Ezra stood and read

So Ezra the scribe stood on a platform of wood which they had made for the purpose; and beside him, at his right hand, stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Urijah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah; and at his left hand Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hashbadana, Zechariah, and Meshullam. And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was standing above all the people; and when he opened it, all the people stood up.- Nehemiah 8.4-5

Now that all the physical work was done it was time to deal with the spiritual state of the nation. The task turns to Ezra the scribe. The Temple is built and the city is secure and it is time to restore proper worship to the people. This is an amazing section and I think there are principles we can learn here for ourselves and our churches today.

The city has all gathered together to see what Ezra had to say. He was up on a platform surrounded by other leaders to support him.

You can almost sense the anticipation of the crowd and a silence falls over them. Ezra steps up and he carrying a scroll with him – the ‘book of the Law of the Lord.’ It was their Bible, which still today makes up a part of our Bible.

Everyone was watching.
Ezra opens the scroll and starts reading.
And everyone stood up.

I like that sense of reverence for the word of God. This was vital. This reading could not be taken lightly. This was a rare day for them. They knew that God was speaking to them – so they stood and listened.

A lot of the world is still like this. Just watch a video of a town or village that gets a Bible in their language for the first to see the joy and awe at getting it – I think that gives a sense of how these folks must have felt.

So God’s word was read. They stood in awe. We’ll see more tomorrow, but I wonder if we still have that same kind of awe and respect for the reading of God’s word?