Nehemiah 8 (Part 3) Bible Study (Feast of Booths Celebrated) | Pastor Daniel Batarseh

Good evening, saints. Welcome to Friday night Bible study. I'm thankful that you're here. I was reminded this week of a powerful truth, a truth that was impacted for us on a Friday night like this one. Back when we were studying the book of first Kings, and I've really just been meditating on one verse the past few days, but this verse, this truth has been ministering to my heart.

So I pray it does the same to you. I pray it encourages you and stirs you up to praise our Lord. Let me read it for us in first Kings chapter six. First Kings chapter six verse seven. When the house was built, it was with stone prepared at the quarry so that neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron was heard in the house while it was being built.

When Solomon built the temple in Jerusalem, it was a quiet endeavor. Isn't that fascinating? You wouldn't hear a loud construction zone. You wouldn't hear a hammer working away. You wouldn't hear a chisel.

You wouldn't hear any tool of iron. It would be quiet. But nonetheless, as time went on, as weeks and months went by, when you would gaze upon that temple, you would see that it is being built up. It's growing. How does that relate to us?

How does that apply to you and me? Well, we're temples of the Holy Spirit. We're being built up in our faith. We're growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior. And often we can get frustrated with that process because we like loud.

We like quick. We like fast. We like explosive growth. But this verse reminds us that the work of the Lord in our lives is often slow and quiet. So be encouraged tonight that even if others don't perceive what the Lord's doing in your life, even if you're struggling to perceive what God is doing, if you're obeying him, if you're seeking his face, you can trust that he is at work in you.

And tonight, you came to Friday night bible study. You came to sit under the word of God. You came to hear the preaching. And the Bible tells us that the word of God is like a hammer. So you can trust that that hammer is gonna come down on you tonight.

And it might break what needs to be broken. It might build up what needs to be reinforced. But we can all trust that the Lord is at work in this place. Let's give him praise for it. Heavenly Father, Lord, we just thank you and praise you that you are among us.

Oh, we need you, Lord. This meeting is vanity without you, God. We pray for your spirit to work in each of us. We thank you that you have something for each of us, God. We pray that you minister to our hearts.

We pray that you empower us, Lord, quicken us, Lord, to worship you now in spirit and in truth. Bless this service. Be with us, God. In Jesus' name, amen. Please stand, and let's sing to the Lord.

My own heart would ever be full, still be my vision, oh, ruler in me. Death was once my great opponent. Fear once had a hold on me. But the out of the depths I cry to you. In darkest places I will call.

Incline my ear,

Yes, lord god. We praise you tonight. Indeed, we wait for you, Lord. We wait for you to move, God, without your spirit in this place, Lord. This is all for nothing.

It's a social club. It's a concert, Lord. God, we need your spirit to be with us, to work amongst us. God, we wait for you to conform us to the image of your son. We thank you for the reminder that you often work quietly and slowly in our lives.

Pray that you would pierce our hearts through your word in a special way, God. Anoint your preacher, prepare our hearts to receive your word, and to obey it at once, Lord. We love you. We need you. We praise you.

In Jesus name, amen.

Amen. Why don't you find somebody? And welcome to this Friday night bible study before you're seated. Welcome to Friday night Bible study. The weather is indeed changing, but our program these Fridays are not.

We are We are continuing in our study of this wonderful book and this exciting book called by Nehemiah's name. But before we get there, we're going to continue worship in our giving if it is on your heart at this time to express that thanksgiving, that gratitude to the Lord with your contributions. The ushers are here to help us as always in that wonderful act of worship to the Lord. And thank you for your partnership. Thank you for, working with Maranatha Bible Church in this way to see his word go forth into the nations, and that is not an exaggeration.

This word is going into the nations from this place, and we ask God that he would continue to expand that work for the sake of his name. Because we are living in perilous times and we're living in a day where there is a famine of God's word. And so we wanna be faithful to God's word and we wanna ask God to bless our efforts to see it spread for the glory of Christ and the good of his people and the salvation of souls. So thank you for, again, your partnership. And, we have just a few announcements here.

I might just limit it to one for the sake of time. The most important thing coming up is our baptism service which is on November 29. And if you are planning to be baptized, which is gonna be our first time having a service like that in this brand new building, which we're thrilled about. We're so excited to have that Lord's Day service where people will be standing in this very place and testifying about what Christ has done. If you do plan to be a part of that, you do have to attend a meeting with one of the elders on the November 8, where you'll be able to just kind of...

Almost like a class where you sit with one of the pastors and they'll answer your questions and provide a brief teaching and clarity of what it is exactly that you are pursuing, and we know that, most people understand that. But just in case, you'd be amazed to know, how some people view baptism as just a way of renewing the relationship with the Lord. You don't get baptized to renew your relationship with the Lord. You don't get baptized to refresh your spirit. So this is something that is an ordinance.

This is something that is scripturally bound and taught and clarified, and we wanna just offer further guidance in that area before you make that official step. If you have any questions regarding that, even if you can't make it for that first meeting on the eighth, please approach one of the pastors. We wanna assist you with your schedule and, make sure that you don't miss this awesome opportunity. If you're here for the first time, a special welcome to you. We wanna let you know that we don't just meet here on Fridays.

We obviously meet here on Sundays and we also meet here on Wednesdays. So on a regular basis, we're here three times a week. And every Wednesday, we pray at 7PM. Every Friday, as you know, we're going through the Hebrew scriptures. And every Sunday, we are coming together here at 10:30 to worship the Lord on the Lord's day, to commemorate his resurrection, and to ultimately, hear from him in his word.

And that is what we are about to do here tonight. There was a verse that came to me in my studies this week that I wanna share with you. It's a simple verse from Psalm one nineteen verse a 161 where many believe David is the one who penned these wonderful things about his relationship with God through his word and he says in that verse of Psalm one nineteen one sixty one, Princes persecute me without cause, but my heart stands in awe of your words. I love that verse. He's very specific.

He could have said, my heart stands in awe of you and that would be totally appropriate, but he narrows it down to God's words. My heart stands in awe of your words. The words of God can cause your heart to stand in awe. And more than that, the amazement of God's word can almost provide a holy distraction. It can swallow up any tribulation that may seem to be haunting you or disturbing you like princes plotting against you.

What the psalmist is saying here is, I will not allow the troubles in my life to deflect my gaze from your word. I want to stand in awe of it continually. And also I believe what he's saying is this awe that I have in my heart for your word keeps me stable and steadfast and immovable even when princes want to attack me. My prayers, we're about to come into this text in Nehemiah chapter eight is that your heart and mine would stand in awe of his words again. Can we ask the Lord for that together?

Thank you for truths like Psalm one nineteen, Lord. And we make that declaration our prayer tonight that you would take our hearts that might be heavy, that might be burdened, that might be distracted and that you would captivate us afresh that we may stand in awe of your wisdom, of your promises, of your love, of the revelation of who you are, Lord. And even if we are surrounded by foes and threats and temptations, we pray that you would help us escape the snares that are before us with a fresh dose of awesome wonder, with the things that we are... We were going to discover tonight bring us to that state of worship again. Help us come to that place in our very hearts.

In Jesus name we pray. Amen. So over the last two weeks, you and I have rediscovered the transformative power of God's word for those who approach his written truth with longing, with hunger, and with patience. And we have seen many things unfold in Nehemiah chapter eight of exactly what awaits those who open up God's word and receive it with great expectation. Some of the things that we have uncovered is that the word of God awakens a concern for the glory of God.

The word of God inspires heartfelt adoration and worship. The word of God humbles us. It convicts us of our sin and exposes us of our need for a savior, of a redeemer continually. It governs our emotions. It has the ability to encourage selflessness and it is the means for us to tap into great rejoicing.

And while those beautiful traits are something that we can expect, we must also understand that they may not take root overnight. However, what we have been beholding in this text of Nehemiah is that these great characteristics, these wonderful fruits, if you will, began to emerge in a single day for the people of Judah under Nehemiah's leadership. Why? Because they're experiencing a very unique season of revival in their city. And so we've been looking at, yes, what God's word can do but we can also say that we are learning a little bit of what true revival looks like.

And although this is the expiration of a very unique move of the Holy Spirit within a community in a in a short amount of time. What we're about to learn in this final portion of this chapter is that God desires to work in each of us continually, regularly. We should pray and believe that God can actually visit us and do something splendid in our midst in a single moment. It was doctor Martin Lloyd Jones who said that when God sends revival, he can accomplish in a single day what we seek to accomplish in fifty years of all our organization. Revival is a wonderful thing.

We should pray for it. We should wait on God for it. And yet, it is not common. True revival is not common. So we might feel discouraged looking at these verses and wondering, is this kind of power, is this kind of glory, is this kind of this kind of renewal and realignment possible for me outside of revival?

Or is it limited to a special visitation of God? Does this make sense? Well, we're about to see here that God actually wants to do something in us in the ordinary, in the everyday rhythms of life. Because what we've seen so far in the first 12 verses of this chapter have all taken place on the first day of the seventh month. Can you imagine that?

All those things about the Word of God and what it can do to the heart began to develop in a single twenty four hour period according to Nehemiah Nehemiah eight. But now as we come to the closing verses of this passage, we're going to see what takes place on the second day of the seventh month. And that is found here in verse 13 of Nehemiah chapter eight, and we're going to read about it together starting there down through verse 18 and see what the Lord has to say to us. Nehemiah eight thirteen. On the second day, the heads of father's houses of all the people with the priests and the Levites came together to Ezra the scribe in order to study the words of the law.

And they found it written in the law that the Lord had commanded by Moses that the people of Israel should dwell in booths during the feast of the seventh month, and that they should proclaim it and publish it in all their towns and in Jerusalem. Go out to the hills and bring branches of olive, wild olive, myrtle palm, and other leafy trees to make booths as it is written. So the people went out and brought them and made booths for themselves, each on his roof and in their courts and in the courts of the house of God, and in the square at the Watergate, and in the square at the Gate Of Ephraim. And all the assembly of those who had returned from the captivity made booths and lived in the booths. For from the days of Joshua the son of Nun to that day, the people of Israel had not done so.

And there was very great rejoicing. And day by day, from the first day to the last day, he read from the book of the law of God. They kept the feast seven days and on the eighth day, there was a solemn assembly according to the rule. This is an incredibly encouraging passage. Again, after hearing from the law of Moses read for hours uninterruptedly the previous day, we now come to the second day of this month, and what do we discover?

The people of God still hungry for the scriptures. And they come to Ezra, and they long to learn more from the oracles of the Lord. And what makes that special is that this second day is not necessarily tied to the feasts. If you read carefully, the Feast of Trumpets, which began on the first day of the seventh month, also ended by that day. It was a one day feast.

So what does that tell us here? This draw to the scriptures was not connected to any kind of demand to observe something religiously. It was not tied to an occasion religiously. It was not because there was an appointment of of this kind of worship that required this kind of discipline, this kind of longing. This is, if you will, an ordinary day.

This is a intermediate period between one feast and the next. So imagine it, you have a group of people who return to their homes, but then there is another remnant here, a a smaller group of people who actually want to remain in Jerusalem and take advantage of the teaching from the lips of Ezra. And as I meditated on this one verse here in verse 13, a few things came to mind that I believe will be helpful for us. The first thing that stands out here is that the people recognized after all that they've experienced the day before that there was still more to taste and be transformed by regarding God's word. There's more.

All the things that we just listed at the beginning of this study, all the things that it awakened, all the things that it stirred, all the things that it solidified, all the things that it shed from their flesh, and yet this people still believe, oh, there's more. You would be amazed to know how that simple mindset can be a daily catalyst to your relationship with the Lord through his word. Believing every time you come to his written truth that no matter what kind of glory he's allowed you to behold, no matter what kind of comfort he has brought to your wounded heart, no matter what kind of amazing revelation and promise he has made known to you, no matter how many connections to Christ you have discovered from types and shadows in the Hebrew scriptures, there is still more to ascertain. There is still more to discover and unfold. If you and I don't approach the word of God with that kind of posture of faith, I can promise you something.

It will be a matter of time when your relationship to the Scriptures will be reduced to cold mechanical duty instead of something that is motivated by wonder and expectation and reverence. This group here, they're showing us that there is more for the scriptures to show us about who God is, about who we are, about everything pertaining to life and godliness. And you and I have to believe that every single time we come into contact with the truth, and we have to revisit that frame of mind in order for us to experience all that it has to offer. So that's what they're showing us here. There's more.

There's always more. But secondly, this verse also reminds us that discovering the treasures that are reserved here in God's word requires intentional effort. Notice that it was the people according to verse 13 who went to Ezra and not Ezra coming to the people. This is the same kinda attitude that we saw earlier in this chapter on the first day of the seventh month when the people gathered at the square at the Watergate and they asked Ezra, bring us the book of the law. So the first day, they're asking for the word.

The second day, they're coming to the word. This is a deliberate daily choice day by day. And if you actually look at this, you see something that's worthy of imitating. And here's what happens on the second day that makes it a little different because this time the text tells us what? Look at it again here at the last part of verse 13, came together to Ezra the scribe in order to study the words of the law.

On the first day, they heard the words of the law read. They were given explanation of the things that were read. But this day, the second day, they came now to actually study. And the word there is quite simple that implies to gain insight into. This is actually the closer examination of something, seeking to gain familiarity and greater understanding regarding a subject.

And here's a simple truth, spiritual enlightenment is never automatic. It requires sacrifice, it demands investment. And that's what we see here. They're setting aside dedicated time. There is a removal of distractions here.

And in the same way, we need that kind of discipline. The canceling out of other things that would sabotage our free time. The right tools being implemented, meditation on the word throughout the day, a humility and receptivity to faithful teachers of God's word are all essential to knowing more of God's truth. To be neutral, to just remain unmoved and without a plan and without an actual seeking and expect there to be growth is a foolish endeavor. It's misguided.

So they're moving ahead. They're making the choice and God's gonna reward that. It makes you wonder if they didn't do this, what we just read earlier, would it have unfolded the way it did? Would they have tapped into greater joy as we saw? Finally, notice carefully who exactly is approaching Ezra.

Was it the people at large? Look again at verse 13. On the second day, the heads of father's houses of all the people with the priest and the Levites. It was primarily the spiritual leaders, the overseers of the community. I believe it's because they recognize something that just took place in the city of Jerusalem.

There is this collective hunger that's been awakened, this appetite now for the things of God that's been stretched. And so you have the leaders singing to to themselves, okay, how are we gonna shepherd these people? What are we gonna do beyond this one day event? And so now they gather together and they approach with a burden on their hearts, a man who is very much skilled in the law to learn more about him. And although each of us in this place are called as our dear brother opened the service with, to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, there is a special responsibility for leaders in God's house to pursue God's word and to have a firmer grasp on it.

My mind went to what the Lord said about the priest in the book of Malachi and I want you to turn there with me to see what he says about those who occupy these authoritative posts because it certainly sheds light on his expectations of ministers today. Malachi two seven, this is a familiar passage. Just remind ourselves of it. The Lord says about those who are priests, for the lips of a priest in Malachi two seven should guard knowledge, and people should seek instruction from his mouth, for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts. Here's what this teaches us.

Ministers are not only to be blameless, loving, approachable, caring. Those are all foundational. Those are all to be expected. But what Malachi reminds us is that ministers are also called to be knowledgeable. Knowledgeable.

Now there are some believers who overlook a pastor's faults and even their sins because they benefit greatly from his teaching. On the other hand, you have some Christians who place little value on a pastor's teaching because they find greater enjoyment and benefit from his personal care and his personal attention. And I wanna focus and comment on the ladder imbalance for a moment. God has called pastors to be far more than just exceptionally nice people. For some people, that's all a pastor should be, just nice and available and present and there's a case to be made about that.

Can I tell you what Malachi says? They're actually messengers of the Lord of hosts ultimately. Their primary duty, if we apply this truth in our context, is that they are to give out sound spiritual wisdom and instruction and insight. And at a high level of expertise, may I add. Did you notice the language here, Malachi two seven?

How the words lips and mouth are connected to knowledge and insight. What does that reveal to us? That a priest or in our context, a pastor or a teacher should be so acquainted with the truth that it is ready at all times to be communicated, explained, shared Whenever he is approached with a need, whenever he steps into any kind of setting, no matter who his audience is, no matter what the circumstance may be like, he must have it ready on his mouth, in his mouth. Approach him at any time, he has something to say. I'm not saying that he has perfect knowledge of the scriptures, but he has something to say from the word of God no matter what is presented before him.

And if you doubt for whatever reason that this should be a chief duty for a man who occupies the post of pastor or teacher, then all you have to do is look at the surrounding verses to see the consequences of neglecting that duty, of putting an emphasis on anything else greater than this. For example, if you're there in Malachi two seven, look at verse six. Here's a here's a positive comment for the priest who takes this task seriously. Malachi two six we read, true instruction was in his mouth and no wrong was found on his lips. He walked with me in peace and uprightness and he turned many from iniquity.

What's the connection? Because instruction was found in his mouth, he turned many from iniquity. So the teaching ministry of a priest is the means by which the wider community repents of sin, is convicted for their wrongdoing, walks away from that which breaks God's heart and instead is led to fellowship with God in the light. What produced that? What created that sanctified environment and sanctified community?

The instruction in his mouth. But now look at the negative side of it in verse eight, Malachi two eight. But you have turned aside from the way you have caused many to stumble by your instruction. You have corrupted the covenant of Levi, says the Lord of hosts. So what's happening here?

Well, the priests of Malachi's day were judged by God through the prophecy of Malachi. In what sense? Well, they caused many to stumble through their inaccurate, insufficient, unfaithful instruction. They deviated from the truth. They spoke from human wisdom.

They were shallow. They cherry picked. They emphasized one thing and neglected the other. They twisted. They edited.

They they tampered with the truth. And the result of that is what? Many stumbled. So notice this, this is incredibly insightful. Many can rise or fall as a result of the priest instructions.

And how he guards knowledge and how he treasure treasures it in his heart, and how he is willing to faithfully proclaim it. And thankfully, the priests and leaders in Nehemiah, they did not fall under that terrible indictment. Instead, they realized the need in Jerusalem and they chose to sat at the feet of a priest who did in fact guard knowledge and had instruction in his mouth, Ezra. Let me just pause and mention how the decision of the heads of the father's houses, the Levites and the priests is so admirable. We read earlier in Nehemiah eight that these priests helped people understand the scriptures as it was being read.

Do you remember this? So they understood their calling as teachers. They even help people teach, but they've reached the point where they understood, okay, we can't go beyond this now. We have limitations in our understanding. So these teachers were willing to posture themselves to be learners.

And they understood that there is a man in town who had greater knowledge than us, who knew the scriptures better than us. And so we will submit under his tutelage and we will receive from him in order for us to be more effective teachers. Never be ashamed to learn from somebody else in your growth of God's word. Never be ashamed of that. Never be embarrassed about that.

God has designed it to be so and this is just a hint of how humility is necessary if we are to excel in divine revelation. Let's come back now to Nehemiah eight and look at verse fourteen and fifteen once more. So they came together as with the scribe in order to study the words of the law, and what do we find next? And they found it written in the law that the Lord had commanded by Moses that the people of Israel should dwell in booths during the feast of the seventh month, and that they should proclaim it and publish it in all their towns and in Jerusalem. Go out to the hills and bring branches of olive, wild olive, myrtle, palm, and other leafy trees to make booths as it is written.

So they're having a Bible study like we are. Just imagine this room filled with Levites and priests and chief men in the community, and now we don't know how this Bible study was directed. Perhaps, it was the leaders who approached Ezra and they said, Ezra, we have a general understanding that there's something significant about the seventh month and we don't wanna miss all that God has prescribed for it. Do you have anything to teach us from God's word pertaining to the seventh month? And then he says, actually, I do know about the seventh month.

Let me teach you. Alternatively, it could have been Ezra who initially guided these leaders by revealing that they have overlooked all that God had said about the seventh month. There was more than just the solemn assembly on the first day. There were actually more feasts. And one of the things that are uncovered here is that the Feast of Booths, the Feast of Tabernacles was to be observed.

And they looked at one another and realized, okay, if this is what God says to take place, then we are going to do it. But I think it's worth pausing here and doing a little bit of review review for ourselves because some people here are more familiar with these appointed feasts than others, and I want us to hopefully be on the same page here. Leviticus chapter 23, and you don't have to turn there now, but on your own time, if you wanna familiarize yourself with these appointed holy days, these feasts, these these calls for celebration They got it instituted for the people of Israel. It's outlined there in Leviticus chapter 23. Not limited to that chapter, but it's a central place to get a understanding of the general things concerning these different appointed feasts.

And they can be categorized as a total of seven of them. They can be categorized comfortably into two parts, if you will, in terms of the timing of these feasts, when they were to be observed. Let me just ask this question. Out of the seven, how many were to be regarded or honored or observed in the springtime? Anybody know?

You can answer if you know. How many? Four. Let's name the four. What's the first one?

Passover. Passover. Good. Second one? Feast of?

Unleavened bread. Third? Feast of First Fruits. Fourth? Feast of Weeks.

Those are the four first feasts that were to be observed during the springtime. So then we have three left. When were they to be observed? The seventh month which is what time of the year? Fall.

What are those feasts? First one, feast of trumpets. We already discussed it. Second one, David Atonement. Lastly, feast of trumpets or boots.

All of those fall feasts fall on the seventh month. Let's get more specific. Which days of the seventh month? Feast of trumpets, which day of the month of the seventh month? The first day, day of atonement, tenth day, feast of booths, fifteenth day.

I think David got all the answers, which is okay. So we see here that there were multiple feasts on the seventh month that was to be observed and recognized, and here's what's so remarkable to me. It's quite possible that Ezra was led to Leviticus primarily to showcase that on top of the book of Deuteronomy and other passages. And here's what struck me. The people observe the Feast of Trumpets, that's inferred by the fact that they gathered in Jerusalem on the first day of the seventh month as we saw earlier in the in the the same chapter.

They're ready now to observe the Feast of Tabernacles or booths. Why isn't the Day of Atonement mentioned? First day of the seventh month, Feast of Trumpets. Fifteenth day, the Feast of Tabernacles. Tenth day, the Day of Atonement.

Day of Atonement is nowhere mentioned here in this account. Legitimate question. Right? It's a deliberate omission. This is not accidental.

It's not like Ezra skipped it or forgot it. It's impossible to overlook if you're honest. And here's what we have to understand. Omission in the narrative does not necessarily mean omission in practice. As we see throughout scripture, biblical authors are selective in what they choose to include or exclude from their records.

And just because something is not explicitly said does not necessarily of atonement, if you look at Leviticus 16, the day of atonement, if you look at Leviticus 16, highlights primarily priestly activity. The day of atonement, if you look scripturally, emphasizes what the priests do with their sacrifices and their purification, and how they mediate for the people of God and atone for their sins that year. Whereas the Feast of Tabernacles emphasizes public instruction, communal celebration, visible, joyful, gleeful worship as a whole. And it seems as though what Nehemiah is trying to highlight here is, let's not just focus on what the priests, what they do, how they're faithful, how they honor God's word, but on God's people as a whole. I want to bring to the reader's attention here that it's the people as a whole that are coming together to honor his law.

I wanna show in my account how God's blessing for obedience doesn't just impact those who serve within the temple precincts, but actually blesses the neighborhoods and households and families. So Nehemiah is strategically, yes, led by the Holy Spirit wanting to, at this point of history, demonstrate how there is joy attached to obedience and joy for all people. If he had brought up the day of atonement, there would be a mixed message because the day of atonement again focused on what the priest did and how they perform their duties, and how the people as a response would what afflict themselves, and repent and reflect on their shortcomings and their failures. It's not that Nehemiah thinks low the Day of Atonement, he just has a different theme that he wants to emphasize. And so always ask that question, why is the author not including this truth or that detail?

Does he have a different goal? And Nehemiah certainly does and he believes here that bringing to mind the Feast of Tabernacles assist them with that cause. To persuade the heart of the reader that there is great delight, there's bliss in a place of obedience. Let's see what happens next now in verse 16. So the people went out and brought them and made boots for themselves, each on his roof and in their courts and in the courts of the house of God, and in the square at the Watergate, and in the square at the Gate Of Ephraim.

And all the assembly of those who had returned from the captivity made boots and lived in the boots, for from the days of Joshua, the son of Nun, to that day, the people of Israel had not done so. And there was very great rejoicing. If you're unfamiliar with the feast, then what we just read might sound a little strange to you. The people built booths, which were kinda like open air shelters with raw natural materials and they were to live in them for a period of time, why? Simple answer, God asked them to.

This is divine decree. And the purpose behind it is spelled out for us in Leviticus 23. If you wanna know why they did this, you have to go to Leviticus 23. Now we can go there and I want you to see two verses that fall under the instructions of the Feast of Tabernacles or the Feast of Booths. In Leviticus 23 in verse forty two and forty three, you will see exactly why the Lord instituted this practice during this feast.

He says to his people, even before they entered into the promised land, you shall dwell in booths for seven days. All native Israelites shall dwell in booths that your generations may know. Highlight those two words, may know that I made the people of Israel dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God. Every year, once a year, all the Israelites were to gather at Jerusalem and they were to build up these little stations for them and their families, and live under those shelters for a period of seven days for one main purpose, to remember.

To remember their history and more specifically, God's dealings with their people. All of us know this, that when the Israelites left, Egypt, went into the wilderness towards the promised land, they didn't have they didn't have permanent homes, didn't have farmland, didn't have access to basic necessities for survival. Their food, their their water, their shelter, their safety came from God and God alone. And so in that dependence, God did not want them to forget where they came from as they were rooted and established in his promised land. So they would build these booths, temporary shelters each year and here's what they would be reflecting on, where God had brought them from.

How vulnerable they were to the elements, to nomadic people, vicious people. How every morning they had to be sustained by God. If God chose not to show up that day, they wouldn't have food that day. If God wasn't their heat at night and their shade in the day, they would suffer. And essentially, they they would just rehearse every single day during that feast that the source of life for them then and even in the promised land was the Lord himself.

So these booths were physical symbols declaring the faithfulness of God. They were almost re experiencing it again. This is why God asked them to do this, and they were to observe it faithfully. It's been established by the Lord even before they entered into the land of promise. But here's what struck me, look back at verse 17, what Nehemiah says about this particular year, And all the assembly of those who had returned from the captivity made boots and lived in boots, for from the days of Joshua the son of Nun to that day, the people of Israel had not done so.

And there was very great rejoicing. Are you kidding me? We're talking about centuries. Centuries upon centuries upon centuries that Nehemiah says, this feast had not been observed like this since the days of Joshua. Now some would say this means that they abandoned this feast altogether after the days of Joshua, and that can't be the case because there are several passage that show after Joshua's time that the people did observe the Feast of Tabernacles.

In fact, the most recent one is in the book of Ezra under the leadership of Zerubbabel when they first came back from Babylon. If you're there in Nehemiah, it's very close. Look at Ezra chapter three and verse four just to confirm this. This is the first wave of exiles who returned from the Babylonian captivity, and notice what it says about their recovery to the land. Ezra three four, and they kept the feast of booths, as it is written, and offer the daily burnt offerings by number according to the rule as each day required.

So there it is. So what does Nehemiah mean when he says that they had not observed the Feast of Booths in this manner since the days of Joshua, the son of Nun? I believe his wording gives us the answer. What seems to be emphasized here by Nehemiah is how the people collectively obeyed God regarding this rule in the area of actually building the booth and living in them. They might have done the sacrifices.

They might have observed the other details about the feast, but when it came to actually living in these shelters, oh, that hasn't taken place since the days of Joshua. So it was a partial obedience up to this time. It was not a complete observance of this feast. There's a different spirit now. There's a different willingness now.

There's a there's a wholehearted embracing of this particular law, and Nehemiah highlights it. And this is something that speaks to the completeness of their compliance and their enthusiasm to do so, but there are other things that we see here. This is so instructive for us in our day, in our own walk with Christ as members of the body of Jesus Christ. Pay attention to what this says about us. First, just because a certain biblical practice is not widely held or honored or has been neglected for a long period of time within Christian culture, does not mean that God intends us to continue to overlook it.

Does that make sense? You have some Christians who appeal to the majority within Christendom to see if something should be adopted or something should be acted upon instead of coming to God's word to skip their instructions. So they they look at this church and they look at that denomination, they look at what these Christians do and and that's where they get their cues. Is it popularly held? Is it what others are doing or not doing?

And that's what settles it for them in their own personal devotion to the Lord and in terms of the practice of their local church. You have others who may not look to majority, but they look to history. And they look back in time and they say, what has been done for the longest period of time? What are the trends been throughout church history and cannot inform us of how we should function as Christians or as the local church in 2026? And I wanna tell you that this text in Nehemiah informs us that neither majority opinion or historical patterns settle the standard God's Word does.

God's Word does on everything. It is supreme. Can you imagine if Ezra and his colleagues reasoned in that way regarding the Feast of Tabernacles? Can you imagine if they just look back at their history and they go, well, we we haven't been doing it like this since really the days of Joshua. That's that's a long time ago and doesn't seem to be any need for change now.

Right? I mean, who are we to bring about that change? Let's just keep going in the the direction that we've been going in. They didn't do that. Even though there were hundreds upon hundreds of years where there was a consensus regarding a specific tradition, regarding a specific feast, they say, well, wait a minute.

God's word says this in this way. And that's authoritative above all other traditions, above all other explanations, above all other trends. You have many people who don't think that way. They elevate historicity. They elevate what is widely recognized and accepted.

And that's when you miss out on the the completion of joy that God wants to instill in each of us. But there's a second observation. One of the results of carefully studying God's word is that it will inevitably challenge your presuppositions. It will confront man made traditions into alignment with God's revealed will. That's not an always pleasant experience, but it is it is something that we have to be prepared for.

And what I discover here is that when professing Christians cling to an interpretation of a certain truth or practice, one that diminishes a scripture or distorts it severely, it's usually because of two explanations. Two main reasons, not limited to them. First, they have not carefully studied God's word regarding that specific matter to begin with. How did they arrive to this point here in Nehemiah eight? Don't forget verse 13.

They set aside time, they got together, and they investigated God's word. And that's how they arrived at this conclusion. I I can't tell you the amount of people that I've met that have arrived to certain conclusions, belief systems, interpretations, and they have not done the heavy lifting for themselves. They just heard it and it seemed persuasive and it seemed convincing. Or that was just what they grew up with.

That was their childhood. That was their spiritual upbringing. Did you study or are you just throwing yourself out whatever seems to be the the popular thing or the resurging thing? And there's another reason which is I believe worse is that there are people who do know what God's word has to say about it, but they put so much value on the tradition that they are willing to disobey God's word. They wouldn't call it disobedience, but they try to justify it as much as they can because it means so much to them, not realizing that that is a form of idolatry.

I am not going to be judged on what the majority does or what even has been taking place in history. Jesus tells me, I have a judge. The word that he has spoken will judge me according to John chapter 12. Many people don't believe that. And so we see here something quite amazing.

The people here are studying, they've arrived to the conclusion, and they obey it. But there's a final thing before we look at the last verse that we can glean from this, and it is how there's a depth of joy, there is a depth of joy that cannot be experienced apart from a wholehearted surrender to God's revealed will. Don't forget this part here in 17. From the days of Joshua, the son of Nun, to that day, the people of Israel had not done so. In other words, for so many years, the Feast of Booths was observed, but not totally.

But once they tapped into the totally, what followed? And there was very great rejoicing. I love that. Not just rejoicing, not just great rejoicing, very great rejoicing. What a word.

We are often tempted to believe that if we edit some of God's word or His instructions or His blueprint for the church, whether we we add or subtract, especially those commands that that disturb our personal preferences, yeah, that we will walk away with a greater peace and sense of satisfaction. You will not know full blessing apart from total obedience. Just taking God at his word and submitting to it with the trust that not only is it right, but it is the key to very great rejoicing. What a wonderful insight about what total obedience leads to. Not drudgery, not pain, not regret, not doubt, rejoicing.

Why do I wanna obey all that I can see and find God's word? Yes, for his glory, but because I also know that's gonna lead to my happiness. There's nothing scandalous about that. How many times has our own Lord and savior told us, blessed is he, blessed are you, blessed are they, blessed is synonymous with happy. Happy.

And that's what we find here. I wonder today where you are consciously diluting something pertaining to God's law or God's instruction for you. I'm telling you we're so clever at manipulating what God asks us concerning forgiveness for example. Oh we touched a nerve didn't we? We know what he says about forgiveness, but this is a unique situation.

This is a pain that nobody's felt before. Just trust God and what he said about forgiveness. Purity, how the local church should function, what are the qualifications for different positions. We really think that God needs some help, that his word needs an update. It's foolish.

It robs him of his glory and it steals our joy. Let's go to verse 18 now. And day by day, from the first day to the last day, he read from the book of the law of God. They kept the feast seven days, and on the eighth day, there was a solemn assembly according to the rule. This shouldn't surprise us.

I mean, this is how the entire chapter opens. We want the law. Ezra comes with the law. Second day, we want more of the law. Ezra helps him with the law.

Now they're entering into the Feast of Tabernacles. They're living in their booths, and we read something extra. Every single day during that feast, Ezra is doing what? He's reading from the book of the law. Now don't make the mistake in assuming that this is simply a continuation of the holy demand that the people are making on Ezra to give them their spiritual nourishment.

Because what I wanna show you here in the closing moments of this Bible study is that what Ezra is doing here in his reading of God's word is in fact another way he is obeying God's law. How can I prove that? I'll show you. If you can go with me to Deuteronomy 31, there is a unique instruction here that relates to what we are reading in Ezra and his decision to do this with the law in Nehemiah chapter eight. Deuteronomy 31, I want you to look there at verse 10 with me.

Here's Moses giving final marching orders to the people before he's taken up to heaven and the people move on without him under new leadership. And here's what he says in Deuteronomy 31 verse 10, and Moses commanded them, at the end of every seven years, at the set time in the year of release, at the Feast of Booths, when all Israel comes to appear before the Lord your God at the place that he will choose, you shall read this law before all Israel in their hearing. It's quite straightforward, isn't it? Every seven years when the people gather for the Feast of Booths, they met in Jerusalem, the Book of the Law was to be opened and heralded in their presence. This was not an annual practice.

Be careful. Every seven years, which may be an indication that the Feast of Tabernacle described in Nehemiah eight coincides with the seven year cycle that we find here in Deuteronomy. It's not explicitly stated, but the practice here in the last verse of chapter eight may be indicating that. But what does it teach us? Surely, it shows us just how surgically precise Ezra was in his wanting to honor God and all that he has to say.

What a beautiful display of joyful obedience to the Lord. But I think there's even more. You know what question I had when I looked at this passage? This is the one I was praying about today. Praying about sometimes there's a verse or a text and it requires a little bit more effort in the place of prayer.

Why every seven years? Why not every three years? Why not every two years? Why not read the book of the law every year? I mean, I'm sure that people could use it.

Every time they made pilgrimage and they came to Jerusalem, just open the law and read it. They're there for several days anyway. And I began to think and investigate God's word to to see is there anything else that took place every seven years. And then there's a clue in the very verses that we just read in Deuteronomy 31 that led to that light bulb moment. Look again at Deuteronomy 31 and verse 10.

This is a lesson to read our Bible slowly. And Moses commanded them at the end of every seven years at the set time in the year of release. At the Feast of Booths. What does the year of release have to do with anything? So you look at the Feast of Boots.

Is there any indication of some kind of release, some kind of forgiveness, some kind of pardon? Not really. So then you have to look elsewhere and see, is there anything that that happened in the seventh year in the law? Yes. Deuteronomy 15.

Look at the first two verses with me. Deuteronomy fifteen one and two. Here's what Moses says to his people. At the end of every seven years, you shall grant a release. What is that release?

Verse two tells us. And this is the manner of the release. Every creditor shall release what he has lent to his neighbor. He shall not exact it of his neighbor, his brother, because the Lord's release has been proclaimed. You see this?

Every seven years, what were the people to do? If anybody borrowed money, if anybody gave a loan, if anybody helped somebody else financially, cancel the debt. Forgive them. It's a restart button economically for the entire nation actually. Now that we figured that out and we realize that it's found also in Deuteronomy 31, here's the next question.

What do they have to do with one another? What does every seven years come to the house of God, honor the Feast of Booths, and read the book of the law specifically, and it's as though he's giving a reminder the time of the year of release. Most people would say, the people honoring the instruction of the release there in Deuteronomy 15 would relieve the nation from all their burdens and their stress about their their financial struggles, so that they can actually receive from God's word. There's no mental hindrance. There's no other preoccupation.

It's almost as though there's this association with freedom. Not just freedom, practically speaking, but freedom to actually receive now that what really matters, God's truth. So this is almost an an aid to the people being more open than ever to hear from God's voice. Debt has a way of burdening us, doesn't it? Consuming our attention and even obstructing our affections.

But here's what I began to wonder, could the public reading of the law according to Deuteronomy 31 provide the spiritual motivation and instruction and conviction necessary for people to obey a command like

what you see in Deuteronomy 15?

Do you think it would be hard for somebody to honor a law like the year of release where people owe you money and by faith you have to say, it's okay. You can go ahead now. That'd be difficult, wouldn't it? And if you think brother, you're reading too much in the text, am I? Go back to Deuteronomy 15.

Look what the Lord says in verse nine. Deuteronomy 15 verse nine. Take care, lest there be an unworthy thought in your heart and you say the seventh year, the year of release is near, and your eye look grudgingly on your poor brother and you give him nothing, and he cry to the Lord against you and you be guilty of sin. So the Lord is already looking ahead and he understands what money and lending and borrowing and debt and future investments and planning and estates can do to us. So I began to wonder, is what God says in Deuteronomy 31, the seventh year, the year of release, you come and you come under God's Word.

Perhaps to move them and to remind them and to shape them and to convict them to observe something like what you see in Deuteronomy 15. God knew every seven years is our year release, so I'm going to now make another institution that every seven years, they will hear my law publicly read to the whole nation. I think so. I think that's totally valid. And I believe it adds yet another wonderful truth concerning the power of God's word in our lives when we are open to it.

It confronts greed. It pries the the tight grip of the love of money. It loosens the glue of materialism. It sobers us up to help us realize that there is eternal life ahead. So even in this, we learn as we as we come to the end of Nehemiah eight of the incalculable value of coming under God's word like you and I are tonight.

As we heard earlier, you may not sense something, you may not be moved to tears all the time, but there is a deep, deep work taking place. And you have no idea the liberty that you are undergoing in moments like this. That's why Satan would love to do all that he can to make sure that you don't come to a setting, to a service, to a community that opens God's word regularly because he knows what he can do. Nobody's ever walked away from a church and benefited from it spiritually. Nobody has ever distanced themselves from God's word and come out more holy, more joyful, more free.

So what's the takeaway? For three weeks in a row, all we've been hearing over and over again is this book carries dynamite power. You don't have to run to ecstatic experiences. You don't need tangible miracles in order for you to have your heart stand in awe of God. Can God do those things?

Can God intervene in very tangible? Absolutely. But this book can do what no other truth can do, what no other document can do, what no other form of speech can persuade you about. And I know you believe that and that's why you're here, but don't ever forget it. Don't ever discount any opportunity that you get, whether it's the morning with a cup of coffee there at your favorite spot in your house, or a service like this, believe that this book is God's word and it is ready to change you every single time.

Amen? Let's thank him for it. As the Psalmist said, Lord, my heart stands in awe of your words. You never fail to marvel us. Thank you for these last few weeks in this single chapter, Lord.

You've reminded us how rich we are because of this book in our hands. And Lord, it is our prayer that we would not merely rely on these corporate expressions of worship. But as Deuteronomy six instructed, that we would rehearse these truths when we lie in our beds, when we walk in the way, in the home, outside the home, that it would be an effortless subject. It would be the substance of our communion with one another. And Lord, even in those moments, we believe that this word carries power.

Lord, we thank you for this church that elevates the scriptures as the ultimate authority above everything. May we never lose that conviction. May we never be tempted by the majority and may we not even be persuaded by history solely. But Lord, your word, you have preserved it for generations upon generations. You have protected it.

And Lord, we think about how every seven years it was to be read to the entire nation saying many things including this truth, God's word has not changed. And Lord, here we are many many years after the days of Nehemiah and Ezra and it is still the same word. We are grateful to be part of that heritage. May we never be ashamed of it. May we always trust in your word.

Lord, now receive our praise and worship because you have now filled our hearts, filled our hearts even more with your righteousness and we praise you because of it. In Jesus' name we pray, amen and amen. Let's stand together. Let's worship the Lord and thank him. Thank you for the gift of his word.

My dwelling place is gone most I, my refuge and my fortress. When plague and pestilence draw night, I'm hidden in his presence. When terrors fall and arrows fly, his shield will be my safe key. When stones are cross my pathway line, on angels wings I'm here. My dwelling place

forever.

You know what impressed me about that Bible study in Nehemiah chapter eight is how when these men came together, they looked at what God asked of them in the seventh month. They could have studied many things in the law, but they asked what the Lord wanted from them in that particular season. And that is a very helpful way to approach God's word. From time to time to say, Lord, with this occasion, with these opportunities, with my limitations, what is it that you ask of me? As a single young man, how do I frame my life to be the most fruitful?

With all the free time I have than the average person perhaps, with the resources at my disposal, what do you want me to do? As a mother of of three little children, what's the best way to worship you, Lord? Can you speak to me in this? Even with these physical debilitations, these hindrances that are outside of my control, Lord, can you show me? Can you show me how he can serve your purposes?

And God is faithful to reveal that to you and me. If you desire it, he is so faithful to reveal it to you. He cannot just give you his instruction pertaining to his will generally, objectively, but personally. When these men came and asked, what do we do in this season? There was an answer.

I wanna challenge you to do the same and God will reveal it to you and you'll be amazed on how he will provide exact steps for you to maximize this season of your life. Only you can help us with it, Lord. If we come to this book on our own, we're in trouble, but we realize that this is the only book in the world that demands the presence of the author to understand it. Help us never forget that when we come here on Fridays and Sundays and even in our own engagement with this word, We ask for your presence to help us understand it. We bless you, Lord.

Oh, how we're filled with joy. May we be the people that you've called us to be, a people of the book. In Jesus' name we pray, amen and amen. May the Lord Jesus Christ go before you this weekend. If you can, join us this Sunday as we come to look at what God has to say even more about heaven.

I love to preach it. I hope you enjoy to hear it. See you then. God bless you. Have a wonderful Friday night, Saturday.

See you Sunday morning. Take care now. Bye bye.

What? Oh, that seems okay to me.