The story of Nehemiah is a great example of Biblical leadership in a man of God who cares greatly for God’s glory and fame. We know the story well as Nehemiah leading the work to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. It is an arduous task fraught with oppositions and dangers to the people of Israel. When we read in 6:52 that the walls were completed in only 52 days we marvel at the work of God.
But the story doesn’t end there. Nehemiah begins the work of reforming the people by confronting sin and disobedience in the rest of the book. But chapter 12 is kind of an enigma. In chapter 12, starting in v 27, there is the account of the dedication of the walls. The dedication is actually a big celebratory worship service which is appropriate for all the work that was accomplished with God’s help. This is one of those chapters we can easily skip over but I think we can glean two principles of worship from Nehemiah’s big celebration.
First, there is the principle of excitement that we see in the people. They have singers and musicians ready to go, just like our worship service. They also have 2 choirs ready to sing (v 40) and during the celebration they begin singing (v 42). But if you notice v 43 of that chapter, it says 4 different times that they rejoiced or had joy.
This is not the dry, formulaic, mouthing of words. This is passion, excitement, and joy for what the Lord has done. In fact, it was so joyful that at the end of v 43 it says the joy could be heard from far away. Just imagine that for a moment: people were singing so excitedly that whoever wasn’t there could hear the singing from their location.
I think the lesson for us is clear: do we worship the Lord with excitement? Is there passion and joy in your worship offered to the Lord? There should be. There is much to celebrate about God and His work. He is great and holy and His works are righteous and true. He saved you and His sovereign power is over all things. Worship the Lord with excitement because He is worthy of nothing less.
The second principle is the principle of order. Just because people are excited and full of joy does not mean that the service is out of control or without structure. In fact we find that there is clearly defined structure within Nehemiah’s celebration.
It says in 11:24 that they praised and gave thanks as ‘prescribed by David.’ It also repeats that phrase in v 45 as well. This was not a worship service where they did any old thing that came to mind in the moment. There was a following of Scriptural instruction or at the least solid tradition in how they performed this worship.
In v 28 the singers assembled themselves. It describes in vv 31-40 the two choirs that marched around the city in a specific direction so as to meet at the house of the Lord. It also says in v 30 that the priests and Levites purified themselves, as well as the people. That tells me there was definite preparation involved before the worship service.
All of this information shows us that the celebration itself was not just thrown together. It was not decided on a whim. It was a thoughtful, planned out, prepared, ordered service. While spontaneity is not wrong, all things must be done in an orderly manner, which is exactly what 1 Corinthians 14:40 says as well. Our worship team practices for the service and I meticulously write out the sermon very carefully for our Sunday services.
Even if you are not a part of the service on stage, you can be prepared and ordered for the service also. Read your Bible early in the morning on Sunday. Spend a few moments in prayer. Be up early so you are not rushing to church. Quiet your heart before the service begins. Look up the passage while you wait for service to start and meditate on the verses you will hear that day. There are many ways you can prepare for the worship service you are going to participate in each Sunday. But the service we present on Sunday should have order and preparation to it.
Let us balance these two principles together as we come to worship the Lord on Sundays. Sing and be joyful, have excitement when praising the name of the Lord Most High. But at the same time, be readily prepared for an ordered service that reflects care and precision as we present our worship to a holy God.