How could they be expected to do the will of God if they didn’t know the Word of God? How can we?
Nehemiah 7 concludes as follows: “When the seventh month came, the children of Israel were in their cities” (v 73). Seventy years had passed since these very cities had been abandoned and the people dragged off into captivity. Now there was a new beginning, and the seventh month symbolized it. Recall that Israel had an old and a new seventh month. Originally their calendar year started after the summer harvest, and the first month (Tishri, our Sep-Oct) was the start of the civil year. But with the Passover and the exodus from Egypt occurring in the seventh month (Abib, our Mar-Apr), the Lord changed Abib to the “beginning of months” (Ex 12:2). Thus, the old seventh month had a cluster of three festivals— Passover, Unleavened Bread, and Firstfruits, and the new seventh month had three festivals—Trumpets, Atonement, and Tabernacles. The other one, Pentecost, was linked to the old seventh month by counting 50 days from the end of the other three. And this seventh month was going to be a new beginning too. When we toured the ten gates and visited the Water Gate, we said it spoke of the cleansing and refreshing influence of God’s Word. Now we’ll see that happen. “All the people gathered together as one man in the open square that was in front of the Water Gate; and they told Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses” (Neh 8:1). “Then he read from it…from morning until midday…and the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law” (v 3). Imagine a 6-hour meeting! And they weren’t sitting! “Ezra opened the book…and when he opened it, all the people stood up” (v 5). It reminds me of David’s comment, “My heart stands in awe of Your word” (Ps 119:161). Does yours?