I used to work with my Dad designing homes and drawing house plans for people. We met with clients and listened to what they wanted; then we went home to our drawing boards and put together the plans. The average house plan had five to seven sheets of drawings that represented everything from the foundation to what the house would look like from the street.

When the foundation was laid for the house, it was always surprising how small it looked. It didn’t seem like it could contain all the rooms and amenities the plans called for. But then the walls went up and the roof went on, and soon the house was exactly the place the family hoped for. It was always fun to drive by later and see lights on in the windows of the new home.

Nehemiah helped his people build Jerusalem, but when he toured the city he saw a lot of empty houses with dark windows. So he called for a big assembly to count the Israelite families and see how many people there actually were.

Registering the Israelites

There were about 50,000 people who returned to Jerusalem after the exile. We don’t know how many were added when Ezra came, but the census Nehemiah took showed very little growth in the population. Only about 2% of the people who went into the exile returned to Judah. That means there were about 2.5 million Jews in the world in the fifth century BC.

The global Jewish population reached its highest point of 16.7 million around 1939, but dropped to 11 million by 1945 due to their terrible death toll in the Holocaust during World War II. It’s projected to take until 2050 for their numbers to rise to 16 million again.

Only one half of one percent of the global Jewish population lived in the traditional land of Israel in 1900, but after Israel was granted statehood in 1947 the numbers rose steadily. Today 46% of the 14.4 million Jews in the world live in Israel.

Nehemiah 7 is very long because of the number of names Nehemiah registered. This list reminds us that God pays attention to every individual who shows up for him. These were the people who wanted to be in Jerusalem . . . and their hearts were hungry for the Lord.

The People Ask Ezra to Read the Law

“When the seventh month came and the Israelites had settled in their towns, 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. 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.” Nehemiah 7:73 – 8:2

The first day of the seventh month was the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanna. It was the Holy Day that preceded Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. At Rosh Hashanna people crowned God as King and asked him to inscribe their names in his book of life. They feasted and celebrated their relationship with the Lord, then they spent the next seven days reflecting upon their sins and preparing for the Day of Atonement.

Rosh Hashanna was the perfect day for the Israelites to ask Ezra to read the Law and explain it to them if they really wanted to get into a good relationship with God.

Ezra Opens the Book

“Ezra the teacher of the Law stood on a high wooden platform built for the occasion . . . [and] 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. Ezra praised the Lord, the Great God; and all the people lifted their hands and responded, ‘Amen! Amen!’ They bowed down and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground.” Nehemiah 8:4-6

I think every pastor and Bible teacher wishes they could have a day like this, and every believer wishes they could stand in a congregation like that. Imagine being surrounded by people who loved God so much they fell to their knees before him as soon as his Book was opened.

What made these people respond to the Word the way they did?

I think there were several things at work here:

1. They were united by their corporate obedience to the Lord in rebuilding the temple and Jerusalem’s walls.
2. They had great leaders who humbly served God, not their own interests.
3. They respected the Word and wanted to know what it said.
4. They associated hearing the Word with experiencing the presence of God. Their hunger for God made them hungry for the Word.
5. They came ready to worship; the mere opening of the Book caused them to fall to the ground and worship God.

And the Lord was ready to meet them; his Spirit was among them waking up their hearts and opening their minds.

Teaching the Word

“[Ezra] read aloud from daybreak until 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.” Nehemiah 8:3

The Word of God was for everyone in that assembly. Both the men and the women listened attentively and wanted to understand what the Law said. So the Levites went into the crowd and helped them.

“They read from the Book of the Law of God, making it clear and giving the meaning so that the people understood what was being read.” Nehemiah 8:8

This is the best way for people to learn Scripture. The Word should be read aloud and discussed with others. In both the Old and New Testaments, people learned by gathering around a teacher who read the Word and then gave its meaning. Then they stayed together asking questions until they understood and could apply the Word to their lives.

The idea of gathering to listen to a sermon and then leaving without asking questions would have been strange to people living in Bible times.

The Word Moves People

We know that the Israelites understood what they were hearing from the Law because it touched their emotions deeply. They wept when they realized how far they had fallen from what God expected of them. They had gone to Jerusalem seeking the Lord and then discovered that they were unfit to be in his presence.

“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’ . . . Nehemiah said, ‘Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.’ The Levites calmed all the people, saying, ‘Be still, for this is a holy day. Do not grieve.’” Nehemiah 8:9-11

This was the other job of the teachers of the Law: They offered grace when the people came under conviction for their sins. They showed the Israelites that God still wanted them to feast at his table. Just as the Lord would never leave a repentant sinner unforgiven, so the teachers didn’t leave the congregation wallowing in sorrow over their sins. They invited them to come to the table and celebrate their status as God’s forgiven people.

“Then all the people went away to eat and drink, to send portions of food and to celebrate with great joy, because now they understood the words that had been made known to them.” Nehemiah 8:12

The Power of the Word

That day the Word of God went out via Ezra’s voice and entered the minds of the Lord’s people. It descended from their minds into their hearts and touched their emotions. Then, when their hearts cried out for understanding, the teachers came alongside to help them. Once they understood the fullness of what God said they rejoiced and celebrated. They were transformed people.

That is the power of teaching and giving the meaning of the Word to people. It’s the way God reconciles people to himself . . . and blessed are we who daily read the Word, seek to understand its meaning, and apply it to our lives. We are the ones who feast at the table of God.