Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Nehemiah 8:1-18 (Good News Translation)

Embodying Hope and Turning to God in Prayer

Introduction

Nehemiah 8:1-18: Today's reading begins a section in which the returning exiles come together to form a new community of God's people. Ezra reads God's Law to the people. The people worship God and listen to explanations of the meaning of the Law. Then they celebrate the Festival of Shelters for the first time.

Today's Scripture: Nehemiah 8:10b

Today is holy to our Lord, so don't be sad. The joy that the LORD gives you will make you strong.

Today's Reading

¹By the seventh month the people of Israel were all settled in their towns. On the first day of that month they all assembled in Jerusalem, in the square just inside the Water Gate. They asked Ezra, the priest and scholar of the Law which the LORD had given Israel through Moses, to get the book of the Law. ²So Ezra brought it to the place where the people had gathered—men, women, and the children who were old enough to understand. ³There in the square by the gate he read the Law to them from dawn until noon, and they all listened attentively. ⁴Ezra was standing on a wooden platform that had been built for the occasion. The following men stood at his right: Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah; and the following stood at his left: Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zechariah, and Meshullam. ⁵As Ezra stood there on the platform high above the people, they all kept their eyes fixed on him. As soon as he opened the book, they all stood up. ⁶Ezra said, “Praise the LORD, the great God! ” All the people raised their arms in the air and answered, “Amen! Amen!” They knelt in worship, with their faces to the ground. ⁷Then they rose and stood in their places, and the following Levites explained the Law to them: Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, and Pelaiah. ⁸They gave an oral translation of God's Law and explained it so that the people could understand it. ⁹When the people heard what the Law required, they were so moved that they began to cry. So Nehemiah, who was the governor, Ezra, the priest and scholar of the Law, and the Levites who were explaining the Law told all the people, “This day is holy to the LORD your God, so you are not to mourn or cry. ¹⁰Now go home and have a feast. Share your food and wine with those who don't have enough. Today is holy to our Lord, so don't be sad. The joy that the LORD gives you will make you strong. ” ¹¹The Levites went around calming the people and telling them not to be sad on such a holy day. ¹²So all the people went home and ate and drank joyfully and shared what they had with others, because they understood what had been read to them. ¹³The next day the heads of the clans, together with the priests and the Levites, went to Ezra to study the teachings of the Law. ¹⁴They discovered that the Law, which the LORD gave through Moses, ordered the people of Israel to live in temporary shelters during the Festival of Shelters. ¹⁵So they gave the following instructions and sent them all through Jerusalem and the other cities and towns: “Go out to the hills and get branches from pines, olives, myrtles, palms, and other trees to make shelters according to the instructions written in the Law.” ¹⁶So the people got branches and built shelters on the flat roofs of their houses, in their yards, in the Temple courtyard, and in the public squares by the Water Gate and by the Ephraim Gate. ¹⁷All the people who had come back from captivity built shelters and lived in them. This was the first time it had been done since the days of Joshua son of Nun, and everybody was excited and happy. ¹⁸From the first day of the festival to the last they read a part of God's Law every day. They celebrated for seven days, and on the eighth day there was a closing ceremony, as required in the Law.

Reflect

The Festival of Shelters, also known as Sukkoth, is a yearly festival celebrated by the Jewish people beginning on the fifteenth day of the seventh month and lasting eight days. Participants would construct huts or shelters of myrtle, olive and palm branches as symbols of God's protection. Then they lived in these shelters for seven days to remember the wandering of their ancestors in the desert and God's care for them. What rituals and celebrations remind you of God's care for you?

Pray

Merciful God, just as you cared for the ancient Israelites in the desert, so you care for me when I feel lost, abandoned and afraid. Be present with all who yearn for your comfort, and help them to know your love. Amen.

Prayer Concern

Rebuilding efforts in Haiti