When Ezra opens up the Word of God, the Hebrew Torah, the people stand up. Before Ezra reads, he blesses God. After he reads, the people respond with “Amen, Amen!” (Neh. 8:6; NKJV) in unison as they lift their hands toward heaven. They then bow their heads down and worship with their faces to the ground. Read Nehemiah … Continue reading –>
The first hymn to come to mind with the title of this week’s lesson study is: Hymn 272, “Give Me the Bible”. Sabbath afternoon’s introduction to the week shows the surrounding nations in awe of the accomplishment of completing the building. We all can say: “How Great Thou Art”, Hymn 86. The Children of Israel … Continue reading –>
The wall is complete, and the law is read. The completion of the wall was not an easy task, but once it was up and protecting the city of Jerusalem, the Children of Israel were ready to celebrate! The Bible account states that Ezra was asked to bring the Book of Moses to a special platform … Continue reading –>
Read Nehemiah 8:4-8. How was the reading of the Law done? There were two groups of 13 men who stood with Ezra during the reading. The first group of 13 (Neh. 8:4) helped to read the Word of God, and the second group of 13 (Neh. 8:7) helped with the understanding of the passages. We do not have any information … Continue reading –>
Ezra “brought the Law” before the assembly to read. What did he read to them? Only the Ten Commandments over and over for half a day? The reference to the book of the Law is to be understood as the five books of Moses, Genesis through Deuteronomy, known as the Hebrew Torah. The term “law”, … Continue reading –>
Read Nehemiah 8:1-2. What should this tell us about how important the Word of God was to the people? When the Jews finally completed the building of the wall and moved into Jerusalem, they all gathered in Jerusalem’s open square in the seventh month. The seventh month, the month of Tishri, was perhaps the most important … Continue reading –>
Sabbath Afternoon Read for This Week’s Study: Neh. 8:1-8, Deut. 31:9-13, Matt. 17:5, Acts 8:26-38, Neh. 8:9-12, Lev. 23:39-43. Memory Text: “So they read distinctly from the book, in the Law of God; and they gave the sense, and helped them to understand the reading” (Nehemiah 8:8, NKJV). The Jerusalem wall was finished. With the placement of the gates, the Israelites, under the … Continue reading –>
Earlier this summer I went to a baseball game with a friend who picked up the tickets earlier. I did not get the opportunity to pay him for my ticket the night of the game, so a few days later I took him to dinner. When the waitress brought us the check, I took it … Continue reading –>
Further Thought: Ellen G. White, “A Rebuke Against Extortion”, pages 646–652, in Prophets and Kings. “As Nehemiah heard of this cruel oppression, his soul was filled with indignation. ‘I was very angry’, he says, ‘when I heard their cry and these words’. He saw that if he succeeded in breaking up the oppressive custom of exaction he must … Continue reading –>
Read Nehemiah 5:14-19. What reasons does Nehemiah give for not demanding “the governor’s provisions [fees]” (Neh. 5:18, NKJV) from the people? Nehemiah most likely wrote the account in these verses after his return to the court of King Artaxerxes, after his 12 years of governorship in Judah. Although governors were entitled to receive revenue from their subjects, … Continue reading –>
