Public Reading of the Law, Festival of Booths Observed

INTRO

Nehemiah 7 contains the list of the exiled men. In verse 1, the wall had been rebuilt, the doors installed, and the gatekeepers, singers, and Levites were appointed to their duties. The work was done, and everybody was in place. Beginning in verse 7, the Israelite exiles were listed. Beginning in verse 39, the priests were included. Beginning in verse 43, the Levites were included. Beginning in verse 44, the singers were included then in verse 45, the gatekeepers were included. In verse 46, the temple servants were listed. In verse 57, even the descendants of Solomon’s servants were listed. Basically, God revealed that He never forgets the faithful, and here the faithful who came back from exile were listed along with the roles they played. With everything in place, it was time to hold a Bible conference. Warren Wiersbe stated that Israel was a “people of the Book” who needed to learn to delight in the Word of God.¹Nehemiah wanted the exiles to focus on the Lord now that they were free. Psalm 1:2–3 emphasizes this point. With this purpose in mind, Nehemiah called for Ezra, who was the best teacher in the land.

TEACHING

Nehemiah 8:1: The people gathered in the square in front of the Water Gate. They asked Ezra to bring out the Book of the Law of Moses, which Ezra had returned to Israel thirteen years before. Now they were shifting from Ezra’s private study of the law to public study. Wiersbe said this chapter describes three responses to the Word of God, with verses 1–8 emphasizing that we must understand the word of God.²

In John 15:3, Jesus told the disciples they were clean because of the word He spoke to them. Ezra was reading the Word of God to the people as they stood by the Water Gate. Hearing the Word of God has a cleansing and refreshing effect on people. This event in Nehemiah is a foreshadowing of the cleansing that happens when we talk to Jesus. Ephesians 5:26 says Jesus made the church holy by cleansing her with the washing of water by the Word. When the Word of God was reinstated back in Ezra and Nehemiah’s time, the Israelites were being washed by the Word of God. When we dig into the Word of God, we experience a cleansing. When the Word is released, it is powerful and cleansing. It is refreshing when we understand it. In John 7:37, Jesus cried out, “If anyone is thirsty, he should come to Me and drink!” Jesus is the Word (John 1:1–4, 14). Jesus promised, “The one who believes in Me . . . will have streams of living water flow from deep within Him” (John 7:38). When we come to Jesus, we can be refreshed in the Spirit of God.

Nehemiah 8:2–8: Ezra brought out the Book of the Law and read from it from daybreak until noon while the people listened attentively. As Nelson’s Commentary states, that’s six hours.³Ezra stood on a high wooden platform and opened the book in full view of the people. The people stood up and lifted their hands before bowing down and worshipping the Lord. They truly respected the Word of God. First Timothy 4:13 tells us to give attention to the public reading, exhortation, and teaching of God’s Word until Jesus comes back. When we give respect to God’s Word, our understanding will grow. As the Word was read, the Levites explained the law to the people (v. 7) so the people could understand it (v. 8).

Nehemiah 8:9–12: In addition to understanding the Word, Wiersbe said we must rejoice in it.⁴Why would Nehemiah and Ezra have to tell the people not to weep? They were weeping because they realized they had not been worshipping the Lord or keeping the standards He asked them to keep. But Nehemiah urged the people to celebrate instead of grieving. They should rejoice because their strength would come from the Lord. They were experiencing a move of God, and Nehemiah wanted them to rejoice in it. Because the people understood the Word of God, they had a great celebration. Jeremiah said God’s words brought joy and delight to him (Jeremiah 15:16). God’s Word has the power to help us fight depression and loneliness. Psalm 19:8 says the Word of the Lord makes the heart glad and the eyes light up. When we’re in the Word, our hearts are glad. Psalm 119:162 encourages us to rejoice over God’s promises.

Nehemiah 8:13–18: In addition to understanding and rejoicing in the Word, Wiersbe said we also need to obey it.5 The next day, the people continued to gather to study the Word of the law. When they discovered that the Lord had commanded Moses that Israel should dwell in booths during the festival (Leviticus 23), they went into the hill country to gather branches from leafy trees to make booths. They realized they had to be doers of the Word, so they went out, gathered branches, and built booths for themselves. Israel had not celebrated like this since the days of Joshua. With great joy, they celebrated the festival for seven days, with Ezra reading the book of the law every day. True revival involves digging into the Word of God, which impacts our emotions, leading to action. In Matthew 28:18–20, Jesus instructed His followers, “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you.” We won’t see a true revival until we do the Great Commission, until we actually act upon the Word of God. Maybe we don’t need seminary or school, we just need to understand the Word of God and rejoice in what He’s doing so that we can actually obey it. James 1:22 tells us to be doers of the Word and not hearers only.

CLOSING

If we want to see a true move of God, we must be doers of the Word. While that can include many things, it must include Matthew 28. We actually could see a revival if we acted out what we understood.