Sunday School Lesson
Lesson: Nehemiah
8:13-18
Golden
Text:
“And all the
congregation of them that were come again out of the captivity made booths, and
sat under the booths: for since the days of Jeshua the son of Nun unto that day
had not the children of Israel done so. And there was very great
gladness”
(Nehemiah 8:17).
INTRODUCTION.
God’s people had returned to the Promised Land after seventy
years in captivity. They had rebuilt the temple and reinstituted
the sacrifices and temple worship which brought them joy. Now they
read the Law publicly and began to obey the Lord understanding that His commands
were for their instruction and for their good.
II. THE INCENTIVE
FOR THE FESTIVAL (Nehemiah 8:13-15). Background for the
Lesson: This
week’s lesson takes place about a hundred years after the first group of Jewish
exiles returned to Judah under Zerubbabel in 538
B.C. A second group of Jews returned to
Judah led by Ezra in 458 B.C. In
445 B.C., Nehemiah, who was king Artaxerxes’ cup
bearer (see Nehemiah 1:11), was allowed to return to Jerusalem from captivity in
Persia to rebuild Jerusalem and the walls in particular (see Nehemiah 2:3-5,
17). Even though he was faced with outside opposition, he
organized the Jews into a unified group to rebuild the wall and protect the
workers. In only fifty-two days, the wall was completed on the
twenty-fifth day of the sixth month of Elul (see Nehemiah 6:15).
Nehemiah then organized a city government and came up with a plan to
repopulate Jerusalem (see Nehemiah 7:1-5). Then on the first day
of the seventh month Tishri, all the people gathered together to recommit
themselves to God’s laws. They asked Ezra, the scribe, to read
from the law and the Levites assisted him in explaining it to the crowd (see
Nehemiah 8:1-8). Our lesson begins on the day after Ezra read the
law to the people.
A. The study of the law
(Nehemiah 8:13).
In this verse, Nehemiah wrote
“And on the second
day were gathered together the chief of the fathers of all the people, the
priests, and the Levites, unto Ezra the scribe, even to understand the words of
the law.” The phrase “on the second day” refers to the day after Ezra read the law to the people.
After Ezra spent most of the day reading the law to them, Nehemiah sent
them home and the next day he gathered a select group which included
“the chief of the fathers of all the people, the priests, and the
Levites, unto Ezra the scribe, even to understand the words of the law.”
The group identified as the “chief of the fathers of all
the people” were the heads of households in Israel who were
responsible for guiding their families in
God’s law (see Deuteronomy 6:6-9). Therefore it
was very important that they thoroughly understood God’s Word.
“The priests, and the Levites” were the teachers of the
law, so it was particularly important for them to thoroughly understand the law
themselves. You can’t teach what you don’t
understand. These three groups came back to Ezra
the day after he spoke to the crowd so that they could “understand the
words of the law.” As a skilled teacher and well versed
in the law, Ezra was the right choice to give the leaders and the people an
understanding of the Law of Moses. The leaders in particular
needed to know how God’s principles could be applied to their lives as well as
those under their care. As believers, we too need to so “hunger
and thirst after righteousness” (see Matthew 5:6) that we will seek every
opportunity to digest God’s Word.
B. The command regarding a festival (Nehemiah
8:14-15).
1.
(vs. 14). Here
Nehemiah continues to write “And they found written in the law which the
Lord had commanded by Moses, that the children of Israel
should dwell in booths in the feast of the seventh month.”
As Ezra explained the law
to these leaders, they discovered that “the Lord had commanded by Moses, that the children of Israel
should dwell in booths in the feast of the seventh month.”
Moses is called the
lawgiver but it was God who spoke to Moses and gave him the law that he passed
on to the Jews (see Leviticus 23:1, 23, 33; 24:1). This means that
every commandment and statute Moses gave to the Israelites came
from God. One of the commandments that they discovered during
Ezra’s teachings was that “the children of Israel should dwell in booths
in the feast of the seventh month.” This feast is called
the “Feast of Booths” and also the “Feast of Tabernacles.” It was
one of three feasts that God commanded the Jews to celebrate each year.
The other two were The Feast of Unleavened Bread (also called Passover)
and the Feast of Weeks or Pentecost (see Exodus 23:14-17; Deuteronomy 16:16-17).
The Feast of Booths or Tabernacles reminded Israel of their
wilderness wanderings when they lived in hand-made shelters (see Leviticus
23:41-43). It was to be celebrated in the “seventh month”
which was Tishri, and began on the fifteenth day, and would last seven
days. The Feast of Tabernacles or Booths is also called the Feast
of Ingathering (see Exodus 23:16).
2. (vs. 15). Continuing to refer to the
Feasts of Booths, Nehemiah wrote “And that they should publish and proclaim in all their
cities, and in Jerusalem, saying, Go forth unto the mount, and fetch olive
branches, and pine branches, and myrtle branches, and palm branches, and
branches of thick trees, to make booths, as it is written.”
No doubt, Nehemiah was
thinking about the instructions given in the law on how to prepare for the Feast
of Tabernacles (see Leviticus 23:40). In accordance with God’s
law, and in preparation for the feast, Nehemiah directed the leaders to
“publish and proclaim in all their cities, and in Jerusalem.”
In other words, the leaders were to broadcast throughout Jerusalem
and the surrounding cities for the people to gather limbs and branches
“to make booths, as it is written.” The phrase
“as it is written” refers to the original command to build
booths (see Leviticus 23:42). Scripture does not give any detailed
instructions on how the booths were to be constructed, but since the people were
to live in them for seven days, it seems reasonable that they had to be large
and strong enough to accommodate families for a full week.
III. THE
CELEBRATING OF THE FESTIVAL (Nehemiah
8:16-18)
A. The
booths constructed (Nehemiah 8:16-17).
1. (vs. 16).
This verse says “So the people went forth, and brought them, and made
themselves booths, every one upon the roof of his house, and in their courts,
and in the courts of the house of God, and in the street of the water gate, and
in the street of the gate of Ephraim.”
The decision to celebrate the Feasts of Tabernacles was made on the
second day of the month (see Nehemiah 8:13) giving the people about two weeks to
prepare for it. According to the law, it was to be celebrated in
the place that the Lord would choose which was Jerusalem (see Deuteronomy
16:15). Most of the people lived outside the city, so they had to
travel to Jerusalem and build their booths there (see Nehemiah 7:4).
Referring to the branches to be used in constructing the booths, Nehemiah
wrote that “the people
went forth, and brought them, and made themselves booths.”
Those Jews who lived within
Jerusalem, built their booths on the roofs of their homes.
Typically, the houses in the Middle East had flat roofs (see Joshua 2:6;
II Samuel 11:2; Mark 2:4; Acts 10:9) which were large enough to handle the
booths. Some booths were built “in their courts”
referring to the open courts around the houses which also provided
space for booths. Some booths were set up
“in the courts of the
house of God.” The
second temple that the returning Jews had rebuilt had two courts.
The inner court was for the priests and they built their booths
there. The outer court was open to the public so families coming
from the countryside could use that space. Those who came from
farther away set up their booths “in the street of the
water gate, and in the street of the gate of Ephraim.”
The “street of the water gate” refers to the
square near the “Water Gate” that was located on the eastern
side of Jerusalem. It would appear that this square must have been
spacious especially since Ezra addressed the people of Judah there (see Nehemiah
8:1, 3). Therefore, it no
doubt had enough space for many
booths. “The street of the gate of Ephraim” led
out of the city toward the territory of Ephraim (in the north) which had been
part of the former Northern Kingdom of Israel. It also had a large
square where booths could be built.
2. (vs. 17). In this verse Nehemiah writes
“And all the congregation
of them that were come again out of the captivity made booths, and sat under the
booths: for since the days of Jeshua the son of Nun unto that day had not the
children of Israel done so. And there was very great gladness.”
Nehemiah gives us a summary
statement indicating that this festival was celebrated by everyone who returned
to Judah from captivity. They all “made booths, and sat
under the booths” thus obeying what the law commanded.
Then Nehemiah comments that “since the days of Jeshua the son of
Nun unto that day had not the children of Israel done so.”
It would appear from this statement that the Feast of Booths had
not been celebrated in Israel since the time of Joshua some nine hundred years
earlier. However this cannot be the case because this feast was
observed when Solomon dedicated the first temple (see II Kings 8:65-66; II
Chronicles 7:8-10) and in the first year that the exiles returned from captivity
when the altar was rebuilt (see Ezra 3:4). When Nehemiah made this
comment, he may have been referring to the manner in which this feast was
celebrated not the last time it was celebrated. He said
“there was very great gladness.” Since the temple,
Jerusalem, and the walls had been rebuilt, and there was a new zeal for God’s
Word (see Nehemiah 8:1-9, 13), there was reason for the people to rejoice with
“very great gladness” as previous generations had
not.
B. The law read (Nehemiah
8:18).
Our final verse says “Also day by day, from the first day unto the last day,
he read in the book of the law of God. And they kept the feast seven days; and
on the eighth day was a solemn assembly, according unto the manner.”
Ezra read from the law of
God “from the first day unto the last day” or each day of this
feast. This reading of the law was not commanded to be done every
year, but every seventh year that this feast was observed (see Deuteronomy
31:10-13). The Jews “kept the feast seven days; and on the
eighth day was a solemn assembly, according unto the manner.”
The law commanded that the feast be celebrated
for seven days (see Leviticus 23:34), but the eighth day was not really part of
the feast. It was added to be a time for a “solemn
assembly” when no work could be done. This eighth day was
in essence a closing ceremony to remind the people that the previous seven days
of celebration should be seen in the context of worshipping God.
Note: As
Christians, we are not commanded to keep the Feast of Tabernacles today, but we
can learn from it. First, as a harvest festival, it should remind
us that everything we have and enjoy comes from the Lord. Second,
as a reminder of the wilderness years, this feast assures us that even in lean
times God supplies our needs. We should be grateful for both of
these.
IV.
Conclusion. This
week’s lesson has been a simple and direct example from history of the way to
respond to the Word of God and enter into a place of blessing. The
people gladly did as they were taught by the Scriptures and honored the Lord in
remembering His goodness to their ancestors. We need to
concentrate on honoring the Lord and letting Him give us His joy.
Attempts to gain joy by human means will not lead to any true spiritual
blessing.
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