The Bible, the Preacher, and the Spirit (7)

Having laid the foundation concerning the Bible's relationship to us and its rightful place in society, now we turn to consider how God uses it to speak to men through men as instruments. Needless to say, this is a large subject on which many books have been written, but I have a specific purpose, and with it, several basic points that I would like to cover. I will convey only these and no more in what follows.

In Nehemiah 8, there is a description of what amounts to a spiritual revival or awakening among God's people. I urge you to read at least the entire chapter on your own. Right now we have time to read only those statements that are especially relevant to our discussion:

So on the first day of the seventh month Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly, which was made up of men and women and all who were able to understand. He read it aloud from daybreak till noon as he faced the square before the Water Gate in the presence of the men, women and others who could understand. And all the people listened attentively to the Book of the Law.

Ezra the scribe stood on a high wooden platform built for the occasion….Ezra opened the book. All the people could see him because he was standing above them; and as he opened it, the people all stood up. Ezra praised the LORD, the great God; and all the people lifted their hands and responded, "Amen! Amen!" Then they bowed down and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground.

The Levites…instructed the people in the Law while the people were standing there. They read from the Book of the Law of God, making it clear and giving the meaning so that the people could understand what was being read.

Then Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who were instructing the people said to them all, "This day is sacred to the LORD your God. Do not mourn or weep." For all the people had been weeping as they listened to the words of the Law. Then all the people went away to eat and drink, to send portions of food and to celebrate with great joy, because they now understood the words that had been made known to them.

These people were turning back from years of spiritual neglect and apostasy. Something about them had changed, and it was as if they were turning from one extreme to another. Whereas they used to be neglectful, licentious, self-centered, now they were eager to hear from God. Ezra read "from daybreak till noon," and they paid attention the entire time. Later in 9:3, it is said that the Law was read "for a quarter of the day," and then the people spent "another quarter in confession and in worshiping the LORD their God." Today people consider themselves dedicated Christians if they would spend an hour a week at church. The same people would probably think that only fanatics would spend several hours in hearing, in confession, and in worship.

It is true that not every church gathering must last for half a day. These people had long neglected the Law, and they were especially eager to learn all that they had missed. They were trying to do a thorough job of returning to God in their beliefs and practices, and thus it was natural for these initial meetings to last for so long. However, this certainly did not mean that subsequent gatherings ought to have been much shorter, or that they could not spend the whole day afterward in the Law and in worship as the need and desire arose.

When I first started preaching, I used to speak for forty-five minutes to two hours each time, and I would use up to forty texts in each message. Once I preached on "Trinity vs. Oneness" and used more than eighty passages. This approach is occasionally appropriate, and sometimes even necessary. Some congregations require a complete overhaul in their belief systems and a general knowledge of many biblical passages. This is one way to meet such a need.

However, it has its problems, as people often cannot sustain their attention for such a long duration without interruption, and using so many passages means that almost all of them would fail to receive detailed treatment. In my case, I did it partly because I believed the people needed it, but also partly because I did not know better, and tried to fit everything I knew on the subject into one session. Looking back, I realize that it was too much for them – they could not endure it, especially when there were small children in the audience!

Whether this is the right approach depends on several factors, such as the nature of the listeners and the amount of time (in terms of weeks, months, and years) that the minister has to work with them. This probably should not be the primary approach for a preacher who has access to the same group of listeners for long periods of time. Even if he were to preach for two hours, he should structure the presentation clearly, and usually select fewer number of passages, but expound them in some detail.

(to be continued)