Attributes of Revival – The Reformation

If revival is the goal then reformation is the process to reach that goal! Nehemiah had been through so much in such a short period of time in order to refocus the Jewish nation and lead them on a path to re-establishing the kingdom. It started with a burden that compelled men to work. It was not without tribulation and struggles. Yet God remained faithful to Nehemiah’s original prayer request.

Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandest thy servant Moses, saying, If ye transgress, I will scatter you abroad among the nations:

But if ye turn unto me, and keep my commandments, and do them; though there were of you cast out unto the uttermost part of the heaven, yet will I gather them from thence, and bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set my name there.

Nehemiah 1: 8-9

The time was right. The “people had a mind to work.” Their hearts, tho they were heavy, were in God’s direction. Not every one in the Jewish nation had turned their heart away from God. Remember that God has always had and will continue to have a remnant that will serve Him. They finished the wall in 52 days. They seemingly accomplished their task. Yet was that it? Were they finished? … The real work was just beginning.

In Nehemiah Chapter 8, we read how Ezra the priest and scribe brought the book of law to the people who had gathered themselves specifically to hear the reading out of the law. From morning until midday, they read and other men helped to give understanding to those who were in attendance – men, women and children. All the people wept. The word of God had been closed during the 70 years that the people of God had been in exile. Yet Nehemiah and Ezra settled the people and proclaimed that, “this day is holy.” The people were to rejoice, not mourn. They were to feast not fast. This was a time of rejoicing – a time of reformation!

On the second day, the people gathered again to hear from God’s word.

And they found written in the law which the Lord had commanded by Moses, that the children of Israel should dwell in booths in the feast of the seventh month:

Nehemiah 8: 14

This is known as the Feast of the Tabernacles and it is symbolic of a time when the children of Israel were a nomadic people and it recognized God’s abundant blessings at the end of the harvest. This was to be a time of rejoicing for 7 days. On the eighth day there was to be a solemn feast as a culmination and a memorial.

What was beginning to happen is that God’s word was being opened and the children of Israel were once again being obedient to that word. As they continued to read the book of the law (Nehemiah 9: 3; Nehemiah 13: 1), they also continued to commit themselves to obedience and re-establishing their covenant with their God. They separated themselves and put away all things that were not of God. As they continued in opening the book of the law and in obedience, God revealed more and more to them. Reformation was in full swing.

What was true for them in Nehemiah’s day is still true for us today. How often do we really open God’s word. I’m not talking about man’s opinion – a flashy sermon, a 1-minute devotional, even a social media blog post such as this one. I’m talking about really opening the word of God and gaining understanding from Him. We don’t need, as in Nehemiah’s day, men necessarily going “through the aisles” to bring us understanding (I am not taking away from preaching – Romans 10: 6-15). However, the scripture does say in John:

But the Comforter which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

John 14:26

We need to be more diligent about “opening” God’s word for ourselves and then being just as diligent about being obedient to that same Word. We need to re-establish our covenant with God. John 1:1 tells us that Jesus is the word of God. If we truly seek to understand Him and then obey Him we will begin to see the process of reformation working in our hearts and lives. Far too often we are too content to just go to church and have someone else do all of the work. If we, individually, do our part during the rest of the days of the week then when we come together as an assembly the process of reformation can work collectively.

Nehemiah originally carried the burden. However, the individuals there in Jerusalem were ready to take on that burden and put it into action. The re-building or restoration of the wall was actually symbolic of the restoration of the hearts and lives of the children of Israel. Peter calls God’s people “lively stones” in 1 Peter 2:5. God’s real plan was to enliven those “stones” to restore his kingdom. Is that not what the definition of revival is all about?