King James Bible Study – [And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. – Mark 8:34]
Date: Sunday, September 28, 2025
Chapters: Nehemiah 8-10
Message: Nehemiah: Ezra Reads The Law
Hello My Friend,
As we continue in the reading of Nehemiah, we learn that not everyone can understand the Word of God and God made it that way for a reason. God, gave His Word to His people, not the world, not religion, and not to reprobates, simply for the sake of knowing Him better, [2 Timothy 3:16-17 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.]
Those who truly and sincerely want God in their lives will gravitate to His Word or at least be attentive to hearing what it has to say until they come to the knowledge of Christ and receive Him as their Saviour. Our faith in Christ is the only way that we can discern the Scriptures because it is the Holy Spirit that teaches it to us, [1 Corinthians 2:9-10 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. 10 But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.]
For seventy years Judah did not have the Word of God, it was actually hidden from them, that was until king Cyrus had given it back after they were allowed to go back to Jerusalem. Now, that the temple and walls that surrounded Jerusalem were built, for the first time in their lifetime, all those who wanted to hear God’s Word gathered together and asked Ezra to read it to them.
[Nehemiah 8:1-3 And all the people gathered themselves together as one man into the street that was before the water gate; and they spake unto Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the LORD had commanded to Israel. 2 And Ezra the priest brought the law before the congregation both of men and women, and all that could hear with understanding, upon the first day of the seventh month. 3 And he read therein before the street that was before the water gate from the morning until midday, before the men and the women, and those that could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive unto the book of the law.]
The ones who listened were capable of hearing the Law read to them to some advantage, whether they were the right age, could read or understand the Hebrew language, or spiritually discerned, they were not only eager to hear what was written in God’s Word, they were attentive to it. Following God’s Word does first come by hearing it, [Romans 10:17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.]
There were a lot of people there so in order for all of them to be able to see Ezra they had a pulpit built for him to stand on, [Nehemiah 8:4-6 And Ezra the scribe stood upon a pulpit of wood, which they had made for the purpose; and beside him stood Mattithiah, and Shema, and Anaiah, and Urijah, and Hilkiah, and Maaseiah, on his right hand; and on his left hand, Pedaiah, and Mishael, and Malchiah, and Hashum, and Hashbadana, Zechariah, and Meshullam. 5 And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people; (for he was above all the people;) and when he opened it, all the people stood up: 6 And Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God. And all the people answered, Amen, Amen, with lifting up their hands: and they bowed their heads, and worshipped the LORD with their faces to the ground.]
There you have it, this was the very first worship service, and the proper way to hear the reading of God’s Word. You stand up, bow your head, say a prayer as the book is opened, listen, then say, “Amen!” when you understand what you heard. We can worship God anywhere, if you are at home, pray before you read His Word, listen to what the Holy Spirit is teaching you and say, “Amen” when you understand, [Psalms 119:103-106 How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth! 104 Through thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way. 105 Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. 106 I have sworn, and I will perform it, that I will keep thy righteous judgments.]
Ezra, was more that a priest and scribe, and although many people have had the Law read to them over the centuries, he would be the first to preach it to a congregation. Ezra, opened the scrolls and read the Scriptures to the congregation, the others were there were to help them understand more clearly what was being read or interpret it since it was written in Hebrew and not all the Jews knew Hebrew anymore.
[Nehemiah 8:9-11 And Nehemiah, which is the Tirshatha, and Ezra the priest the scribe, and the Levites that taught the people, said unto all the people, This day is holy unto the LORD your God; mourn not, nor weep. For all the people wept, when they heard the words of the law. 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. 11 So the Levites stilled all the people, saying, Hold your peace, for the day is holy; neither be ye grieved.]
My mothers favorite Bible verse is, [Proverbs 7:2 Keep my commandments, and live; and my law as the apple of thine eye.] and this is basically what Ezra was saying. There is a reason why the Bible also says, [Proverbs 24:16 For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief.] We are human and even on our best day we fail, but God does not hold it against us, you just get back up and move forward because the joy of the Lord is our strength, [Psalms 27:1,4-5 A Psalm of David. The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? 4 One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple. 5 For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock.]
We are to never think that we know everything there is to know about God just by reading through His Word once or twice. God, did not design it to be read sparingly, it is to be read and applied daily until we leave this earth. Doing and teaching what we think we know is right, especially when it comes to God’s point of view would only lead to more ungodliness if we have that mindset. Now, once the people heard the Law spoken they were so convicted that they gathered again to hear it read, this time with fasting and praying.
[Nehemiah 9:1-4 Now in the twenty and fourth day of this month the children of Israel were assembled with fasting, and with sackclothes, and earth upon them. 2 And the seed of Israel separated themselves from all strangers, and stood and confessed their sins, and the iniquities of their fathers. 3 And they stood up in their place, and read in the book of the law of the LORD their God one fourth part of the day; and another fourth part they confessed, and worshipped the LORD their God. 4 Then stood up upon the stairs, of the Levites, Jeshua, and Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani, and cried with a loud voice unto the LORD their God.]
A stranger is anyone who is not a saved, born again Christian, and that includes different denominations. A true soul that has been saved by Christ wants to get in His Word and follow it, and that includes repenting of sin and separating themselves from Christians who do not live separated from the world. We all need to set some time each day for God, it does not need to be early morning, it can be any time of the day, [2 Timothy 2:15-16 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 16 But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness.]
Look at our “churches” today, they are a filled with people who want God in their lives, and yet they are spiritually malnourished of the truth by read these “versions” that manipulate His Word to live as they please. The ultimate purpose God had for His people returning to Jerusalem was more than just the restoration of the temple and to rebuild the walls, it was to restore their relationship with Him so they too can see the joy of the LORD is their strength.. Ezra, goes on to give them a history lesson of Israel’s journey from the day that Abraham accepted God’s call to leave his father and go to the land of Canaan.
[Nehemiah 9:6-7,10,13 Thou, even thou, art LORD alone; thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth, and all things that are therein, the seas, and all that is therein, and thou preservest them all; and the host of heaven worshippeth thee. 7 Thou art the LORD the God, who didst choose Abram, and broughtest him forth out of Ur of the Chaldees, and gavest him the name of Abraham; 10 And shewedst signs and wonders upon Pharaoh, and on all his servants, and on all the people of his land: for thou knewest that they dealt proudly against them. So didst thou get thee a name, as it is this day. 13 Thou camest down also upon mount Sinai, and spakest with them from heaven, and gavest them right judgments, and true laws, good statutes and commandments:]
For forty years Israel walked the earth headed for the promised land, during that time they forsook God over and over again, even made their own gods when He would not answer them right away, yet they always had food and water provided for them, their clothes and shoes never even got tattered and worn the entire time. They fussed, complained, doubted, disobeyed, and yet God was right there to help them whenever they cried out to Him. Ezra, goes on to point this out.
[Nehemiah 9:16-19 But they and our fathers dealt proudly, and hardened their necks, and hearkened not to thy commandments, 17 And refused to obey, neither were mindful of thy wonders that thou didst among them; but hardened their necks, and in their rebellion appointed a captain to return to their bondage: but thou art a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and forsookest them not. 18 Yea, when they had made them a molten calf, and said, This is thy God that brought thee up out of Egypt, and had wrought great provocations; 19 Yet thou in thy manifold mercies forsookest them not in the wilderness: the pillar of the cloud departed not from them by day, to lead them in the way; neither the pillar of fire by night, to shew them light, and the way wherein they should go.]
This is why you will see many opportunities where God will send His faithful to some of the most offensive people, He does not want to see one soul in hell. Obeying all of God’s commandments was not the point of why God gave His Word, we are incapable of going a day without sin, what He wanted was a commitment. Nehemiah, goes on to remind them of God’s continuous mercies on them.
[Nehemiah 9:26-28,31 Nevertheless they were disobedient, and rebelled against thee, and cast thy law behind their backs, and slew thy prophets which testified against them to turn them to thee, and they wrought great provocations. 27 Therefore thou deliveredst them into the hand of their enemies, who vexed them: and in the time of their trouble, when they cried unto thee, thou heardest them from heaven; and according to thy manifold mercies thou gavest them saviours, who saved them out of the hand of their enemies. 28 But after they had rest, they did evil again before thee: therefore leftest thou them in the hand of their enemies, so that they had the dominion over them: yet when they returned, and cried unto thee, thou heardest them from heaven; and many times didst thou deliver them according to thy mercies; 31 Nevertheless for thy great mercies’ sake thou didst not utterly consume them, nor forsake them; for thou art a gracious and merciful God.]
If we are honest with ourselves, we have not gotten what we truly deserve because we are all guilty of sinning against God more than we care to admit. Nevertheless, we learn, we grow, and we improve as we confess and repent, or we ought to anyway. While they acknowledged that God is a merciful God, they also understood that He is a just God and whatever befalls them because they were rebellious is all on them, but regardless, they were going to follow Him anyway and made a covenant with Him that day.
[Nehemiah 9:32-33,36,38 Now therefore, our God, the great, the mighty, and the terrible God, who keepest covenant and mercy, let not all the trouble seem little before thee, that hath come upon us, on our kings, on our princes, and on our priests, and on our prophets, and on our fathers, and on all thy people, since the time of the kings of Assyria unto this day. 33 Howbeit thou art just in all that is brought upon us; for thou hast done right, but we have done wickedly: 36 Behold, we are servants this day, and for the land that thou gavest unto our fathers to eat the fruit thereof and the good thereof, behold, we are servants in it: 38 And because of all this we make a sure covenant, and write it; and our princes, Levites, and priests, seal unto it.]
I am not going to lie, sometimes I think that the affliction I am going through is a result of my past. Even though I know I have been forgiven and repented long ago that still does not exempt me from the consequences from what I did. Regardless of whether or not it is true, I do know one thing, God is a just God and I am getting much less than I deserve and in fact, once I leave this earth I will never suffer ever again. The same applies to all who receive Christ as their Saviour, [Revelation 21:3-5 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. 4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. 5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.]
There does come a time in our lives when the things of this world are meaningless and we discover that there is no joy in them. Many of the people stood up that day, gladly choosing to follow the Law, even entering a curse should they break that covenant. In order to make it official their names were added and sealed in a book. The list of names was provided as well as the oath that they took.
[Nehemiah 10:1,8-9,14,28-29 Now those that sealed were, Nehemiah, the Tirshatha, the son of Hachaliah, and Zidkijah, 8 Maaziah, Bilgai, Shemaiah: these were the priests. 9 And the Levites: both Jeshua the son of Azaniah, Binnui of the sons of Henadad, Kadmiel; 14 The chief of the people; Parosh, Pahath-moab, Elam, Zatthu, Bani, 28 And the rest of the people, the priests, the Levites, the porters, the singers, the Nethinims, and all they that had separated themselves from the people of the lands unto the law of God, their wives, their sons, and their daughters, every one having knowledge, and having understanding; 29 They clave to their brethren, their nobles, and entered into a curse, and into an oath, to walk in God’s law, which was given by Moses the servant of God, and to observe and do all the commandments of the LORD our Lord, and his judgments and his statutes;]
This is the curse, which is actually a blessing, all who hear the Gospel of Christ, and understand and accept that He alone is their salvation from their sin, belong to Christ forever. That means that we can no longer live like the world or live in sin without repentance because we will suffer greatly, even more than we ever did, [Hebrews 6:4-6 For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, 5 And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, 6 If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.]
Today’s Prayer: Jesus, Thank You for the sacrifice You made by giving Your life for me. You shed Your blood so that I did not have to spend eternity in hell. I believe in all that You are and that You alone are the only one who can save me because I entered into the sure covenant, and am sealed by Your blood forever. I am forever grateful for what You have done for me. Lead me and guide me, fill me with Your mercies and grace. Forgive me for losing sight of what You have done for me. Help me to stay faithful in Your Word and to follow it so that I can become a reflection of You. You are the joy of my strength and the only one who can carry me through this life and into the next, for You are my Redeemer, and my Saviour. I love You and pray this in Your name, Jesus. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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