THIS IS A CONTINUATION OF STUDYING THE BOOK OF NEHEMIAH.
[THIS STUDY WE BEGIN AT CHAPTER 8]
If you are unfamiliar with the Jewish feasts, you may want to catch up real quick. Below are excerpts from Joel Richardson, over at www.joelstrumpet.com, which quickly summarize the feasts to help you understand the significance of what is happening in Nehemiah chapter 8. (ARTICLE SOURCE)
“The seven Biblical Feasts contain and prophetically proclaim the complete Gospel of the Kingdom; the same message proclaimed by all of the prophets, the Messiah and the apostles.
The first three Feasts of Passover, Unleavened Bread and First Fruits prophetically speak of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus.
The fourth feast of Pentecost speaks of the first great outpouring of the Holy Spirit and the resultant ingathering of 3000 individuals into the Church in one day.
Today, many Christians believe that the message of the first four feasts contains the complete Gospel Message.
But the message of the spring feasts without the prophetic message of the Fall Feast Days is incomplete. The complete Gospel Message must include the prophetic message of the Fall Feasts as well as the Spring Feasts.
The Fall Days speak of the return of the Messiah and the salvation of the Jewish people. This is an equally integral and essential element of the Gospel message.
These events together make up the primary longing, hope and expectation of the believer.”
THE WORD IS THE FOUNDATION
What is important to understand is the crescendo of the timing here. We know that Israel was removed from their land for 70 years so that the land would receive the 70 sabbaths due to it, then the people are brought back in three waves. After all this time, we learned back in chapter 5 that the people were not following the Jewish laws, and probably didn't know the law at all, or it was a very distant memory.
Now with the city in tact, the people in the land, the priests, singers and musicians in place, the people are "gathered as one man" in the center of the city and they request Ezra the priest/scribe to read the BOOK. What day did that happen to be? The first day of the 7th month. (vs. 8:2) What day is that? Rosh Hashanah, AKA "The Feast of Trumpets", AKA the Jewish New Year (Sacred Year). Seriously, the timing of the reading of the Word to the people... only God.
Here's a little chart I found online that is helpful if your interested in seeing it more visually:
One last point of interest I found on Jewfaq.org: (Babylonian = Persian)
“The names of the months of the Jewish calendar were adopted during the time of Ezra, after the return from the Babylonian exile. The names are actually Babylonian month names, brought back to Israel by the returning exiles. Note that most of the Bible refers to months by number, not by name.”
WE NEED A REBIBLE
It was really significant to me that the people requested Ezra to read the Book of the Law to them (vs.1). The people were hungry for spiritual restoration, not just physical restoration. It is also worth noting that the scriptures were read to the entire family. Women and children were also present here. This is significant. Why? Because in order to bring cultural & spiritual restoration, you need to disciple the entire family.
The revival of the nation began with the reading of the Word. I like the term "rebible". In fact, the church today could really use a good "rebible"! 2015 survey results on Bible reading in the west from Barna was a bit shocking:
“Only 37% of Americans report reading the Bible once a week or more. Among those who have read Scripture in the previous week, not quite six in 10 (57%) say they gave a lot of thought to how it might apply to their life.”
A few years back I met a House of Prayer leader from Mexico who shared that his intercessors take turns reading the Bible aloud in public, just as we see here in Nehemiah chapter 8. They started in the streets, then moved into a bank reading over the intercom that was owned by a believer. Then it spread to several other bank intercoms. Many were saved, healed, and delivered through the hearing of the Word being read aloud to them. That’s what I call a "rebible"!
My prayer today is that a fresh wind would come over every believer and they would be hungry for the Word like never before AND they would have revelation understanding of the Word like never before. Lord, feed Your sheep Your Word!
HOW WILL WE RESPOND?
What steps will you take to press into the Word? To press into spending more time getting the Word inside you? Talk to the Lord about this and ask Him to help you establish some goals. Consider a different version of the Bible, or a new Bible perhaps. Perhaps even setting apart time to fast from reading, listening, or watching anything other than the Word for a set time period to get "baptized" in the Word once again.
Would you join with me in praying for the Church of America to enter into a "rebible"? This is the way for the truth of who God is to get inside the hearts of the people.
PRAYER
Jesus, I come to You today and ask that you would once again stir my heart to desire Your Word. Spirit of God, help me to understand Your Word with fresh revelation and insight from heaven. Jesus, You are the Word, and as surely as You live in me I ask that Your Word would be alive in me and flow out of me regular through my speech and interactions with others. I align my desire to Your desire, that my speech would be in alignment with Your speech, and Your Word of truth would be loosed over this nation, and the nations of the earth, In Jesus Name, Amen.