Seeds for 10/22/2024 - Nehemiah 8:13-15
Scripture:
13 On the second day of the month, the heads of all the families, along with the priests and the Levites, gathered around Ezra the teacher to give attention to the words of the Law.14 They found written in the Law, which the Lord had commanded through Moses, that the Israelites were to live in temporary shelters during the festival of the seventh month 15 and that they should proclaim this word and spread it throughout their towns and in Jerusalem: “Go out into the hill country and bring back branches from olive and wild olive trees, and from myrtles, palms and shade trees, to make temporary shelters”—as it is written.
Observation:
There are two aspects to these verses that I appreciate and want to highlight as we make observations today.
First, I love that the text says that the various groups of leaders gathered around Ezra “to give attention to the words of the Law.” Sometimes we read the scriptures and fail “to give attention” to what is there, moving past it too quickly. Or we see what we expect or are accustomed to finding there. When we “give attention” to God’s Word we are open to surprise, looking for what we may discover and not simply confirming what we recall from previous times we’ve read that passage.
Second, they discovered an instruction for how to observe one of their festivals. This particular bit of instruction is less relevant for us, but within the narrative of Nehemiah it illustrates them giving attention to the words of the covenant and their subsequent intentionality about faithfulness. Paying attention to detail, so long as it isn’t legalistic, can be an act of God-honoring obedience. The picture we get of the people and their leaders here is one of heart-felt devotion. God is worthy of our attentiveness to His word and will.
Application:
When have you felt more attentive to the Bible, or passages within the Bible? What was different from other times?
What else might the Holy Spirit be speaking with you about in the text today?
Prayer: Lord, deepen my hunger for your word. Increase my attentiveness, that my obedience might increase as well. Amen.
“But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.” (Matthew 13:23)
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