Reflections on Nehemiah 8

Nehemiah 08 (Contemporary English Version)

1. On the first day of the seventh month, the people came together in the open area in front of the Water Gate. Then they asked Ezra, who was a teacher of the Law of Moses, to read to them from this Law that the LORD had given his people. Ezra the priest came with the Law and stood before the crowd of men, women, and the children who were old enough to understand.
   
2. (SEE 8:1)
   
3. From early morning till noon, he read the Law of Moses to them, and they listened carefully.
   
4. Ezra stood on a high wooden platform that had been built for this occasion. Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah were standing to his right, while Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hash Baddanah, Zechariah, and Meshullam were standing to his left.
   
5. Ezra was up on the high platform, where he could be seen by everyone, and when he opened the book, they all stood up.
   
6. Ezra praised the great LORD God, and the people shouted, "Amen! Amen!" Then they bowed with their faces to the ground and worshiped the LORD.
   
7. After this, the Levites Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, and Pelaiah went among the people, explaining the meaning of what Ezra had read.
   
8. (SEE 8:7)
   
9. The people started crying when God's Law was read to them. Then Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and teacher, and the Levites who had been teaching the people all said, "This is a special day for the LORD your God. So don't be sad and don't cry!"
   
10. Nehemiah told the people, "Enjoy your good food and wine and share some with those who didn't have anything to bring. Don't be sad! This is a special day for the LORD, and he will make you happy and strong."
    
11. The Levites encouraged the people by saying, "This is a sacred day, so don't worry or mourn!"
    
12. When the people returned to their homes, they celebrated by eating and drinking and by sharing their food with those in need, because they had understood what had been read to them.
    
13. On the second day of the seventh month, the leaders of all the family groups came together with the priests and the Levites, so Ezra could teach them the Law
    
14. that the LORD had given to Moses. They learned from the Law that the people of Israel were to live in shelters when they celebrated the festival in the seventh month of the year.
    
15. They also learned that they were to go into the woods and gather branches of leafy trees such as olives, myrtles, and palms for making these shelters.
    
16. So the people gathered branches and made shelters on the flat roofs of their houses, in their yards, in the courtyard of the temple, and in the open areas around the Water Gate and Ephraim Gate.
    
17. Everyone who had returned from Babylonia built shelters. They lived in them and joyfully celebrated the Festival of Shelters for the first time since the days of Joshua son of Nun.
    
18. On each of the first seven days of the festival, Ezra read to the people from God's Law. Then on the eighth day, everyone gathered for worship, just as the Law had said they must.
    

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    Thus far, Nehemiah has focused on physical restoration of Jerusalem. But a spiritual restoration had begun, led by Ezra, 14 years prior to Nehemiah's arrival in Jerusalem. This spiritual restoration had likely paved the way for Nehemiah's work. Now that the rebuilding of the city wall was completed, attention could be returned to Ezra's spiritual restoration of the people. For this purpose, the people gathered in the city square and had Ezra read to them from the law of Moses. Standing on a high platform where he could be seen by several thousand people, "Ezra opened the book in full view of all the people, since he was elevated above everyone." (8:5)  As Ezra, a scribe, read from the law, Levites standing on the platform with him explained it to the people. It was an emotional experience for the people and the Levites encouraged the people not to weep, but to rejoice.
    
    The chosen reading was providential, for they read a passage which told of Moses commanding the Israelites to observe the Feast of Booths or Tabernacles.  They were just two weeks from the date on which this festival was to be observed so they immediately began preparation for it. The observance of this festival by this group of returned exiles was the first celebration of its kind since the "days of Joshua." (8:17) This gives a clue as to why they had gone into exile. They had turned away from God's word, and had done so soon after taking possession of the land God had given them.
    
    Unless we regularly read and meditate on God's word, we will not remain faithful to Him. Regular reading of God's word, along with prayer, are our lines of communication with Him. They are the means by which we relate to Him and through which we build a relationship with Him. These spiritual disciplines must be in place if we are faithful to obey and serve God. Man has a strong inclination to attempt to build a relationship with God through service alone, but such attempts lead to empty, self-serving activity.