Nehemiah 8:13-18 More Please
The people have heard the Law read by Ezra but that one dose is NOT enough. They come back to him and say, “More please.” And they listen for days!
I don’t know that this has happened at all before. The people actually coming and asking to hear more of God’s words. When Ezra first started reading God’s Laws to the people their hearts were convicted. They wept. But Ezra told them to rejoice instead as this was a special day for the Lord. They followed his command and CAME BACK FOR MORE! That’s the part that I haven’t seen before.
The people were spiritually hungry. One ‘meal’ was not enough. “The heads of fathers’ houses of ALL the people, with the priests and the Levites, came together to Ezra the scribe in order to study the words of the Law” (verse 13b, emphasis added). They were eager to dig in and find out what else was contained in God’s words and they came to the one man who seemed to have the answers.
Can you imagine Ezra’s joy as the people seek God? All his life, the thing he wanted most was to teach others the word of God. That was his whole reason for returning to Jerusalem. When he first came home he saw a people who had walked away from the Lord and His Law. Their uniting sin was intermarrying with other nations. Ezra addressed this sin early on. Now the people who seek his guidance are the ones who listened and obeyed. And they are ready for more.
I have no doubt that Ezra was trying to get the people’s attention the entire time he was in Jerusalem but we don’t hear of a revival after the time they put aside their foreign wives. But after the wall of Jerusalem is rebuilt the spirits of the people are ready. Their identity as God’s people has been rebuilt along with the wall.
In my mind flashed an image of a family sifting through the rubble of their home after it was destroyed. They are devastated and feel totally adrift. From the rubble they are able to find a few precious mementos. Each one a reminder of their past as well as what they have lost. Fast forward a while and I see these same mementos being lovingly placed in their new home. All they suffered is behind them. The pain is in past. The rebuilding now complete. They feel whole again. They are home.
The people of Jerusalem are home. Their walls are a reminder of who they used to be and a promise of being that people once again. And the CENTER of that people is the Lord. Without Him they are nothing but a collection of slaves. With Him as their center they are HIS CHOSEN people. He has ‘pride of place’ in their lives.
It’s time to really get to know Him. They see their sin and they also see God’s commands for celebration. This is the FIRST time this festival has been celebrated since Joshua led the people out of the wilderness. This celebration is a reminder of where they came from and what they went through to become the people they are now. One more reason to celebrate their God.
This Sukkot would be unlike any other. They spent every day listening to the word of God. For eight days they drank in EVERY word that poured from Ezra’s mouth and took to heart the translation into everyday life from the Levites’ lips.
We are such a society of the ‘one and done’ method. Many people go to church only on Easter and Christmas. Many who attend weekly use church like their vitamin pill. Take it weekly and feel immune the rest of the week. But God calls to us continually to come away with Him. The eight days of immersing themselves in God’s Law hopefully had lasting effects. It certainly moved their hearts.
This is His call to us today. “Come, soak in My love. Drink from My Springs of Living Water. Come to My Table. ‘Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light’ (Matthew 11:29-30).” What further enticement do we need to spend time with the One who loves us more than life itself?
Father God, thank You for calling to me each day. I do love coming to You and seeing what treasures You have for me each day. I know I get distracted by the things in my life but You ALWAYS bring me back. THANK YOU for loving me. Even enough to want to hang out with me every day and in ALL the things I do in my day. Help me remember to make You a part of everything I do, even if it is just keeping a right attitude while I do it (whatever ‘it’ may be).
