Nehemiah 8
The books of Ezra and Nehemiah seem to be closely tied to each other, Ezra being the rebuilding of the temple and re-birth of the Jewish faith and Nehemiah being the rebuilding of Jerusalem as a city and the re-birth of the Jewish nation.
Now the 2 characters come together.
On the 7th month the whole Jewish nation assembled in Jerusalem to hear Ezra reading the law of God.
As far as I can tell the 7th month in the Jewish Calender is September according to our Gregorian calender.
Ezra stood on a platform with Nehemiah and a bunch of other people (all names which mean nothing much to me!) and read the law from Dawn until Noon - at this time of year about 6 hours straight!
There were also some levites who assisted by explaining what the law meant.
Nehemiah instructed that the people should not mourn and be sad, but rather they should rejoice that they had heard the law and understood its meanings.
The day turned into a day of celebration, taking strength from the joy of God.
Next day the leaders met again and went in detail through the law and discovered that there was a festival of shelters due in the coming days.
The people went out and gathered branches and made temporary shelters for the week of the festival of shelters which had not been celebrated for a long time
Nehemiah 9
Later in the month, the Israelites came together again and prayed to God.
Those of Jewish descent had separated them from non Jewish wives and husbands.
They listened to the law of God for about 3 hours and prayed for 3 hours.
They reminded themselves of the love and care God had shown his people from the time of Abraham, the rescue from slavery in Egypt and their constant disobedience to the law of God ever since it was given.
While they had a kingdom, secure in the land flowing with milk and honey, they ignored God and provoked his anger.
The promises that God had made had come to pass, Israel was uprooted from the land, the remnant in Judah is a tiny fraction of the Israelites and their fertile land now nourishes the kings that God has placed in charge of the land, they ask God not to underestimate their suffering, but they promised to obey the law from now on.
The books of Ezra and Nehemiah seem to be closely tied to each other, Ezra being the rebuilding of the temple and re-birth of the Jewish faith and Nehemiah being the rebuilding of Jerusalem as a city and the re-birth of the Jewish nation.
Now the 2 characters come together.
On the 7th month the whole Jewish nation assembled in Jerusalem to hear Ezra reading the law of God.
As far as I can tell the 7th month in the Jewish Calender is September according to our Gregorian calender.
Ezra stood on a platform with Nehemiah and a bunch of other people (all names which mean nothing much to me!) and read the law from Dawn until Noon - at this time of year about 6 hours straight!
There were also some levites who assisted by explaining what the law meant.
Nehemiah instructed that the people should not mourn and be sad, but rather they should rejoice that they had heard the law and understood its meanings.
The day turned into a day of celebration, taking strength from the joy of God.
Next day the leaders met again and went in detail through the law and discovered that there was a festival of shelters due in the coming days.
The people went out and gathered branches and made temporary shelters for the week of the festival of shelters which had not been celebrated for a long time
Nehemiah 9
Later in the month, the Israelites came together again and prayed to God.
Those of Jewish descent had separated them from non Jewish wives and husbands.
They listened to the law of God for about 3 hours and prayed for 3 hours.
They reminded themselves of the love and care God had shown his people from the time of Abraham, the rescue from slavery in Egypt and their constant disobedience to the law of God ever since it was given.
While they had a kingdom, secure in the land flowing with milk and honey, they ignored God and provoked his anger.
The promises that God had made had come to pass, Israel was uprooted from the land, the remnant in Judah is a tiny fraction of the Israelites and their fertile land now nourishes the kings that God has placed in charge of the land, they ask God not to underestimate their suffering, but they promised to obey the law from now on.
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