Nehemiah 8:13 Commentary - Dr Peter Masters

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Nehemiah 8:13

Comments

There is a spirit in the people that is eager to learn, and therefore they come back for a second day to hear Ezra read the words of the law and to give the explanation of them. There is much that has lapsed during the period of decline and they know that God is to be obeyed, not just in some things, but in everything. They do not want to overlook anything that is in the word. They read Leviticus 23 and discover the command to keep the feast of tabernacles in the seventh month, the current month, and immediately they take steps to obey. They give attention to the details, and note that this feast and the other major feasts of the year were to be published so that the people would gather together. They therefore send out heralds to all the major cities as well as in Jerusalem to summon the people. Moses had commanded: ‘Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before the LORD thy God in the place which he shall choose; in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles: and they shall not appear before the LORD empty’ (Deuteronomy 16:16). We do not dwell in booths or observe the Old Testament feasts of Israel, but the principles behind them are abiding. The feast of trumpets, the day of atonement, the feast of tabernacles all took place in the seventh month. The feast of tabernacles was a celebration of God’s deliverance of the nation out of Egypt at the time of the exodus. During Israel’s time in the wilderness they had lived in tents, and so they made these booths out of olive branches and branches of other trees to remember that vital period in their history. They deliberately thought back to what God had done for them and the marvellous way in which he had provided for them in that inhospitable environment. The wilderness is also used as a symbol of the place where Israel is separate from the world and kept safe by God (Revelation 12:14).

Application

After time of decline many things may need to be reformed. Many duties to God may have lapsed and our return to God will involve a careful search of all he requires of us. That search will be carried out with a tender heart, so that when an omission is discovered, there is an immediate determination to rectify it and obey. Perhaps a church has no prayer meeting. How can anything be achieved for the Lord without prayer? There must be a gathering of the church members every week to bring before the Lord their needs and their regular service for him. We read that the gospel is to go into all the world. We start at home. Are we teaching the children? Does the church have a Sunday School? This will involve hard work and commitment over many years and considerable sacrifice of our time. What is the church doing to reach the adults in the neighbourhood? Has the witness of the church dwindled to a very few zealous souls? Does the church support overseas missions? How much of the stewardship of the church goes to supporting gospel work beyond our own boundaries? Peter tells us that, ‘giving all diligence, [we are to] add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge’ (2 Peter 1:5).

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Nehemiah 8:13 Commentary and Bible Study