“And they stood up in their place and read from the Book of the Law of the Lord their God for a quarter of the day; for another quarter of it they made confession and worshiped the Lord their God.”

Nehemiah 9:3 ESV

Last time we saw our group gather again for fasting with sackcloth. Those of the direct line of Jacob separated themselves from those who were not, and took their stand, confessing their habitual sins and offenses, along with those of their forefathers, taking responsibility for what was still bent, twisted, and crooked.  Today we see precisely how they confessed.

“And they stood (qum – to arise, stand up, accomplish, accuse, brighter, confirm, establish, fulfill, prepare, raise, rise, strengthen, surely stand).”

Once again, our returned exiles are described as standing, this time to confirm, accomplish, fulfill what God has prepared for them to do. Shining brighter, prepared and strengthened for the task ahead of learning to be God’s people once again in their homeland.

And they were not just standing wherever, but “in their place” (omed – a standing place, upright, fixed spot). Because many of us are accustomed to seeing North America as the center of the world, it is sometimes hard to understand why God had chosen the Promised Land to make Himself known throughout the centuries.

But I’ll never forget first learning in college about some of the possible reasons Yahweh Elohim strategically chose to display Himself in the Fertile Crescent. With the trade routes and rivers, thriving civilizations and bountiful lands, this place was likely the center of the world.

And it was definitely the center of what God was doing. And He never does things haphazardly. 

How about you? Ever struggle with getting perspective on Who is the point? Or fail to see the position to which you’ve been called in humility?

Yet, at the same time, ever wonder if you’ve been called to a fixed place to stand? We are, friends, one where we stand upright, dignified in our roles and strengthened for our unique tasks.

So our gathered folk were standing in their fixed place and reading (qara – to call, proclaim, read, make famous) from the Book of the Law of God (Torah of Yahweh their Elohim).

What a good idea. When given a fixed place and a second chance, the people chose wisely and proclaimed not what sounded good to them but what they knew experientially to be True. They made famous the ancient call of God and the Law through which He had made Himself known.

May we do the same, Believers. We have every reason in the world to trust in Holy Writ and conform our lives to its Truth. May its message – lived out in our lives through love – make Him famous.

While reading of Torah accounted for a quarter of the day, another quarter was used specifically for confession (yadah – to throw, cast, give thanks; from yad – to hold out hand, physically: to throw stone, to revere/worship with extended hands).

Here is our thankful confession from last time again. The security of being able to acknowledge what is broken because we have the Blessed Fix. One able to cast our sin as far as the East is from the West and take the stoning we deserve. Such a God holds out His hand to each of us. Our part is taking it gratefully, then raising ours in awe.

In fact, this time of thankful confession leads directly in our text to worship (shachah – to bow down, prostrate, fall down flat, humbly beseech) Yahweh their Elohim.

Indeed, fall on your knees and hear the angel voices. When the God of galaxies becomes God with us, bowing prostrate only makes sense. Let’s bow in humble worship today, knowing Who is the point and standing in our fixed place to make Him famous.

Oh night divine.

“Now on the twenty-fourth day of this month the people of Israel were assembled with fasting and in sackcloth, and with earth on their heads. And the Israelites separated themselves from all foreigners and stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers.” 

Nehemiah 9:1-2 ESV

Last time we saw the final day of our gathered folk’s festival turn into a solemn assembly, in accordance with misphat: what is just and right. Today we see the group’s next steps in repentance.

“Now on the twenty fourth day of this month the people of Israel were assembled (asaph – to gather, remove, amass) with fasting (tsom – fast) and in sackcloth (saq – sackcloth), and with earth (adamah – ground, earth) on (al – hovering over) their heads.”

Our narrative continues during the same month (Tishri) as the Festival of Tabernacles. Once again, our group gathers back together, the assumption being each returned to their homes after their week-long party with marvelous mirth. However, in keeping with their solemn assembly, this time the group gathers with fasting. The primitive root of this Hebrew word for fast (tsom) means “to cover over the mouth.” Ah yes. Have we not all been here?

When was the last time you opened your mouth but should not have? Was it to put something in there which was not best? Or to let a snide remark out, revealing the contents of your heart? What about to blame someone else or shame another’s situation? How about gossiping about someone’s failures to quiet your conscience about your own?

Indeed, times of covering our mouths are necessary. And our gathered folk did it in the traditional sense: abstaining from food. At the same time they dressed in sackcloth. The point of wearing a garment made of scratchy goat hair was the discomfort. To remind oneself of the need for repentance:

“Very simply, sackcloth and ashes were used as an outward sign of one’s inward condition. Such a symbol made one’s change of heart visible and demonstrated the sincerity of one’s…repentance.” (Source)

The word for sackcloth is saq which comes from shaqaq meaning “to run, rush wildly, thirsty, have appetite, seek greedily, justle one against another.” Talk about something being an outward sign of one’s inward condition. It is fairly easy to see this greedy rushing everywhere in our day, in my own heart. The lack of trust in God having His best for me, including enough to eat and drink, point to my unbelief. I must trample others to make sure I am taken care of. I have to secure for myself because no one else will.

This is scarcity mentality and it is everywhere. Fortunately, it is also a lie. Indeed, we will reap what we have sown in the treatment of our earth. But even in this situation, we often discount a benevolent Creator Who lacks no resources.

Are you thirsty? Do you hunger and have an appetite for more? Of course you do. We all have legitimate needs and further desires. Let’s take these to our Father. To choose to believe, no matter what the circumstances scream, He is for us and only withholds that which harms.

And what about our spiritual hunger? That void nothing fills?

Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life.

Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again.

Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”

John 6:35 NLT

“Come, all you who are thirsty,
    come to the waters;
and you who have no money,
    come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
    without money and without cost.

Why spend money on what is not bread,
    and your labor on what does not satisfy?
Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,
    and you will delight in the richest of fare.”

Isaiah 55:1-2

It is poignant to me the returned exiles also put dirt, earth on their heads. The word used here is different from dust, implying more moisture. Pointing to a God who sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. Still a sign of repentance and grief, a reminder that man is made from the dust of the earth and the breath of Elohim.

“The seed of Israel (zera – offspring, descendant, nation, grain, race, prosperity) separated themselves (badal – to be divided, separate, exclude, sever) from sons of foreigners (nekar – that which is foreign, strange, alien) and they stood (amad – take one’s stand, arise, abide, present, stand firm) and confessed (yadah – to throw, cast, give thanks, make confession) the sins (chatta’ah – sin, an offense and its penalty, often habitual; from chata – to miss, go wrong, offend) and iniquities (avon – guilt and its punishment, from avah – perversity, amiss, bent, twisted, crooked, do wickedly) of their fathers hovering over (al) them.”

So much here. Those of direct lineage of Jacob separated themselves from those who were not and stood. Not to be exclusive, but to be inclusive of the generational sins in their line. They rose up and took their stand to make thankful confession of their offenses. Please note, they would have no need to separate themselves from those who worshipped Israel’s God but were not of the direct line of Jacob if they were not only taking ownership of their own sins, but also those of their ancestors.

Oh my friends. So instructive for us in our day, yes? If we genuinely believe our God is One of Reconciliation, this will be of paramount importance in our cooperation with Him. Never had a single ill thought toward indigenous people groups who originally populated the continent you call home? Wonderful. But if you are currently a house or land owner, you benefit from their past and present oppression, making confession necessary for reconciliation.

Never owned a slave or had family who did? I’m so glad. But that does nothing to change the fact the people stolen from another continent and sold for profit built the nation from which we thrive. Acknowledgement of that is vital in the reconciliation process as we move forward.

“All this comes from the God who settled the relationship between us and him, and then called us to settle our relationships with each other. God put the world square with himself through the Messiah, giving the world a fresh start by offering forgiveness of sins.

God has given us the task of telling everyone what he is doing. We’re Christ’s representatives. God uses us to persuade men and women to drop their differences and enter into God’s work of making things right between them.”

2 Corinthians 5:18-19 (MSG)

Reconciliation is the process of:

1. Acknowledging what is broken, figuring out how those systems operate, and then
2. Setting things right

The beauty of our passage today is the word for confession also means “give thanks.” The example set before us in Scripture is taking a stand on offenses, ways we’ve missed the mark, and accepting how we have responsibility in what is still bent, twisted, perverted and wicked. But giving thanks even as we stand firm in the ugliness. Because we have a God Who took it all on.

Some days I’m not sure how we keep on doing it. Humanity, us, created for life now dealing daily with death. And all the ways we hurt and hurt one another, the grief and brokenness. Some days only remembering He came down to experience it Himself can keep us focused. And knowing this heart is what moves the mission of Love forward:

Isaiah 58:6-10

True fasting, genuine repentance, will show up in the way we treat one another. Thankful confession, admission of failure in the same breath as gratitude for the Cross, will yield liberated reconcilers of this Baby King we celebrate.

Gloria in excelsis Deo.

Day after day, from the first day to the last, Ezra read from the Book of the Law of God. They celebrated the festival for seven days, and on the eighth day, in accordance with the regulation, there was an assembly.

Nehemiah 8:18 NIV

Last time we saw our gathered people obey and make booths with gathered branches. The abundance of marvelous mirth which characterized their celebration came from hearts genuinely set free from captivity. Today we see another aspect of this group’s festival obedience.

For starters, from the first day until the last, Ezra read (qara – call, proclaim, make famous, summon) the Torah. Truth was proclaimed and made famous and summoned the group’s joyful obedience even as they ate the fat and drank the sweetness and celebrated the harvest.

Can we get real personal for a second? How easy is it for you to picture a community party alongside the law of Elohim being read? Do those two things seem completely separate in your mind? How does your heart respond to the communal hearing of God’s law and a clear command to drink wine and eat fatty foods and have a giant, camping slumber party with an entire city?

Yeah, me too. It is hard to reconcile what seems quite unspiritual with what is clearly done to focus on God. But I think this is where we often suffer in our discipleship to the Living God. We separate events and desires and traditions and holidays from things like Bible study or prayer or fasting. When the clear message of Scripture is they are all parts of one whole life devoted to Yahweh.

If you are on a path of obedience regarding food consumption or alcohol or reducing the amount of time you have with people in order to reflect or better serve, please do not read into this some sort of permission to abandon obedience in that area. What I hope diving into this text does is challenge the parts of our lives into which we do not invite our Creator. For example, for me to ignore any sense of restraint this holiday season in the area of sugar, when God and I have clearly been walking this thing out together for a few years, is not inviting my Creator into a celebration. It is not obedience with marvelous mirth. It is gluttony in which I ignore the growth we’ve made and do whatever I want, numbing out instead of talking through my fears or desires or stress with Him.

For you, it might be the part that thinks desires – food, drink, sex, connection, rest, excitement, celebration – are either frowned upon by a joyless God or are nothing to invite Him into. Instead of seeing them as part of a good creation (though marred and broken by sin and teeming with poor examples) they instead seem to be ways to ignore your heart “for Him.”

Or maybe you have no issues diving into your desires but you lack times of restraint. Perhaps you’ve never experienced that lovely, dependent weakness that comes from a day – just one day – without food, pointing to your absolute creatureliness. Instead, having all you’ve ever needed, you take for granted there will always be more and assume it is your right. What life (God?) owes you because of hard work or intrinsic rights.

Indeed, we all have areas of soul work into which He invites us. But if we are never letting Him in on either end of the spectrum, we will ping pong back and forth on our own strength. And it just so happens that after a few weeks of focusing on feasting and celebration and marvelous mirth, today’s verses end with an assembly on the final day of the festival. The word for assembly is atsarah which denotes a solemn gathering. It comes from atsar which means to restrain, confine, detain, prevent, check, slow down.

Yes, there comes a time for restraint, to slow down. To check motives and intentions, to prevent disaster. As we grow in obedience to Him, I think one of the sweetest things He does is help us trust His law. As we trust His character, we see His faithful heart behind His requirements. And as we step out in what He commands, we experience the rightness of walking with Him. Holy Writ becomes both how we love Him more and the way we engage Him experientially. And so often He will surprise us when we obey without full understanding, then He shows us how much better His way was than our own. Not that He owes us that – He is God – but when we begin to see a kind Creator, gentle Shepherd, and wise Father prove to us His ways are for our best, it is solemn indeed. Restraint can become more reflexive as we don’t move without Him.

And this solemn assembly was “in accordance with the regulation.” The Hebrew word used here is mishpat – judgment, just, mode of life, order, standard, worthy, what is right, custom, discretion, human or divine law. It’s the word most commonly translated “justice.” Side by side with hesed, the Hebrew translated loving-kindness, we have a more filled out picture of what Old Testament prophets considered loving God and neighbor.

Mishpat comes from the root word shaphat – to judge, govern, avenge, defend, reason, rule. I’m most intrigued by the idea of a worthy mode of life. An entire life shaped by love of God and others. When we do what is just, use discretion in how we live by considering others in what we choose to do and refrain from doing, we are loving in practical ways. When we take the areas given to us to govern (and we all have them) and view them as a sacred trust in which to defend those who are marginalized and judge with fairness, we are living out mishpat.

But the most tender thing to me is the just rule in this situation, the regulation required at the end of this festival, is a time of solemnity, slowing down, a time of restraint. And don’t look now, but Advent is upon us.

And during this upcoming time as the world celebrates the first arrival of God to a planet requiring lungs and legs and ligaments, we can slow it down a beat. We can sit with twinkle lights and, as my son just asked me, ponder how Mary knew her Baby created the world. Yes, she knew. Perhaps not all of it, but His miraculous conception and divine birth pointed to His power. Just as being surrounded by manure and hay pointed to His humility. After all, she was the one who declared:

Let’s take a lesson from our gathering of festive returned exiles. May we slow down and practice restraint on behalf of others and the planet this Advent. May we listen intently to the Law of God daily even as we celebrate with those we love. And may we dedicate ourselves to mishpat, a worthy mode of life.

Peace on the earth, goodwill to man.

“So the people went out and brought them and made booths for themselves, each on his roof, and in their courts and in the courts of the house of God, and in the square at the Water Gate and in the square at the Gate of Ephraim.

And all the assembly of those who had returned from the captivity made booths and lived in the booths, for from the days of Jeshua the son of Nun to that day the people of Israel had not done so. And there was very great rejoicing.”

Nehemiah 8:16-17 ESV

Last time we saw the leadership gather to become wise in handling Holy Writ, obeying Kol Yahweh, the voice of God. Today we see how the people responded to the commands in Torah.

The people obeyed the joyful command to collect branches of all kinds and make booths to live in for the days of the festival. However, where each family placed the booth seemed to vary: some on the roof (gag – rooftop, housetop) some in courtyards (chatser – enclosure, yard) and some in an open square (rechob – broad open place, plaza, streets), including the Water Gate and the Gate of Ephraim.

This is tender to me as there are so many solid Truths of God we as His people are to obey. But the way He designed each of us to follow through on that obedience gets to be creative and unique and point to His glorious vastness. While no family was hiding their booth or obedience, some were more out in the streets, in a wide open place, than others. Perhaps this had to do with space or temperament. Maybe those in the streets and open courtyards would have gladly set up camp in a more enclosed space but did not have access. Perhaps they were visitors from other villages or the country and had no roof on which to camp. Or maybe they wanted to experience the ultimate slumber party with the community.

Whatever the reasoning of each family, this section makes me smile. All obeying, but carrying out faithfulness in unique ways. That is unity.

How about us? Are there specific commands from God’s Word you have no problem carrying out, but they may look different from the way your neighbor obeys? If you are putting yourself in groups which challenge your thinking, the answer is likely a resounding yes! Let’s aim to encourage one another in our unique paths while clinging to never-changing Truths. After all, the purpose of this Feast is to remember His faithfulness to their ancestors while in the wilderness. Surely we can remind each other of the ways He has taken care of us individually and communally as we walk this thing out in a way that points to Him.

I appreciated looking up the meaning behind Ephraim’s name: Ephrayim – double fruit, from apher – a covering, bandage, turban. The name itself refers to one of Joseph’s sons who, along with Manasseh, received a blessing by their grandfather Jacob to be as one of his children, named in the 12 tribes of Israel.

While the double blessing is intriguing, I am curious about the name coming from something that means a bandage or covering. Binding wounds is significant and have we not all needed our own shame covered at one point or another? While the name of the Gate in front of which the community parked their tents is not the main point of our verses today, it touches me someone who is to receive a double blessing, a significant inheritance, carries a name that points to our Tender Healer. Can we be that to one another in our day, too? This world surely needs it. And the more blessed you are, the more you have to pour out for others.

Our narrator then reminds us as readers how this whole assembly (kol qahal) are those who had returned (shub – turn back, brought back, restitution made) from captivity (shiby – captive, prisoner, exile). The significance of this group obeying the parameters of this festival, after just being reminded in Torah and recently completing an astonishing wall building project, is once again emphasized. These are the ones who chose to return to Temple and God’s Holy City after living among those who did not worship the One True God. But they turned back when given the opportunity. They saw the offer of freedom and the opportunity to begin again among the watching world to live like God was good and enough and worthy. And they took it.

Another reason this festival obedience is significant for our group is because it had not been properly celebrated since the people of God first entered the Promised Land during the days of Joshua’s leadership. All the way back to Moses’s successor. So much of Israel’s history had happened between entering the Promised Land and the people returning from exile, but obedience to this command was clearly not part of it. Many commentators point out the festival itself had been celebrated, though not perhaps with the proper dwelling in booths. However, others point to the next section as missing in Israel’s story since Joshua: the very (meod – muchness, force, abundance) great (gadol – exceedingly marvelous) rejoicing (simchah – mirth, joy, delight, pleasure, glee, unconcern). There was an abundance of marvelous mirth.

If you have ever come to the point in which God’s Law is no longer a good idea but an experienced reality of how to have a life worth living, you know the difference between observing a festival and an abundance of marvelous mirth. When your idols fail and God-given, holy relationships insist on being human, He delights to become your Life Source. And these returned captives had the same joy, delight, and unconcerned glee as their forefathers when finally arriving into the Land promised years before to Abraham.

May we ask from Him and seek the kind of hearts which long to hear what is best for us. Let’s assume what He says is smarter and better and truer than what we come up with on our own. May we obey with the kind of gladness of captives who have returned, made restitution, and have the opportunity to celebrate a glorious Redeemer.

Let’s have an abundance of marvelous mirth.

“On the second day the heads of fathers’ houses of all the people, with the priests and the Levites, came together to Ezra the scribe in order to study the words of the Law. And they found it written in the Law that the Lord had commanded by Moses that the people of Israel should dwell in booths during the feast of the seventh month and that they should proclaim it and publish it in all their towns and in Jerusalem, ‘Go out to the hills and bring branches of olive, wild olive, myrtle, palm, and other leafy trees to make booths, as it is written.’”

Nehemiah 8:13-15 ESV

Last time we watched the Levites both calm and hush the people, helping them take the sense they’d been given from Holy Writ and obey the command to party with marvelous mirth. Today we see the next step of leadership in reading and obeying Torah.

The second day of people celebrating, the leadership (rosh – head, chief) of the folk gathered (asaph – gather, remove, rear guard) with the priests and Levites and met with Ezra the scribe (saphar – recount, proclaim) in order to be prudent and wise (sakal – to be prudent, expert, skillful, success, wisdom) in studying the words of Torah.

What a good idea. Heads of families coming together under leadership established by Yahweh, seeking how to be successful and skillful in handling Holy Writ. What they found is the charge (tsavah – appointed command) laid upon the people of Israel by (yad – hand) Moses is they should dwell (yashab – abide, sit, remain) in booths (sukkah – temporary shelter) during the feast of the seventh month.

We have recently revisited the Feast of Booths together on here, remembering how after fasting and corporate confession of sin, God’s commands were to celebrate with joy. And while putting together a temporary shelter may sound tiring to those of us at a certain age, it would sound like the ultimate fort for those with childlike happiness. I was interested to find out the Hebrew word for booth comes from sakak which means “to weave together.”

Isn’t that just what He does? Taking those of us from all ages, various backgrounds and stories, weaving us together to form a rich tapestry of Love. Being weaved is painful – much easier to remain a single strand or do our own thing. But the collective good brought forth from letting Him work on our hearts outweighs the inconvenience. The knowledge we gain of our blind spots and shortcomings is worth more than any independence we may think we desire. The heartache that comes from caring about others’ concerns that would be easier to ignore is proof we have let Him in. And He was weaving together this grieving community’s collective purpose in obeying Torah and relearning how to live as His.

Not only were the people to do this, they were to proclaim (abar – pass on) and announce (shama – listen with intent to obey) a proclamation (qol– a report) in their cities (iyr – towns, excitement) saying (amar – advise), “Go out and gather branches to make booths as it is written.”

You may have seen that word qol written as kol, as in Kol Yahweh, the voice of God. In our text it is being used as a noun, like a report or announcement one would pin on a bulletin board. This is possibly one of the reasons the ESV renders it, “publish it in all their towns.” They were all to pass on a report in their cities, their excitement, advising all the folk to gather branches as written in the Holy Scriptures. Again with a charge to listen with intent to obey. After all, the Word is His Word. Kol Yahweh. Obedience is the only acceptable response.

If you were to pin something on a bulletin board, virtual or otherwise, in which to advise others how to obey God’s Word, what would you hang for all in your city to see? Would it have to do with joy and building? Celebration and beauty? Would you seek to scare or seek to draw others in? Do you picture color or a design? Something soothing or more electric? I hope whatever comes to mind, love is at the forefront.

Because all we do to love those immediately in front of us is obeying Kol Yahweh. The more we seek to draw others into this joyful dance of selfless giving, the more we find obeying what is written isn’t a burden but a blessing. Let’s celebrate with childlike happiness and love with life-giving abandon.

Obeying His voice yields present and eternal beauty.

So the Levites calmed all the people, saying, “Be quiet, for this day is holy; do not be grieved.” And all the people went their way to eat and drink and to send portions and to make great rejoicing, because they had understood the words that were declared to them.

Nehemiah 8:11-12 (ESV)

Last time we saw Nehemiah, Ezra, and the Levites declare the day sacred to a weeping people, encouraging them to celebrate as the gladness of the Lord is strength in the battle. Today we see the response.

The past few verses we’ve visited together, Ezra and Nehemiah have made an appearance. Today’s verse specifically points to what the Levites did with the people: Hushed them. The word is chashah – to be silent, still, calm, hush. All the folk were clearly still crying after the leaders’ command to go their way and celebrate.

When grief is sincere it does not end simply or quickly. Perhaps the people were also in shock that, after learning of their corporate falling short, their next move was to party. So the Levites reinforced the command, urging the people to be calm. In fact, the phrase used is be quiet (has – hush! silence!)

This word is only used six times in Scripture:

• Caleb quieting the people after an unbelieving report from the spies to Canaan
• The king of Moab sending out witnesses from his chambers to hear a secret message
• Amos’ woe to those comfortable and rich who say, “Silence! Don’t speak of the LORD”
• Amos’ prophecy of exile resulting in wailing rather then worshiping
• Habbakuk’s command for silence before Yahweh in His temple
• Zephaniah’s command to those who had turned back from following Yahweh to be silent before Him
• And Zechariah’s call that all flesh be silent before Yahweh.

The first word used to describe the Levites’ actions seems almost gentle: chashah – to still, calm, hush. But this one is a stern command as from one in authority.

Beating yourselves up with guilt and grief will not fix this. Hush! Let God work through your corporate sorrow. The day is set apart and your job is not to be vexed or worried.

Grieving with no hope is as debilitating as it sounds. Often when going through gut-wrenchingly hard times, one thing we can cling to is how our walking through it will somehow help others in the future. But we have to have a future in mind, we must know there is a purpose in pain and hope on the horizon. Otherwise we are too prone to give up and wallow in sorrow. And that, in itself, can serve as an excuse to not engage.

So it is a relief to see the next section: “And they went their way (halak – go, go forth, walk, become, continue, brighter, flow, grow, live, travel, wander) greatly (gadol – exceedingly marvelous) rejoicing (simchah – mirth, joy, delight, pleasure, glee, unconcern).

They grew in marvelous mirth. The picture is one of unconcerned delight. Not the privileged kind, the trusting kind. The way Jesus could weep at death and unrepentance and yet intimately know His Father’s work.

It’s what we are called to, friends. Not a lack of engagement, not building walls between us and others. In fact, quite the opposite. Throwing in with our head and heart and hands precisely because we can trust Him with how much it hurts. And how can we know He’s that trustworthy?

“Because (ki) they understood (bin again – to discern, act wisely, interpret, perceive, to think) the words (dabar) declared (yada – know, clearly understand, intimate, experienced, to ascertain by seeing) to them.”

Our grieved gathering was able to obey the command to go on their way with joy – and share with those not ready or rested – because they were given the sense from God’s stinging Word. It was declared to them – intimately known and experienced. While they themselves may not have had such clear and lived understanding of Holy Writ, they could take it on the word of those proclaiming it.

I’ll never forget something recounted a few years ago on social media about a women’s gathering of believers. An older saint stood up to tell the women, “I’m 87 years old. And I’m here to tell you it’s all true.”

How many heartaches had she lived through? Had she buried loved ones? What disappointments and tears into the lap of her Savior had she entrusted? How many times had she had to tell herself, “Just breathe”? And as she looked back, she could say with certainty He was Who He said He was. He was everything His Word declares Him to be. And not only that, she was Who He said she was.

When we don’t know the actual experience of walking with a Living God, we can step out on others’ experience with Him. We can choose to let down our guards and put our faith in the One Who has seen others through the storm and come out not only stronger and wiser, but less concerned with hanging on. Because they know they are being held.

Friends, go your way. Continue your work led by Him, growing brighter as lights in this world. For heaven’s sake, engage! And yet.

Trust. Live in anxious unconcern of others’ approval, opinion, or the ultimate outcome. The ultimate outcome is decided, bought with a humiliating and painful death of the God-Man. Evil and darkness in all forms: white supremacy, hatred, love of power, deception, dishonor, and dehumanizing will all come to an end. We work now with Him to usher in shalom, knowing its fulfillment will be more devastatingly glorious than we could glimpse in even 87 years here.

And such knowledge will grow marvelous mirth.

And Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, “This day is holy to the Lord your God; do not mourn or weep.” For all the people wept as they heard the words of the Law.

Then he said to them, “Go your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

Nehemiah 8:9-10 (ESV)

Last time we looked in on the Levites translating Holy Writ to the awaiting people, helping them discern their next steps wisely as a sacred assembly. Today we see the people’s response and Ezra and Nehemiah’s exhortation.

“This day is holy (qadosh – sacred, consecrated) to Yahweh Elohim. Do not mourn (abal – lamentations, grieve) nor weep (bakah – bewail, cry, sob). For all the people wept (bakah again) when they heard (shama – listen with intent to obey) the words of the Law (torah).

Not only was the assembly of people and the reading of Torah set apart as sacred, so was the day. Nehemiah as governor, Ezra as scribe and priest, and the Levites as translators declared the day to be set apart as holy to Yahweh Elohim. Therefore the people were to no longer lament and cry. When reading this it feels sudden. When did the tears start? We are actually told they are to stop weeping before we know they were.

The next sentence helps us see the why behind the grief: as the people understood the Torah, listening with an intent to obey, they wept. Have you ever been there? Perhaps seeing yourself or a situation clearly for the first time while viewing it against the backdrop of Perfection? When God allows His sorrow to sweep over us it can crash like waves. Maybe they were grieving their lack of knowledge about how to please the God Who had called them His own. Perhaps they could not believe how far they had to go in becoming the kind of sacred assembly as described in the Law. Whatever each person’s specific reason, their hearts were broken.

If the crying comes as a surprise to us as readers, the leaders’ next command is even more so: “Go (halak – come, walk, be eased, be conversant), eat the fat and drink the sweetness and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready (kun – to be firm, appointed, carry, made ready, ordered, rested) for this day is holy to our Lord (Adonay – Master).”

Far from rubbing the people’s noses in their corporate mess, the wise leadership invited them to celebrate. Perhaps because the collective grief proved the congregation’s sincerity in desiring to hear and follow Holy Scripture.

Okay, you’re sad. You see how much you all fall short – individually and collectively. Now let’s wipe our tears and celebrate that on our own we cannot fix this. This is God’s Work and God’s Word and God’s People and it will come together in God’s Way.

I’m interested in the section about sending portions to those who have nothing ready. The Hebrew for ready is kun – to be firm, appointed, carry, made ready, ordered, rested. The gathered people were descendants of those whose idolatry caused the exile. They did not ask to be part of a generation requiring rebuilding, and yet there they were.

Here we are, too, friends. We are appointed to the days in which we find ourselves. Far from victims, we do have to deal with decisions made long before our time to lead. And our choices will affect those coming after us for better or worse. We may not have directly contributed to every piece of the current environment in which we live, but there is no way, after hearing the holy sting of God’s Word, we can ever think we are guiltless.

We must be firm in our choices right now. Not obnoxious, firm. Calling out what is dark and evil, refusing to choose anything other than the Narrow Path of His Way. We must make daily decisions that order love as highest and seek first His Kingdom, carrying the aroma of Christ to those who are being saved and those who are perishing. And we must rest, too, friends. Burning out “for Him” does no one any good. Engaging in God-given cycles of work and rest, we are better able to engage His Spirit and those around us.

Which leads beautifully into the why behind the leaders’ exhortation: “Do not be grieved (atsab – displease, hurt, grieve, vex) for the joy (chedvah – gladness, from chadah – rejoice) of the Lord is your strength (maoz – a place of safety, means of protection, fortress, helmet, defense, stronghold, rock).”

Or:

“But come, walk, be eased, conversant, eat the fat and drink the sweetness for this day is set apart as sacred to Adonai, our Master. Don’t be grieved or displeased for rejoicing in the gladness of our Lord is our fortress of safety, a helmet of protection, our Rock.”

If we are flippant toward the suffering right now, we are far from love or being the aroma of Christ. He is the Father of Compassion and God of all Comfort, never turning a privileged eye from the hurting. But if we lose all sight of walking with Him, rushing ahead or living in anxiety, and shutting out the small delights He gives among the pain, we will not be compelling. His way will seem like one more burden people can never live up to, rather than a light yoke of other-worldly joy filled with unforced rhythms of grace.

Crimson leaves and the golden hour in fall; lighting fires and belly laughing with heart friends; weeping at sin and rejoicing in reconciliation in the same hour; toddlers in Halloween costumes and the sweetness of S’mores. Reading and learning and making baby steps; worshipping with our own sacred assemblies and choosing kindness over yelling; listening to a symphony or worship music, as if there is a difference; new babies born and casseroles to the grieving; weddings, funerals, and fundraisers for those in need. Watching communities and neighborhoods embrace their unique history and relationships and loving each other; knowing He is actively at work in a thousand cultures and families, workplaces and hearts. Watching His Bride rise to our time in history.

It’s there, friends. This gladness, the rejoicing in our Lord in the midst of so much evil. In fact, in the fight of faith to which we are called it serves as a defense, a helmet protecting our minds from desperation and defeat. And when we do not detect a single earthly pleasure, our gladness can rest solely in His gladness. In the knowledge of a Creator God Who is never stressed or out of control. Who, while grieving brokenness, is not caught off guard by it. Rehearsing this to ourselves, too, is a place of safety, a stronghold in times of trouble.

Hold onto your joy, friends. Eat the fat and drink the sweetness, sharing your faith with those reeling right now. The joy of the Rock is our rock.

Joy in Him is strength.

“They read from the book, from the Law of God, clearly, and they gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading.”

Nehemiah 8:8 (ESV)

Last time we looked at the last six Levites listed who were helping the people gaze at the Holy Scriptures with discernment and intelligence, enabling them to remain in their places. Today we glimpse some follow-up responsibilities.

The first thing that strikes me in our verse is how it is no longer Ezra who is reading the Book. Now, after naming some, it is our Levites. “So they read (qara – to call, proclaim, read, become famous, invite, shout, summon)…” The simple act of reading a Book with such power can be a summons, a call. No one need shout for it to be an invitation to make famous the Author.

And as before, this book (sepher – document, writing, scroll, writ) of the law (torah – direction, instruction, law) is of God – Elohim. Holy Writ, instruction on life’s purpose and design, direct from the Designer. A Law of Love, only known if revealed, only freeing as it is obeyed.

More specifically, our Levites read from this Holy Writ clearly – parash. Used only in this form here (and its root word only five times altogether in the Bible), it means “to scatter, make distinct, pierce, sting, to separate, to disperse, to specify, by implication: to wound.”

The whole message of this Word has the potential to sting. If we are not willing to see the truth of our state – full of beauty as made in His image, and full of sin as willing participants in rebellion toward His goodness – we will never know the sting of antiseptic that ultimately cleanses and heals. Some wounds are a mercy.

These three synonyms for our word are intriguing: to specify, make distinct, to separate. In reference to reading the Word clearly to a people listening with an intent to obey, the Levites seem to be separating what is genuinely true from misconceptions the former exiles had about God, His will, and His ways. And not only would it wound in order to heal, it would require a transformation of the mind.

Friends, in what ways do we need to gaze into Holy Writ to make distinct what is genuinely true of Yahweh? How have cultural assumptions, the American Dream, personal goals, or our idols ushered in misunderstandings of the way of Jesus? What of our background or perspective do we need to separate from genuine Biblical wisdom? Far from splitting hairs to pridefully prove ourselves right, the fruit of this type of gazing will be increasing love.

Until we specify these areas in our own hearts and communities, we are not specifying our next steps in joining Him. Some things must be left behind in order to walk the path ahead with freedom. And trust me, I know this hurts. Some of the things up for discussion once were held in high value by those we love. Others we used to sense His permission to continue in but now we know in our hearts He’s asking us to give up. Change is not comfortable and dying to ourselves is still a death to grieve.

But now for a beautiful byproduct of our obedience from the definition: “to disperse, scatter.” This specifying, stinging separation of God and not-of-God can cause True Beauty to disperse beyond our personal walks and individual communities. Love and law, grace and Truth, can scatter with the Wind. Glory.

The next section in our verse reads, “and they gave (sum/sim – to set, attach, establish, show) the sense (sekel – prudence, discretion, insight, repute, shrewdness, wisdom).”

A couple of versions of this verse use the word translate here: “translating to give the sense” (NASB) and “translated the Book of The Revelation.” (MSG)

“The Law was written in Hebrew, but in Babylonia the Jews had adopted Aramaic as the language for daily life. Because of this a translation was necessary…They read God’s Law and then translated it, explaining.” (source)

I haven’t forgotten an interesting insight into the act of translating from when we lived overseas. A national friend who was a veteran worker, translator, and learner of American culture pointed out why one of our newest translators for a conference was exceptional: she translated idea for idea rather than solely word for word. Her knowledge of American slang and point of view helped her not only translate the words we as foreigners were using, but the position from which we were coming.

In order to “give the sense” to an awaiting people, the Levites needed to attach insight into their translating. They needed to show the wisdom, the good repute of these Words, the prudence and shrewdness in obeying them for this rebuilding community’s daily life.

We need this same sense now, in our day. We need to reckon with the situation in which a majority of God’s Word was written: in slavery, wandering, subservient to godless nations, and full of persecution. We need to know the position from which the writers of this Law were coming and resist the urge to make it match our personal situations here and now: Good guys (obviously us – me and my tribe) on top and the rest of the world meeting our needs.

Instead, we view these God-breathed Words in light of what is most true of our state: we are but a breath. We are sojourners in a land that is not our True Country. No matter how much or little power, influence, wealth, or pleasures we have, we are not God. But we are held lovingly in His hand, our next heart beat dependent not on ourselves.

From such a perspective we are ready for the final section of our Levites’ job description: “…and helped them understand (bin – to discern, act wisely, interpret, perceive, to think).”

We saw this word last time, but here it is used in reference to the reading (miqra – convocation, reading, summoning). This word can mean “a holy convocation,” “summon the congregation,” and “sacred assembly.” In fact, each time we see “sacred assembly” in Leviticus 23:1-8 it is this word miqra.

This is more than the mere reading of words, and even deeper than translating from the proper perspective. This was a summons and the people knew it. The Levites’ job as they translated was not simply changing from Hebrew to Aramaic, but helping the people discern how to act wisely in what was next. They were summoning the people, and it was holy.

A sacred assembly differs highly from mob mentality. Remember, this understanding involved discernment. As we look squarely at our individual and corporate situations, do not abandon peace for fear or joy for panic. Let’s resist principalities and love people.

A glorious example of this sacred assembly is from Isaiah 4:2-6:

“In that day the Branch of the Lord will be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land will be the pride and glory of the survivors in Israel. Those who are left in Zion, who remain in Jerusalem, will be called holy, all who are recorded among the living in Jerusalem. The Lord will wash away the filth of the women of Zion; he will cleanse the bloodstains from Jerusalem by a spirit of judgment and a spirit of fire. 

Then the Lord will create over all of Mount Zion and over those who assemble there a cloud of smoke by day and a glow of flaming fire by night; over everything the glory will be a canopy. It will be a shelter and shade from the heat of the day, and a refuge and hiding place from the storm and rain.”

The LORD’s glory will be a protective canopy for all who assemble (miqra) on Mount Zion. Sins cleansed, stains purged, the holy convocation will have one Savior to adore.

He is all our Sense.

“…Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, the Levites, helped the people to understand the Law, while the people remained in their places.”

Nehemiah 8:7 (ESV)

Last time we examined the names of the first several Levites helping our crowd understand God’s Word, remembering our splendor, authority comes from Yah. Today we see the next six helpers and exactly how they served the people.

The first listed today is Maaseiah whose name means “work of Yah.” This comes from the word maaseh – accomplishment, occupation, vocation, workmanship, art, task, sculptured. I appreciate how this Hebrew word for work is different from melekah meaning a business, cattle, labor, project. While they have overlapping synonyms, the latter implies doing while the former paints a picture of being.

When focused on being in the presence of God, the majority of us are still doing many things. Action continues but it flows from being connected to the Source. And what is produced is a lifestyle, an art, a work of Yah.

Our next Levite is Kelita whose name comes from qalat – to be stunted, to maim, lacking in his parts. Its only use is in Leviticus 22:22-25 when talking about a less-than-perfect sacrifice for a freewill offering:

“Don’t try giving God an animal that is blind, crippled, mutilated, an animal with running sores, a rash, or mange. Don’t place any of these on the Altar as a gift to God. You may, though, offer an ox or sheep that is deformed or stunted as a Freewill-Offering, but it is not acceptable in fulfilling a vow. Don’t offer to God an animal with bruised, crushed, torn, or cut-off testicles. Don’t do this in your own land but don’t accept them from foreigners and present them as food for your God either. Because of deformities and defects they will not be acceptable.” (MSG)

Did you notice the phrase “food for your God?” Obviously God does not require sustenance the way we creatures do, but the act of offering sacrifices for the Israelites was also described as giving “a pleasing aroma” to a God with no nose. The actual animal meat offered on the altar was to be the priests’ share, Aaron and his descendants after him. (see Leviticus 2:10, 5:12, 6:17-18, 7:6, 7:31-32)

But although Yahweh did not use a nose or mouth for consuming sacrifices, ultimately they were to be unto Him. And the repeated command in their instructions ended with, “I am the LORD.” Therefore, they must be acceptable.

How grateful are you the only Acceptable Sacrifice, the Lamb of God without blemish or defect, not only came as the God Man with a nose and mouth and heart that breaks, but took our place so we, stunted and lacking and imperfect folk can not only be accepted by a holy God, but turned into a work of art?

Our next Levite is Azariah whose name means “Yah has helped.” It comes from azar – help, further, supporting, protect, restrains, granted, helper. I’m so grateful Yah’s ultimate purpose is not to further our particular agenda or grant whatever we wish. No, when using such words in relation to a Holy God, we can know perfect motives are behind the helping. He supports and protects us as we surrender our will to His in this harsh world. He grants and supports the ways we are walking according to His Word. He helps and furthers works He begins in and through us for His fame. And He restrains His holy wrath on the kingdom of darkness until it is time. “Yah has helped” can indicate acts accomplished that can only be explained by His involvement. Especially changed hearts.

Jozabad is our next listed Levite whose name means “The LORD has bestowed” or “Jehovah-endowed,” from zabad – to bestow upon, endow with, to confer, endure. Our Heavenly Father is so good at being one. He doesn’t give us stones when what we need is bread. Nor does He say Yes to what would destroy us.

But He does confer on us a kingdom. One that is dominated by selfless love, seeks the bottom, loves even enemies, and dies in order to live. We can know such a kingdom will endure for eternity and whatever we are swept up in now that smells like these things has been bestowed by a good God and matters forever.

Our next Levite is Hanan whose name means “gracious, favor” from chanan – to show favor, be gracious, bend or stoop in kindness, fair, merciful. Have you ever been anyone’s favorite? Perhaps when it was the last thing you deserved? When others are gracious, or stoop in their kindness to love us, we’re getting the sweetest glimpse of a Love so humble and gracious it would make us weep nonstop if we saw it now in all its kindness. New mercies, no strings.

Pelaiah is our final Levite listed. His name means “Yah has distinguished” from pala – to be surpassing, extraordinary, deal marvelously, miracles, monstrous, show your power, wonderful acts, wondrous works, wondrously marvelous. Believers, this is our birthright into this Kingdom. He has set us apart, sanctified us, in this beautiful and harsh world by the Truth living inside us. Because of that – because of His empowering presence we allow to take over more and more of us – we can deal marvelously in the ordinary. He makes it extraordinary, full of miracles visible and invisible to us now. We allow Him to show up as monstrous, give Him a platform to show His power.

“The Levites helped the people (am – folk) to understand (bin – discern, act wisely, carefully consider…) the Law (torah – direction, instruction, teaching) and the people stood in their place (amad – take one’s stand, abide, endure, station, withstand).

I wonder how the Levites felt in this moment of time. After doing what is likely menial tasks historically and in the newly-built temple of Jerusalem, they were now on. Center stage, it was time to take what they knew of both Hebrew (to a Babylon-raised generation) and Torah (to a formerly-exiled audience) and help the people understand (see source).

The Hebrew word for understand here is bin: “to discern, act wisely, carefully consider, explain, gaze, gain understanding, intelligent, interpret, investigate, observe, perceive, show regard, skillful, teacher, turn your attention, to distinguish, to think.”

Yes, please. Let’s all get on board with such prudence of mind. With social media hot takes, a culture of outrage, and enflamed amygdalas abounding, this feels like a sane way forward. That we would all take the time to gaze at situations, gain understanding, and simply think in our focus-fractured days seems a significant improvement. And when we turn such attention, interpreting, and regard to the Holy Scriptures? Nothing but goodness can help but emerge.

As we open His Word and let it open us, a beautiful thing happens: we are able to take our stand (amad – take one’s stand, abide, endure, station, withstand). Regular folk, digging into the banquet of the Word, filling up on precious Truth, enables us to withstand the winds blowing here and there. To abide in love when we experience hate. To endure scorn and slander and a world that can look so unlike its original blueprint.

Let’s trust it together, friends. That believers all over the world, leaning into their specific struggles and suffering, are abiding and taking their stand on the only Holy Law and its Author. Then lean into our stations.

“Also Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, the Levites, helped the people to understand the Law, while the people remained in their places. They read from the book, from the Law of God, clearly, and they gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading.”

Nehemiah 8:7-8 (ESV)

Last time we saw the listening people who had stood as Ezra opened the scroll were now face down to the ground worshipping and waiting. Today we see the first section of Levites who help our crowd understand God’s Holy Word.

The first Levite listed has a name we’ve seen before: Jeshua. Yeshua, Joshua, the Hebrew name for Jesus. No greater High Priest, and here representing the temple workers, the Levites. So grateful He Himself came not to be served but to serve. A King never above practical service.

The next helper listed is Bani, from banah (built, construct, fortify, rebuild, restore). This name seems particularly significant for our gathered crowd, with a recently built wall and a determination to know the God of Scripture. They had worked hard to construct and rebuild the physical aspect of their vulnerable city. They were now turning their attention to their vulnerable souls.

How are our souls, friends? One glance at the news can confirm our collective soul is in trouble. What is being played out on a national (international?) stage right now only reflects the broken state of our smaller, more local stages. There are so many beautiful examples to the contrary, but by and large, we have forgotten how to treat each other with dignity. More pointedly, from the helpless unborn child to the precious mother desperate enough to end his or her life, we have somehow lost our capacity for empathy. From the diligent but privileged saver to the hard-working, never-enough single parent being evicted, we cannot seem to come together. From those who have benefited from generations of race majority and supremacy to those still struggling to have their stories and worth acknowledged, we are far from one another.

Indeed, rebuilding is necessary. Like the wall of Jerusalem, some areas might simply require restoring. Others, however, may need new construction, rebuilt from the ground up. A baptism – dead to the old, alive to the new. I’m so grateful our Creator God specializes in doing New Things.

“For I am about to do something new.
    See, I have already begun! Do you not see it?
I will make a pathway through the wilderness.
    I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.”

Isaiah 43:19

Our next Levite listed is Sherebiah whose name means “Yah has sent burning heat.” It comes from sharab – land, burning heat, parched ground. After a gorgeous verse of rivers in dry land, this is a shock to the system. But how often does it take a scorching fire to get our attention? If the ground is not parched and our souls dying of thirst, would we look to Him?

As our gathered crowd begins to look to the Word to know their God, we can rest assured this same God never promised our road forward would be without struggle, burning heat. If anything, the rougher the go, the greater the persecution, the more this God made Himself and His salvation known in the Scriptures. I’m sorry to say, friends, but it will not be any different in our day. If we are waiting for the right formula of ease and abundance to move ahead, we are likely trusting in princes who cannot save. The God of Angel Armies, Jehovah-Saboath, knows how to use a parched ground to surface heart idols, and burning heat to melt away the dross.

Which is a perfect segue to our next Levite name, Jamin. His name comes from the Hebrew yamin meaning “right hand.”

“Your right hand, Lord,
    was majestic in power.
Your right hand, Lord,
    shattered the enemy.”

Exodus 15:6

This verse, nestled into a worship song by the Hebrews after their salvation at the Red Sea, reminds us how perfectly capable Yahweh is. It seems, too, how perfectly capable He has made His people to help one another in His strength. After all, Jamin was a temple worker whose task was to explain God’s Word to those who did not understand. It makes me smile that this morning I read:

“So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked,

‘Do you understand what you are reading?’ 

And he said, ‘How can I, unless someone guides me?’

And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.”

Acts 8:30-31

Only as we come together, offering our capable hands to each other, can we fully understand the meaning of His Word. We were made for community, we sin as a community, and we repent, grow into maturity, and learn about the God of the Bible in community. But more on this as we travel forward.

For now let’s see our next Levite listed, Akkub, whose name comes from aqeb – heel, hind part, footsteps, rear guard, trail. It gives the impression of someone in the back. For some of us, that position is a relief; for others, a burden. What would it look like to come together in such a way? To have each other’s backs, be a rear guard for one another, even at the expense of our own position or comfort? Apart from the Holy Spirit, this is only possible in limited ways. But those of us who have the Yahweh living inside us, as fully as He abided in the Tabernacle in the wilderness, the only thing holding us back is our pride. We can use our voice, experiences, and relational trust to have the backs of our brothers and sisters. Even (especially?) those with whom we disagree. As we do that for one another, those areas are covered in sacrificial love.

The next Levite listed is Shabbethai whose name comes from shabath – to, cause to, make to cease, desist from exertion, leave, celebrate. This is the name in our verses today which personally challenges me daily. That is because it often does not take much for me to cease exertion in certain areas. If I am tired of a fight or weary from lack of fruit or allowing fear and hurt take center stage, leaving or ceasing is, unfortunately, often not far behind. Oh, but celebrate is part of this equation, too.

I experienced this just two days ago in a stand-off with my son. I didn’t want to fight him to get in the car, and he wasn’t coming. I left and took the other 3 boys in my charge to school, planning to come back and have a major talk. In the meantime, he had run out of the house in tears and a neighbor took him to school. But when I came back 7 minutes later and he was gone? So was my breath.

The God Who leaves the 99 to go after the 1 filled my soul when I finally saw him again several long minutes later in the school entryway. Both of us fearful and apologetic and adrenaline-filled, we embraced, and I could only imagine the kind of love our Good Shepherd feels when He reunites with His lost sheep. Pure celebration, along with all the hosts of heaven.

We cannot cease or desist from exertion, friends. And, trust me, I’m talking to myself. Whether it is losing hope, leaving a sticky situation when we are called to stay, or ceasing to fight the good fight, we must stay in the race. We will all suffer in this life. May we finish our race in His power.

Our final Levite helper today is Hodiah whose name means “my splendor is Yah.” It comes from the Hebrew word hod – splendor, majesty, vigor, beauty, authority, glory.

Accurate name, don’t you think? One that is the true state of all believers in Jesus. Any beauty, all authority, the vigor comes from Him. It is to Him we point and from Him we experience splendor. A distant lighting storm held my gaze on an evening drive this past week. Who of us can control the lighting? If we were suspended above the Pacific Ocean, in all its vastness and depth, who of us could change the tide? All majesty is His. We join Him.

Our splendor is Yah.