Monday, October 25: Nehemiah 12- Celebrating God's goodness.

The devotional heart of this chapter came toward the end of the reading. I had the leaders of Judah go up on top of the wall. I also assigned two large choirs to give thanks… One choir processes in one direction and the second in the other. Together they circle the entire city up upon the walls until they met at the temple where The two choirs that gave thanks then took their places in the house of God; … The choirs sang under the direction of Jezrahiah. And on that day they offered great sacrifices, rejoicing because God had given them great joy. The women and children also rejoiced. The sound of rejoicing in Jerusalem could be heard far away. (31, 40-43).

The Lord has brought them back to the land and reestablished Jerusalem.  God was to be praised! When it comes to celebrating the goodness of the Lord, Israel did it right. They did not hold back, they celebrated… pageantry, procession, participation and preparation. And the result, just check out v 43: The sound of rejoicing in Jerusalem could be heard far away.

God is deserving of our praise.  God was certainly the focus of this celebration as all Jerusalem sang and sacrificed to the wonders of the Lord.

Another thought occurred to me, people respond to well orchestrated and well executed worshipful leading. People rejoiced (43), people gave (44) and people purified themselves before the Lord (45). So powerful was the move of God that Nehemiah reestablished the ministry of singers with directors for the singers as David had done years ago.

Song reaches to places of the heart that words alone can never go.  Singing is not the sum total of worship.  Notice people giving and purifying lives and don’t forget all of this grew from Ezra’s preaching and teaching of the word… these, too, are worship. But singing and song – directed singing and song - sets worship ablaze in people hearts so that those other elements can spring for deep roots.

Think about it…

Lord, just yesterday we worshiped and in a few days we will worship again. We will use songs to You and about You to set our lives ablaze that we worship You with the whole of our being, giving, confessing, learning and growing in and for You. In Jesus name. Amen.