his move reminded people that
there is more to life than work and money, and that’s honouring God.
He
appointed the Levites, to address the intellectual need of knowing the Word.
Faith must be grounded in knowing spiritual truths. To give proper worship,
people must know who they are worshipping and why. The Levites’ role was to communicate
the realities of these truths. Part of Jerusalem’s moral decline was due to the
lack of such teaching work. Ezra saw this importance too, finding Levites to
join in the leading of the 2nd group of exiles back to Jerusalem.
RELATE
The
three appointments address the body, spirit and mind and this remains strikingly
relevant today. Nehemiah identified physical dangers and got gatekeepers to
protect. In a very different world today, we may not worry about bandits much,
but we face many more dangers in different forms, and we too need that
protection. Moral standards are not only slipping, but widely accepted and being
justified. We need moral gatekeepers, and we find them in our wise friends,
family, spiritual leaders who care for us. Often today, pride and ego get in
the way of us seeing the need for a moral gatekeeper, much less listening to
rebukes when we go astray.
We
must admit that we need to be kept in check, that we need reminders, and to be
receptive to them. We often spray the word “accountability” around. This means
we seem to agree we need “accountability”, but it’s quite appalling sometimes
how bad we are at being accountable. There was no lack of moral failings in
Nehemiah’s days, but we see how often the people were reminded by spiritual
leaders, and the people readily admitted their failings and seek to come back
to God. We don’t hear enough of such reminders today, likely because of how
sensitive we have become. We become more fearful of reminding, perhaps because people
seem more readily offended. We pray for both humility and courage in all of us,
to allow ourselves to be kept in check and keep the spiritual walk of others in
check. We promised to do this when we receive, as a congregation, new members
into our church, reciting those vows during the baptism/membership ceremony.
Next,
Nehemiah’s priority on worship reminds us that God must be at the heart of our
personal, social, work and the larger community life. Much like in the days of
Nehemiah where people grapple with many challenges needing immediate remedy, our
lives are also filled with many things requiring our urgent attention. Worship
to God, in these circumstances can easily take a back seat. Let’s reflect
on how often we let this happen and how to adjust our lifestyle according to
correct priorities.
Finally,
seeing the need to study the Word. Saying that learning and understanding the
Word is important seems like another obvious statement to make, because many
agree that this is crucial in our lives, but our actions scream differently.
Some of us struggle to read the Word, much less seek to truly understand. Can
we conclude then that we may not truly believe the impact of the Word on our
lives?
When
I was younger, I believe this was the case for me. I could acknowledge that learning
God’s word is important, but I don’t think I truly believed how much of a
difference it could make in my life. This was also covered up by “Christian”
acts of church attendance and worship. However, with God’s grace, I’ve experienced
transformation through the Word. When that happens, there is an epiphany and a
realisation how different you are from your previous self, who never see things
the way your current self does. You will not want to go back to being that
person. It is liberating, there is freedom, sense of purpose in life, and a
peace that’s crucial in facing this fallen world.
I’m
not trying to advertise for our Bible Reading Movement, but it has indeed helped
some of us study the word at a deeper level than before. It provides a good
structure, supplementing with resources so it’s easier to follow, otherwise it’s
hard to find a season to do this on our own. I encourage us all to keep up with
the reading plan. Some who have fallen behind may feel it’s too late to catch up
or choose to drop previous books, but the scripture is here to stay. Don’t give
up. Keep at it. Don’t speed read to satisfy reading quota, but immerse in it
and understand it. If that takes more than 2 years, so be it, but complete it. This
way, we will know our God more intimately, and really understand why He
deserves our worship so much. With this foundation
in the Word, we won’t be pursuing certain high "feelings" in worship
like a drug, but will remain steadfast in worship to God, even in times when it
seems difficult to do so.
REST
My Greatest Love is You:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nk5LLYPY000
Indeed, God, my greatest love is you, trumping all
other loves. Call me deeper into your grace. Wash over me, cleansing me
through. My greatest love is you.
Chris Chong
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