“And all the people went their way to eat, and to drink, and to send portions, and to make great mirth, because they had understood the words that were declared unto them.”
Nehemiah 8:12
On that day of celebration in Jerusalem, Ezra the priest had stood upon the pulpit and read out the Law of God to the people, but it was more than just reading the Law, for if you look in verses 7 & 8, twice it is mentioned that the priests (the ministers of the Word) caused the people to understand. It was the understanding that resulted in the rejoicing that followed. Let’s dissect it a bit:
The word for understanding means ‘to separate’, referring to the ability to mentally distinguish. Have you ever listened to a lecture or presentation and everything was just words to you? Not because the speaker didn’t know what they were speaking about, but because you couldn’t grasp what they were speaking about? I had a lecture series on physics that I listened to on Audible, but eventually gave up half way. Why? Because by the third lecture, most of what the professor was speaking about was nothing but words to me. I didn’t have a sufficient understanding to go any further and benefit.
Understanding is when you’re able to ‘grasp’ what is being spoken about, the idea, the concept. How many people sit in the pews today and never really grasp the Scriptures? How many ‘ministers’ today never truly explain the Scriptures?
In Proverbs 23:23 we are urged to buy understanding. To buy indicates that something must be traded for understanding. The people of Nehemiah’s day made a trade for their understanding. The first thing they traded was their time. They ultimately ended up spending 8 days in a ‘revival’ meeting! That’s the first thing, but the second is also important: they were hungry for it. They traded energy. In the gospels, Jesus speaks of the violent taking the kingdom of heaven by force. Indeed, the prophets described God as one who hides Himself. That is to say, you will not ‘stumble’ across God. Like so with understanding, it is something that one must press for, expend themselves for. It’s not something the casual observer will stumble upon. (Understanding is linked to God himself in many ways, for instance, the spirit of understanding in Isa 11:2, and understanding is consistently linked to keeping His commandments)
The third thing we want to note is that for understanding, there needs to be guidance. When Jesus lifted up His eyes and told his disciples, ‘Pray the Lord of the harvest that He sends forth labourers into the fields.’ That request is more urgent than ever, for as Paul writes, ‘How shall they hear without a preacher?’
In this day and age, where are the faithful teachers of the Law of God? As the eunuch in Acts declares, “How shall I understand except someone help me?”
It underlines the importance for us to have people in our lives with whom we can have discourse over the Word of God so that we may gain understanding. Iron sharpens iron.
The final point we want to consider is the outcome of gaining understanding: JOY. When the people of Nehemiah’s day understood, there was a corresponding response of mirth and celebration! They had a ‘penny-dropping’ moment. Oh what a week that must have been, as the people’s hunger for the Word of God and understanding it was filled!
That leaves us with an all-important question: when was the last time you got thrilled when reading the Word of God because something clicked? Something came together?
Nehemiah 8 is a beautiful reminder of how important understanding is for us. It’s our ability to distinguish, to grasp, to separate an idea. To know how or why it works. To comprehend what is spoken. It comes with a price, a sacrifice to obtain it. In order to gain understanding, we need someone with whom we can have discourse to further our understanding. And finally, when we understand, there should be an outflow of rejoicing!
When did you last have a time of rejoicing because the ‘penny-dropped’ when you were reading the Word of God?
Talking Bible 
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