July 7: Nehemiah 8 7-8

Key Verse: Nehemiah 8 8
They read from the Book of the Law of God, making it clear and giving the meaning so that the people understood what was being read.

Devotion:
After the walls of the city had been rebuilt the people came together to be reminded of the law, the scriptures, given to the people by God, through Moses. These were the rules by which they should have been living and now realised they had lost so much by going off and doing their own thing. Now they sat and listen intently to the leaders as they read the law once again in the city.

The Levites went one step further and they interpreted the law for the people so everyone was in no doubt what the law said – no excuses this time round. If we want to be able to help the people in our communities then we have to be willing to go through similar steps to what Nehemiah went through and to go those few step further for the community.

Our first task is to go into the communities and to start by doing the physical works. Start by rebuilding things which have fallen apart. Start by organising relief for those in need and expertise for those who need it. What is a community if it is still falling apart? Once we have got things moving in the right direction again, we can continue helping those who need help and helping them to start helping each other again. Communities used to all club together and get things done – we need that spirit back!

When the community is at rest again they will make time to listen to God’s Word. When it is still knee deep in pain they will continue to ignore everything else, including God’s Word. This is when we can start explaining God’s Words in ways the community can understand. Jesus showed us how important this is by talking in parables for people to understand. When people begin to understand, they are more willing to spend a bit more time listening and so the cycle of learning about God continues!

Points to Ponder:
Who was the first person to explain the bible in simple terms for you?

Are you ready to simply the bible for someone else now?