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The Feast of Tabernacles
v. 9. And Nehemiah, which is the Tirshatha, he being the governor of Judea under appointment from the Persian king, and Ezra, the priest, the scribe, the learned doctor of priestly descent, 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, they were to give no evidence of mourning, deeply as they were affected by the reading, for this would have disturbed the holiness of the day. For all the people wept when they heard the words of the Law, overcome with the sense of their national sins, as brought out by the reading of the commands and prohibitions of the Lord.
v. 10. Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, the special fine foods of the festival season, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared, with the spirit spoken of in Deu_16:11-12; for this day is holy unto our Lord; neither be ye sorry, full of mournfulness,for the joy of the Lord is your strength. Every one who, by reason of God's promise in His Word, is sure of God's kindness and love toward him will not only feel a holy joy over this fact, but will also be filled with wonderful strength in walking the ways of God's will.
v. 11. So the Levites stilled all the people, saying, Hold your peace, for the day is holy; neither be ye grieved.
v. 12. And all the people went their way to eat, and to drink, and to send portions, in the right thankfulness which the occasion demanded, Lev_23:23-25, and to make great mirth, because they had understood the words that were declared unto them.
v. 13. And on the second day were gathered together the chief of the fathers of all the people, the priests, and the Levites, unto Ezra, the scribe, even to understand, to consider most carefully, the words of the Law, including such ordinances as had not again been observed since the return from the exile.
v. 14. And they found written in the Law which the Lord had commanded by Moses, namely, in Lev_23:34-42; Deu_16:13, that the children of Israel should dwell in booths in the feast of the seventh month, in the so-called Feast of Tabernacles;
v. 15. and that they should publish and proclaim in all their cities and in Jerusalem, saying, Go forth unto the mount, the range of which the Mount of Olives was the highest, and fetch olive-branches, and pine-branches, those of the oil-tree of Palestine, and myrtle-branches, a small tree with tangled branches and thick foliage, and palm-branches, and branches of thick trees, Cf Lev_23:40, to make booths, as it is written.
v. 16. So the people went forth, and brought them, and made themselves booths, Deu_16:13-17, every one upon the roof of his house, the roofs of Oriental houses being flat, and in their courts, and in the courts of the house of God, and in the street of the Water Gate, the large open square near the Temple, and in the street of the Gate of Ephraim, a large open place in the northwestern part of the city.
v. 17. And all the congregation of them that were come again out of the captivity made booths and sat under the booths, they lived in them during the week of the festival; for since the days of Jeshua, the son of Nun, unto that day had not the children of Israel done so, the enthusiasm and joy of the people had never reached such heights as at this time, when they were once more realizing what it meant to be delivered from captivity among the heathen. And there was very great gladness.
v. 18. Also day by day, from the first day unto the last day, he, Ezra, read in the Book of the Law of God, the zeal of the people causing him to do even more than the Law actually required. And they kept the feast seven days; and on the eighth day was a solemn assembly, according unto the manner, Lev_23:36; Num_29:35; Deu_16:8. The convocation of the eighth day was characterized by unusual solemnity and impressiveness, and significant rites were later added to the customs of the day, as seen from Joh_7:37. Even as Israel rejoiced at that time, because the Lord lived in its midst, so the Christian Church is full of gladness at all times because God makes His abode in the hearts of all believers.