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The Last – Day 9

Nehemiah 8:18

Day after day, from the first day to the last, Ezra read from the Book of the Law of God. They celebrated the festival for seven days, and on the eighth day, in accordance with the regulation, there was an assembly.

The Thought

The last here refers to the last day of the sacred feast celebrating the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem. The nation of Israel had been in exile in Babylon for 70 years, and when they returned they found their homeland not at all as they had left it, and as the older generation remembered it. Jerusalem had been almost destroyed, and there was much work to be done.

The books of Ezra and Nehemiah tell us of the return of the exiles and the huge organisation of the rebuilding, taken on by Nehemiah.

We can imagine that the completion of the rebuilding was cause for a huge celebration with the older people remembering their childhood and life before the exile, while the younger ones wanted to know more about life before. It was obviously a serious and very emotional moment for many.

Being an Old Testament prophet could be a very tiring career! Imagine standing in a fairground today and reading the Bible aloud to all who cared to listen! Even at Christian festivals, that would not be an envious task. Remember that there were no electronic aids to make voices heard! But we read that the people listened attentively to the Book of the Law (Nehemiah 8:3).

Action

Read Nehemiah 8 today and try to imagine the emotions people were feeling. Exhaustion, but also exhilaration at the completion of the work they had done, but also much appreciation of the work their ancestors had done previously.

Pray for any foreigners in your area who are living far from their homeland.

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