Listen Attentively So You May Rejoice

Wes Schaeffer
October 03, 2019

From today’s reading…

Standing at one end of the open place that was

before the Water Gate,

he (Ezra) read out of the book from daybreak until midday,…

and all the people listened attentively to the book of the law.”

In Nehemiah we read how “the whole people gathered” to receive instruction on the holy day.

Nehemiah was the governor of Judah and had rebuilt Jerusalem. He joined Ezra along with special Levites to instruct the people.

As they “listened attentively” they also raised their hands and answered “Amen! Amen!”

They also…

bowed down and prostrated themselves before the LORD, their faces to the ground.”

And they wept as they were taught the words of the law.

But Nehemiah told them to celebrate the day of the Lord with food, treats, and to share with the less-fortunate among them.

As they came to fully understand what they were taught they rejoiced because they knew they had been shown how to…

Stay the course. Keep the faith. Endure.