The people respond

Chapter 9 states what has been learned through the reading of the law: all the history of the peoples’ ups and downs in accordance with whether they stayed with God or were disobedient to Him.

Now they were ready to sign the covenant in renewal of their contract with God first made between Israel and the Lord at Sinai (Ex. 24), and renewed by Hezekiah (II Chron. 15.12) and Josiah (II Chron. 34:30-33).  Actually, the princes, Levites, and priests sealed the covenant.

 

Joyce Voysey

 

Ed. How interesting are some of the names here: Bunni and Bani for instance.

Ezra's marathon undertaking - what an occasion!

Chapter 7 is big on “who was there”. These amazing listings must have been so helpful. 

I love the reading of the book of the law of Moses as recorded in Nehemiah, Chapter 8. I found that this reading was required to be done, as recorded in Deuteronomy 31:10-13. These verses are here copied from Concord –

10And Moses commanded them, saying, At the end of every seven years, in the solemnity of the year of release, in the feast of tabernacles,

11When all Israel is come to appear before the Lord thy God in the place which he shall choose, thou shalt read this law before all Israel in their hearing.

12Gather the people together, men, and women, and children, and thy stranger that is within thy gates, that they may hear, and that they may learn, and fear the Lord your God, and observe to do all the words of this law:

13And that their children, which have not known any thing, may hear, and learn to fear the Lord your God, as long as ye live in the land whither ye go over Jordan to possess it.

This reading had fallen into neglect and the people who had been exiled could no longer read Hebrew.  So dear Ezra read, and it was translated sentence by sentence into Chaldee, the dialect which they had spoken in Babylon.  How glad the people were to hear it! 

No too long ago, I read this story on a Wednesday evening as part of the readings.  When I finished verse 4 with all the difficult names of the translators (6 on his right hand, and 7 on his left) I said, “Or something like that.”  (Giggle)

What a marathon undertaking by Ezra!  Verse 18 has, “Also day by day, from the first day unto the last day, he read in the book of the law of God.”  That is 7 days of reading.

Joyce Voysey

Ed. I love the NLT (New Living Translation) for verses 4 and 5:

Ezra the scribe stood on a high wooden platform that had been made for the occasion. To his right stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Kilkiah, and Maaseiah. To his left stood Pedaiah, Mishael, Malkijah, Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zechariah, and Meshullam.

Ezra stood on the platform in full view of all the people. When they saw him open the book, they all rose to their feet.

What a moving occasion it must have been!

Tempted to be discouraged?

Chapter 6 –

The carrier of discouragement was not always Sanballat or one of his cronies, directly; in one instance it was what could possibly be called “the enemy within” – Shemaiah, one of the inhabitants of Jerusalem (my Bible Dictionary says he was a prophet), having been bribed by Sanballat and Tobiah, tried to get Nehemiah to (as Eugene Petersen in The Message has it), “scare me off – trick me – a layman, into desecrating The Temple and ruining my good reputation so they could accuse me.”

As always Nehemiah talked with God and his fears were allayed.  And the work went on.

Uhoh!  One of the “enemies” was a woman!  Verse 14 speaks of the prophetess Noadiah as one of those who “would have put me in fear.”

The wall was finished in 52 days.  But, hey!  The book goes on for 7 more chapters.  What more can there be to say?

 

Joyce Voysey