Nehemiah 08.08 “8 They
read from the book, from the law of God, translating to give the sense so that
they understood the reading.”
In today’s reading, Nehemiah records
how he set up security for the city (Nehemiah 07.01-03) took a census of the
people (Nehemiah 07.04-73), Ezra reading from the Law (Nehemiah 08.01-12) and the Feasts of
Booths restored (Nehemiah 08.13-18;
Leviticus
23.37-43)
The Bible is not a magic book that people can just read to
make things better. The Bible must be understood before it can enter the heart and
truly change.
In the Parable of the Sower in Matthew 13.01-09, 18-23, the
emphasis is on understanding and receiving the Word.
We see Ezra is mentioned here as well. Ezra was a priest who
came to Jerusalem about thirteen years before Nehemiah. Ezra read from the Law
from the early morning until midday (Nehemiah
08.03), which means probably about five to six hours!
Ezra stood on a wooden platform above the people so that all
can hear & see him. He had six people on his right and seven on his left (Nehemiah 08.04). When Ezra opened the book, all the people stood up in honor of
the Word of God. Now they stood for the five to six hours, every day for a week
(Nehemiah 06.05-06)!
As Ezra reads from the Law, thirteen guys would go among the
crowd, explaining more in detail and answering questions (Nehemiah 08.07-08).
The Word was translated and expounded in such a way that the
people were able to understand it and then apply it to their lives.
All of these people held the Word of God in such high
esteem, that for one week, they devoted six hours to its reading!
There are great treasures that are
buried in God’s Word, and we must diligently dig for them as we read and pray.
When we do find these treasures,
(because we are looking for them!) we can rejoice!
CH Spurgeon
“Nobody ever outgrows Scripture; the Book widens
and deepens with our years.”
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