Leadership and Renewal (Part Three)

We are considering the book of Nehemiah again this week under the theme of leadership and renewal. We have seen that renewal’s roots are in the Word and the wisdom it produces. We close today by seeing…
Renewal and Its Results (Neh. 8:9-18)

All of the reading and renewal is marked chronologically as taking place on the first day of the seventh month. This is the key to the rest of Nehemiah 8, because the seventh month (Tishri) was a time of feast celebrations in Israel.

In Leviticus 23:23-44, the seventh month is to be remembered as the season for the Feast of Trumpets (1st day), the Day of Atonement (10th day), and the Feast of Booths (15th day). From reading Nehemiah 8:13-14, we see the focus is on the Feast of Tabernacles, or Booths. Since it was a celebration time, weeping was to be turned into gladness. The Ryrie Study Bible helps us with this footnote: “The last festival was that of Booths, which was seven days in length and concluded with a holy convocation (v.36). During that week, the people lived in booths or huts made of boughs (cf. Neh. 8:14-18), commemorating God’s provision for them in bringing them out of Egypt and through the wilderness (Lev. 23:43). It also celebrated the autumn harvest of fruits and olives . . . and according to Zech.14:16, it will be celebrated during the millennium” (p.196).

We discover a practical lesson in Nehemiah 8 and the Feast of Booths. An amazing God led the Israelites safely through a 40-year journey. Moses summarizes this miraculous provision of God with this great verse: “I have led you forty years in the wilderness. Your clothes have not worn out on you, and your sandals have not worn out on your feet” (Deut. 29:5). Today, we’re in a time of recession, the length of which is known only to God. A result of the renewal of our heart is to turn to the God who provides, not only for His ancient people in the wilderness but believers who are having their faith in God put to the test today. Nehemiah 8 turns our heart toward the God who cared for His people in the desert for 40 years and then cared for them during their decades in exile. He is the great Provider who can care for us in our deserts of today.