Study Desk

My God, remember all the good I have done for these people.

They sent those letters because many people in Judah had promised to be loyal to him. The reason for this is that Tobiah was son-in-law to Shecaniah son of Arah. And Tobiah's son Jehohanan had married the daughter of Meshullam. Meshullam is the son of Berekiah.

Then I said to Hanani and Hananiah, "Each day you must wait until the sun has been up for several hours before you open the gates of Jerusalem. You must shut and lock the gates before the sun goes down. Also choose people who live in Jerusalem as guards. Put some of them at special places to guard the city, and put the other people near their own houses."

These people searched for their family histories, but they could not find them. They could not prove that their ancestors were priests, so they could not serve as priests. Their names were not included in the list of priests.

Some of the family leaders gave money to support the work. The governor gave 19 pounds of gold to the treasury. He also gave 50 bowls and 530 pieces of clothing for the priests.

All together the other people gave 375 pounds of gold, 2500 pounds of silver, and 67 pieces of clothing for the priests.

Ezra stood on a high wooden stage. It had been built just for this special time. On his right side stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah. And on his left side stood Pedaiah, Mishael, Malkijah, Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zechariah, and Meshullam.

So the people went out and got tree branches. Then they built temporary shelters for themselves. They built shelters on their own roofs and in their own yards. And they built shelters in the Temple yard, in the open place near the Water Gate, and near Ephraim Gate.

Ezra read to them from the Book of the Law every day of the festival from the first day of the festival to the last day. The Israelites celebrated the festival for seven days. Then on the eighth day, the people met together for a special meeting, as the law says.

Then on the 24th day of that same month, the Israelites gathered together for a day of fasting. They wore sackcloth and put ashes on their heads to show they were sad and upset.

They stood there for about three hours, and the people read the Book of the Law of the Lord their God. Then for three more hours they confessed their sins and bowed down to worship the Lord their God.

You saw our ancestors suffering in Egypt and heard them call for help by the Red Sea.

They were hungry, so you gave them food from heaven. They were thirsty, so you gave them water from a rock. You told them, ‘Come, take this land.' You used your power, and took the land for them.

You gave them your good Spirit to make them wise. You gave them manna for food. You gave them water for their thirst.

You took care of them for 40 years. They had all they needed in the desert. Their clothes didn't wear out, and their feet didn't swell and hurt.

So you let their enemies have them. The enemy caused them much trouble. When trouble came, our ancestors called to you for help. And in heaven, you heard them. You are very kind, so you sent people to save them. And they rescued them from their enemies.

Then as soon as our ancestors were rested, they started doing terrible things again! So you let the enemy defeat them and punish them. They called to you for help, and in heaven you heard them and helped them. You are so kind. That happened so many times.

"You were very patient with our ancestors. You let them mistreat you for many years. You warned them with your Spirit. You sent the prophets to warn them. But our ancestors didn't listen. So you gave them to people in other countries.

So all these people now make this special promise to God. And they all ask for bad things to happen if they don't keep their promise. All these people promise to follow the law of God. That law of God was given to us through Moses his servant. These people promise with an oath to carefully obey all the commands, rules, and teachings of our Lord God . Now, these are the people who are making this promise: The rest of the people—the priests, Levites, gatekeepers, singers, Temple servants, and all the Israelites who separated themselves from the people living around them. They have separated themselves to obey God's law. Their wives, sons, and daughters who are able to listen and understand also did this. All these people joined their brothers and the important people to accept for themselves the promise to obey God's law. And they accepted the curse that asks for bad things to happen to them if they don't obey God's law.

"We will accept the responsibility for obeying the commands to take care of God's Temple. We will give 1/3 shekel of silver each year to support the Temple service to honor our God.