Nehemiah 8:1-18

8:1-10:39 | Until the end of the seventh chapter, the narrative focuses on Nehemiah, the people, and the reconstruction of the wall. Starting here, Ezra the priest takes center stage, because the people realized they were missing their spiritual foundation.

8:1 | By the end of Nehemiah 7, something is wrong in Jerusalem: the Word of God has not been made the center of the spiritual community. The people were rebuilding their city, but they were not rebuilding their hearts. In the thirteen years the people had been back in Jerusalem there is no mention of the centrality of Scripture – until we get to Nehemiah 8,

8:1-4 | For all the people to gather together as one was a move of God. They came with the right attitude – unified, expectant, prepared to hear the Word – and gripped by the need to discover what else God had in store for them. In their spiritual hunger, they called for Ezra the priest (scribe) to bring the Word to them and for their leaders to join them. Those who could understand include older children, not just adults.

8:3-8 | The people were attentive (all the people stood up), responsive (Amen, Amen), and demonstrative (lifting up their hands; bowed their heads). The only word for morning in the OT refers to 9 AM. From that time until noon (midday), the people listened to Ezra read distinctly from the Word, make sense of it, and help (literally, “cause”) them to understand it.

8:3 | The listeners’ attitudes determine whether they receive any benefit from a presentation of the Word. If their spirit is wrong, they will not hear even great preaching. When they have the right spirit, there will be value, no matter how poorly the message is presented.

8:4-5 | Ezra standing above the assembly on a platform allowed all the people to see and hear, but it was also an outward expression of the importance of elevating the Word of God. He was in the center of the crowd as he read – exactly where the Word of God out to be. Any church that wishes to honor the teaching of God’s Word must find a place for hearing it.

8:6 | Spiritual renewal and worship are inseparably linked to the Word of God. The people lifted their hands to express their openness to whatever God would do (Lam. 3:41; 1 Tim. 2:8). This should be the spirit of our hearts whenever the Word of God is preached.

8:9-12 | There were four results from the reading and understanding of God’s Word: the people worshiped, mourned, obeyed the instruction to celebrate, and rejoiced by feasting and sharing. Once people hear God’s heart, a response will naturally follow.

8:9 | The Israelites had been without the Word of God for so long that they probably wept tears of joy as well as remorse for all the years they had neglected it. As Scripture becomes precious to God’s people (1 Sam. 3:1), even the simple reading of it can move them.

8:13-18 | Here, 10 action verbs – gathered, understand, found, announce, went, brought, made, sat, read, kept – reinforce the effects of biblical preaching and teaching. People should hear God’s Word with the intent of obeying it.

8:14-17 | Hearing the Word led to action, both individually and as a nation. On this occasion, the Israelites realized that since the days of Joshua they had neglected one of the Jewish celebrations commanded by God: the Feast of Tabernacles (Lev. 23:33-36; Deut. 16:13-17). They immediately reinstituted the feast, which anticipates the time when those who are in heaven will celebrate the joy of coming through the Tribulation (Rev. 19:1-10).