all the people gathered together as one man to the open place that was before the water-gate; and they spoke to Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses, which Jehovah had commanded Israel.
The wall was up. The people had settled in their cities. Then the whole nation gathered in the open square before the Water Gate — not to celebrate the building, but to ask for a book. What they asked for shaped the rest of the chapter.
No leader organised this from a platform. The desire started in the crowd and moved toward the teacher.
All the people gathered together as one man, and their simple-hearted desire was to hear the word of God. Ezra did not speak to them; they spoke to Ezra, "to bring the Book of the Law of Moses that the LORD had commanded Israel." God's own account of them is very moving. They were eager to understand and not only to hear. They were reverent, and they also fell under the rebuke of the word. They listened, not with attentive ears only, but with a stricken conscience.
The date matters. The first day of the seventh month was the feast of trumpets. Yet Scripture records no trumpets here — only reading.
The first day of the seventh month was the feast of the blowing of trumpets (Lev. 23:24; Numbers 29:1), a figure of the restoration of Israel in the last days... Scripture does not record whether the trumpets were blown here, and that silence is significant. "They told Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses that the LORD had commanded Israel." When everything is in confusion through neglect of the word of God, the first thing to restore is not the feasts. It is the authority of the Scriptures over the conscience.
Another writer reads the silence the same way, and explains why the joy of that feast had to wait.
Yet here in Nehemiah there is no mention of trumpets. Why is this the case? Is it not because true joy could not be restored to Israel apart from their hearing the Word of God? So at this time God would occupy them with hearing His Word, apart from the trumpets.
Did this gathering include only the people living inside the new walls?
Notice that "all the people" — not only those inside the city — took part in this movement... This matters, because some readings of the Book of Nehemiah force a distinction between those inside the city and those outside. The picture will not allow that for a moment. The people, whether inside the walls or outside, were "one" and gathered together "as one man." The walls were there to protect the house, not to divide the people.
The place they chose carries its own message.
In the Water Gate we have the thought of the ministry of the Word of God in its refreshing character. And "the open place" suggests freedom of movement, in subjection to that Word.
The people asked for a book, and that brought a forgotten teacher back into view.
Ezra never appears earlier in this book, yet he is the one they turn to in their present need... In a time of general backsliding, confusion and ruin, no one wanted the teacher of the law, and so Ezra had dropped out of notice. Now there was some revival, and a desire for the word of their God, and the people remembered Ezra and called for his service. Happy is the servant who thinks nothing of himself, who can step back when there is no need of him, and come forward when the people want him again!
One writer turns this moment into a rule that holds in every age.
And as a united people they had but one desire, to hear the law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded to Israel. They gave orders to Ezra that he should bring the book of the law. This the people knew was the Word of the Lord, and for this they hungered. Every true revival must begin with the Word, and in believing submission to what the Lord has said. So it has been in all the great revivals of the past, and so it will be in the future.
Another writer names a second mark that goes with hunger for the Word.
These two things, worship and interest in the Word, will always characterise an enduring revival according to God, I am sure. The need to be established on the books of Moses fills all these chapters of Nehemiah (see Neh. 8:1, 14, 18; 9:3; 10:34; 13:1).
- Hunger — the appeal rose from the people themselves; they spoke to Ezra, not Ezra to them.
- Order — not feasts first, but the authority of Scripture over the conscience; the trumpets stay silent and the reading begins.
- Unity — "as one man" includes those inside the walls and outside; walls guard the house, they do not split the people.
- Servant — Ezra had dropped out of notice; when the people wanted the Word again, he was ready.
- Revival — every real awakening starts here, at the Water Gate: the Word heard, obeyed, and joined to worship.
And Ezra the priest brought the law before the congregation, both of men and women, and all that could hear with understanding, on the first day of the seventh month.
Nehemiah 8 opens with the walls finished and the people asking for the book of the law of Moses. Verse 2 names who brought it, who came to listen, and on what day — the marks, commentators say, of a real revival.
The date matters. On the first day of the seventh month Israel was to blow trumpets. The account says nothing about trumpets — only about a book.
The first day of the seventh month was the feast of the blowing of trumpets (Lev. 23:24; Numbers 29:1), a picture of Israel's restoration in the last days... The account does not record whether the trumpets were blown this time. That silence is significant. The people asked Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded. When everything is in confusion because God's word has been neglected, the first thing to restore is not the feasts. It is the authority of the Scriptures over the conscience.
Ezra had been in Jerusalem for years without taking the lead. He steps forward here only because the people ask him to.
His ministry was vital for the returned remnant. Even so, he did not put himself forward until the rebuilding was finished. And even then he was not the one who asked for such a prominent place. When the people gathered "as one man" in the open square in front of the water gate, they told Ezra "to bring the Book of the Law of Moses" (v. 1).
Ezra's name comes up again and again in the chapter. The people's attention settled somewhere else.
Although Ezra is named here several times, it says, "the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law." It was God's commandment that had its effect on the people. God used the servant, but the people's thoughts went to the law itself.
The verse names men and women together. Commentators see no dividing of the hearers into classes.
The congregation was made up of "both men and women and all who could understand what they heard" — that is, we judge, all the children who were old enough to take in what was read. So there was no division into classes. Men, women and children were not taught separately. All were together, forming the congregation of the Lord.
Later Jewish teaching would not have granted women and the young this standing.
Again, we notice that the teaching of the rabbis had not yet taken hold — the teaching that put a slur on women and children, until the Lord won back their place in spiritual things. For Ezra read the law in front of "both men and women and all who could understand what they heard" (who might be quite young in years).
The qualification for being in the crowd was not age or office but the capacity to take in what was said.
The whole congregation gathers together to hear the reading of the law: both men and women, and even those with intelligence, that is to say, children capable of understanding what was read. Thus God made provision, in a touching way, so that even young children might profit from His Word.
Others put the same point more broadly: the Bible has business with anyone whose mind can follow it.
Ezra the priest had been in Jerusalem for many years. Now he was called on to bring the book of the law of the Lord and read it aloud to everyone — both men and women, and indeed all who could understand it. That must have included even older children. The word of God concerns everybody who has a mind capable of understanding it.
The place where they gathered fits what happened there.
This was no 20 minute sermon. The reading of God's Word ran from morning until midday, and all the people listened closely to what the Book of the Law said (v. 3). It took place in front of the water gate, for water is a symbol of the Word of God (Eph. 5:26). We need it every day of our lives, both for drinking and for cleansing.
What the people wanted, before anything else, was to hear what God had said.
And as a united people they had but one desire, to hear the law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded to Israel... Every true revival must begin with the Word, and in believing submission to what the Lord has said. So it has been in all the great revivals of the past, and so it will be in the future. The great need today is "back to the Bible" — to listen to its message as the message of God.
- The day — Israel's trumpet feast passes without a trumpet. When everything is in ruins, God's word regains its authority before any ceremony returns.
- The book — the people asked for it and Ezra brought it. The servant stayed in the background, and every eye was on the law itself.
- The congregation — men, women and children stood together: no separate meetings, no one left out.
- The understanding — one test decided who belonged: could you take in what was read? That made room even for children.
- The hunger — a real revival starts where people want God's Word and will listen to it for hours.
And he read in it before the open place that was before the water-gate from the morning until midday, in presence of the men and the women, and those that could understand. And the ears of all the people were [attentive] to the book of the law.
The people themselves asked for the book of the law, and this verse records what followed. Two questions stand out: what book held a whole crowd from dawn to noon, and why did they stay?
Some question whether the book Ezra read was the whole law of Moses — the five books that open the Bible.
There is no valid reason to doubt what Ezra brought before the people. The book of the law of Moses was the Pentateuch, which the Jews call Torah, the law.
The reading took place in an open square before one gate. Commentators see meaning in the spot.
This took place in front of the water gate, because water is a symbol of the Word of God (Ephesians 5:26). We need it every day of our lives, both for drinking and for cleansing.
The verse names men, women, and those who could understand — and that list is deliberate.
The congregation was made up of "the men and the women and those who could understand." That is, we think, all the children who were old enough to grasp what was read. So there was no division into classes. Men, women, and children were not taught apart. All were together as the congregation of the Lord.
The youngest listeners were not overlooked.
So God made provision, in a touching way, so that even young children might profit from His Word.
Daybreak to noon is about six hours, and the crowd stood for all of it. One writer turns that into an uncomfortable question.
This reading, and the attention given to it, lasted about six hours. That is a long time to stand. How many of us spend six hours reading the Bible in one day, and then the next day are eager for more? Of course it is not always possible to read for six hours at a stretch. But the point is that these people had the time, and they used it.
Ordinary crowds do not last that long. One writer explains what was different.
In ordinary times, then as now, it would be impossible to keep people listening so long to a simple reading of the Scriptures. But there are seasons when the Spirit of God is truly at work after widespread decline. Then the saints always turn back to the Bible with fresh eagerness. They never grow tired of reading, or listening to, the truths that have been used to stir their souls.
Ezra is the obvious figure here. He is named, and he does the reading. Yet the verse does not say their ears were attentive to Ezra.
Although Ezra is named here several times, it says, "and the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law." It was the commandment of God that had its effect on the people. The servant was used, but their thoughts were directed to the law itself.
Attention was not the whole of it. Their hearing went deeper than their ears.
The account God gives here is very moving. They were eager to understand as well as hear. They were reverent, and they also fell under the rebuke of the Word. For they listened not with attentive ears only, but with a conscience that was struck.
No one organised this from the top down. The people asked; Ezra responded.
All the people gathered together as one man in the square before the water gate. That place suggests the cleansing and refreshing power of the Word. As a united people they had only one desire: to hear the law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded Israel. They told Ezra to bring the book of the law. The people knew this was the Word of the Lord, and they hungered for it. Every true revival must begin with the Word, and with believing submission to what the Lord has said.
The same writer adds a summary of the need in every generation: "The great need today is 'back to the Bible' — and to listen to its message as the message of God."
- Place. They met before the water gate, and water pictures the Word — needed every day, both to drink and to wash.
- People. Men, women, and every child old enough to follow were there. No group was taught apart, and even the young were meant to profit.
- Patience. Six hours on their feet, never tired of the Word — people who had the time and used it.
- Priority. Ezra was named, but their ears were on the law itself. The servant was used; the Word did the work.
- Penetration. They listened with more than attentive ears; their consciences were struck. That is where every real revival begins — the Word first, then submission to it.
And Ezra the scribe stood upon a high stage of wood, which they had made for the purpose. And beside him stood Mattithiah, and Shema, and Anaiah, and Urijah, and Hilkijah, and Maaseiah on his right hand; and on his left hand, Pedaiah, and Mishael, and Malchijah, and Hashum, and Hashbaddana, Zechariah, Meshullam.
The scene is an open square in Jerusalem, the wall finished, and the whole people asking for the book of the law. Verse 4 stops on details that look small: a wooden stand built for the day, and thirteen named men at Ezra's shoulders. Commentators find in them a picture of how God's people give His word its place.
The stand had a plain purpose. A crowd that size had to see the reader and hear him. One writer notes that purpose, and the honour God gave the men who stood beside Ezra. His older translation says "pulpit" where the ESV says "a wooden platform":
First, we are told that Ezra "stood upon a pulpit" (or tower) "of wood, which they had made for the purpose." The aim, just as today, was that everyone in the congregation could see him and hear him. Six men stood beside him on his right hand, and seven on his left. The Spirit of God has kept their names on record, for it was a memorable day, and the privilege given to them of standing by Ezra was great.
That day still teaches anyone who reads and explains the Bible to others.
This public reading was a great occasion. It gives us valuable instruction, above all for those who minister the word in public. Ezra stood on a platform, so that both he and the book he read from were in full view of the people. Others helped to make the meaning plain to all who listened.
Ezra stood high, and the book stood higher — opened above the heads of the crowd. One writer compares the scene with King Josiah:
As Josiah had done before him (2 Kings 23:3), Ezra stood on a raised platform, with the elders, or chief fathers, at his right and at his left. With a solemn gesture he opens the book in the sight of all the people and above their heads. So he gives the law the place of authority that belonged to it. Then he blesses Jehovah, the great God. It was in this book that God had revealed Himself and claimed their obedience.
A long list of names is easy to skip. Yet one writer sees God's own approval in the fact that Scripture keeps them.
They read the word of God clearly and gave the sense, so that the people might understand the reading. And God showed His approval of this return to His word by recording the names of those who had a special part in this work. Some stood with Ezra and turned to God in praise when the book was opened; others read the word and gave its sense (4-8).
Commentators read the arrangement in different ways. One finds a picture of shared service in the numbers themselves:
Ezra stood on a wooden platform, made for this purpose, so that all the people could see him and hear his voice. Six men stood at his right hand, making 7 with Ezra himself, and seven at his left. This symbolizes complete fellowship, for 14 is 7 x 2. Seven is the complete number, and two speaks of testimony or fellowship.
Another writer says the men shared the reading itself, and finds meaning in their names:
Alongside of Ezra were thirteen men; in all, counting in Ezra, fourteen men faced the people. They probably took turns in reading from the law. Their names are interesting if we look at their meaning: Mattithiah (gift of the LORD); Shema (hearing); Anaiah (answer of the LORD); Uriah (the LORD is Light); Hilkiah (portion of the LORD); Maaseiah (work of the LORD); Mishael (who is as God is); Malchijah (King is the LORD); Hashum (wealthy); Hashbaddanah (esteemed by judging); Zechariah (the LORD remembers); Meshullam (reward). These names point to the Word itself.
- Built — they made the platform "for the purpose," so the whole congregation could see Ezra and hear the book read.
- Raised — Ezra stood high so the opened book could be held above the people. That gave the law the place of authority which belonged to it.
- Shared — thirteen men stood at his right and left, and they probably took turns reading. The work of the word was never one man's alone.
- Recorded — God kept every name. That was His approval of the men who brought His people back to His word.
- Applied — the pattern still guides public ministry: the speaker in view, the book at the centre, helpers ready to make the meaning plain.
And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was above all the people; and when he opened it, all the people stood up.
Ezra opened a scroll on a wooden platform, and a whole nation rose to its feet. Why did the crowd stand, and why did the reader need a height?
This reading came after the people had returned to the land and taken their true place before God. One writer sees that setting as the reason the law could finally take hold.
Notice, friends: they studied, learned, and profited from the law of the Lord after they had found themselves in their true position. You will never find that men grow in knowledge while in a false position. No doubt they may learn enough of the gospel to bring their souls to God. They may learn certain moral duties too, and we must thank God for it. But never expect understanding of the mind of God unless you are where God would have you be.
Another writer puts the principle in one line for God's people now.
The abounding evils demand separation, and separation makes obedience to the word of God possible.
Ezra stood above the crowd for a plain, practical reason.
First, Ezra stood on a wooden platform, or tower, which they had made for this purpose. The aim, as in our own day, was that the whole crowd could see and hear him.
The height made Ezra easy to see. The crowd's attention went elsewhere.
Ezra is named here several times. Yet the verse says, "the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law." It was the commandment of God that had its effect on the people. God used the servant, but the people's thoughts went to the law itself.
Everyone rose the moment Ezra opened the scroll. That reaction had a history. The Lord had first spoken those same words at Sinai, the mountain where He gave Israel His law.
This was no mere form, for the book Ezra opened was the voice of the living God to the people, and they acknowledged it as such by reverently standing. The Lord had first spoken its words at Sinai, "out of the midst of the fire." Israel had trembled before the holy One who spoke them, and begged that He would not speak that word to them any more. Those who now stood before Ezra were bound to remember all of it. So they stood up, as in the presence of their God.
What they believed about the scroll shaped what they did with their bodies. One writer draws a sharp contrast with our own day.
Then Ezra unrolled the parchment where all the people could see it. All the people showed great reverence to the Word by standing up… Ezra and the people believed that what they read is the Word of God. So came this reverence, this praise, this attitude of submission. How little reverence for the Word of God our generation shows.
How people hold themselves in a meeting is a small thing. One writer reads it as a sign of their spiritual state.
When things are spiritually barren and in decline, you can often notice God's people settling into easy positions during praise or prayer. But the moment the Spirit shows His power, all this changes. Those most under His influence at once take the posture — kneeling or standing — that best suits the presence of God.
Notice the order. Before they heard a single command, the people were on their feet and God Himself filled their view.
We see that before the Word regulated the people in any way, God Himself came before their souls. It is a grand start to the understanding of divine truth if God has His rightful place in our affections.
One writer pictures the whole scene at once: the reading, the standing, the blessing, the worship.
Ezra read on a raised platform, with elders standing on either side. The people stood up at the opened book, and Ezra blessed Jehovah. They lifted their hands, answered Amen, Amen, and bowed in worship to the ground. It was a beautiful and moving sight… It was no empty superstitious ceremony.
- Place first. You grow in the knowledge of God's mind when you stand where God wants you. In the wrong place, that growth does not come.
- Platform second. The platform existed so the crowd could see and hear Ezra. God used the servant; the people's attention went to the book.
- Posture third. Standing at the opened scroll was not empty form. They rose as if in God's presence, for He had spoken those words at Sinai.
- Proof fourth. Easy postures mark spiritual decline. When the Spirit works, people take the posture that suits God's presence.
- Praise last. God Himself came before their souls first, before any command shaped their conduct. The open book ended in "Amen, Amen" and faces to the ground.
And Ezra blessed Jehovah, the great God; and all the people answered, Amen, Amen! with lifting up of their hands; and they bowed their heads, and worshipped Jehovah with their faces to the ground.
The wall was complete, and the people asked Ezra to bring out the book of the law. This verse records what happened the moment he opened it, before he read a single line.
What did Ezra's blessing mean? One writer answers from two accounts of the same meal in the New Testament.
When Ezra opened the book of the Law, all the people stood up spontaneously. This was God's doing, and so there was a willing response to God's Word. Then "Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God" (v. 6). What does this blessing imply? Mark 14:22 and Luke 22:19, compared together, make this clear. Mark says Jesus took bread and blessed it and broke it. Luke, describing the same occasion, says He took bread and gave thanks and broke it. So it is clear that Ezra's blessing was a prayer of thanksgiving.
Not one word of the law has yet been read when the people bow. The order matters: they meet the Author before they meet the text.
It is worth noticing that before Ezra starts to read, God in His greatness comes before the people, and immediately they say, "Amen, Amen … and they bowed their heads, and worshipped".
The same writer draws out why this sequence is worth copying, since the reading that follows will correct and rearrange much in their lives.
Before the Word began to regulate the people, God Himself came before their souls. It is a grand start to the understanding of divine truth if God has His rightful place in our affections.
Ezra lifted the scroll above the heads of the crowd before he prayed. The title he gave God fits the book in his hands.
Ezra stood on a raised platform, as Josiah had done before him (2 Kings 23:3). The elders, or chief fathers, stood at his right and at his left. With a solemn gesture he opens the book in front of all the people and above their heads. This gave the law the place of authority that belonged to it. Then he blesses the LORD, the great God. It was in this book that God had revealed Himself and laid claim to obedience.
One man prayed; a whole crowd answered. That answer is only honest when the people have followed his words.
If anyone speaks to God in the assembly, whether in prayer or thanksgiving, he must remember one thing. He is giving expression to the desires or the praises of the assembly. He is not speaking only on his own behalf. So he must carry the assembly with him. They understand and follow his words, ratify them before God, and make them their own by saying "Amen" (meaning "So be it") at the end. They cannot say "Amen" with understanding and honesty if they have no idea what it was all about.
Elsewhere in the Old Testament the word works a little differently, and it has a close relative in Hebrew.
In the first four books of Psalms it is not someone else agreeing with what was said; there the writer adds "Amen" himself at the end, meaning "may it so be." … Translators always render this Hebrew word as "Amen." Twice they do not: in Isaiah 65:16 they render it "truth"… In Jeremiah 11:5 they render it "So be it." There God declared that He would perform the oath He had sworn, and the prophet answered, "So be it, O LORD." A related Hebrew word means "to believe," and Genesis 15:6 uses it.
Standing, raised hands, faces to the ground. Why does the verse tell us how their bodies moved?
It is a striking scene. The Lord was working on the hearts of His people with power, and so their very posture expressed their reverence. They stood while Ezra prayed. Then they answered "Amen, Amen," lifted up their hands, and worshipped with their faces to the ground.
The same writer adds a test that any gathering can apply to itself.
When the people of God are spiritually barren and in decline, you may often notice that they take up comfortable positions during praise or prayer. But the moment the Spirit shows His power, all this changes. Those most under His influence will at once take the posture — kneeling or standing — that best suits the presence of God.
- God first. God Himself came before their souls before anyone read a line of the law. Give Him His rightful place in your affections, and understanding of truth starts there.
- Blessing is thanksgiving. Mark 14:22 and Luke 22:19 together show that "blessed the LORD" means Ezra gave thanks. He thanked God for the book before he read out its commands.
- The book carried authority. Ezra held it above their heads. In that book God had revealed Himself and laid claim to obedience, so "the great God" was the fitting name on his lips.
- Amen is agreement. It means "so be it." The people ratified Ezra's prayer and made it their own. No one can do that honestly without following what the speaker says.
- The body follows the heart. The Lord was working with power, and raised hands and faces to the ground followed. Comfortable postures in prayer are a fair warning sign of decline.
And Jeshua, and Bani, and Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodijah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites, caused the people to understand the law; and the people [stood] in their place.
In Nehemiah 8 a whole nation stands outdoors to hear the book of the Law read aloud. Verse 7 names thirteen Levites whose work was not to read it but to make the people understand it — so why did a crowd gathered for God's book still need help?
Where this chapter falls in the book matters.
Chapter 6 gives the completion of the wall. Chapter 7 gives what was provided for keeping the city safe, and the counting of the people by family line. In chapter 8 we have the setting up of the authority of the word of God. This order teaches us much. The walls might be built, and the people gathered and set in order. But nothing could keep them in the place they had been brought into except obedience to the Word.
The same writer applies this directly to the church: once people are gathered, teachers and pastors carry the responsibility "to assert the Lord's supremacy in the authority of the written Word, to feed the flock of God with suited nourishment."
There was a reason the people could not follow the book on their own.
Remember that the people had lived a long time in Babylon. Many of them, shaped by their surroundings, had taken on Babylonian habits and ways, and even the Babylonian language. So the sacred language, the language of their fathers, had dropped out of use, and many had forgotten it... First, we learn that becoming like the world leads people to forget the word of God and not know it. Second, the true work of the teacher is to give the sense of the Scriptures, to explain what they mean, and to bring the hearers to grasp their meaning.
These men once carried the sacred vessels. Now they served the Word, and the care they took is the lesson.
The Levites, who were no longer responsible to carry the sacred vessels (1 Chr. 23:26), take up the work of servants of the Word by making the people understand the law. See with what care they do it. They read clearly, and that matters. How often we see the Lord's workers read the Word in a low voice, or too fast, or carelessly. Then they hurry on to speak from themselves, as if hearing the word of God mattered less than hearing their own word. Here it is the opposite. First they bring the people into direct contact with the law. Then they give its meaning. Last, they make sure the people understand it. Here the Levites act like school teachers. That is all the more striking because children take part in this teaching, and we should never forget it. A good teacher does not rest until all his students have understood what he wants to explain to them.
Reading the Word badly does real harm.
It is a very serious matter if the Word of God is read and a wrong impression given from it; all true ministry enhances the value of the Scriptures in the ears of those who listen.
Ezra read aloud, and others helped the people take it in. The same need lasts today.
Many men are named here who could help the people understand what Ezra was reading... In the Church of God today many find the Word of God hard to understand. They think in different terms from those Scripture uses. They need the help of teachers who know the truth of God well.
Teaching the law changed the teachers too.
The Levites play a valuable role in all this. They had taught the people (Neh. 8:8). Then, after they had faithfully done their service, they gained insight into the details of the law (Neh. 8:13), and so entered into a more exact understanding of things already revealed... Their faithfulness and their fellowship with God make them fit to speak in public for the whole assembly, when sin has to be confessed.
- The order. Walls and family registers could not hold the people. Only obedience to the Word could.
- The loss. Babylon's habits and language left God's own people unable to follow God's own book. Growing like the world ends in not knowing Scripture.
- The task. A teacher's whole work is to give the sense, explain the meaning, and bring the hearers to grasp it.
- The method. Read clearly. Put people in direct contact with the text before you add your own words. Do not stop until even the children have understood.
- The outcome. Those who taught faithfully came to know the law more exactly themselves, and became fit to speak for the whole assembly before God.
And they read in the law of God distinctly out of the book, and gave the sense, and caused [them] to understand the reading.
After the wall went up, the returned exiles gathered as one body and called for the book of the law. This verse shows how they handled that reading: not just recited, but explained until the hearers took it in.
One writer explains why plain reading was not enough for these hearers, and draws two lessons from it:
Remember that the people had lived a long time in Babylon. Many of them, influenced by their surroundings, had adopted Babylonian habits and ways, and even the Babylonian language. The sacred language, the language of their fathers, had fallen out of use and in many cases had been forgotten... So they had to read the law distinctly, or with an interpretation, give the sense, and make the people understand the reading. All this is most instructive, in two ways. First, we learn that becoming like the world leads to forgetfulness and ignorance of the word of God. Second, the true function of the teacher is to give the sense of the Scriptures, to explain what they mean, and to make their hearers understand.
The verse moves through three actions, each with its own reason. One writer takes them one at a time and links them to later instruction about speaking in the Christian assembly:
First, they read the book distinctly. The words of that one precious book had to reach the ears of the people clearly. The people held no copies in their hands, so they could not check any mumbled or unclear reading. Second, they gave the sense. Over a thousand years the language may have changed, and many may have spoken Aramaic and known little of ancient Hebrew. Third, they made certain that the hearers really did understand the reading. This verse points forward to the instructions in 1 Corinthians 14 about speaking in the Christian assembly. Anyone who gives thanks, or prays, or ministers the word must make sure he himself knows what he is saying. He must also say it in a way his hearers understand.
The order matters. The people met the text itself before anyone explained it, and one writer sees a common failure here among the Lord's workers:
They read distinctly; this is not unimportant. How often we see the Lord's workers read the Word in a low voice, too fast, or without care. Then they hurry on to speak their own words, as though hearing the word of God mattered less than hearing them. Here they did the opposite. First they brought the people into direct contact with the law. Then they gave its meaning. Last of all, they made the people understand it.
That puts real weight on the explanation itself. Ministry can misrepresent the very book it reads:
It is a very serious matter to read the Word of God and give a wrong impression from it. All true ministry increases the value of the Scriptures in the ears of those who listen.
The reading left nobody out. Men, women and children old enough to follow all heard it, and the scene was one of worship:
Ezra read the law "in the presence of the men and the women, and of those that could understand" (who might be quite young in years). Ezra read on a raised platform, with elders standing on either side. The people stood up at the opened book. Ezra blessed Jehovah, and they answered Amen, Amen with lifted hands, bowing in worship to the ground. And there was earnest service of priests and Levites to explain all that was heard... It was no empty superstitious ceremony.
Explaining was not the end of it. What followed shows what happens when the word lands on hearts and consciences:
In Nehemiah 8 two things come out — a deepening love for the Word of God, and intelligence in it... The word had great power that day on the hearts and consciences of the people. And what followed this real heart-searching? Blessing, of course... At verse 12 we read of great joy, "because they had understood the words that were declared to them." They wept, for they knew how weak they were. But joy filled their hearts, because God was their strength.
- Cause. Life in Babylon cost the people their own language and their grip on Scripture. Drifting toward the world ends in ignorance of God's word.
- Method. Read clearly, give the sense, then check the hearers grasped it. Three steps, in that order — and the text comes before the speaker's own words.
- Duty. The teacher's job is to explain what Scripture means. Careless handling leaves a wrong impression of the book itself.
- Reach. Men, women and children old enough to follow all stood and worshipped. The teaching was for everyone there.
- Result. Understanding cut deep enough to bring tears. Then it turned to joy, because they had understood the words declared to them.
And Nehemiah, that is, the Tirshatha, and Ezra the priest the scribe, and the Levites that explained to the people, said to all the people, This day is holy to Jehovah your God mourn not, nor weep. For all the people wept when they heard the words of the law.
The law had just been read aloud and explained, and the whole crowd broke down in tears. Their leaders — Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the scribe, and the teaching Levites — stopped the weeping at once. Why would sorrow over God's word ever be the wrong response?
The tears were real. One writer points out which comes first when the word takes hold: the conscience, then the heart.
In the rest of the chapter we see what happens at once when the word gains its authority over the people. As always, it reaches the conscience and stirs the heart. But the work in the conscience comes first: "all the people wept as they heard the words of the Law" (9). As they listen to the word, conscience tells them how far they have departed from its commands.
Another writer says their tears were exactly right.
Verse 9 shows the first effect of this reading on the people – they were moved to tears. And well they might be. No one can face the demands of God's holy law without a sense of condemnation entering the conscience.
They had the law in exile too. One writer says their restored position is what made it cut home.
I do not say that no one in Babylon and Assyria read the law of the Lord. But everything was so far out of its proper course, and so opposed by circumstances that suited it so little, that in such a state the mind always glides over the word. The word does not make the same impression. The truths of Scripture do not reach the heart. When you are in a true position all becomes clear, according to the goodness and sovereignty of God. So, we find, it was here, and not before, that the law of God gets its full place.
The unusual title attached to Nehemiah's name is not a religious office but a civil one, borrowed from the empire that had held them captive.
Persian title given to Nehemiah... In Ezra 2:63 and Neh. 7:65, 70, the same title doubtless refers to Zerubbabel. In the margin it reads 'governor.'
The day itself decided the matter. It was the first day of the seventh month, the feast of trumpets, and its meaning ruled out mourning.
This special day, the first day of the seventh month, called for a holy gathering and a blowing of trumpets, as the rule about it required. It was the symbol of a time of revival after a long season of death and barrenness (see Lev. 23:23-25)... And at this the people wept — rightly so, for this is what the application of the law to a sinner does: convict him... But their teachers, on this occasion, at once restrain their tears, because that day was "holy to the Lord."
The tears came from what the people had learned about themselves. The joy came from what they learned about God.
They wept, for they knew how weak they were; but joy filled their hearts because God was their strength. It is well to feel our weakness, and to acknowledge it; but what cause for joy when we learn the strength of the Lord is ours! The joy of the Lord must be that which sustains us. Then we have strength that stands outside all our circumstances, and despite them.
That joy was not meant to stop with them. One writer points out the order in it.
They were therefore to be joyful on this day in communion with the mind of their God. But joy cannot be held in. It must overflow, and so they were to pass it on to others... This order is instructive — communion with the heart of God, and then communion with their brothers.
Commentators differ over the leaders' move. One writer questions how fast deep conviction gave way to celebration.
But we have wondered whether this switch was really of God — the people's emotions moving from conviction and sorrow to eating and drinking and making 'great mirth', because they had understood. Conviction of conscience is hard to reach, so repentance is shallow all too often. It is true, of course, that 'the joy of the Lord' gives strength.
- Understanding — the tears came only after the people heard the law explained; the word reaches the conscience before it stirs the heart.
- Position — in exile the mind glided over the same law; back in a true position before God, it reached their hearts.
- Timing — the day was the feast of trumpets, a symbol of revival after long barrenness. Mourning did not fit it.
- Exchange — they wept over their weakness; they rejoiced when they learned that the Lord's strength was theirs.
- Overflow — joy like that cannot stay in: communion with the heart of God first, then passing it on to others.
And he said to them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions to them for whom nothing is prepared; for the day is holy to our Lord; and be not grieved, for the joy of Jehovah is your strength.
The people of Jerusalem had just heard the law of God read and explained, and they broke down in tears. Their leaders answer with a strange command: stop weeping and feast, because the joy of the LORD is their strength.
The tears were genuine, and there was real reason for them. But sorrow did not fit the character of that day. So the leaders held the people's grief back.
The time for showing their sorrow would soon come. But now they were to rejoice, in line with what God had in His heart for their future blessing. They did need to judge themselves and to grieve. The point is that this holy day was not the day for it. The Lord wanted them to rise above their own state and condition. For the moment they were to find their joy in His joy, and in His joy would be their strength.
Their weeping had an obvious cause. What they had been listening to was the law, and the law has only one verdict for people who have broken it.
We read of the joy of the Lord even before the Lord Jesus came into the world. Here the people who had come back from exile were weeping as they heard the words of the law. The law can only condemn the guilty. Their sorrow over the ways that had driven a wedge between them and the Lord was real. Even so, such weeping did not fit a day that was "holy to the LORD."
Notice whose joy is named. The people had discovered how weak they were. Looking harder at themselves would not give them the strength they needed.
They wept, for they knew how weak they were; but joy filled their hearts because God was their strength. It is good to feel our weakness and to admit it. But what cause for joy it is when we learn that the strength of the Lord is ours! The joy of the Lord must be what sustains us. Then we have strength that stands outside all circumstances, and despite them.
The joy did not arrive from nowhere. The people first understood the words read to them, and that understanding came as a gift.
Those who teach must be people of "the book." They must open the book, read the book clearly, make the people understand the book. It is God speaking to us. Then there will be lifting up of hands, and bowing of heads, and worshipping the Lord with faces to the ground. Yes, as the Tirshatha — the title of the governor, who here pictures the Holy Spirit — gives us understanding of the precious word, there will be a delight in the Lord that knows what it is delighting in. We rejoice in God.
And it was meant to survive the end of the gathering.
It should be noted that this was to continue after the meeting was over. It says in verse 12, "And all the people went their way to eat and drink and to send portions." This enjoyment was not limited to the time of listening to the word. It was the practical result of that teaching.
Part of the verse looks outward. Those who ate the fat and drank the sweet were to make sure that those with nothing prepared received a share.
Scripture shows in many places that the more joy we have in God, the more open-hearted we will be towards one another. It is the very character of joy to enlarge the heart… A person who is happy himself can afford to look around and make others happy with him.
If this joy is His, then it does not rise and fall with what is happening around us.
To begin with, our joy must be in the Lord. "The joy of the Lord is your strength." Not rejoicing in our circumstances, but in the Lord. If we rejoice in our circumstances, we are leaning on something that will break. Circumstances change, but the Lord does not.
That is why joy is not a luxury added on after the serious work. It is the equipment for it.
To be filled with joy and praise by the Spirit is the only way of securing a bold and faithful testimony for Christ. The joy of the Lord is our strength, and it lasts. When the emergency comes, the strength is there, and the victory is certain.
- Word first. The joy began when teachers read the book clearly and explained it, so the people understood what God was saying to them.
- Tears next. The law exposed their guilt and weakness, and they wept. The sorrow was real, but its day came later, not this holy one.
- His joy. They were told to rise above their own condition and borrow God's gladness. The strength on offer was never in themselves.
- Joy holds. This joy rests on the Lord, not on circumstances. So it stands when circumstances collapse, and it makes bold testimony possible.
- Portions out. A full heart enlarges. Those who feast go and feed those with nothing prepared, and the gladness carries on after the meeting ends.
And the Levites quieted all the people, saying, Be still! for the day is holy; neither be grieved.
The scene is a crowd in tears. They have just heard the law read and explained; now the Levites move through them to hush the weeping, because this day is not for grief.
Their weeping came from the word itself. It reached their conscience, but it did not stop there.
In the rest of the chapter we see what happens as soon as the word takes its place of authority over the people. As always, it reaches the conscience and stirs the heart. But conscience work comes first: "All the people wept as they heard the words of the Law." As they listen, conscience tells them how far they have departed from its instructions. But if the word exposes man's failure, it also reveals the faithfulness of the Lord. So if they rightly weep because of their own failure, they are also encouraged to rejoice in the Lord.
The reason given for silencing them is not that their sorrow was false, but that the day was holy. Some days are simply not for mourning.
But there is a season to rejoice as well as to weep. There is a time when we must not eat the bread of mourners. So it was here. We ought to enjoy the truth of God.
Their sorrow was not silenced forever — the next chapter gives it a full hearing. The same sense of timing shapes how believers gather at the Lord's table.
The time would soon come for the expression of their sorrow (Nehemiah 9); but now they were to rejoice according to the thoughts of God's heart for their future blessing. They did need self-judgment and contrition. But this holy day was not suited for these things. The Lord would have them rise above their own state and condition, and for the moment find their joy in His joy. In His joy would be their strength. Many believers will understand this. When we gather around the Lord at His table to remember His death, many things about our condition may call for sorrow and humbling. But to confess our sins at such a time would lose sight of the mind of the Lord altogether. It is the Lord's death we remember and announce there, not ourselves or our failures. This explains why Nehemiah, Ezra, and the Levites held back the expression of the people's grief.
The command not to be grieved is tied to a promise: strength comes from somewhere other than sorrow.
May we never forget this wonderful expression! Humbling ourselves, however precious and necessary it may be, does not give us strength. When we must face difficulties, we find this strength by occupying ourselves with the Lord, revealed in His Word. This meditation is a source of joy beyond words for our souls, and the joy of the Lord is our strength. The apostle himself was afflicted and surrounded by troubles. Wasn't this what he recommended to the Philippians, as the fruit of his own experience? "Rejoice in the Lord always!" (Philippians 4:4).
These people knew how weak they were. What they learned about the Lord's strength left them with something to give away.
They wept, for they knew how weak they were; but joy filled their hearts because God was their strength. It is good to feel our weakness and to admit it; but what cause for joy when we learn that the strength of the Lord is ours! The joy of the Lord must be what sustains us. Then we have strength apart from all circumstances, and despite them. Each of us ought to be so happy and so sure of our position that we have a portion to give to others.
Verse 12 records what the calming produced, and the joy did not end when the assembly broke up.
Notice that this was to continue after the meeting was over. Verse 12 says, "And all the people went their way to eat and drink and to send portions." This enjoyment was not limited to the time of listening to the word. It was the practical result of that instruction. As we go our ways we ought to be in the practical enjoyment of the things we have been occupied with in these meetings.
- Conscience first. The word exposed their failure and they wept — that work came before any comfort, and it was right.
- Then grace. The same word that exposed their failure showed God's faithfulness. Tears gave way to joy in Him.
- Timing, not suppression. Their sorrow had its own place in the next chapter; this holy day was not the moment for it.
- Strength, not grief. Humbling ourselves is necessary, but it does not make us strong. Being occupied with the Lord in His word does.
- Overflow. His joy left them with something to give away, and it went home with them after the meeting ended.
And all the people went their way, to eat and to drink, and to send portions, and to make great rejoicing. For they had understood the words that were declared to them.
Tears have turned into feasting, sharing and great rejoicing, and the verse gives the reason: they had understood the words. Why does understanding bring joy instead of deeper grief, and why does that joy at once reach other people's tables?
The joy of verse 12 goes back to the way the people first heard the Word. One writer looks at how the Levites, the teachers among the people, did that work.
They read distinctly; this is not without importance. How many times do we see the Lord's workers read the Word in a low voice, or too fast, or without care? Then they hurry to speak from themselves, as though it were not more important to hear the word of God than their own word. Here it is the opposite. First they bring the people into direct contact with the law. Then they give its meaning. Last, they make the people understand it. Here the Levites play the role of school teachers... A good teacher does not rest until all his students have understood what he wants to explain to them.
The same Word that made them weep also made them glad. One writer traces the turn from tears to joy.
The word had great power that day on the hearts and consciences of the people. And what followed this real heart-searching? Blessing, of course... And at verse 12 we read of great rejoicing, "because they had understood the words that were declared to them." They wept, for they knew how weak they were. But joy filled their hearts, because God was their strength. It is well to feel our weakness, and to acknowledge it; but what cause for joy when we learn the strength of the Lord is ours!
Their sorrow was real, yet the leaders hushed it. One writer explains that the problem was the timing, not the sincerity, and points to the Lord's table today.
They really did need self-judgment and sorrow. But this holy day was not suited for these things. The Lord would have them rise above their own state and condition, and for the moment find their joy in His joy — and in His joy would be their strength... Take believers gathered around the Lord at His table to remember His death. There might be many things calling for sorrow and humbling as to our condition. But it would be losing sight altogether of the mind of the Lord to confess our sins at such a season. It is the Lord's death we there remember and announce, not ourselves or our failures.
That day the people heard, "the joy of the LORD is your strength." One writer shows where that strength is found.
May we never forget this wonderful expression! Being humbled, however precious and necessary it may be, does not give us strength. When we must face difficulties, we find this strength by occupying ourselves with the Lord, revealed in His Word. This meditation is a source of unspeakable joy for our souls, and the joy of the Lord is our strength. The apostle was afflicted and surrounded by troubles. Wasn't this what he told the Philippians, as the fruit of his own experience? "Rejoice in the Lord always."
They did not only eat and drink; they sent portions. One writer explains why a glad heart cannot keep to itself.
In various Scriptures we find that the more joy we have in God, the more large-hearted we shall be to one another. It is the very character of joy to enlarge the heart. As in Nehemiah 8, where the prophet tells the people, "Go your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready... And do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength"... A man who is happy himself can afford to look around and make others happy with him.
The verse ends with people going their way. One writer draws the lesson for life after the gathering.
Notice that this was to continue after the meeting was over. Verse 12 says, "And all the people went their way to eat and drink and to send portions." This enjoyment was not limited to the time of listening to the word. It was the practical result of that instruction. As we go our ways, we too should be enjoying in practice the things we have been busy with in these meetings.
- Understood — Joy came from understanding. The teachers read clearly, gave the sense, and would not stop until the people grasped it.
- Wept — The Word first reached the conscience. Tears showed they knew their weakness. Joy came when they learned whose strength was theirs.
- Lifted — Sorrow was real but out of season. The leaders called them to rise above their own condition and take their joy from His.
- Strengthened — Being humbled does not give strength. Strength and joy come from occupying ourselves with the Lord in His Word.
- Shared — Joy enlarges the heart. Portions went out to those with nothing ready, and the gladness went home after the gathering ended.
And on the second day were gathered together the chief fathers of all the people, the priests, and the Levites, to Ezra the scribe, even to gain wisdom as to the words of the law.
The people have heard the law read aloud, and their day of weeping has turned into a day of feasting. Then comes the morning after.
Only the heads of households, the priests and the Levites came this time, and they came wanting more:
It is beautiful to see this growing desire to know the word of God. It is a sure sign that God was working in their hearts, because obedience to His word is a necessary expression of the divine life.
What drove them back was not confidence. The reading had shown them how much they did not know:
The heads of the fathers' houses, with the priests and Levites, were clearly so impressed by the Word of God that they realized how little they knew about it. So on the second day they gathered to learn more from Ezra. The feasts of Israel should have been well known to the Jews. Three of these feasts were set for the seventh month, but they were completely unaware of this. They had missed the feast of trumpets on the first day of the month, because Ezra only began reading Scripture to them on that day.
The day before, these same men had explained the law to the crowd:
The men who had just been teaching the people now gathered to be taught by God themselves. This should always be the case for the Lord's laborers; it is not enough for them to instruct others. They themselves are weak and know only in part. So they need to find new light in the Word for their own use.
Some translations say the men met to gain wisdom about the law, not just to understand it. Knowing what a text says and knowing what to do about it are two different things:
There is the reading of the word and the giving of its sense, as we read in verse 8. But we also need wisdom to apply these things. These men wanted to hear what the word said. They also wanted the wisdom to turn it into right action.
Commentators differ on the wording. Some read it as giving attention to the words of the law. Either way, the meeting ended in obedience rather than in talk.
They did not leave empty-handed. The very next verse records what they found:
Those who are fit and eager to teach need to be better instructed themselves. And they had their reward. They found it written in the law, which the Lord had commanded through Moses, that the people of Israel should live in booths during the feast of the seventh month. They found practical directions too, and they acted on them.
Israel had owned this law for centuries. Why did it grip them now? One writer points to where they were standing:
Notice, dear friends, that this studying and learning and profit from the law of the Lord came after they had found their true position. You will never find men growing in knowledge in a false position. Never expect to understand the mind of God unless you are where God wants you to be.
The gathering of verse 13 looks small — a few leaders and a scribe. Look at what came out of it:
Here we find a weak remnant gathered round the Word of God, holding a reading meeting. They come to understand the truth and to feel its power on heart and conscience. And what was the result? Nothing less than the keeping of the feast of tabernacles — a feast Israel had not kept since the days of Joshua the son of Nun.
Obedience came first, and the joy followed:
This is another proof that the Spirit of God was working powerfully at that moment, leading the people into exact obedience to the word of their God. Then it is added that there was very great gladness.
- Hunger — They came back on the second day. A growing desire for God's word is a sure sign that He is at work in a heart.
- Humility — The teachers of day one became the learners of day two. Those who teach others are still weak. They need fresh light for themselves.
- Wisdom — They wanted more than the sense of the words; they wanted the wisdom to turn the words into action.
- Position — The law profited them now because they stood where God wanted them. Knowledge grows in a right position, not a false one.
- Gladness — A small reading meeting brought back a feast Israel had not kept since Joshua's day. Obedience led to very great gladness.
And they found written in the law which Jehovah had commanded through Moses, that the children of Israel should dwell in booths in the feast of the seventh month,
The day after Ezra read the law aloud, the leaders came back for more. In the book they found a command none of them had been keeping: Israel was to live in shelters of branches during the feast of the seventh month.
The discovery came to the men who had just finished teaching everyone else. One writer draws out why teachers must keep coming back as learners:
The men who had just been teaching the people now gathered to be taught by God themselves. This should always be the case for the Lord's workers; it is not enough for them to instruct others. They are weak themselves, and they know only in part. So they need to find new light in the Word for their own use, to gain wisdom. That is what happens here. By seeking instruction in the Scriptures, they learn something they had not known before.
The weight of the find lay not in who read it out, but in who had said it:
What they found was what "the LORD had commanded by Moses" (v. 14). It was not by Ezra or by Nehemiah; He commanded by Moses.
One writer sees in that passing phrase a strong answer to anyone who questions where the five books of Moses came from:
Here we have the inspired testimony to the Pentateuch, and it is all the stronger because it comes in passing. These books are not only Moses' work; they carry the LORD's own authority. How sad that nominal Christians should presume to question that holy deposit!
Nothing sat between the discovery and the doing:
They were to use olive, pine, myrtle and palm tree branches to build booths in memory of the wilderness journey. They did this at once, in obedience to the Word. So we have three facts about the Word in this chapter: reading the Word, believing the Word, and obeying the Word. So there was great gladness in keeping the feast of tabernacles.
The feast of the seventh month is also called the feast of tabernacles. The command looks strange until you see what a booth is for:
Israel kept this feast for seven days, once the work in the fields was over. All who were Israelites by birth then made themselves booths out of the boughs of trees, and lived in the booths. It was a time of joy and rejoicing. They forgot the labour and cares of this life. Their hearts went back to the time when the Lord led them through the wilderness as pilgrims and strangers. They had no house or home then, only booths to live in.
That backward look also pointed forward. This was the last feast of the year. One writer reads it as a picture of where God's ways with Israel end:
The feast of tabernacles completes the cycle of feasts, and so sets out the end and result of all the ways of God with His earthly people. They have lost every claim through their own failure. So God will set them in His grace, because of the work of Christ, in perfect blessing in their own land, after the harvest and the vintage. Here the gladness was only passing, because the festival was still only a prophecy. But as a prophecy it could have taught them the unchangeable truth of God about all His promises for them.
Each recovery of truth here was partial, and one writer finds God's pattern in that:
In the early days of Ezra, the restoring of the sacrifices marked this feast. Here it is the re-establishing of the authority of the law. Both observances fell short, though they were right as far as they went. In Ezra there were no booths, and in Nehemiah, it seems, no sacrifices. This teaches us one of God's ways in all revivals. He restores one forgotten truth and presses it with power on the hearts and consciences of His people. It is the truth they need for their restoration and preservation in the special circumstances of the moment.
The result outdid far grander times. One writer weighs this company against Israel's wisest king:
Nehemiah was more attentive to the written Word than the great king Solomon with all his wisdom.
- Found — the teachers came back as learners, and God showed them a command they had never known.
- Written — the force of the discovery lay in its author: not Ezra, not Nehemiah, but the LORD, by Moses.
- Obeyed — they read, believed, and obeyed at once. No gap stood between finding the command and doing it.
- Remembered — the booths sent a settled people back to their pilgrim days, and pointed on to the end God has in view.
- Gladness — this company kept the feast better than Solomon did, by paying close attention to what was written.
and that they should publish and proclaim through all their cities, and at Jerusalem, saying, Go forth to the mount, and fetch olive-branches, and wild olive-branches, and myrtle-branches, and palm-branches, and branches of thick trees, to make booths, as it is written.
On the second day, the leaders of the returned exiles gathered to study the law. There they found an instruction nobody had been keeping: the people were to live in shelters during the feast of the seventh month. Verse 15 is the announcement that followed — a call to go out, gather branches, and build.
The proclamation does not end with "as Nehemiah says" or "as Ezra says." One writer points out whose command it was:
What they found was what "the LORD had commanded by Moses" (v. 14). It was not commanded by Ezra or by Nehemiah. He commanded through Moses "that the people of Israel should dwell in booths during the feast of the seventh month."
The men behind this proclamation had just been teaching the people. First they came to be taught themselves:
The chief fathers, the Levites and the priests came together to Ezra on the second day of the month "to study the words of the Law" (v. 13). The men who had just been teaching the people now gathered to be taught by God themselves. This should always be true of the Lord's workers. It is not enough for them to instruct others. They are weak themselves and know only in part. So they need to find fresh light in the Word for their own use.
The command had been in the law the whole time, yet the priests and Levites had missed it. One writer says this is nothing new:
It might seem extraordinary that a passage so clear and so plain had escaped the priests and Levites until that moment. But this happens again and again in the history of the people of God. Truths that matter even more — the coming of the Lord, for example — lay hidden for eighteen centuries, though the New Testament is full of them. The reason is that the Spirit of God must be at work for anyone to discover these things. The most brilliant human mind cannot discern them.
Another writer points to what was missing then, and what readers still need now:
It seems that the privilege of dwelling in booths had been forgotten, and instruction about the truth was there for anyone who sought it. Leviticus 23 gave the light. What was needed was wisdom from God to apply that light to conditions as they were. We also need wisdom from God to apply the truth rightly to the circumstances we find ourselves in today.
Every tree named in the verse grew in the land. One writer sets that against the single tree of the wilderness:
The trees these branches came from all grew in the land. The only tree that flourished in the wilderness was the acacia, or shittim wood tree, which was likely a shrub. It was the only tree that could stand wilderness conditions — a picture of Christ, the only Man Who endured wilderness conditions without failure.
Translations differ on the second item in the list. Where the ESV has "wild olive," older English Bibles have "pine branches":
The Hebrew word (ets shemen) also appears in 1 Kings 6:23, where it is translated "olive tree," and in Nehemiah 8:15, where it is translated "pine branches." Since the same verse mentions "olive branches" as well, the "tree of oil" seems to be a different tree from the olive.
Thirteen days separate this announcement from the building in the next verse. The gap had a practical use:
Leviticus 23 shows that the day set for this feast of tabernacles was the fifteenth day of the seventh month. So a gap of thirteen days must be placed between verses 15 and 16, since they found the instruction about the feast on the second day of the month. That gap would be taken up with proclaiming the coming festival (v. 15). It gave the people "in all their cities" the time they needed to gather at Jerusalem.
One writer traces these same branches into the Gospels and on to a feast still to come:
In Nehemiah and in Ezra the feast of tabernacles looks ahead to the national resurrection to come. The same feast was sketched out again, with the branches and palms, when Jesus entered Jerusalem in Matthew 21:8, Mark 11:8 and John 12:12. There the crowds acknowledged Him as the son of David and as king of Israel. The true feast of tabernacles, the final feast, will not be kept until a time still future, according to Zechariah 14:16.
- Found. The command was not invented by the leaders; they discovered what the Lord had already commanded through Moses.
- Taught. The men who had just taught the people sat down to be taught themselves — a pattern for anyone who instructs others.
- Missed. A clear passage can lie unnoticed for generations. The light was there; the wisdom to apply it was not.
- Gathered. Every branch named grew in the land, not the desert. The shelters came from what the promised land itself supplied.
- Published. The word went out to every city and gave scattered people time to come. Obedience became a nation-wide act, not a private one.
And the people went forth and brought [them], and made themselves booths, everyone upon the roof of his house, and in their courts, and in the courts of the house of God, and in the open space of the water-gate, and in the open space of the gate of Ephraim.
The people had just found a command in the book of the law that their fathers had left unread. Within days, leafy shelters covered the city — on roofs, in courtyards, inside the temple courts, and in the open squares. Why did an old written command produce such fast, city-wide action? And what were the shelters meant to say?
This scene started with a study session. The leaders gathered to be taught, and then passed on what they learned. One writer follows the chain from that lesson to the feast of tabernacles, the festival kept by living in shelters:
Once they have learned these things, they pass them on to the people, who hurry to do them. Now everyone knows how the feast of tabernacles ought to be celebrated… In the book of Nehemiah, the people keep this feast just as the law prescribes, and this is the happy result of everyone's eager desire to be taught from the Word.
How could a plain command sit unread for so long? One writer answers that this is normal, and points to what it takes to see what is written:
It might seem extraordinary that a passage so clear and so explicit had escaped the priests and Levites until that moment. But this happens in every period of the history of the people of God. Truths that matter even more — the coming of the Lord, for example — stayed hidden for eighteen centuries, although the New Testament is full of them. This happens because it takes the work of the Spirit of God to discover these things. The most extraordinary human intelligence cannot discern them.
Verse 13 named the heads of families, the priests and the Levites. Verse 16 names someone else:
Then we read in verse 16, "So the people went out and brought them and made booths for themselves." It does not say the "heads of fathers' houses ... and the priests and the Levites", but the people "made booths for themselves".
The list of places also splits the work between different hands:
Each householder had to see that the shelters went up on his roof and in his courtyard. In the same way, it seems the priests had to make the shelters in the courts of the house of God.
The verse names the roof first, then the courtyard, then the street. One writer reads that order as deliberate:
The whole household was apparently to live in its own shelter on the top of its own house. This would speak of public testimony. But their movements in "their courts" were to match it — the shelters were to be there also. Then the movements in the "street" were to carry the same features. So the inward result of the truth would show in the activities of the people of God.
The last place named is the square at the Gate of Ephraim. One writer ties its late appearance to the meaning of that name:
Perhaps this gate is kept back for this moment because Ephraim speaks of "double fruitfulness". The effect of this movement of recovery is now showing, so the gate does not appear until that goal is reached.
Living in branches made the nation look back at its own history:
"Gladness" was to mark the festival. Even so, they were to remember the past — their rescue from Egypt and their wanderings in the desert as pilgrims. In this way they would remember redemption through the blood of the Passover lamb, and the relationship with God that this redemption brought them into. Together these were the source of all the blessing and joy they had entered into. That redemption was the foundation of all God's later dealings on behalf of His people.
The feast kept here was not the last word. One writer places its true keeping far in the future:
The true feast of tabernacles, the final feast, will not be kept until a time still future, according to Zechariah 14:16. At that time the great day of atonement will come first (Zech. 12:10-14) — a day we do not find in Ezra, in Nehemiah, or in the gospels.
- Taught — the leaders sat down to learn before anyone picked up a branch. Their eager desire to be taught from the Word produced the shelters.
- Hidden — a clear command lay unread for generations. It takes the Spirit of God, not human cleverness, to see what is written.
- Shared — verse 16 names the people as the builders. Householders saw to their own roofs; the priests saw to the temple courts.
- Spread — roof, then courtyard, then street. What they learned had to show in public, at home, and in daily movement.
- Shelters — the branches recalled the rescue from Egypt and the desert journey. They still point to a feast not yet kept.
And all the congregation of them that had come back from the captivity made booths, and dwelt in the booths. For since the days of Jeshua the son of Nun until that day had not the children of Israel done so. And there was very great gladness.
A small company back from exile in Babylon reads the law, finds the command to live in booths, and obeys it. Scripture says Israel had not done this since the days of Joshua — so had the feast lapsed for a thousand years, and why was this poor remnant so glad?
Commentators do not read this as a claim that Israel never kept the feast before.
As they read the law, they came to the command of Moses that Israel should live in booths in the feast of the seventh month. Branches of olive, pine, myrtle and palm were to be used to build the booths as a reminder of the wilderness journey. They did this at once, in obedience to the Word. So this chapter gives us three facts about the Word: reading the Word, believing the Word, and obeying the Word. The words, "for from the days of Jeshua the son of Nun to that day the people of Israel had not done so," present a difficulty. Ezra 3:4 tells us they kept the feast of tabernacles as soon as Zerubbabel arrived. It also seems unlikely that God-fearing kings in the past overlooked this feast. 1 Kings 8:2 and 65 show that Solomon kept this feast of the Lord. So it cannot mean that Israel had neglected the feast of tabernacles for a thousand years. Put the emphasis on the word "so": never before had they kept the feast in this way.
Others locate the difference in the details. What set this year apart was the exact obedience, not the mere fact of a festival.
The feast itself had been celebrated in Ezra 3, but not according to the details of the ordinance. Thus it signified only that the land had been once again opened up to the people, following the time when the captivity had closed access to it. In the book of Nehemiah, this feast is celebrated according to the prescriptions of the law, and this fact is the happy consequence of everyone's ardent zeal to receive instruction from the Word.
One writer compares this remnant with Israel's most celebrated reign.
In the joy, or perhaps the excitement, of those stirring days, Solomon and the people did not keep the Feast of Tabernacles exactly as Scripture directed... They seem to have overlooked this. Nehemiah 8:17 tells us that the remnant back from Babylon "made booths and lived in the booths, for from the days of Jeshua the son of Nun to that day the people of Israel had not done so." So Nehemiah paid closer attention to the written Word than the great king Solomon with all his wisdom.
A whole priesthood passed over a plain passage. One writer sees a pattern here, not a one-off lapse.
It might seem amazing that a passage so clear and so plain had escaped the priests and Levites until that moment. But this happens at all times in the history of the people of God. Even more important truths, such as the coming of the Lord, stayed hidden for eighteen centuries, though the New Testament is full of them. It takes the working of the Spirit of God to discover these things. The greatest human intelligence cannot see them.
The gladness came from something ordinary. They read what was written and did it, without dressing up their weakness.
Was this presumption? No, it was simple obedience to the Word of God. It was written in the Book — written for them; they acted on it. "And there was very great rejoicing." There was no pretending, no setting themselves up as anything, no boasting, no effort to hide their true condition. They were a poor, feeble, despised remnant. They took their true place, broken and contrite, confessing their failure, and well aware that things were not with them as in the days of Solomon, David and Joshua... the greater the ruin, the richer the grace.
The feast pointed beyond itself, and that shapes how their gladness is read.
The feast of tabernacles completes the cycle of feasts. So it sets out the end and result of all God's ways with His earthly people... In this case the gladness did not last, because the festival was still only prophetic. But as prophetic it could have taught them how unchangeably certain God is about all His promises to them. Wherever it did that, it would let them rejoice in advance in this joyful time of blessing, which the infallible word of their God had made sure to them.
The verse is regularly applied to seasons of weakness, where little strength is no barrier to real gladness.
Perhaps in Nehemiah's day there was more appreciation of the things of God, more reality, and so more for God in that small recovered company than in the days of Joshua... We see the intense delight it brings to the heart of God when, after a major breakdown, He wins a response from His recovered people, even a small one.
- Read — the joy began when they read the law and understood it. The command about booths had been there all along.
- Understood — "had not done so" points to the manner, not the fact. Israel had kept the feast before, but never this exactly.
- Obeyed — they did what was written, without pretending to be more than a broken remnant.
- Anticipated — the booths were prophetic. They pointed to God's promised blessing for His people, so the joy was borrowed from the future.
- Gladdened — a feeble company outshone Solomon's splendour. God delights in a small response after breakdown.
Also day by day, from the first day to the last day, he read in the book of the law of God. And they observed the feast seven days; and on the eighth day was a solemn assembly, according to the ordinance.
The chapter closes at the end of a week of booths. Every day of that week the people heard the book of the law read aloud, and an extra day closed the feast. Why read the Word daily when the people were at their happiest? And what was that eighth day pointing to?
The reading did not stop when the feast began.
From the first day of the feast to the last (v. 18), the people heard the word of the Lord read to them. Only the word could sustain the joy in everyone's heart.
They learned the daily reading from Scripture itself — one discovery led to another.
These men were gaining in wisdom. From Leviticus 23 they discovered that they should hold this feast. From Deuteronomy 31 they also saw that they were to read the law during it... They have reached a very high note in the end of Nehemiah 8, but they still need the law of the Lord. Is not this a word for us today? Our privileges may be great, and our enjoyment of them great too. But let us never think we reach a point where we no longer need instruction in the things of God. In fact, while we enjoy privilege we should be readier to receive divine instruction than at any other moment.
A feast can be kept and still be kept wrongly. Here the shape of it matched what was written.
This was the last feast of the year. It completed the cycle of feasts and pictured the glorious end of all God's ways with His people, when He will bring them into millennial blessing in spite of their long history of failure. But the people do not only keep the feast; they keep it in line with the word. Keeping the feast was no new thing. The people had done so in an earlier revival under Ezra (Ezra 3). But not since the days of Joshua had they kept it with booths "according to the ordinance" of the word (v. 18). May we not say the same in our own day? The Lord's supper has been kept all through the dark ages. Yet only when a few were set free from the captivity of men's religious systems could it be stripped of all the idolatrous ceremony and superstitious additions men had put on it, and kept once again in holy simplicity in the presence of the Lord.
The size of the crowd had nothing to do with the quality of the keeping.
Compared with Israel in the days of Solomon they were only a handful of people. Yet this feast had never been so kept. This feast, Israel in booths, was a beautiful symbol of the people waiting for the millennial reign of their long-expected Messiah and Lord. For a thousand years Israel had never waited in booths as this feeble remnant now waited, with "very great gladness."
That weakness turns out to be the point rather than the problem.
Keeping the feast according to the word made the occasion a very bright testimony in a very dark day. It brings to light a principle of immense encouragement. The darker the day and the weaker the circumstances, the brighter the testimony of those who obey the word.
Seven days close a cycle. The eighth day starts something else.
We are now going through a complete term of grace; then there will be a complete term of glory on the earth. But that is not all. In this one feature the Feast of Tabernacles stands distinct from all the others: it has an eighth day. There has been no mention of this in the other feasts. The seven days, we said, were glory for the earth, but there is the "eighth day" too. This opens heavenly and eternal glory! So it is not "days" now, but this one "day," "the eighth day." It has a beginning, but it will never have an end.
The last phrase of the verse carries a sense that cuts against the mood of the week.
We read at the end, "They kept the feast seven days, and on the eighth day there was a solemn assembly, according to the rule." The words "solemn assembly" carry the thought of restraint. It is remarkable that restraint comes in at this moment. We grow in the knowledge of God and in the light of the glory of Christ. Nothing is more wholesome for us at that point than a sense of self-judgment, so that nothing of the flesh or of nature intrudes into this wonderful sphere, where everything is of the Spirit and everything is of Christ.
- Read — They heard the Word every day of the feast. Only the Word could hold up their joy.
- Learn — Leviticus 23 told them to hold the feast. Deuteronomy 31 told them to read the law during it. They did both.
- Exact — Others had kept this feast. These kept it as it was written. No one had done that since Joshua's day.
- Weak — A handful obeying the Word shone brighter than a great nation ignoring it. The darker the day, the brighter that obedience shines.
- Beyond — Seven days close the cycle on earth. The eighth opens what has no end. Restraint marks it, so nothing of self intrudes where all is of Christ.