Nehemiah 8:2-4a, 5-6, 8-10

Nehemiah 8:2-6, 8-10 They read from the book of the law and they understood what was read.

Copyrighted material that appears in this article is included under the provisions of the Fair Use Clause of the National Copyright Act, which allows limited reproduction of copyrighted materials for educational and religious use when no financial charge is made for viewing. Catholic Lectionary. (2009). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.

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2 On the first day of the seventh month, therefore, Ezra the priest brought the law before the assembly, which consisted of men, women, and those children old enough to understand.3 Standing at one end of the open place that was before the Water Gate, he read out of the book from daybreak till midday, in the presence of the men, the women, and those children old enough tounderstand; and all the people listened attentively to the book of the law.4 Ezra the scribe stood on a wooden platform that had been made for the occasion; 5 Ezra opened the scroll so that all the people might see it (for he was standing higher up than any of the people); and, as he opened it, all the people rose.

6 Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God, and all the people, their hands raised high, answered, Amen, amen! Then they bowed down and prostrated themselves before the LORD, their faces to the ground.8 Ezra read plainly from the book of the law of God, interpreting it so that all could understand what was read.9 Then (Nehemiah, that is, His Excellency, and) Ezra the priest-scribe (and the Levites who were instructing the people) said to all the people: Today is holy to the LORD your God. Do not be sad, and do not weep for all the people were weeping as they heard the words of the law.10 He said further: Go, eat rich foods and drink sweet drinks, and allot portions to those who had nothing prepared; for today is holy to our LORD. Do not be saddened this day, for rejoicing in the LORD must be your strength!

Nehemiah was a person God put in charge of a seemingly impossible task.God shapes all of us with personality characteristics, life experiences, and vocational trainings for a particular purpose.Nehemiah was placed in a unique position as the cupbearer to the Persian king.A cupbearers job was to take a sip from any liquid that was presented to the king.The theory was that if the drink were poisoned the cupbearer would die but not the king.As you would imagine Nehemiah had little power and certainly no importance other than he was willing to risk his life, on a daily basis, for the king.

He did have influence with and was trusted by the king.He was a man of God and concerned with the fate of Jerusalem. The city of Jerusalem had been rebuilt, Ezra the priest saw to the spiritual needs of the community but Jerusalem lacked one of the mostimportant forms of protection, a city wall.Without a wall to protect the city the inhabitants were vulnerable to another attack and a repetition of its previous destruction.Gods mission for Nehemiah would be to return to Jerusalem and rebuild its wall.Nehemiah had been shaped into a leader, a motivator and spiritual leader among the people of Judah.

Today Ezra reads from the book of the law.The peoples reaction was rather emotional.They lifted up their hands to heaven, and shouted Amen, Amen, meaning their agreement with the word of God.They then fell to their knees and worshiped God.Ezra and the Levites spoke to a crowd of 30 50,000What the people heard caused them to want to follow Gods word.They had learned to pray with the scripture.