In our study of Nehemiah chapter eight, we look at the fruitful study of the Word of God. We look at what happened with the people that returned from exile to Jerusalem and how that applies to us in our study today.
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When the seventh month arrived, after the people of Israâel had resettled in their towns, all the people gathered with one accord in the open space in front of the Water Gate and asked âEzra the Torah-teacher to bring the scroll of the Torah of Moshe, which Adonai had commanded Israâel.
All of the people got together in the square that was opposite the Water Gate. As we saw in chapter 3, the Water Gate is associated with the Word of God and they assembled there to hear the Word. These people had been in exile for seventy years and had not heard the Word.
âEzra the cohen brought the Torah before the assembly, which consisted of men, women and all children old enough to understand. It was the first day of the seventh month.
We see that the crowd was made up of men, women, and children of an age to understand the Word. This speaks to the fact that there is a certain age for each child at which time they can hear and understand the things of God. This is often called the "age of accountability" and only God knows what that age is for the individual.
Facing the open space in front of the Water Gate, he read from it to the men, the women and the children who could understand from early morning until noon; and all the people listened attentively to the scroll of the Torah.
We see that this initial Bible study lasted for hours as the people stood there and listened to the Word. They must have been hungry to hear about the things of God to stand there for that length of time. We see that they were not concerned with what time it was or whether they were going to get done in time to get to a good restaurant or do whatever else they wanted. We should all ask ourselves if we are that hungry for the Word of God. If your answer is yes, then, this website can be a tool to help you. If your answer is no, then, you may need to ask yourself what happened to your love for Christ. The Bible is all about Jesus Christ and, if we love Him, then we should have a strong desire to draw closer to Him through the Word.
âEzra the Torah-teacher stood on a wood platform which they had made for the purpose; beside him on his right stood Mattityah, Shema, âAnayah, Uriyah, Hilkiyah and Maâaseiyah; while on his left were Pâdayah, Mishaâel, Malkiyah, Hashum, Hashbadanah, Zâkharyah and Meshulam.
Ezra stood on a platform to share the Word of God. On his right and left were the priests.
âEzra opened the scroll where all the people could see him, because he was higher than all the people; when he opened it, all the people rose to their feet. âEzra blessed Adonai, the great God; and all the people answered, âAmen! Amen!â as they lifted up their hands, bowed their heads and fell prostrate before Adonai with their faces to the ground.
The people stood for the reading of the Word as is done in many bodies of believers today. Ezra started by praising the Lord and the people responded much like the typical worship service of today.
The Lâviâim Yeshua, Bani, Sherevyah, Yamin, âAkuv, Shabtai, Hodiyah, Maâaseiyah, Kâlita, âAzaryah, Yozavad, Hanan and Pâlayah explained the Torah to the people, while the people remained in their places. They read clearly from the scroll, in the Torah of God, translated it, and enabled them to understand the sense of what was being read.
So, we see how this great Bible study took place. Ezra would read from the Law and these men were stationed throughout the crowd. They would answer questions that those around them had concerning the words that were read. This is a part that is missing from many of the worship services of bodies of believers as it has gotten to the point where a speaker reads a tiny bit of God's Word and then adds a bunch of their own words. There is very little interaction to see if the people have any questions; it is just assumed that the speaker has covered all of the questions that could be raised. This is why most of the teaching is ineffective as many people put in their time and leave not understanding what they have heard.
Nechemyah the Tirshata, âEzra the cohen and Torah-teacher and the Lâviâim who taught the people said to all the people, âToday is consecrated to Adonai your God; donât be mournful, donât weep.â For all the people had been weeping when they heard the words of the Torah.
We see the effectiveness of this method of teaching the Word as the people reacted with conviction through tears. This method allows the Holy Spirit to work in the hearts of those that are listening to the Word. It is the Word of God and this Spirit that does the work and not the words of a speaker on a platform. This is what the Lord said (in Isaiah 55:11) as He promised that His words would not return empty.
Then he said to them, âGo, eat rich food, drink sweet drinks, and send portions to those who canât provide for themselves; for today is consecrated to our Lord. Donât be sad, because the joy of Adonai is your strength.â
Nehemiah reminded the people that the Word should bring joy and not mourning as it draws us closer to the Lord. He urged them to celebrate and to share with the poor. Most of us have the celebrating part down but we ignore the sharing with the poor part. We see that he also reminded the people that their strength comes from the joy produced by this study of the Word. Without this proper way of studying (where people get to offer their questions), they often leave with the same burdens that they entered the worship service with.
In this way the Lâviâim quieted the people, as they said, âBe quiet, for today is holy; donât be sad.â Then the people went off to eat, drink, send portions and celebrate; because they had understood the words that had been proclaimed to them.
We see that, through this pattern of Bible study, the people gained insight and understanding. They left the worship service with joy as they drew closer to God through His Word. This is what the Lord described (in Isaiah 55:12) as even the trees will seem to celebrate with you.
On the second day, the heads of fathersâ clans of all the people assembled with the cohanim and Lâviâim before âEzra the Torah-teacher to study the words of the Torah. They found written in the Torah that Adonai had ordered through Moshe that the people of Israâel were to live in sukkot during the feast of the seventh month; and that they were to announce and pass the word in all their cities and in Yerushalayim, âGo out to the mountains, and collect branches of olives, wild olives, myrtles, palms, and other leafy trees to make sukkot, as prescribed.â
The next day, the leaders of the Israelites gathered for more study of the word. They found that God had commanded them to observe the Feast of Tabernacles. This is known as Sukkot or the Feast of Ingathering and it was a reminder to the people that God had them to live in temporary structures (booths) when they left Egypt. During this time, they were to gather in Jerusalem, live in these booths and rejoice in the Lord.
So the people went out, brought them and made sukkot for themselves, each one on the roof of his house, also in their courtyards, in the courtyards of the house of God, in the open space by the Water Gate and in the open space by the Efrayim Gate. The entire community of those who had returned from the exile made sukkot and lived in the sukkot, for the people of Israâel had not done this since the days of Yeshua the son of Nun. So there was very great joy.
We see that, in this pattern for Bible study, they put it into practice as all of the people obeyed and celebrated this holy week. From the time that Joshua led them out of the wilderness into the promised land until that day, they had never had such a celebration. With this celebration they drew closer to God and experienced joy as they remembered what He had done for them. We can experience the same type of joy when we slow down and remember what God has done for us through Jesus Christ.
Also they read every day, from the first day until the last day, in the scroll of the Torah of God. They kept the feast for seven days; then on the eighth day there was a solemn assembly, according to the rule.
Finally, we see that this was a continuing pattern of Bible study as they did it each day. If we want to draw closer to the Lord, then, we will want to do so every day. (We encourage you to join us on this site every day to get the latest Bible study).
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