_BEGINNINGS._
NEHEMIAH xii. 27-47.
A curious feature of the history of the restoration of Israel already
met with several times is postponement. Thus in the days of Cyrus
Zerubbabel leads up an expedition for the express purpose of building
the temple at Jerusalem; but the work is not executed until the reign
of Darius. Again, Ezra brings the book of The Law with him when he
comes to the city; yet he does not find an opportunity for publishing
it till some years later. Once more, Nehemiah sets to work on the
fortifications with the promptitude of a practical man and executes
his task with astonishing celerity; still, even in his case the usual
breach of sequence occurs; here, too, we have interruption and the
intrusion of alien matters, so that the crowning act of the dedication
of the walls is delayed.
In this final instance we do not know how long a postponement there
was. Towards the end of his work the chronicler is exceptionally
abrupt and disconnected. In the section xii. 27-43 he gives us an
extract from Nehemiah's memoirs, but without any note of time. The
preservation of another bit of the patriot's original writing is
interesting, not only because of its assured historicity, but further
because exceptional importance is given to the records that have been
judged worthy of being extracted and made portions of permanent
scripture, although other sources are only used by the chronicler as
materials out of which to construct his own narrative in the third
person. While we cannot assign its exact date to the subject of this
important fragment, one thing is clear from its position in the story
of the days of Nehemiah. The reading of The Law, the great fast, the
sealing of the covenant, the census, and the regulations for peopling
Jerusalem, all came between the completion of the fortifications and
the dedication of them. The interruption and the consequent delay were
not without meaning and object. After what had occurred in the
interval, the people were better prepared to enter into the ceremony
of dedication with intelligence and earnestness of purpose. This act,
although it was immediately directed to the wall, was, as a matter of
fact, the re-consecration of the city; because the walls were built in
order to preserve the distinct individuality, unique integrity of what
they included. Now the Jews needed to know The Law in order to
understand the destiny of Jerusalem; they needed to devote themselves
personally to the service of God, so that they might carry out that
destiny; and they needed to recruit the forces of the Holy City, for
the purpose of giving strength and volume to its future. Thus the
postponement of the dedication made that event, when it came about, a
much more real thing than it would have been if it had followed
immediately on the building of the walls. May we not say that in every
similar case the personal consecration must precede the material? The
city is what its citizens make it. They, and not its site or its
buildings, give it its true character. Jerusalem and Babylon, Athens
and Rome, are not to be distinguished in their topography and
architecture in anything approaching the degree in which they are
individualised by the manners and deeds of their respective peoples.
Most assuredly the New Jerusalem will just reflect the characters of
her citizens. This City of God will be fair and spotless only when
they who tread her streets are clad in the beauty of holiness. In
smaller details, too, and in personal matters, we can only dedicate
aright that which we are handling in a spirit of earnest devotion. The
miserable superstition that clouds our ideas of this subject rises out
of the totally erroneous notion that it is possible to have holy
things without holy persons, that a mystical sanctity can attach
itself to any objects apart from an intelligent perception of some
sacred purpose for which they are to be used. This materialistic
notion degrades religion into magic; it is next door to fetichism.
It is important, then, that we should understand what we mean by
dedication. Unfortunately in our English Bible the word "dedicate" is
made to stand for two totally distinct Hebrew terms, one[247] of which
means to "consecrate," to make holy, or set apart for God; while the
other[248] means to "initiate," to mark the beginning of a thing. The
first is used of functions of ritual, priestly and sacrificial; but
the second has a much wider application, one that is not always
directly connected with religion. Thus we meet with this second word
in the regulations of Deuteronomy which lay down the conditions on
which certain persons are to be excused from military service. The man
who has built a new house but who has not "dedicated" it is placed
side by side with one who has planted a vineyard and with a third who
is on the eve of his marriage.[249] Now the first word--that
describing real consecration--is used of the priests' action in regard
to their portion of the wall, and in this place our translators have
rendered it "sanctified."[250] But in the narrative of the general
dedication of the walls the second and more secular word is used. The
same word is used, however, we must notice, in the account of the
dedication of the temple.[251] In both these cases, and in all other
cases of the employment of the word, the chief meaning conveyed by it
is just initiation.[252] It signalises a commencement. Therefore the
ceremony at the new walls was designed in the first instance to direct
attention to the very fact of their newness, and to call up those
thoughts and feelings that are suitable in the consideration of a time
of commencement. We must all acknowledge that such a time is one for
very earnest thought. All our beginnings in life--the birth of a
child, a young man's start in the world, the wedding that founds the
home, the occupation of a new house, the entrance on a fresh line of
business--all such beginnings come to rouse us from the indifference
of routine, to speak to us with the voice of Providence, to bid us
look forward and prepare ourselves for the future. We have rounded a
corner, and a new vista has opened up to our view. As we gaze down the
long aisle we must be heedless indeed if we can contemplate the vision
without a thrill of emotion, without a thought of anticipation. The
new departure in external affairs is an opportunity for a new turn in
our inner life, and it calls for a reconsideration of our resources
and methods.
[247] {~HEBREW LETTER QOF~}{~HEBREW LETTER DALET~}{~HEBREW LETTER SHIN~}
Piel of {~HEBREW LETTER QOF~}{~HEBREW LETTER DALET~}
{~HEBREW LETTER SHIN~}
[248] {~HEBREW LETTER HET~}{~HEBREW POINT QAMATS~}{~HEBREW LETTER NUN~}
{~HEBREW POINT PATAH~}{~HEBREW LETTER FINAL KAF~}
{~HEBREW POINT SHEVA~}
[249] Deut. xx. 5-7.
[250] Neh, iii. 1.
[251] Ezra vi. 16.
[252] Still in the earlier scene, the dedication of the temple, the
sacred use of the building makes the act of initiation to be
equivalent to consecration. There the connection gives the special
association.
One of the charms of the Bible is that, like nature, it is full of
fresh starts. Inasmuch as a perennial breath of new life plays among
the pages of these ancient scriptures, we have only to drink it in to
feel what inspiration there is here for every momentous beginning.
Just as the fading, dank autumn gives way to the desolation of winter
in order that in due time the sleeping seeds and buds may burst out in
the birth of spring with the freshness of Eden, God has ordained that
the decaying old things of human life shall fall away and be
forgotten, while He calls us into the heritage of the new--giving a
new covenant, creating a new heart, promising a new heaven and a new
earth. The mistake of our torpor and timidity is that we will cling to
the rags of the past and only patch them with shreds of the later age,
instead of boldly flinging them on to clothe ourselves in the new
garment of praise which is to take the place of the old spirit of
heaviness.
The method in which a new beginning was celebrated by the Jews in
relation to their restored walls is illustrative of the spirit in
which such an event should always be contemplated.
In the first place, as a preparation for the whole of the subsequent
ceremonies, the priests and Levites carried out a great work of
purification. They began with themselves, because the men who are
first in any dealings with religion must be first in purity. Judged by
the highest standard, the only real difference of rank in the Church
is determined by varying degrees of holiness; merely official
distinctions and those that arise from the unequal distribution of
gifts cannot affect anybody's position of honour in the sight of God.
The functions of the recognised ministry, in particular, demand purity
of character for their right discharge. They that bear the vessels of
the Lord must be clean. And not only so in general; especially in the
matter of purification is it necessary that those who carry out the
work should first be pure themselves. What here applied to priests and
Levites ceremonially applies in prosaic earnest to all who feel called
to purge society in the interest of true morality. Who can bring a
clean thing out of an unclean? The leaders of moral reforms must be
themselves morally clean. Only regenerate men and women can regenerate
society. If the salt has lost its savour it will not arrest corruption
in the sacrifice that is salted with it. But the purification does not
cease with the leaders. In ceremonial symbolism all the people and
even the very walls are also cleansed. This is done in view of the new
departure, the fresh beginning. Such an occasion calls for much
heart-searching and spiritual cleansing--a truth which must have been
suggested to the minds of thoughtful people by the Levitical
ceremonies. It is a shame to bring the old stains into the new scenes.
The fresh, clean start calls for a new and better life.
Next, it is to be observed, there was an organised procession round
the walls, a procession that included citizens of every rank--princes,
priests, Levites, and representatives of the general community,
described as "Judah and Benjamin." Starting at the west end of the
city, these people were divided into two sections, one led by Nehemiah
going round by the north, and the other conducted by Ezra proceeding
by the south, so that they met at the eastern side of the city; where
opposite the Mount of Olives and close to the temple, they all united
in an enthusiastic outburst of praise. This arrangement was not
carried out for any of the idle ends of a popular pageant--to glorify
the processionists, or to amuse the spectators. It was to serve an
important practical purpose. By personal participation in the ceremony
of initiation, all sections of the community would be brought to
perceive its real significance. Since the walls were in the keeping of
the citizens, it was necessary that the citizens should acknowledge
their privileges and responsibilities. Men and women need to come
individually and directly face to face with new conditions of life.
Mere dulness of imagination encourages the lazy sense of indifference
with which so many people permit themselves to ignore the claims of
duty, and the same cause accounts for a melancholy failure to
appreciate the new blessings that come from the untiring bounty of
God.
In the third place, the behaviour of the processionists invites our
attention. The whole ceremony was one of praise and gratitude. Levites
were called in from the outlying towns and villages where they had got
themselves homes, and even from that part of the Jordan valley that
lay nearest to Jerusalem. Their principal function was to swell the
chorus of the temple singers. Musical instruments added emphasis to
the shout of human voices; clashing cymbals and finer toned harps
supported the choral song with a rich and powerful orchestral
accompaniment, which was augmented from another quarter by a young
band of trumpeters consisting of some of the priests' sons. The
immediate aim of the music and singing was to show forth the praises
of God. The two great companies were to give thanks while they went
round the walls. Sacrifices of thanksgiving completed the ceremony
when the processions were united and brought to a standstill near the
temple. The thanksgiving would arise out of a grateful acknowledgment
of the goodness of God in leading the work of building the walls
through many perils and disappointments to its present consummation.
Rarely does anything new spring up all of a sudden without some
relation to our own past life and action; but even that which is the
greatest novelty and wonder to us must have a cause somewhere. If we
have done nothing to prepare for the happy surprise, God has done
much. Thus the new start is an occasion for giving thanks to its great
Originator. But the thankfulness also looks forward. The city was now
in a very much more hopeful condition than when Nehemiah took his
lonely night ride among its ghostly ruins. By this time it was a
compact and strongly fortified centre, with solid defences and a good
body of devoted citizens pledged to do their part in pursuing its
unique destiny. The prospect of a happy future which this wonderful
transformation suggested afforded sufficient reasons for the greatest
thankfulness. The spirit of praise thus called forth would be one of
the best guarantees of the fulfilment of the high hopes that it
inspired. There is nothing that so surely foredooms people to failure
as a despairing blindness to any perception of their advantages. The
grateful soul will always have most ground for a renewal of gratitude.
It is only just and reasonable that God should encourage those of His
children who acknowledge His goodness, with fresh acts of favour over
and above what He does for all in making His sun to shine and His rain
to fall on the bad as well as the good. But apart from considerations
of self-interest, the true spirit of praise will delight to pour
itself out in adoration of the great and good Father of all blessings.
It is a sign of sin or selfishness or unbelief when the element of
praise fails in our worship. This is the purest and highest part of a
religious service, and it should take the first place in the
estimation of the worshippers. It will do so directly a right sense of
the goodness of God is attained. Surely the best worship is that in
which man's needs and hopes and fears are all swallowed up in the
vision of God's love and glory, as the fields and woods are lost in a
dim purple haze when the sky is aglow with the rose and saffron of a
brilliant sunset.
Further, it is to be observed that a note of gladness rings through
the whole ceremony. The account of the dedication concludes with the
perfectly jubilant verse, "And they offered great sacrifices that day,
and rejoiced; for God had made them rejoice with great joy; and the
women also and the children rejoiced: so that the joy of Jerusalem was
heard even afar off."[253] The joy would be mingled with the praise,
because when people see the goodness of God enough to praise Him from
their hearts they cannot but rejoice; and then the joy would react on
the praise, because the more blessedness God sends the more heartily
must His grateful children thank Him. Now the outburst of joy was
accompanied with sacrifices. In the deepest sense, a sense almost
unknown till it was revealed by Christ, there is a grand, solemn joy
in sacrifice. But even to those who have only reached the Jewish
standpoint, the self-surrender expressed by a ceremonial sacrifice as
a symbol of glad thankfulness in turn affects the offerer so as to
heighten his gladness. No doubt there were mundane and secular
elements in this joy of a jubilant city. A laborious and dangerous
task had been completed; the city had been fortified and made able to
defend itself against the horrors of an assault; there was a fair
prospect of comfort and perhaps even honour for the oppressed and
despised citizens of Jerusalem. But beyond all this and beneath it,
doubtless many had discovered Nehemiah's great secret for themselves;
they had found their strength in the joy of the Lord. In face of
heathenish pleasures and superstitious terrors it was much to know
that God expected His holy people to be happy, and more, to find that
the direct road to happiness was holiness. This was the best part of
the joy which all the people experienced with more or less thought and
appreciation of its meaning. Joy is contagious. Here was a city full
of gladness. Nehemiah expressly takes note of the fact that the women
and children shared in the universal joy. They must have been among
the most pitiable sufferers in the previous calamities; and they had
taken their place in the great _Ecclesia_ when The Law was read, and
again when the sad confession of the nation's sin was poured forth. It
was well that they should not be left out of the later scene, when joy
and praise filled the stage. For children especially who would not
covet this gladness in religion? It is only a miserable
short-sightedness that allows any one to put before children ideas of
God and spiritual things which must repel, because of their gloom and
sternness. Let us reserve these ideas for the castigation of
Pharisees. A scene of joyous worship is truly typical of the perfect
City of God of which children are the typical citizens--the New
Jerusalem of whose inhabitants it is said, "God shall wipe away all
tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither
sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain; for the
former things are passed away."
[253] Neh. xii. 43.
Lastly, following his extract from the memoirs of Nehemiah, the
chronicler shows how the glad spirit of this great day of dedication
flowed out and manifested itself in those engagements to which he was
always delighted to turn--the Levitical services. Thus the tithe
gathering and the temple psalmody were helped forward. The gladness of
religion is not confined to set services of public worship; but when
those services are held it must flood them with the music of praise.
It is impossible for the worship of God's house to be limp and
depressed when the souls of His children are joyous and eager. A
half-hearted, melancholy faith may be content with neglected churches
and slovenly services--but not a joyous religion which men and women
love and glory in. While "The joy of the Lord" has many happy effects
on the world, it also crowds churches, fills treasuries, sustains
various ministries, inspires hymns of praise, and brings life and
vigour into all the work of religion.