Day 21
“When the seventh month came and the Israelites had settled in their towns, all the people assembled as one man in the square before the Water Gate. They told Ezra the scribe to bring out the Book of the Law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded for Israel.” Nehemiah 8:1 The walls have been rebuilt and the Israelites gather together as one man to hear the Word of the Lord. As Ezra opens the book, “all the people could see him because he was standing above them; and as he opened it, the people all stood up. Ezra praised the Lord, the great God; and all the people lifted their hands and responded, ‘Amen! Amen!’ Then they bowed down and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground” (8:5,6). As the word of God was read, the Levites instructed the people while they stood there so that they could understand what was being read (8:7,8). In response, the people wept and mourned as they listened to the words of the Law (8:9). However, Nehemiah said to the people that they should not