Nehemiah 8 – Pot of Manna

Rebuilding With Nehemiah, Chapter 8 Day 2

Tuesday:

Text: 2 So on the first day of the seventh month Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly, which was made up of men and women and all who were able to understand.

Teach: Ezra was most likely reading the Torah, which contains the five books of Moses. This would be the basics of Jewish religion and civil law. The focus was probably on Deuteronomy. Why would this be important? The people realized that God enabled them to complete an impossible task. What else does this God have to say, and say to me, to us? Ezra gave them a solid foundation to understand the relationship God wanted and wants to have with his people.

Take: The day the people came together would be the equivalent of our New Year’s Day. A day of celebration and fresh beginnings. Chances are you’re not reading this on New Year’s Day, but it can be a day of fresh beginnings. No matter what kind of Bible reading plan you may have abandoned in the past, you can begin fresh today. And that doesn’t just apply to Bible reading, but any and all spiritual habits and disciplines.

Task: Find an app or a site on the internet, there are plenty to choose from. Or just start reading. Proverbs has 31 chapters. Read the chapter that corresponds with the numeric day of the month. Start reading a gospel. Start reading and keep going. And if you are a regular reader: may you be blessed and your tribe increase!

Rebuilding With Nehemiah, Chapter 8 Day 7

Sunday:

Text: 18 Day after day, from the first day to the last, Ezra read from the Book of the Law of God. They celebrated the festival for seven days, and on the eighth day, in accordance with the regulation, there was an assembly.

Teach: Ezra read and the people listened. And they celebrated.

Take: Consistency. Repetition. The experts say it takes repeating a behavior for twenty-one days to create a habit. New habits are much easier to break than old ones. I’ve been reflecting on this a lot lately, as I try to establish a healthier lifestyle. It’s much easier to be lazy and to eat poorly. But my physical body craves health and wholeness as much as my spirit craves the holiness.

Task: Are there healthy and holy habits you want to establish in your life. God desires those things for you, too. Jesus claims he came that we would have live and life abundant. Paul teaches that God is in the business of making all things new. Let’s pray for a greater spirit of obedience and consistency.

Rebuilding With Nehemiah, Chapter 8 Day 6

Saturday:

Text: 17 The whole company that had returned from exile built temporary shelters and lived in them. From the days of Joshua son of Nun until that day, the Israelites had not celebrated it like this. And their joy was very great.

Teach: The people heard the teaching about the Feast of Tabernacles and their response was immediate. They built their booths and dwelt in them. And the result of their obedience was great joy.

Take: Wiersbe notes the Feast of Tabernacles had three purposes: to look back and remember the wilderness journey; to look around at the blessings that come from the harvest at hand; and to look ahead to the glorious coming kingdom (Be Determined, p. 103). God’s instruction and command is for us to take stock, be aware, and get ready.

Task: The joy of our relationship with God is rooted in obedience. Lacking joy? Check your OQ, obedience quotient.

Rebuilding With Nehemiah, Chapter 8 Day 5

Friday:

Text: 9 Then Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and teacher of the Law, and the Levites who were instructing the people said to them all, “This day is holy to the LORD your God. Do not mourn or weep.” For all the people had been weeping as they listened to the words of the Law.

Teach: The people heard the Word, the Law specifically. The job of the Law is to convict, and by convicting to bring confession and repentance. Too often, however, when the Holy Spirit brings conviction and people feel remorse and regret, they get stuck and never move on. Ezra, Nehemiah, and the other leaders realized this and encouraged the people to move beyond regret to celebration.

Take: One of the enemy’s most cunning deceptions is to move in at the moment of conviction and attempt to deceive the penitent person into believing that whatever their sin is, it is far too great to be forgiven. As a result, there is much sadness. The Word is very clear on this: If we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong (1 John 1:9, NLT).

Task: Does the enemy seek to steel your joy? Does he cause you to dwell in regret? David understood that and asked God to restore the joy of his salvation (see Psalm 51). I had a pastor who often told the congregation, “God has sent your sin into the sea of forgetfulness and posted a no fishing sign.” God wants you to move on into joy.

Rebuilding With Nehemiah, Chapter 8 Day 4

Thursday:

Text: 5 Ezra opened the book. All the people could see him because he was standing above them; and as he opened it, the people all stood up. 6 Ezra praised the LORD, the great God; and all the people lifted their hands and responded, “Amen! Amen!” Then they bowed down and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground.

Teach: They heard the Word and they stood. It was an honor to hear the Word. Their response of ‘Amen!’ was their declaration of agreement. They were saying, “Make it so. We want this!” And then they prostrated themselves in fear, reverence, and humility.

Take: My early church memories took place in a mainline church, characterized by order and decorum. During confirmation class we visited other churches to observe their styles of worship. The differences in worship styles surprised me. The people seemed more engaged and demonstrative. I don’t doubt the sincerity of the people I went to church with, but there was a hunger and desire to reach God in those other services that spoke to my heart, even at that young age.

Task: Jesus told his disciples they would be blessed if they hungered and thirsted for God. Do you just nibble at God, taking in bits and pieces, here and there? Or do you crave more? Take time to check your SQ, your satisfaction quotient.

Rebuilding With Nehemiah, Chapter 8 Day 3

Wednesday:

Text: 3 He read it aloud from daybreak till noon as he faced the square before the Water Gate in the presence of the men, women and others who could understand. And all the people listened attentively to the Book of the Law.

Teach: Did you catch that? Ezra read and the people listened from daybreak to noon, and they did so attentively. These people were motivated and hungry to know God and what he wanted from them. Three hours for worship. That is still the practice in many places around the world. As I researched length of services, I found several articles suggesting that American services are too short and there is a push to lengthen them.

Take: We can spend two or three hours at a sporting event or even a movie and pay a high price to do so. But an hour for worship is thought by some to be asking too much. We spend how much time a day on our phones or in front of TV, but have no time for personal quiet time with God. (Obviously you’re an exception since you’re reading this.) I remember how I finally got myself into a devotional habit. I put my devotional on the back of the toilet. I knew I’d be there a couple times a day. It worked. Thankfully, I’ve been able to develop that time over the years and come out of the water closet.

Task: Do you tithe your time? Is God worth more than a daily nod his direction? Do you think God wants more from you? Can you, will you give him the time he deserves…and you need?

Rebuilding with Nehemiah, Chapter 8 Day 1

Monday:

Text: 1 All the people came together as one in the square before the Water Gate. They told Ezra the teacher of the Law to bring out the Book of the Law of Moses, which the LORD had commanded for Israel.

Teach: In chapter seven of Nehemiah, we saw the transition from everyone’s focus on the building of the wall to the building of people. The people credited God for the miracle of building the wall in fifty-two days. They wanted to know more about this God.

Take: I love to hear missionaries speak of the determination of the people where they minister. The miles they walk. The risks they take. The things they sacrifice. All because they want to gather with other believers and hear the Word.

Task: What sacrifices have you made to be with God’s people to hear the Word? What excuses do you use to keep from spending time in the Word? Tough questions today, I know. Trust me, I’ve been taking my own inventory, too.

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