Booths Made - Nehemiah 8:16

In the book of Nehemiah, Nehemiah said, “they found written in the law which the LORD had commanded by Moses, that the children of Israel should dwell in booths in the feast of the seventh month. And that they should publish and proclaim in all their cities, and in Jerusalem, saying, Go forth unto the mount, and fetch olive branches, and pine branches, and myrtle branches, and palm branches, and branches of thick trees, to make booths, as it is written”, and in chapter eight and verse sixteen of Nehemiah, Nehemiah said, “the people went forth, and brought them, and made themselves booths”where we read,

So the people went forth, and brought them, and made themselves booths,

every one upon the roof of his house, and in their courts, and in the courts of the house of God,

and in the street of the water gate, and in the street of the gate of Ephraim.

The verse reads, “So the people went forth, and brought them, and made themselves booths, ...” Nehemiah began with the words, “so the people went forth” which means “therefore, then, wherefore and on this account the human beings from Israel left and departed”, “and brought them” or “and carried forth them, the leafy foliages”, “and made themselves booths” which means “and fashioned, accomplished and produced for their own selves the thickets, coverts and temporary dwelling places or shelters”. Nehemiah shared how the people followed his directive to gather the leafy foliage from the mountainous areas and fashioned temporary shelters or dwelling places with them. 

The verse continues, “... every one upon the roof of his house, and in their courts, and in the courts of the house of God,” Nehemiah added the words, “every one upon the roof of his house” or “each, all, the whole and every person on the belonging to their habitation, abode and dwelling place”, “and in their courts” which means “and within their, the people of Israels', yards or hamlets which were surrounded by walls”, “and in the courts of the house” or “and within the hamlets belonging to the habitation, abode and dwelling place” “of God” which means “belonging to the Supreme Deity”. Nehemiah shared how all the people of Israel erected temporary dwelling shelters upon the tops of their abodes, within their yards and inside the fenced in hamlets of the sacred worship place of Jehovah God. 

Finally the verse says, “and in the street of the water gate, and in the street of the gate of Ephraim.” Nehemiah concluded this verse with the words, “and in the street” or “and within the broad and open plazas” “of the water gate” which means “belonging to the entrance or portal named as the Water Gate”, “and in the street of the gate” or “and within the broad and open plaza entrance or portal” “of Ephraim” which means “belonging to Ephraim whose name means double ash-heap or I shall be doubly fruitful and was sometimes used as the name for the northern kingdom”.

When we meditate upon the words in this verse, we discover through Nehemiah that the people of Israel departed, carried the leafy foliage and fashioned temporary dwelling places or shelters on the tops of their homes, in their yards, within the fenced in hamlet and yard of the sacred worship place, within the broad plaza belonging to the “Water Gate” and within the broad and open plaza belonging to the entry portal belonging to “Ephraim”. All over the reestablished homeland the people of Israel were obeying the word of God to hold the “feast of the tabernacle” or “Sukkot”, and they were blessed because they followed God's word. Obeying the word of God blesses everyone who abides by it, and because God wants people to be in a blessed personal relationship with Him, He sent His Son Jesus into the world to die on the cross for the sins of all mankind and raised Him from the dead three days later. When we believe and trust in Him as our “Savior and Lord”, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and put within us a desire to follow and obey His directives and statutes in a manner that is pleasing to Him. 

Next time Nehemiah says, “all the congregation of them that were come again out of the captivity made booths”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".