Verses 1-6, “Now all the people gathered together as one man in the open square that was in front of the Water Gate; and they told Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded Israel. So Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly of men and women and all who could hear with understanding on the first day of the seventh month. Then he read from it in the open square that was in front of the Water Gate from morning until midday, before the men and women and those who could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law. So Ezra the scribe stood on a platform of wood which they had made for the purpose; and beside him, at his right hand, stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Urijah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah; and at his left hand Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hashbadana, Zechariah, and Meshullam. And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was standing above all the people; and when he opened it, all the people stood up. And Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God. Then all the people answered, “Amen, Amen!” while lifting up their hands. And they bowed their heads and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground.”
Ezra the scribe was responsible for copying the word by hand, therefore he was very familiar with the scriptures. However, the rest of the assembly was in need of hearing the law, which is why he was ordered to read the law in front of all. We get the impression here that children were present as well, as they should be when sharing the word of God. Ezra read the law in the open square for six hours, and the people's ears were attentive. They did not need to be entertained or bribed with food to come listen. Today people find it difficult to sit in church and listen to the word for even one hour, no less six. The reason is because their hearts are not soft to the things of God, including His word. Their ears would rather hear lies that remove any conviction of personal sin. II Timothy 4:3-4, “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.”
Verses 7-12, “Also Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodijah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites, helped the people to understand the Law; and the people stood in their place. So they read distinctly from the book, in the Law of God; and they gave the sense, and helped them to understand the reading. Then he said to them, 'Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.' So the Levites quieted all the people, saying, 'Be still, for the day is holy; do not be grieved.' And all the people went their way to eat and drink, to send portions and rejoice greatly, because they understood the words that were declared to them.”
After hearing the law, there were men appointed to help the people understand it. God's word is not effective in people's lives if they do not understand. Matthew 13:19, 23, “When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside [. . .]. But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.” We can tell from the reaction of the people that they understood the law, and that they knew they fell short of obedience to it...in other words, they were convicted. The word is profitable for reproof and correction, but only when combined with faith in the hearer. Hebrews 4:2, “For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it.”
Verses 13-18, “Now on the second day the heads of the fathers’ houses of all the people, with the priests and Levites, were gathered to Ezra the scribe, in order to understand the words of the Law. And they found written in the Law, which the Lord had commanded by Moses, that the children of Israel should dwell in booths during the feast of the seventh month, and that they should announce and proclaim in all their cities and in Jerusalem, saying, 'Go out to the mountain, and bring olive branches, branches of oil trees, myrtle branches, palm branches, and branches of leafy trees, to make booths, as it is written.' Then the people went out and brought them and made themselves booths, each one on the roof of his house, or in their courtyards or the courts of the house of God, and in the open square of the Water Gate and in the open square of the Gate of Ephraim. So the whole assembly of those who had returned from the captivity made booths and sat under the booths; for since the days of Joshua the son of Nun until that day the children of Israel had not done so. And there was very great gladness. Also day by day, from the first day until the last day, he read from the Book of the Law of God. And they kept the feast seven days; and on the eighth day there was a sacred assembly, according to the prescribed manner.”
Instead of showing their sorrow over their sin, the people chose to rejoice. Sometimes people act like their emotions are beyond their control, choosing to mope around like victims indefinitely. Certainly, there are events in our lives that cause us to grieve, but you don't need to stay in that state forever. If you do, you'll begin to worship your grief through your unending self pity. We are told count it all joy when you fall into various trials. We aren't excited to be having the trial, but because of who Jesus is, we can choose to make His sacrifice more important than our temporary unpleasant condition. Rather than sorrowing over their past disobedience, the Jews looked ahead. They switched their focus to obeying the law by celebrating the Feast of Tabernacles. In this obedience, they had very great gladness. Satan would want us to believe that fulfilling the desires of our flesh would bring us gladness, but it doesn't even come close to being in right standing with God the Father.
In this chapter, the Israelites all gathered together to hear the word of the Lord from Ezra. Ezra was a scribe who would copy the bible, and he preached the word of God for 6 hours straight in front of everyone who could hear and understand the word. This was a spiritual revival, and the holy spirit was definitely moving through these Israelites. They wanted to know and understand God's word, and they listened attentively for 6 hours or so! True revival always starts by coming back to the word of God. The word is powerful and spirit-filled. We need to be praying for this king of spiritual revival where men and women want to know and understand God's word.
ReplyDeleteMany so called christians today don't want to take part in any spiritual gathering. They would rather take part in things that appeal to the flesh than sit and pray for an hour or go to a bible study. There are few people who would listen to the word of God for 6 straight hours!
We can't expect to grow closer to the Lord if we aren't in His word daily, knowing what it says! The Word is our sword to defend against attacks from the enemy. It is absolute truth, and there is no arguing with it! Romans 10:17- "Faith also comes by the word of God. So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." We also need to receive the word once we hear it. The Israelites had this receptive heart in that they weeped when they heard it. We need to be doers of the word and not just hearers only! James 1:22-24- "But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was."
You can see that the Israelites truly wanted to obey God's word because they obeyed Him when observing the feast of tabernacles. True faith will have actions that prove it. If we genuinely want to know God and His word, we will obey His commands. I John 2:4- "He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him."