When God first established His relationship with the people of Israel, He cut them a deal: If you obey My statutes (the Law), you will be My people, I will be your God. I will be able to use you. You will be preserved and live long in the land. If you don’t obey, I will not be able to use you, and you will be removed from the land.

You can find this throughout Exodus and Deuteronomy.

Well, Israel obeyed for a while, but their obedience didn’t last long. Blatant, nationwide disobedience (Judges 2) occurred within one generation. Eventually God’s people were removed as a nation from their land by the Assyrians and the Babylonians. The Persians then conquered the Babylonians, eventually allowing the Jews to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the city and its walls. Nehemiah led the rebuilding of the walls, which brings us to where we pick up the action in today’s passage. Once the walls were rebuilt and repaired, you can sense a collective sigh of relief from the people. You can hear them say, “ahhhh,” but they didn’t stop there.

They knew their ancestors had been disobedient to God’s statues as found in the Book of the Law of Moses (see Neh. 1:4-9). So, one of their first official acts was to reacquaint themselves with the Book. Nehemiah 8:1-6 records one of the most precious scenes in all of Scripture.

The What
As you read this passage, note any references to “the Law,” “the Book of the Law of Moses” or “the Book.” You may want to print the passage and circle these references.

“When the seventh month came and the Israelites had settled in their towns, all the people came together as one in the square before the Water Gate. They told Ezra the teacher of the Law to bring out the Book of the Law of Moses, which the LORD had commanded for Israel.

“So on the first day of the seventh month Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly, which was made up of men and women and all who were able to understand. He read it aloud from daybreak till noon as he faced the square before the Water Gate in the presence of the men, women and others who could understand. And all the people listened attentively to the Book of the Law.

“Ezra the teacher of the Law stood on a high wooden platform built for the occasion. Beside him on his right stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah and Maaseiah; and on his left were Pedaiah, Mishael, Malkijah, Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zechariah and Meshullam. Ezra opened 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” (Neh. 7:73—8:6).

Take a minute to write down a couple thoughts on these questions:

• How would you describe the people’s attitude toward God’s commandments (“The Book of the Law of Moses”) in Nehemiah 8?

• What actions of the people in Nehemiah 8 give you a clue about their attitudes toward God’s commandments?

The So What?
Quick recap. God’s people realized it was the sin of their ancestors that had gotten them in trouble (You can see this in Neh. 1:4-9; you may want to check that out). Their ancestors had stepped outside the safety of God’s commandments, being disobedient to God’s statutes and decrees. Thus, without the protection of obedience, they were conquered and removed from their land. Now that God’s people were allowed back into their land, their first item of business after rebuilding was to put themselves back under the protection of knowing and obeying God’s commandments. That’s a great first item of business, and it’s a process we could all benefit from. So, let’s do it.

• How would you describe your attitude toward the Bible? Check all that apply:
___ I don’t understand it.
___ It’s boring to read.
___ It’s a bunch of rules that don’t interest me.
___ I neglect it, and that’s OK.
___ I neglect it, but wish I didn’t.
___ It’s a guidebook for life.
___ It’s God’s love letter to me.
___ It’s God showing that He has my best interest at heart.

• How would you describe the role the Bible is playing in your life right now? Check all that apply:
___ I’m not paying much attention to what it says to do or not do.
___ I’m doing things it says are wrong; I know they’re wrong, but I’m doing them anyway.
___ I’m trying to live under the safety of its protection.
___ I take God’s Word very seriously and try to align my life by God’s precepts.

Seal the Deal
Scripture is a gift from God to us that protects us in this fallen world. If we stay under its authority—living with the thought that we will do what it says—we stay protected. Bad things will still happen in our lives (i.e., loss, frustration, disappointment), but God’s Word will sustain us and preserve us.

• What adjustments can you make to live your life under the safety of God’s Word?
___ Learn more about what’s in God’s Word. Learn what it actually says.
___ Obey what I know is in God’s Word.
___ Create space in my calendar that reflects how serious I am about God’s Word.

• Where do you want to get started?
___ Become my family’s authority on a one-chapter book of the Bible such as Jude or Philemon.
___ Make a bucket list of tasks from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5—8.
___ Own one of the Bible’s famous chapters: Romans 12, 1 John 4, Philippians 2, Ephesians 3. To own a chapter means to understand everything that’s in it—promises, commands, information about God—and then apply that understanding to your daily life.

Start now. Reacquaint yourself with the Book. Your life will never be the same.

Barry Shafer has been in youth ministry for more than 25 years. As director of InWord Resources, Barry has written numerous small-group Bible studies and teen devos, and is author of Unleashing God’s Word in Youth Ministry (Youth Specialties/Zondervan). He is a regular contributor to YouthWorker Journal, writing the column 10 Minutes in God’s Word. Barry lives in Middletown, Ohio, with his wife, Jessica, and newborn son, Reade. He blogs at InWord.org.