Nehemiah 8:8, “So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading.”
Every revival in the Bible was sparked when somebody opened the Bible. They read the text, out loud, taken at face value, applied to the heart.
Josiah’s revival started when Hilkiah found the book of the law in the temple and read it to the king (2 Kings 22:8-11).
Ezra’s revival came when he stood on a pulpit of wood and read the law from morning until midday (Nehemiah 8:3).
Peter’s Pentecost sermon was three quotations from the Old Testament strung together with the gospel of Christ (Acts 2:14-36).
Paul’s two years in Ephesus were daily reasoning from the scriptures (Acts 19:9-10).
When God’s Word is opened and obeyed, revival comes. When that book is closed, softened or partially obeyed, the people perish.
The Book Testifies of Christ
Before we talk about how the book gets opened in a revival, we have to settle what the book is. It is not just a moral handbook or a collection of stories. It is the testimony of Jesus Christ from cover to cover.
Luke 24:27, “And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.”
Our Lord himself walked seven miles on the road to Emmaus and used the entire Old Testament to preach himself to two discouraged disciples. From Moses through the prophets, every story points to Christ.
John 5:39, “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.”
The scriptures testify of Him.
The Bible Gets Opened and Read Again
Revival never came to a generation that had a closed Bible. It always came when the book was pulled off the shelf, dusted off, and read out loud to people who had forgotten what it said.
2 Kings 22:8, “And Hilkiah the high priest said unto Shaphan the scribe, I have found the book of the law in the house of the Lord. And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, and he read it.”
The book of the law of God had been lost in the temple. The very house built to honor God’s word had become a place where his word could not be found. And the revival did not begin until somebody opened it and read it.
Nehemiah 8:3, “And he read therein before the street that was before the water gate from the morning until midday, before the men and the women, and those that could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive unto the book of the law.”
Six hours of straight Bible reading. Men, women, anyone who could understand. And the ears of all the people were attentive unto the book! That is what a hungry generation looks like when the Bible is finally opened in front of them.
Reading the Bible out loud to people who need it is one of the most powerful weapons God has given his church!
The Word Is Taken at Face Value, Not Softened
When the book gets opened in a revival, it gets believed exactly as it stands. There’s no reason to edit for the times or filter through what the culture finds acceptable.
Isaiah 8:20, “To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.”
The standard is the word itself. If a man speaks something different from God’s Word, there is no light in him.
In Josiah’s day they read the book and the king tore his clothes (2 Kings 22:11).
In Ezra’s day the people wept (Nehemiah 8:9).
At Pentecost the people were pricked in their heart (Acts 2:37).
When the word is taken at face value, the cutting is what produces the turning.
What This Means for Us
If you want revival in your own life, you have to start where every revival has started. With the book.
Take it at face value and let it impact you. Look for Christ, He is there from Genesis to Revelation.
The book is the spine of every revival God has ever sent.
Read the next blog. The book helps us see the power of the Holy Ghost.
