The Soap Box and the Pulpit

         In recent years, a person would take a portable wooden crate, gather a crowd and then expound on some political or other provocative subject. It would sometimes be referred to as standing on a “soap box.” Historically, goods were often shipped in wooden crates before cardboard became popular. As I come in contact with certain news items, many of them often aggravate me to the point of wanting to get a “soap box” and give my opinion on the matter. It probably wouldn't do much good and in the end, wouldn't profit those listening that much anyway. My opinions are just as valuable as the next person's opinions, but in the end, they are nothing but opinions, right or wrong. There was a “box” that was quite different in Bible times. Nehemiah 8:4-8 says, “And Ezra the scribe stood upon a pulpit of wood, which they had made for the purpose; …..And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people; (for he was above all the people;) and when he opened it, all the people stood up: And Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God. And all the people answered, Amen, Amen, with lifting up their hands: and they bowed their heads, and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground. So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading.”

        Read the whole passage for yourself as I deliberately left out all of the names that are included in this passage. The “soap box” was called in the King James Version, a “pulpit.” The Hebrew word is one that can be translated as “pulpit” or a “tower.” The point was that Ezra was much higher than the people as he would be speaking to all of the Israelites present during the rebuilding of Jerusalem. Most important is the subject matter of Ezra's topic. It was the long lost “Word of God.” The people had not heard the words of the Law for almost 70 years and when it came time to hear it they responded accordingly. They stood up, lifting up their hands, bowed their heads and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground. That was respect for something that they knew they should honor and who had not heard it for over a generation. The Pulpit or the Tower was not the important thing but was a tool so Ezra could be heard by the mass of people that were assembled. We do much the same thing today, but use a much smaller version, sometimes referred to as a “pulpit” or just a music stand, or a clear Lucite podium, or whatever you might want to call it. The importance is not in the item of furniture, but the proclamation of God's Word. In Ezra's day, he just read the law of God and the others gave the sense of it to the people. For one thing, the language was going to be different as the people were more used to the language of Babylon rather than that of Jerusalem. Have you ever read one book of the Bible in one sitting? Indications from Nehemiah indicate that the people were there from morning until mid day. That would have been at least three hours of hearing the Word of God. Are we ever that hungry for the Word of God? Would we ever be as passionate about the hearing of the Word of God that we would listen, standing up for at least three hours? With our current manner of living, our backs and legs would probably knot up with cramps before we finished the course. There are plenty of “soap boxes” around these days but the pulpits that proclaim the Word of God are getting fewer and fewer. If you can't find a pulpit that proclaims the Word of God, stand up, open up your Bible and read it for yourself. Praise God today for the fact that He has given every one of us a copy of His Word. May we read it instead of making it a museum of flowers from funerals.