And all the people gathered with one mind at the square which was in front of the Water Gate, and they asked Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses which the Lord had given to Israel (Nehemiah 8:1).

At the start of the quarantine our family chose to have a deeper devotional and worship time together.  A highlight from this has been that our kids are asking more questions and that all of us are learning from each other.  Kids can ask challenging questions and often have insightful ways of seeing things.  

In this week’s passage the wall has been completed, so God’s people are at a turning point. Everything came down to this moment in choosing their path forward.  The walls weren’t going to solve all their problems, but this process had changed them as a community and their next choices would prove to be vital to their new beginning. How would this newly rebuilt city choose to live?  Would they change? 

Up to this point we’ve seen them face numerous intense oppositions from outside and mounting pressures from inside their community. Nehemiah’s leadership had proven essential as he pointed them to God while helping them resolve conflicts, navigate various obstacles, and successfully repair the wall. It was through all of this that they had been shaped into a people with transparent unity and a bonded trust in God. 

It wasn’t enough to just leave it at, “Great job all y'all, thanks for coming out. Let’s celebrate and go home.” They needed to choose to change the way they were living to align with God's plan.  

What’s striking in their path forward is that they chose a spacious place to gather near the Water Gate where no one would be left out.  The scripture explicitly describes that the people “came with one mind.”  This was a vastly different description of God’s people compared to when they first started the work. 

They were learning to be more intentional as they sought out God’s direction for their community.  Notice they also asked for the book of the Law of Moses to be read to them by Ezra the scribe and were willing to listen for about six hours standing. They weren’t just reading it once but they dove into the Law for over a week to ensure that their direction would be aligned with God’s.  

What things might the Lord be speaking to you to be more intentional about? What are a few active and intentional ways you can help your neighbors, family, community, church, small groups, etc… this week?