June 20, 2012
Just a few notes from Nehemiah 7 before I retire for the night: Nehemiah has finished rebuilding the wall, and now undertakes the larger (and more difficult) task of helping to rebuild Jewish society. Having lived in exile in Babylonian culture for 70 years, the Jews must reestablish their ancestral lifestyle while avoiding the errors that sent them into captivity.
Much of this chapter is a copy of Ezra 2, with the introduction giving details to the situation of Nehemiah’s time. The reason he sought out the record was, I believe, GOD’s way of setting the stage for Ezra’s reform. The city walls are complete, but there is still much to be done in rebuilding the city itself; there are no houses, and only a small number of the Jews actually dwell in Jerusalem. Perhaps that amplifies/adds to the wonder of the miracle that the wall was completed in only 52 days with such a workforce. At any rate, Nehemiah is setting out to reaffirm the Law and its application for the new generation in the Holy Land. This will take him about 12 years and beyond to complete.
Chapter 8: As part of the revival (both social and spiritual), Ezra and Nehemiah now appear together in a joint effort to restore the people in the ways of the Law. The “seventh month” infers that this takes place in the first month of autumn in the Jewish calendar, just in time for the Feast of Tabernacles. The people listen from the beginning of the day until noon, and according to the text, they listen with ears that are “attentive.” They not only desired to hear the Law, they were eagerly drinking in every word. What’s important to remember is that not everything we hear from GOD brings a pleasant reaction.
Ezra opens the book of the Law and reads from it; the people’s response brings another reading to mind from the book of 2nd Kings. During the reign of Josiah, Judah’s last godly king, the book of the Law (Deuteronomy) was found in the Temple (which was at the time in a state of disrepair), and it was read to him. Like Josiah, the people react with grief, but Ezra comforts them; although they have not obeyed the Law in the past, they are gathered in the house of the LORD with a spirit of seeking and repentance, and that is exactly where we most often meet GOD.
A surprise came in this chapter; on the next day, the people discover the Feast of Tabernacles, and they practice it for the first time since JOSHUA’S TIME!! That infers that for all the centuries they had dwelt in the Promised Land, they hadn’t kept the autumn feast even ONCE. This time, they keep it for seven days, gathering for readings of the Law with gladness. This speaks of a fervor that was spawned from over 70 years of starving for the Word in exile; if only we might see a revival like this in our own time.