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DAILY BIBLE READING Nehemiah 8:18 October 11, 2026 – SUN a.m. What are the all-time best-selling books? The Bible is the best-selling book of all time and the most sold book in the world, the author God. No one really knows how many copies of the Bible have been published and sold. The Bible is widely recognized as the best-selling book in history, with an estimated 5 billion to over 7 billion copies sold or distributed globally according to Guinness World Records. The Bible is by far the best-selling book this world has ever known. According to Guinness World Records, the Christian Bible holds the record as the best-selling non-fiction book of all time. An estimated 80 million copies are printed or distributed each year. Millions of copies have been translated into thousands of languages, making it accessible to a major portion of the world's population (Guinness World Records). If you have your own personal copy of a Bible, you own a world’s best-seller and most valuable book anyone could own. The Bible is a very valuable book because it provides spiritual, mental, practical value through its core elements found inside which are promises, principles, precepts and not in monetary. So, you need to read it every day of your life. Daily duties of the Christian life that we must learn daily:
Genesis 39:10 “And it came to pass, as she spake to Joseph day by day, that he hearkened not unto her, to lie by her, or to be with her.”
Exodus 29:38 “Now this is that which thou shalt offer upon the altar; two lambs of the first year day by day continually.” It is about the daily offering of the two lambs.
II Chronicles 30:21 “And the children of Israel that were present at Jerusalem kept the feast of unleavened bread seven days with great gladness: and the Levites and the priests praised the Lord Day by day, singing with loud instruments unto the Lord.”
Nehemiah 8:18 “Also day by day, from the first day unto the last day, he read in the book of the law of God. And they kept the feast seven days; and on the eighth day was a solemn assembly, according unto the manner.”
George Mueller (1805–1898) was a Christian evangelist and orphanage director who cared for over 10,000 orphans and founded 117 schools in England. George Müller was born Johann Georg Ferdinand Müller on September 27, 1805, in Germany. In his youth, he struggled with dishonesty and misbehavior, including stealing and gambling, and was even jailed for his actions. While studying at the University of Halle, a friend invited him to a Bible study, which profoundly changed his life. He committed to following Christ, abandoning his former lifestyle, and began living a life of faith and prayer. George Mueller wrote: “The first three years after conversion, I neglected the Word of God. Since I began to search it diligently, the blessing has been wonderful. I have read the Bible through one hundred times and always with increasing delight!” Let us learn something at this thrilling scene from Nehemiah 8: I – DISPLAY OF LOVE FOR THE WORD OF GOD George Barna survey about reading the Bible. The survey said that the majority of those professing born-again read the bible only once or twice a week, or not read the bible at all. The survey said that only 18% of all professing Christians read the bible every day, and the another 18% read the bible between 3 and 6 days a week, 37% read the bible only once or twice, and 23% said they do not read the bible at all. That survey reveals that many who professed they are Christians do not realize the valuable impact of the bible in their life, and also do not have the true love for the bible. In our passage, Nehemiah we find the expression of love and hunger and thirst of the people for the Word of God.
The background to Nehemiah chapter 8 is rich with historical events that led to the rebuilding of Jerusalem's Temple and walls. The chapter details the return of the Jewish exiles from Babylonian captivity, the decree of Cyrus the Great allowing the Jews to return to their land, and the subsequent rebuilding efforts led by Nehemiah. The Jews had been spent 80 years in Babylonian captivity without God’s Word, had been no priest to lead them in holy practices, there been no scribe to proclaim and educate them in the laws of God. Now they are back in their land and so they were gathering in the holy city of Jerusalem. As they are gathering together, they requested to bring God’s Word and be read to them (Nehemiah 8:1 “And all the people gathered themselves together as one man into the street that was before the water gate; and they spake unto Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded to Israel.”).
Now, let us look at the New Testament as first what Paul expresses the importance of the Bible. II Timothy 4:13 “The cloke that I left at Troas with Carpus, when thou comest, bring with thee, and the books, but especially the parchments.” There are three items that Paul requested while he was in prison.
Probably Paul obliged to leave it in his hurried departure from Troas. The Cloke is either the toga, which belonged to him as a Roman citizen, or an upper garment, which might be needful as winter came on. It is a traveling cloak used for protection against stormy weather. It was generally a large, heavy wool garment that served as both coat and blanket in cold weather which Paul would soon face. Remember that Paul was in a Roman prison, which was likely damp and cold and thus he would have needed such a garment
That which Paul was anxious to transmit to the faithful, that they might have the teaching of his writings when he should be gone. The books here in Greek is “biblion” could be in the form of a scroll (roll), which may have included portions of the Old Testament (such as the Torah) or general literary/historical works Paul used for study. This books scroll could have been made of either papyrus (made from pressed strips of the papyrus plant). The Papyrus was a tall, aquatic reed that grew in the Nile Delta of Egypt and was made into a writing material. Papyrus was the main writing surface throughout the Mediterranean world from the fourth century BC to the seventh century AD. Even, the earliest NT Greek manuscripts were written on papyrus.
Containing perhaps some of his inspired letters. The phrase “especially the parchments” these were the flat, materials used for writing. The books written on parchment (membranae, translated here as “papers”) made of animal skin matrials, literally means “sheepskin” which is more durable than papyrus. These were either parchments already written upon or perhaps referred to blank parchment Paul wanted for writing new materials. Even during imprisonment, and facing the end of his own life, so Paul is still emphasizing the importance of reading and studying the Word of God.
Wherever Paul went, he don’t neglect his needs not only physical needs, not only his educational and intellectual needs but especially his spiritual needs. Even Paul the apostle of the Lord was a normal human being with very real needs and never become saturated with the living and active word, but in this present life are ever in need of daily nourishment found only in God’s word taught by His Spirit. Take a look on what Jesus, Moses, Peter, and the author of Hebrews how essential is the Bible from early stage of Christians up to his adulthood.
and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.”
Promised land how God humbled them with hunger and fed them with manna to teach them – Deuteronomy 8:3 “that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live.”,
the “pure spiritual milk” of God’s Word just as newborn babies long for milk, so that they can grow spiritually. – I Peter 2:2 “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby”
immature (infants living on spiritual milk) instead of advancing to deeper doctrinal truths (solid food) like Christ’s high priesthood in the order of Melchizedek. – Hebrews 5:13-14 “For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.14 But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.”).
We refer God’s Word as “the Bible”, Greek words “Biblia” and “Biblios” (inner bark of the papyrus, the material from which the scrolls of that time were made. We get our word “paper” from the word “papyrus.” Originally, the word “biblos” was used to speak of books. During that time books were scrolls that were rolled out, unlike today books were bound volumes. In early Church the Holy Scriptures were known as the “Biblia,” “Biblos”, or simply “the books.” In the 4th century, Jerome’s name for the Bible was the “Divine library.” By the 13th century “The Books” became known by common consent as simply “The Book,” or as we say “The Bible.”
The people gathered and requested Ezra to bring the book (scroll) of the Law of Moses which the Lord had given to Israel. Nehemiah 8:1 “And all the people gathered themselves together as one man into the street that was before the water gate; and they spake unto Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded to Israel.”. The phrase "all the people gathered as one man" is a Hebrew idiom of unity (Ezra 3:1). Even if "all" is not taken literally, there must have been gathered here one of the largest congregations ever to hear the Scriptures read in their presence. Even the older children were included (Nehemiah 8:2). The words “Ezra the scribe”. Ezra is here mentioned for the first time by Nehemiah, but he had already been preaching to the people for at least thirteen years. The words "The book of the law of Moses" undoubtedly included all the Pentateuch, and possibly is used here generically for all of the Scriptures which had been received by this time. Ezra is generally believed to have been largely responsible for organizing the canon of the Old Testament Scriptures. After Ezra brought the requested Bible before the congregation what happened next? Nehemiah 8:2-3 “And Ezra the priest brought the law before the congregation both of men and women, and all that could hear with understanding, upon the first day of the seventh month. 3 And he read therein before the street that was before the water gate from the morning until midday, before the men and the women, and those that could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive unto the book of the law.” Notice Ezra read to them the Word of God from the morning until midday. Ezra read to them from the Word of God publicly from dawn until noon! The word “morning” means the breaking of the light, thus referring to dawn and the word “midday” speaks of the brightest part of the day and refers to noon. Approximately 6 hours the people listened with rapt attention to the reading of “the book.” The phrase “upon the first day” — This was the feast of trumpets, which is called a sabbath, and on which they were to have a holy convocation (Leviticus 23:24). And it was on this day, the altar was set up, after their return from captivity; in remembrance of which they had probably kept it ever since, with more than ordinary solemnity. The gathering together of the people, spoken of in Nehemiah 8:1, was probably to observe this feast of trumpets. How much of the book of the law was read on this occasion is uncertain. The word "book" would refer to a scroll "which the Lord had commanded to Israel" The covenant people (Israel from Jacob) were required to keep the covenant. There were privileges and responsibilities. Also, this law had full divine authority. The people recognized and respected the fact that God had given this material to Moses, and therefore it was God’s authoritative word to them. A strong emphasis on God’s Word is a primary mark of spiritual renewal. Down through the centuries, God’s people have gone through cycles where His Word has been neglected and the spiritual condition of His people deteriorates. In His grace, God sends renewal. Inevitably, one of the main marks of such renewal is a renewed emphasis on God’s Word. We see this in the Old Testament, when Judah languished under the godless reigns of King Manasseh, and his son, Amon. Amon’s son, Josiah, began to seek the Lord when he was 16 and to institute spiritual reforms. Then Hilkiah the priest found a copy of God’s law and Josiah called the nation to repentance (2 Chronicles 34:14). Revival ensued because God’s Word was obeyed. In Nehemiah 8, we wonder what they would have thought about a service that had about six hours of Bible reading and preaching at the people’s request, during which the people stood the whole time! And not only that, they came back the next day for more! That was the remarkable situation that we read about in Nehemiah 8. It would be accurate to call it a revival or a time of unusual spiritual renewal. At the center of this revival was the exposition of Scripture. From now on, the Jews would be predominantly ‘a people of the book’” Copies of the Law of Moses were probably somewhat rare, and many of the Jews may never have heard it read before. Even in the New Testament, Paul instructs Timothy to give attention in church meetings “to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation and teaching” (I Timothy 4:13 “Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine.”). Until the invention of the printing press in the 15th century, the Bible had to be copied by hand, and often there would only be one copy in a city, often chained to the pulpit. Since people were often illiterate, the Bible had to be read publicly for the common people to know what it says. During the Reformation, there were few copies of the Bible available, thus the average person did not have the privilege of owning a Bible. Few copies of the Bible that were available were chained to pillars in the Cathedrals and Churches. The Roman Catholic Church had neglected the Word. Priests were the only ones with access to it, and most of them were ignorant of its contents. John Wycliffe and William Tyndale labored to get the Bible translated into common English. Martin Luther translated the Bible into German. John Calvin began to preach expository sermons, explaining and applying the Word to the people of Geneva. We live in a culture where almost all of us know how to read. Those who can’t read or can’t read well can readily learn how. We have multiple translations of the Bible in our language. And yet most Christians spend far more time playing pointless computer games or sitting in front of a TV set that spews out garbage than they do reading and studying the words that God has given to us in the Bible! May God give us a love for the Bible. When we allow days to go by and never even pick up our Bibles, it says something about how much we love the Bible. When we go to church and become sleepy, sleeping, no appetite or no interest, or with a distant mind, it is a sad reflection of our lack or cold love for God’s Word. The strength of a church will be in direct proportion to the number of people in that church who read and study God’s written Word.
Nehemiah 8:4-5 “And Ezra the scribe stood upon a pulpit of wood, which they had made for the purpose; and beside him stood Mattithiah, and Shema, and Anaiah, and Urijah, and Hilkiah, and Maaseiah, on his right hand; and on his left hand, Pedaiah, and Mishael, and Malchiah, and Hashum, and Hashbadana, Zechariah, and Meshullam. 5 And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people; (for he was above all the people;) and when he opened it, all the people stood up:” We see here the practice of people standing when they read the Bible publicly. The people stood up when Ezra opened “the book” to read. This showed a reverence for God’s Word as these people stood the entire six hours when the Word of God was being read by Ezra.
Psalm 19:7 “The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.” The Word of God is a perfect book not just an ordinary book. A book without error, without contradiction of without flaw. The Bible is a "perfect" or flawless book because it is viewed as divinely inspired— The text is believed to be God-breathed—meaning the human authors wrote under the guidance or inspiration of the Holy Spirit, making the message ultimately divine rather than purely human in origin. Some people who attack the Bible declaring the Bible is full of mistakes, errors, discrepancies, and contradictions only shows their spiritual ignorance and stupidity. Here are some printing mistakes in copies and publications of the Bible:
We find some mistakes printed in the Bible, but the Bible itself is without error or mistake. The Bible is a perfect book.
The nature of the Bible is eternal, so it will last for eternity. Psalm 119:160 “Thy word is true from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever.” Psalm 119:89 “For ever, O Lord, thy word is settled in heaven.” The Jews stood for 6 hours for they had reverence and respect because what they were hearing from Ezra is the Word of God. The same with us today we should have great respect and reverence to the Bible because it is a book that have a very important place in our life. Throughout history, various rulers and regimes have attempted to ban, burn, or destroy the Bible. Despite these systemic efforts, ancient manuscripts were meticulously preserved, copied, and passed down through generations. The time that there were not yet human writers existing, no universe and planets created, the Word of God was settled in heaven and is true from the beginning. It is a permanent book. Again, our reverence for the Bible is evidence of our love for the Bible. So, read, meditate, memorize, and live with it. II – DESIRE TO LEARN ABOUT THE WORD OF GOD Psalm 119:18 “Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.” We see these people in Nehemiah 8 that they have a desire the learn and understand the Bible. As Christians, we too we should desire to learn more about what God said in His Word.
Nehemiah 8:7 “Also Jeshua, and Bani, and Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodijah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites, caused the people to understand the law: and the people stood in their place.” It indicates that they were teachers that made the people understand the meaning of God’s Word. This list of names seems to include priests and Levites; both functioned as teachers (Leviticus 10:11; Deuteronomy 17:10-11; Deuteronomy 33:10). Levites were also teachers of the Law (especially in later Judaism, 2 Chronicles 35:3). Here as Ezra (and the others of Nehemiah 8:4) read the Hebrew text of the law and was explained, and the law was also translated it (Nehemiah 8:7) into Aramaic, which was the only language some of the people may have understood and was the language used in the Persian Empire and understood by the common person of that day. The word “understand” speaks of how the meaning of what was read was explained so they could discern and understand the Word of God. Nehemiah 8:8 “So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading.” The Scriptures were written in Hebrew, but the people had no doubt used the Aramaic language or possibly other languages while in Babylon, or while scattered in Assyria. Therefore, translation, simple reading and exposition, would have been required for the sake of many people. Commentators are divided in opinion as to the import of this statement, some commentators thinking that Ezra read the law in pure Hebrew, while the Levites who assisted him translated it sentence by sentence into Chaldee, the vernacular dialect which the exiles spoke in Babylon; while others commentators maintain that the duty of these Levites consisted in explaining to many people, whom had become very ignorant, what Ezra had read. Ezra and his companions successively. The word “sense” refers to the meaning of the Hebrew words, which they expounded in the common language. The word “gave”, so they gave them both a translation of the Hebrew words into the Chaldee, and an exposition of the things contained in them. Notice the word “distinctly” describes how they translated and interpreted the Word of God. They properly divided the sentences such as in our Bible; it is broken down in chapters and verses to help in our understanding. It causes them to understand what was read to them. Ezra and other teachers remind us of what preaching is all about. Preaching is a proclamation of God’s Word and an explanation of what God said. Preaching is to be an act of teaching God’s people what God is saying in His Word. Every Christian should not only be a reader, but also a student of the Bible. Barna research group surveyed that that many Christians have a woeful knowledge of the Bible. Among those surveyed, 22% thought there is a book of Thomas in the Bible and 13% said they did not know whether Thomas is a book of the Bible or not. Three quarter of those surveyed knew that the Book of Isaiah is located in the Old Testament, while 11% thought it was in the New Testament and 13% did not know where it could be found. 61% knew that Jesus was born in Bethlehem while 16% named Jerusalem and 8% named Nazareth, and 6% did not hazard a guess. In a Gallup Poll, only 3 out of 5 Christians could recall the first four books of the New Testament and only half correctly identified Jesus as the person who delivered the Sermon on the Mount.
Nehemiah 8:9 “And Nehemiah, which is the Tirshatha, and Ezra the priest the scribe, and the Levites that taught the people, said unto all the people, This day is holy unto the Lord your God; mourn not, nor weep. For all the people wept, when they heard the words of the law.” All of Israel's leaders participated in these events (Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the official in charge of proper worship, and the Levite instructors) said to them all, ‘This day is holy unto the Lord your God. mourn not, nor weep.’ For all the people had been weeping as they listened to the words of the Law. A deep sense of their national sins, impressively brought to their remembrance by the reading of the law and its denunciations, God’s Word affected the hearts of the people with penitential sorrow; but notwithstanding the painful remembrances of their national sins which the reading of the law awakened, the people were exhorted to cherish the feelings of joy and thankfulness associated with a sacred festival-namely, the feast of trumpets (Leviticus 23:23), and by sending portions of it to their poorer brethren (Deuteronomy 16:11; Deuteronomy 16:14; Esther 9:19), a usual custom on occasions of great joy and festivity (Esther 9:19; Revelation 11:10), enable them to participate in the public rejoicings. Nehemiah said to these people, ‘Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.’ (v.10). The Levites calmed all the people, saying, ‘Be still, for this is a holy day. Do not grieve.’ Then all the people went away to eat and drink, to send portions of food and to celebrate with great joy, because they now understood the words that had been made known to them” (Nehemiah 8:9–12). When the people understood how they had disobeyed and neglected the Lord, they were sad. However, in their repentance God wanted them to rejoice, not grovel in guilt. They came to understand God’s Word and the fact that He was forgiving them. God wanted them to rejoice, and their strength was renewed as they went from mourning to feasting and rejoicing. The people wept when they heard the Word of God and were brought to an understanding deeply that moved them. Conviction of sin caused the people to weep. The more we learn of the Word of God the more deeply we will be touched by what we learn. When we understand what God is saying and that He is saying it to us personally, it will thrill our hearts. The Bible was more than just a book with a message that was thrilling to the soul of the one who would read and learn what it had to say. Do we have such a desire to learn what God says to us in His Word? III – DIRECT OUR LIFE BY THE WORD OF GOD Understanding God’s Word came two things:
Nehemiah 8:13-15 “And on the second day were gathered together the chief of the fathers of all the people, the priests, and the Levites, unto Ezra the scribe, even to understand the words of the law. 14 And 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: 15 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.” Notice the words “to understand the words of the law” in verse 13. Further study of the law revealed that during the Feast of Booths, or Tabernacles (Leviticus 23:34-43), everybody was to dwell in booths; as a result, preparations for that time of celebration were ordered. The feast had been observed since the days of Joshua (1 Kings 8:65; 2 Chronicles 7:9; Ezra 3:4), but not by the entire assembly (v. 17). Notice the words “they found written in the law” in verse 14, is about the feast of tabernacles. Those who diligently search the Scriptures, find things written there which they have forgotten, so it was revealed to them when what was written was read and explained to them. Notice the words in “feast of the seventh month” in verse 14. In reading the Law, the people were reminded of the strict directions concerning the Feast of Tabernacles (Leviticus 23:39-43,"Feasts of the Lord," Exodus 23:14). This feast was ranked with Passover and Pentecost in importance (Exodus 23:14-17; Exodus 34:23; Deuteronomy 16:16), signifying both "Ingathering" (Exodus 34:22) and God's care for Israel in the wilderness. The point is that as they read and were brought to an understanding of what God said they realized that God had commanded that in the seventh month there was a certain feast to be observed and certain actions they were to take in relation to the observance of that feast. It tells us that their understanding of the Word of God brought revelation. As we read, heard, study and expound the Bible it brings revelation of what God wants us to do and what God wants us not to do, how God wants us to live and how God wants us not to live, and also other spiritual duties that we need to observed as Christians.
Nehemiah 8:16-17 “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.17 And all the congregation of them that were come again out of the captivity made booths, and sat under the booths: for since the days of Jeshua the son of Nun unto that day had not the children of Israel done so. And there was very great gladness.” When these people understood what heard that were explained to them, they did it, they obeyed it. Understanding of the Bible is more than head knowledge but doing what we have learned. Our aim in learning the bible is more than showing others with all our knowledge from the Bible but to learn what God told us and then humbly act upon what God hath said to our life. Notice in verse 17. The Feast of Booths had been celebrated, but possibly the booths had not been a regular or required aspect of the feast. Although the children of Israel had occasionally observed the feasts of the Lord, as commanded in Leviticus 23, the observances had generally been unconcerned, indifferent and often ignored altogether. The feast of tabernacles had actually been observed by the captives who returned to Jerusalem with Zerubbabel and Jeshua (Ezra 3:4), but it was not like this, with all the people of Israel dwelling in their own hand-made "booths," with great gladness everywhere. Why? Because they become obedient, responsible after they understood what the God’s Word said. They did whatever responsibility God had told them to do. How about you, are you doing your responsibility in your family, in your local church? Do you share your gospel of salvation to other people in your job, in your school, in your neighbors, in your relatives, in all people you meet? Do you understand what you read in the Bible? The Bible give guidance and direction for the lives of Christians Nehemiah 8:18 “Also day by day, from the first day unto the last day, he read in the book of the law of God. And they kept the feast seven days; and on the eighth day was a solemn assembly, according unto the manner.” For God to guide and direct Christian in a right path, it is very important and essential that believers should read and spent time consistently in the Bible “day by day.” If your Bible could and was keeping a diary, what would it say about you? Would it say that you are so busy, attending some appointments, school, home and work responsibilities that you neglect the Word of God? The Bible is a book we need to read “day by day.” |