Page 75 - Principles of Leadership - Nehemiah

Ezra has now been working with the people for over 14 years. How will these people begin this process of
moving onto God’s agenda? They will do so by insisting that Ezra, the scribe, bring the book of the Law of
Moses out and help them understand it. Notice again that they asked Ezra, the scribe, to bring the book of the
Law of Moses out and preach to them. One of the first signs that the fires of revival are beginning to burn is
that the people of God begin to cry out for spiritual leaders to explain the law to the people.

1. God’s Word valued (8:1-8) Bring out the Book

When the seventh month came, and the Israelites had settled in their towns, all the people gathered together
at the square in front of the Water Gate. This verse seems to fit into the chronological order of Ezra chapter 7.
However, we still cannot ignore Nehemiah being mentioned in this chapter. (Ezra 7:8-9, Nehemiah 8:9) They
asked Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the Law of Moses that the LORD had given Israel. On the first day
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of the seventh month, Ezra the priest brought the law before the assembly of men, women, and all who could
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listen with understanding. While he was facing the square in front of the Water Gate, he read out of it from
daybreak until noon before the men, the women, and those who could understand. All the people listened
attentively to the book of the law. Ezra the scribe stood on a high wooden platform made for this purpose.
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Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah stood beside him on his right; to his left were
Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hash-baddanah, Zechariah, and Meshullam. Ezra opened the book in
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full view of all the people, since he was elevated above everyone. As he opened it, all the people stood up.
6 Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God, and with their hands uplifted, all the people said, “Amen, Amen!” Then
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they bowed down and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground. Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin,
Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, and Pelaiah, who were Levites,
explained the law to the people as they stood in their places. They read the book of the law of God,
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translating and giving the meaning so that the people could understand what was read.

Let’s look at this passage, and I will try to give the meaning so that you can understand, obey, and experience
God. When the seventh month came, and the Israelites had settled in their towns, all the people gathered
together at the square in front of the Water Gate. They asked Ezra, the scribe, to bring the book of the Law of
Moses that the LORD had given Israel. The people realized that the Law of Moses (The first five books of the
Bible) was not just another book. They viewed the Law of Moses as something that the LORD had given Israel.
They had experienced years of captivity, and they had seen their city lie in ruin and disgrace for years. They are
pleading with the spiritual leaders to explain the Law of Moses to them. I want to call to your attention that I
used a plural pronoun several times intentionally. Notice that this request is lay-led and not led primarily by
Ezra and Nehemiah. They asked Ezra, the scribe, to bring the book of the Law of Moses that the LORD had
given Israel. I remember being a part of the tail end of the Baby Boom Revival. The people, not the pastors,
cried out for Bible studies every night. Almost every night, there were studies, followed by singing and prayers.
Then, primarily, young people were released to go out into our communities with tracks, trying to win people to
Christ. I remember God getting a hold of several young people’s hearts and calling them into ministry, in which I
was one of them. Oh, that God would do it again. “When you get free time, do you view it as an opportunity to
drink the living water of the word? Do you relish the chance to taste what is sweeter than honey from the
comb? God’s people love God’s word.” 193

Ezra the priest brought the law before the assembly of men, women, and all who could listen with
understanding on the first day of the seventh month. Ezra had been teaching the Torah to these people for
fourteen years, and now his teaching is going to bear much fruit. This crowd of people was composed of men,
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women, and all who could listen with understanding. (teens and children) While he was facing the square in
front of the Water Gate, he read out of it from daybreak until noon before the men, the women, and those
who could understand. All the people listened attentively to the book of the law. Somewhere between 4 and 6
hours, this public reading and explanation of the scriptures went on. There was no one looking at their watches,
wondering when the service was going to end. Some of the commentaries that I read deal with the issue of the
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