1And all the people gathered as one man into the square before the Water Gate. And they told Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses that the LORD had commanded Israel. 2So Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly, both men and women and all who could understand what they heard, on the first day of the seventh month. 3And he read from it facing the square before the Water Gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of the men and the women and those who could understand. And the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law. 4And Ezra the scribe stood on a wooden platform that they had made for the purpose. And beside him stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah on his right hand, and Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zechariah, and Meshullam on his left hand. 5And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was above all the people, and as he opened it all the people stood. 6And Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God, and all the people answered, “Amen, Amen,” lifting up their hands. And they bowed their heads and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground. 7Also Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, the Levites,a helped the people to understand the Law, while the people remained in their places. 8They read from the book, from the Law of God, clearly,b and they gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading.
What cause the people to have this gathering? Do we see a similar sense in our community?
Share your thoughts and prayers with your team.
It is not surprising that chapter 8 opens with a manifestation of a great hunger for the Word among these people in Jerusalem. Notice that this seems to be a spontaneous gathering. No invitations were sent out. No public notice was given. People were hungry for answers to their problems and for guidelines from the Word of God, and with one accord they gathered in this great square before the Water Gate. They asked Ezra the priest to bring the Law of the Lord and to read it to them. This would undoubtedly be the entire Pentateuch–the first five books of the Bible. This indicates the tremendous desire of these people for truth. They listened, while standing, from daybreak until noon! Certainly this long attention indicates how deeply they were aware of their ignorance about life and how much they needed answers from God. They were simply crying out for the Word.
Ezra, the priest, the author of the book of Ezra, appears for the first time in the book of Nehemiah. Thirteen years earlier he had led a return from Persia to rebuild the temple and to teach the Law of God. Apparently he had been occupied in that task all through the time of the rebuilding of the wall. But when the people had finished their work, they were desperate to hear from the Word of God, so they sent for Ezra to lead them.
It seems to me that we have come to such a time as this again. The prophet Amos predicted that there would come a famine in the world for the Word of God. People would actually be starving for answers to the problems of life. I find everywhere a deep hunger among non-churched people to hear the Word of God. Wherever it is taught with any degree of understanding, they are immediately attracted to it.
In Singapore I was invited to speak to a group of young Chinese professionals. About forty or fifty doctors, lawyers, engineers, and others met in one of the high-rise apartments in the city. As I opened up the Bible to them, I quickly discovered that they were absolutely fascinated with it. When I had to leave for another appointment, many of them crowded into the elevator with me, and others came on other elevators down to the lobby, asking questions all the way. I got in the car, and as we were driving off, they ran alongside, still shouting questions through the open windows. I have never forgotten that display of hunger for God’s Word among people who had not yet been taught the Scriptures.
When the Word is opened up, people begin to understand themselves. When you know God you begin to understand yourself, because you are made in the image of God. These people in Jerusalem were soon growing in self-knowledge as they began to hunger for the Word of God. The great tragedy of our day is how few churches seem to understand this power of Scripture.
When our souls are undernourished and we suffer spiritual indigestion, do we turn to the Word of God to feed and restore us to wholeness?
Once again I am reminded of the power of together! The people of Israel are compelled by this desire to know God and to worship Him. Ray Stedman points out that the people were so desperate to hear from the Word of God that they sent for Ezra to lead them. I think this shows a hunger and desire that is even more beautiful since it’s a collective group of people.
This was a time to celebrate what God had done through his people and also to understand why they had done it and who to attribute their success to. It was also a time to re-educate the Jews who had been exiled that no longer knew the law and what it meant to live by God’s Word. Basically they were gathering to build up their community and to celebrate God’s power. What is amazing is that Ezra read the scriptures from early morning to midday…especially having to read out loud so that the people could hear him.
I love how the people are so eager to hear God’s word that their ears were attentive to it as they absorbed hour upon hour of God’s word being read and explained.
Also they had a holy reverence for God’s word..they stood as it was being proclaimed. Maybe we should make that a tradition at RP..to stand for the reading of God’s word
The people were gathered together to hear the word of God, to worship him and thank him for the blessings he’s given to them. There is no doubt this journey or plan had a ton of trials and tribulations. God meticulously guided Nehemiah and all those who built in search to make this statement of being a part of the family of God. This gathering can be mirrored through the Sunday service gatherings we have at church where God speaks through one(our pastors) and in turn that message gets relayed to us all which would teach us, rebuke us, or even make us understand further the love of God that existence so abundantly in our Christian family. For this we too worship God through songs, prayer, and simply obeying him.
The cause of gathering among is people is to simply hear God’s word and God’s instructions on what to do next. It seems as if the word of God was ready out loud at the square and nothing seemed to be planned or scheduled ahead. I sometimes see a similar sense in our community, in that people are hungry for God’s word but more often than not, that feel comes and goes and doesn’t stay. I pray that similar thing would be happening in our community as well.
After finishing the tasks, the people were really hungry for God’s words. I can relate to this. My life is so busy that sometimes I can go days without prayers or reading the Words. Once things settle, I feel empty and hungry for spiritual food.
From brother Don
Such a gathering and reading of the Law as we see in Nehemiah 8:1-8 was required every 7 years at the Feast of Tabernacles, yet it had been neglected since the Babylonian captivity until this occassion. So it is quite significant that the people would gather this way and request the reading from Ezra. It would seem to me that the primary cause for this rekindled passion for God’s Law would have stemmed primarily from their being brought back from exile, delivered from opposition, and led into a triumphant accomplishment of God’s work. It seems to me that our corporate worship today, in a similar sense, is the result of hearts that are hungry for God’s Word based upon these same kind of experiences. We too have been brought from death into life, delivered from the grips of the enemy, and are being led to take part in God’s glorious redemptive work!
Lord, thank You for saving us from death, and bringing us into new life! Thank You for the way in which You continue to fulfill Your promises, delivering us from the grip of sin, and allowing us to be a part of Your redemptive purposes! Give us hearts that hunger for Your Word, in awe of the way in which You reveal Yourself to us each day, and lead us, Lord, in the way everlasting.