Nehemiah 8:10-18
Ne 8:10
Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and
drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for
this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy
of the LORD is your strength.
Now the assembled people were to be dismissed to their
homes since they had been congregating in the hot sun for six hours.
Then since this was a day of joy for the people, they were not sorrow
instead they were to eat the fat which means they were to enjoy a day of
feasting and were to drink the sweet which was something sweet like grape juice
or grape wine and then they were not only to eat the feast themselves but were
to send portions to those who didn’t prepare anything which may be those who are
poor, widows, fatherless, or even strangers so they may enjoy the day along with
the others. Since it was a holy day
unto the LORD there should be no sorrow among the people for today is a new day
in Jerusalem and should be celebrated as such.
The joy of the LORD may be the joy that he is experiencing when his
people are in such a good spirit and as long as the LORD is showing gladness
toward his people, no one will ever be able to attack them or hurt them.
That joy is also imputed to the believer.
But the fruit of the Spirit is
love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, (Galatians 5:22)
Joy is also a fruit of the Holy Spirit which is given to the believer and
that everlasting joy can bring a believer through some of the most roughest
times in life. The word “joy” also
carries with it the meaning of “calm or delight.”
Sometimes the world is bewildered that Christians can remain so calm in
the midst of many types of disasters and that is the joy of the LORD at work.
Ne 8:11
So the Levites stilled all the people, saying, Hold your
peace, for the day is holy; neither be ye grieved.
Then there were still those in the congregation who had
wept at hearing the words of God being read and explained so the Levites stilled
or calmed all the people down. They
were to refrain from weeping and mourning and is a holy day set apart for
feasting along with joy and gladness and they were not to bask in any grief they
had. Unfortunately there are many
Christians who live in perpetual mourning and they never seem to have the joy of
the LORD. They are always walking
around with a long face. They think
that walking around like that will please the LORD, well it doesn’t and if it
did, then why would he give us his joy as a fruit of the Holy Spirit.
We can be sorrowful for our sins or we can be sorrowful when we lose a
loved one, but perpetual mourning is not the true testimony of the believer.
Ne 8:12
And all the people went their way to eat, and to drink,
and to send portions, and to make great mirth, because they had understood the
words that were declared unto them.
Then the crowd had finally dispersed and went to their
homes after they finally understood that the day was not a day of mourning but
it was a day of great mirth or great joyfulness once they finally understood the
words that were spoken to them concerning the law and also the day of joy which
they were to experience and how it was ordained of the LORD that they should
enjoy the present time because the enemies of God will not hold back forever and
will make every attempt to falsely accuse them of insurrection and cause them
much dismay.
Ne 8:13
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.
Then after Ezra presented the words of God and the
teachings from the Scriptures to the people, the next day he called together all
the Elders, Levites, and priests to give them the understanding of the law since
in Babylon they would not have had access to the Hebrew Scriptures.
So basically Ezra was re-teaching the leaders about the law of God and
the requirements found in the law so their projects and their homes and city
could once again be a center of the worship of God.
This is also a great idea for the modern church leaders.
They should all have refresher courses in the Scriptures because many
times as people get deeper into theology, theology takes the place of the
Scriptures as we see today on a massive scale.
When Israel was in Babylon, they had written the Babylonian Talmud which
was a commentary and Ezra wanted to teach the Scriptures so the Jews would not
rely solely on the Talmud. The word
“Talmud” comes from a Hebrew word “to learn.”
Ne 8:14
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:
Also in the
fifteenth day of the seventh month, when ye have gathered in the fruit of the
land, ye shall keep a feast unto the LORD seven days: on the first day
shall be a sabbath, and on the
eighth day shall be a sabbath.
(Leviticus 23:39) Ye shall dwell in
booths seven days; all that are Israelites born shall dwell in booths:
(Leviticus 23:42) The Feast of
Tabernacles or Booths was a celebration commemorating the redemption of Israel
from Egyptian bondage and also the faithfulness of God during the wilderness
wandering for forty years. The
month was Tishri or September/October.
Ne 8:15
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.
And ye shall take
you on the first day the boughs of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, and the
boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and ye shall rejoice before the
LORD your God seven days. (Leviticus 23:40)
Then they were to go to the forest and gather the branches of certain
trees be able to construct booths or tabernacles.
They would construct them like a house with the stronger branches being
supports and the other tree branches for the sides and the roof.
The Feast of Tabernacles also represented the church in the wilderness of
this world as we live in temporary housing until we get our permanent home in
Heaven.
This is he, that was in the church in the
wilderness with the angel which spake to him in the mount Sina, and
with our fathers: who received
the lively oracles to give unto us: (Acts 7:38)
Ne 8:16
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.
So the people did as the Scriptures commanded and they
gathered the necessary branches from the trees which surrounded Jerusalem.
There were booths all over Jerusalem as some people placed the booths
upon their houses. In those days
houses had flat roofs so they were able to place booths upon the houses.
The common people would use the courtyards and the Levites and priests
would use the courtyard in the temple. Then they placed them in the street where
the Watergate was. It was close to
the temple where the Nethinims brought in the water for the temple service.
Then the gate of Ephraim was the gate which had the road which led to the
tribe of Ephraim.
And Jehoash king of Israel took Amaziah
king of Judah, the son of Jehoash the son of Ahaziah, at Beth-shemesh, and came
to Jerusalem, and brake down the wall of Jerusalem from the gate of Ephraim unto
the corner gate, four hundred cubits. (2 Kings 14:13)
Ne 8:17
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.
All those who came out from the Babylonian captivity, the
ones who came with Ezra and the ones who came with Nehemiah and no doubt those
who were the descendants of those who came with Zerubbabel 70 years prior.
The time of Joshua was approximately 1406-1386 B.C. which means that
Israel did not celebrate the feast of booths for 953 years.
Once again they were a very happy people because this was the
resurrection of a feast which was not done in almost 1,000 years and the people
were happy to celebrate the feast as they reflect on their freedom from bondage
in both Babylon and Egypt. It was
also a feast which celebrated the harvest.
Thou shalt observe the feast of
tabernacles seven days, after that thou hast gathered in thy corn and thy wine:
(Deuteronomy 16:13) There may
have been a celebration of the feast of Tabernacles in the time of Solomon.
Even after a certain rate every
day, offering according to the commandment of Moses, on the sabbaths, and on the
new moons, and on the solemn feasts, three times in the year,
even in the feast of unleavened
bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles. (2 Chronicles
8:13)
Ne 8:18
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.