Nehemiah 8:2
On the first day of the seventh month, Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly of men and women and all who could listen and understand.
On the first day of the seventh month
This phrase sets the scene in a specific time frame within the Jewish calendar, known as Tishri. The first day of the seventh month is significant as it marks the Feast of Trumpets, a sacred assembly (Leviticus 23:24). This day is a time of renewal and reflection, symbolizing a new beginning for the Israelites. Historically, this period was a time of harvest, both physically and spiritually, as the people gathered to hear the Word of God, seeking a fresh start in their covenant relationship with Him.

Ezra the priest
Ezra is a central figure in the restoration of Israel post-exile. As a priest and scribe, he is uniquely qualified to lead the people in understanding the Law. His role underscores the importance of spiritual leadership and the transmission of God’s Word. Ezra's dedication to teaching the Law highlights the necessity of knowledgeable and godly leaders in guiding the community back to faithfulness.

brought the Law
The Law, or Torah, represents the foundational teachings and commandments given by God to Moses. Bringing the Law before the people signifies a return to divine instruction and a recommitment to living according to God’s statutes. This act of bringing the Law is not merely a physical presentation but a spiritual reawakening, emphasizing the centrality of Scripture in the life of the community.

before the assembly of men and women
The inclusion of both men and women in the assembly is noteworthy, indicating the communal nature of this event. It reflects the inclusive nature of God’s covenant, where all members of the community are called to hear and respond to His Word. This gathering underscores the unity and collective responsibility of the people to uphold the Law.

and all who could listen and understand
This phrase highlights the importance of comprehension in the hearing of God’s Word. It suggests that the assembly included not only adults but also children who were capable of understanding. The emphasis on listening and understanding points to the active engagement required in receiving the Law, where hearing is coupled with a desire to comprehend and apply God’s teachings in daily life.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Ezra the Priest
A scribe and priest who played a crucial role in the spiritual renewal of Israel. He was responsible for teaching the Law to the people.

2. The Assembly
This refers to the gathering of men, women, and children who were capable of understanding the reading of the Law. It signifies the inclusivity of the community in spiritual matters.

3. The Law
The Torah, or the first five books of the Bible, which contains the laws and commandments given by God to the Israelites.

4. The First Day of the Seventh Month
This date is significant as it marks the beginning of the Jewish civil year and the Feast of Trumpets, a time of gathering and reflection.

5. Jerusalem
The city where this event took place, serving as the spiritual and political center for the Jewish people.
Teaching Points
The Importance of Scripture in Community Life
The public reading of the Law underscores the centrality of Scripture in guiding the community's spiritual and moral life.

Inclusivity in Worship and Learning
The assembly included all who could understand, highlighting the importance of making God's Word accessible to everyone, regardless of age or gender.

The Role of Spiritual Leaders
Ezra's role as a priest and teacher emphasizes the responsibility of spiritual leaders to faithfully communicate God's Word to the people.

The Significance of Sacred Times
The timing of this event on the first day of the seventh month shows the importance of aligning spiritual practices with God's appointed times for reflection and renewal.

Understanding and Obedience
The emphasis on understanding the Law points to the need for comprehension as a precursor to obedience, encouraging believers to seek clarity and insight into God's Word.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does the practice of reading Scripture publicly, as seen in Nehemiah 8:2, influence our understanding of communal worship today?

2. In what ways can we ensure that all members of our community, regardless of age or background, have access to and understanding of God's Word?

3. What role do spiritual leaders play in helping us understand and apply Scripture in our daily lives?

4. How can we incorporate the observance of sacred times and seasons into our spiritual practices to enhance our relationship with God?

5. Reflect on a time when understanding a specific passage of Scripture led to a change in your behavior or perspective. How can this experience encourage others in their faith journey?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Deuteronomy 31:11-12
This passage commands the reading of the Law to all Israel, including men, women, and children, during the Feast of Tabernacles, emphasizing the importance of communal learning and understanding of God's Word.

Joshua 8:34-35
Joshua reads the Law to the entire assembly of Israel, highlighting the continuity of this practice as a means of covenant renewal and commitment to God's commandments.

2 Kings 23:1-3
King Josiah gathers the people to hear the Book of the Covenant, demonstrating the power of God's Word to bring about national repentance and reform.
The Word of God and the Ministry of ManW. Clarkson Nehemiah 8:1-8
The Word of LifeR.A. Redford Nehemiah 8:1-8
All the Bible WantedGreat ThoughtsNehemiah 8:1-12
Attention and Retention of Divine TruthChristian AgeNehemiah 8:1-12
Constant AttentionWilliam Sharp.Nehemiah 8:1-12
Ezra Expounding the LawExpository OutlinesNehemiah 8:1-12
Familiarity with the Bible; its DangerD. J. Burrell, D. D.Nehemiah 8:1-12
Hearty Appreciation of God's WordF. C. Monfort, D. D.Nehemiah 8:1-12
Improper Hearing of the ScripturesJ. Spencer.Nehemiah 8:1-12
Reading the LawMonday Club SermonsNehemiah 8:1-12
Reading the LawW. Elliot Griffis.Nehemiah 8:1-12
The Instructor in the LawW. Ritchie.Nehemiah 8:1-12
The Oldest PulpitHomilistNehemiah 8:1-12
The Open-Air MeetingW. P. Lockhart.Nehemiah 8:1-12
The Reading of the LawMonday Club SermonsNehemiah 8:1-12
The Scriptures Related to Revivals of ReligionSunday SchoolNehemiah 8:1-12
The Word of God in a Threefold RelationshipJ.S. Exell Nehemiah 8:1-18
People
Akkub, Anaiah, Azariah, Bani, Ezra, Hanan, Hashbadana, Hashum, Hilkiah, Hodiah, Hodijah, Israelites, Jamin, Jeshua, Joshua, Jozabad, Kelita, Levites, Maaseiah, Malchiah, Malchijah, Mattithiah, Meshullam, Mishael, Nehemiah, Nun, Pedaiah, Pelaiah, Shabbethai, Shema, Sherebiah, Uriah, Urijah
Places
Gate of Ephraim, Jerusalem, Water Gate
Topics
Able, Assembly, Bringeth, Congregation, Ezra, Intelligent, Law, Listen, Meeting, Month, Priest, Seventh, Understand, Understanding, Women
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Nehemiah 8:2

     5393   literacy
     7377   high priest, OT
     8270   holiness, set apart

Nehemiah 8:1-4

     5514   scribes

Nehemiah 8:1-8

     1690   word of God

Nehemiah 8:1-9

     7209   congregation

Nehemiah 8:1-18

     1640   Book of the Law
     7464   teachers of the law

Nehemiah 8:2-3

     5175   reading

Nehemiah 8:2-6

     7359   Feast of Trumpets

Nehemiah 8:2-8

     1614   Scripture, understanding
     7456   synagogue
     7756   preaching, content

Library
January 29. "Send Portions unto them for whom Nothing is Prepared" (Neh. viii. 10).
"Send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared" (Neh. viii. 10). That was a fine picture in the days of Nehemiah, when they were celebrating their glorious Feast of Tabernacles. "Neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the Lord is your strength. Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions to them for whom nothing is prepared." How many there are on every side for whom nothing is prepared! Let us find out some sad and needy heart for whom there is no one else to think or care.
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

The Joy of the Lord
'The joy of the Lord is your strength.'--Neh. viii. 10. Judaism, in its formal and ceremonial aspect, was a religion of gladness. The feast was the great act of worship. It is not to be wondered at, that Christianity, the perfecting of that ancient system, has been less markedly felt to be a religion of joy; for it brings with it far deeper and more solemn views about man in his nature, condition, responsibilities, destinies, than ever prevailed before, under any system of worship. And yet all deep
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Reading the Law with Tears and Joy
'And all the people gathered themselves together as one man into the street that was before the water gate; and they spake unto Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded to Israel. 2. And Ezra the priest brought the law before the congregation both of men and women, and all that could hear with understanding, upon the first day of the seventh month. 3. And he read therein before the street that was before the water gate, from the morning until midday, before
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Joy of the Lord, the Strength of his People
LAST Sabbath day in the morning I spoke of the birth of our Saviour as being full of joy to the people of God, and, indeed, to all nations. We then looked at the joy from a distance; we will now in contemplation draw nearer to it, and perhaps as we consider it, and remark the multiplied reasons for its existence, some of those reasons may operate upon our own hearts, and we may go out of this house of prayer ourselves partakers of the exceeding great joy. We shall count it to have been a successful
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 17: 1871

The Original Text and Its History.
1. The original language of the Old Testament is Hebrew, with the exception of certain portions of Ezra and Daniel and a single verse of Jeremiah, (Ezra 4:8-6:18; 7:12-26; Dan. 2:4, from the middle of the verse to end of chap. 7; Jer. 10:11,) which are written in the cognate Chaldee language. The Hebrew belongs to a stock of related languages commonly called Shemitic, because spoken mainly by the descendants of Shem. Its main divisions are: (1,) the Arabic, having its original seat in the
E. P. Barrows—Companion to the Bible

Twenty-First Day. Holiness and Happiness.
The kingdom of God is joy in the Holy Ghost.'--Rom. xiv. 17. 'The disciples were filled with joy and the Holy Ghost.'--Acts xiii. 52. 'Then Nehemiah said, This day is holy unto the Lord: neither be ye sorry, for the joy of the Lord is your strength. So the Levites stilled the people, saying, Hold your peace; for the day is holy; neither be ye grieved. And all the people went their way to make great mirth, because they had understood the words.'--Neh. viii. 10-12. The deep significance of
Andrew Murray—Holy in Christ

John's First Testimony to Jesus.
(Bethany Beyond Jordan, February, a.d. 27.) ^D John I. 19-34. ^d 19 And this is the witness of John [John had been sent to testify, "and" this is the matter of his testimony], when the Jews [The term "Jews" is used seventy times by John to describe the ruling classes of Judæa] sent unto him [In thus sending an embassy they honored John more than they ever honored Christ. They looked upon John as a priest and Judæan, but upon Jesus as a carpenter and Galilæan. It is probable that
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

Healing a Demoniac in a Synagogue.
(at Capernaum.) ^B Mark I. 21-28; ^C Luke . IV. 31-37. ^b 21 And they [Jesus and the four fishermen whom he called] go into { ^c he came down to} Capernaum, a city of Galilee. [Luke has just spoken of Nazareth, and he uses the expression "down to Capernaum" because the latter was on the lake shore while Nazareth was up in the mountains.] And ^b straightway on the sabbath day he entered into the synagogue and taught. { ^c was teaching them} ^b 22 And they were astonished at his teaching: for he taught
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

The Scattering of the People
[Illustration: (drop cap A) The Fish-god of Assyria and Babylonia] At last the full punishment for their many sins fell upon God's chosen people. The words of warning written in the fifth book of Moses had told them plainly that if they turned aside and worshipped the wicked idol-gods of Canaan, the Lord would take their country from them and drive them out into strange lands. Yet again and again they had yielded to temptation. And now the day of reckoning had come. Nebuchadnezzar, the great king
Mildred Duff—The Bible in its Making

The Last Days of the Old Eastern World
The Median wars--The last native dynasties of Egypt--The Eastern world on the eve of the Macedonian conquest. [Drawn by Boudier, from one of the sarcophagi of Sidon, now in the Museum of St. Irene. The vignette, which is by Faucher-Gudin, represents the sitting cyno-cephalus of Nectanebo I., now in the Egyptian Museum at the Vatican.] Darius appears to have formed this project of conquest immediately after his first victories, when his initial attempts to institute satrapies had taught him not
G. Maspero—History Of Egypt, Chaldaea, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria, V 9

Its Effects.
Among the effects and benefits which in this life accompany and flow from being filled with the Holy Ghost, may be mentioned the following:-- 1. Courage. "Oh, I could not do so and so--I have not the courage," is a reply frequently made by Christian people when asked to undertake some piece of service or other for the Master. The first point to be settled is, "Is that the Master's will for me?" If so, lack of courage is a confession to the lack of the "Fullness of the Holy Ghost." The Spirit-filled
John MacNeil—The Spirit-Filled Life

The Old Testament Canon from Its Beginning to Its Close.
The first important part of the Old Testament put together as a whole was the Pentateuch, or rather, the five books of Moses and Joshua. This was preceded by smaller documents, which one or more redactors embodied in it. The earliest things committed to writing were probably the ten words proceeding from Moses himself, afterwards enlarged into the ten commandments which exist at present in two recensions (Exod. xx., Deut. v.) It is true that we have the oldest form of the decalogue from the Jehovist
Samuel Davidson—The Canon of the Bible

Of the Public Fast.
A public fast is when, by the authority of the magistrate (Jonah iii. 7; 2 Chron. xx. 3; Ezra viii. 21), either the whole church within his dominion, or some special congregation, whom it concerneth, assemble themselves together, to perform the fore-mentioned duties of humiliation; either for the removing of some public calamity threatened or already inflicted upon them, as the sword, invasion, famine, pestilence, or other fearful sickness (1 Sam. vii. 5, 6; Joel ii. 15; 2 Chron. xx.; Jonah iii.
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety

Joy
'The fruit of the Spirit is joy.' Gal 5:52. The third fruit of justification, adoption, and sanctification, is joy in the Holy Ghost. Joy is setting the soul upon the top of a pinnacle - it is the cream of the sincere milk of the word. Spiritual joy is a sweet and delightful passion, arising from the apprehension and feeling of some good, whereby the soul is supported under present troubles, and fenced against future fear. I. It is a delightful passion. It is contrary to sorrow, which is a perturbation
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity

Assurance
Q-xxxvi: WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS WHICH FLOW FROM SANCTIFICATION? A: Assurance of God's love, peace of conscience, joy in the Holy Ghost, increase of grace, and perseverance therein to the end. The first benefit flowing from sanctification is assurance of God's love. 'Give diligence to make your calling and election sure.' 2 Pet 1:10. Sanctification is the seed, assurance is the flower which grows out of it: assurance is a consequent of sanctification. The saints of old had it. We know that we know
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity

Man's Chief End
Q-I: WHAT IS THE CHIEF END OF MAN? A: Man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him for ever. Here are two ends of life specified. 1: The glorifying of God. 2: The enjoying of God. I. The glorifying of God, I Pet 4:4: That God in all things may be glorified.' The glory of God is a silver thread which must run through all our actions. I Cor 10:01. Whether therefore ye eat or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.' Everything works to some end in things natural and artificial;
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity

Ezra-Nehemiah
Some of the most complicated problems in Hebrew history as well as in the literary criticism of the Old Testament gather about the books of Ezra and Nehemiah. Apart from these books, all that we know of the origin and early history of Judaism is inferential. They are our only historical sources for that period; and if in them we have, as we seem to have, authentic memoirs, fragmentary though they be, written by the two men who, more than any other, gave permanent shape and direction to Judaism, then
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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