Bible Study

Lesson 1 Outline – God’s Covenant Promise to Israel

Tom Ibach – Lesson Teacher

  1. Introduction to the Study
    1. Greetings and context for study year
    2. Study focus: The Second Exodus – Trusting a Faithful God
    3. Transition from New Testament study to Old Testament study
    4. Importance of the Old Testament for Christians
  2. The Importance and Composition of the Old Testament
    1. Old Testament as foundational to the New Testament
    2. Diverse authorship over about a thousand years
    3. Consistent message: God’s plan to redeem through the Messiah
    4. Challenge of knowing the Old Testament thoroughly
    5. Introduction to the Second Exodus within Old Testament narrative
  3. The First and Second Exodus Compared
    1. The Great Exodus from Egypt led by Moses
    2. The Second Exodus from Babylonian captivity
    3. Differences between the first and second Exodus
    4. God’s providence as a key theme in the Second Exodus
    5. Timeframe and scope of the Second Exodus
    6. Resource availability for study and timeline
  4. Books Covered in the Study
    1. Final three historical books: Ezra, Esther, Nehemiah
    2. Last three prophetic books: Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi
    3. Key events: rebuilding the temple, city, and national revival
    4. Inspirational characters and their qualities
  5. Relating to the People of the Second Exodus
    1. Spiritual ancestry and connection through Abraham
    2. Shared human experiences and struggles
    3. Learning lessons from their faith and challenges
    4. Encouragement for those facing hard things today
  6. Understanding Covenant in the Bible
    1. Definition and significance of covenant
    2. Two types: conditional and unconditional covenants
    3. God’s covenants with Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, and Jesus
    4. Focus on Abrahamic and Mosaic covenants in this lesson
  7. The Abrahamic Covenant
    1. Unconditional promises: land, descendants, blessing
    2. Significance of faith and righteousness (Genesis 15:6)
    3. Covenant-making ritual with blood sacrifice
    4. God’s oath symbolized by passing between animal pieces
    5. Covenant as a foundation of hope for Abraham’s descendants
  8. The Mosaic Covenant
    1. Conditional covenant based on God’s law given to Moses
    2. Purpose: address sin and establish holy living
    3. Role of the Ten Commandments and sacrificial system
    4. Israel’s initial acceptance and subsequent rebellion
    5. Consequences of disobedience: wandering and curse/blessing principle
    6. Reissuing of the law in Deuteronomy
  9. God’s Faithfulness and Covenant
    1. God always upholds his part of the covenant
    2. Israel’s failure contrasted with God’s unchanging faithfulness
    3. The fulfillment of the law and covenant in Jesus Christ
    4. New covenant through Christ’s life, death, and resurrection
    5. Reflection questions on personal trust in God’s faithfulness
  10. Closing and Prayer
    1. Thankfulness for God’s faithfulness
    2. Prayer for strengthened faith and confidence in God’s promises
    3. Encouragement for a faithful walk with God

The Second Exodus – Lesson 1

INTRODUCTION PART 1—GOD’S COVENANT PROMISES TO ISRAEL

The second exodus of Israel is best understood when you understand Israel’s preceding history. Before we look at Israel’s return to the promised land, let’s turn the pages of Scripture and trace Israel’s story from the beginning to learn how she ended up in captivity in the first place. In this introductory lesson, we will study God’s covenant promises, Israel’s record of failures, Israel’s kings, and God’s faithfulness to His judgment and promises.

God Makes a Covenant with Abram

God reveals Himself in Scripture to be a covenant-keeping God, promising to do all that He vows. Covenants are promises that God gives to His people to reveal His character and unchanging love for them. Throughout history, God made a series of covenants like the Noahic, Abrahamic, Mosaic, and Davidic; these were a progression of promises about God’s faithfulness, redemption, and provision for His creation, culminating in the new covenant. Because of the death of Jesus, the new covenant offers a new heart and forgiveness for all who believe.

FOUNDATIONAL TRUTH

THE ABRAHAMIC COVENANT

God made a very personal promise to Abraham that He would make him into a great nation, with specified land, innumerable descendants, and many spiritual blessings (Gen. 12:1–3 and 15:5). God would fulfill His promises and keep this everlasting covenant, no matter the choices of Abraham or his descendants. God’s covenant keeping is based on His own faithful character, not on man’s human actions. Though this covenant was a promise from God, man had to receive it through faith (Gen. 15:6), not by doing any works. The Abrahamic covenant and the new covenant (which Christ followers are under today) are one covenant of grace made to sinners who receive them through saving faith.

  1. Read Genesis 12:1–4. God began the nation of Israel with a man named Abram, who was later renamed Abraham. What do you learn in this interaction between God and Abram?

    God commands Abram to leave his country, his family, and his father’s house to a land God will show him. God promises to make Abram a great nation, to bless him, to make his name great, and to make him a blessing to others. God vows to bless those who bless Abram and curse those who curse him. Abram responds in faith and obedience by leaving as the Lord instructed

  2. Read Genesis 15:1–6. Despite the promise of God, Abram and his wife Sarai remained childless. What words of assurance did God give Abram, and how did Abram respond?

    God reassures Abram: “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.” Even when Abram shares his concerns about being childless, God promises Abram a son from his own body and that his descendants will be as numerous as the stars. Abram believes the Lord, and his faith is credited to him as righteousness

  3. Read Genesis 15:7–21. In this strange scene, the Lord continues to disclose his commitment to His covenant as He reveals Himself as a “smoking fire pot and a flaming torch” passing between the bloodied halves of three sacrificial animals.
    • What are the Lord’s instructions and Abram’s response (vv. 9–12)?

      The Lord instructs Abram to bring a heifer, goat, ram, dove, and pigeon. Abram cuts the larger animals in two and arranges them as God commands. Abram obeys fully and waits, driving away birds of prey

    • What are the Lord’s terms and promises (vv. 13–21)?

      God reveals that Abram’s descendants will be strangers in a foreign land, enslaved and oppressed for 400 years, but will eventually leave with great possessions. Abram is promised a long, peaceful life. God covenants specific lands for Abram’s descendants, stretching from Egypt to the Euphrates and covering the territory of many ancient peoples

FOUNDATIONAL TRUTH

RIGHTEOUSNESS

God’s righteousness means that God always acts in accordance with what is right and that He Himself is the final standard of what is right.

For man to be right before God, his sins must be forgiven. When Abraham believed God, he had faith in God’s promises; thereby, God imputed righteousness to Abraham’s account. His sin was removed; and God granted him righteousness based on Jesus’ sacrificial death, which paid the debt man owed. Righteousness through faith precedes the Mosaic law, which underscores salvation through faith alone, not by doing the law. Salvation is and has always been by faith alone.

“Scripture is clear that because Adam’s sin has corrupted every man, ‘none is righteous, no, not one’ (Rom. 3:10; cf. Ps. 14:1–3). But it is also clear that Jesus Christ lived a perfectly righteous life and died for our sins in order to free us from our punishment and credit us with His own righteousness—the righteousness of God (see 1 Cor. 1:30 and 2 Cor. 5:21). This is the gospel.”

  1. According to the Bible, how are you able to live in a right relationship with God and others? What would you tell someone who thought they could be righteous by “doing righteous things”?

    a) According to the text, living in a right relationship with God is only possible through faith in God’s promises and trusting in what Jesus has done through His sacrificial death. Forgiveness and righteousness are granted by God based on faith, not on human effort or good deeds. This means that, according to the Bible, righteousness before God comes by faith alone, just as it did for Abraham.

    b) The text makes it clear that no one can be righteous by simply “doing righteous things” because Scripture says “none is righteous, no, not one.” True righteousness comes by faith, not by works. Human deeds cannot remove sin; only trust in Jesus’ perfectly righteous life and sacrificial death can result in forgiveness and a right standing before God.

God Makes a Covenant with Israel

Fulfilling God’s prophecy, Abraham’s offspring became the nation of Israel and were enslaved in Egypt for 400 years. During that time, God multiplied His descendants, heard their cries, and delivered them from bondage through Moses (Ex. 1–12). That deliverance from Egypt, through the Red Sea, is called the great exodus.

God’s presence accompanied Israel on the way to the promised land as a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night (Ex. 13:21–22). And along the way, God gave Israel the law through Moses (Ex. 20–23), which is known as the Mosaic covenant.

FOUNDATIONAL TRUTH

THE MOSAIC COVENANT

When God redeemed Israel from Egyptian bondage, He established Israel as a theocratic nation and made a temporary covenant with her called the Mosaic covenant. This covenant would not only teach God’s righteous standards but amplify sin and drive man to his need for a savior.

“The Mosaic covenant was an administration of detailed written laws given for a time to restrain the sins of the people and to be a custodian to point people to Christ. Paul says, ‘Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made’ (Gal. 3:19), and ‘The law was our guardian until Christ came’ (Gal. 3:24).”

  1. How did Israel respond to the Mosaic covenant in Exodus 19:8, 24:3, and 7–8?

    In Exodus 19:8, 24:3, and 7–8, Israel responded to God’s covenant by expressing willingness and obedience. They repeatedly said, “All that the LORD has spoken we will do,” agreeing to the covenant and its stipulations.

  2. Moses went up on the mountain to receive the law from God, where he remained for 40 days and nights (Ex. 24:12, 18). Compare Exodus 20:2–4 with 32:1–14. How did the Israelites violate God’s law while Moses was on the mountain?

    While Moses was on the mountain, the Israelites demanded Aaron make a golden calf, breaking the commandments against idolatry (Exodus 20:2–4 vs. Exodus 32:1–14). They worshipped the calf and attributed their deliverance from Egypt to it, which was a direct violation of God’s law.

FOUNDATIONAL TRUTH

IDOLATRY

Idolatry is the worship or allegiance to anything other than God alone. If something holds a controlling force or position in your life, it is an idol. Idols can be materialism, pride, self-fulfillment, and power. We can even worship “our religion” instead of God. In the Old Testament, idol worship meant worshiping objects or images that represented various pagan deities. In the time between Joshua’s death and the Babylonian exile, Israel repeatedly fell into worship of the pagan gods of the peoples around them, especially Baal and Asherah. The first and second commandments instruct God’s people to worship only God and not make or serve any idol (Ex. 20:3–5). Israel’s idolatry led to their judgment, captivity, and exile at the hands of the Babylonians.

  1. Why is idolatry such an offense to God? In what way are you giving your time, money, allegiance, or effort to an idol that is holding you captive?

    Idolatry is an offense to God because it places anything or anyone above God, violating His command to worship Him alone. It constitutes spiritual unfaithfulness and breaks the unique relationship between God and His people.

  2. Exodus 34:5–7 reveals God’s covenantal commitment to Israel. “This ancient confession of faith is the basis for both the mercy and the justice of God.” Read this passage. What is the key to God’s mercy?

    The key to God’s mercy is His character—He is “merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.” God’s mercy is rooted in who He is, offering forgiveness while maintaining justice.

Israel’s Past Disobedience and God’s Promise of Present Blessings

In God’s covenant with Abraham, God promised that the land of the Canaanites would belong to Abraham and to his descendants. Several centuries later, when it was time to take possession of the promised land, the Israelites refused because they feared the people of the land more than they trusted God.

  1. Read Numbers 14:26–34. What were the consequences that Israel suffered because of their disobedience and unbelief?

    God condemned the entire unbelieving generation to die in the wilderness. Only Caleb and Joshua would enter the promised land. Their children would wander for 40 years before inheriting the land.

  2. About 40 years later, Moses prepared the next generation of Israelites to go up and take the land. Read Deuteronomy 28:1–2 and 13–14. What did God promise to His people if they faithfully obeyed Him and did not turn aside to go after and serve other gods?

    God promised that Israel would be set high above all nations and receive abundant blessings. They would be the head and not the tail, always at the top. These promises were conditional on wholehearted obedience to God’s commands.

  3. Despite Israel’s past disobedience, write down some of the specific blessings God promised to His people in Deuteronomy 28:3–12.

    God promised blessings in the city and field, fruitful offspring, abundant crops, victory over enemies, and a storehouse of provision. The land would be blessed with rain, and Israel would lend to many but borrow from none. God would establish them as His holy people and bless all the work of their hands.

  4. Recognizing that these blessings were particular to the nation of Israel, in what specific way have you experienced God’s undeserved blessing because of your obedience?

    I’ve seen God provide peace and clarity in difficult decisions when I chose to walk in obedience to Him. His favor has shown up in relationships, open doors, and spiritual growth that I could not have orchestrated myself.

God’s Promise of Curses for Israel’s Disobedience
  1. God warned Israel of the curses that would come upon them for disobedience. Read Deuteronomy 28:15–19 and notice how these curses are exactly opposite of God’s promised blessings in Deuteronomy 28:3–12. Summarize more curses listed in Deuteronomy 28:20–35.

    • Verses 20–24

    God would send confusion, frustration, disease, drought, and destruction. Their work would fail, and the skies would withhold rain. The land would become as hard and barren as bronze and iron.

    • Verses 25–26

    Israel would suffer military defeat and become an object of horror to other nations. Their dead bodies would be left unburied, eaten by birds and beasts with no one to drive them away.

    • Verses 27–28

    God would strike them with diseases like boils, tumors, and incurable skin conditions. He would also bring madness, blindness, and confusion of heart.

    • Verses 29–35

    They would grope in daylight like the blind and experience continual oppression and robbery. They would be robbed of their families, homes, livestock, and crops, with no one to help or restore them.

  2. What repeated phrase do you see in all the curses brought on Israel? (See Deut. 28:20, 21, 22, 25, 27, 28, and 35.) What do you learn about the Lord?

    The repeated phrase is “The Lord will strike you…” or similar variations. This shows that God is personally and actively involved in upholding His covenant justice. He is not passive toward sin and holds His people accountable when they rebel.

  3. What would be the ultimate curse brought on Israel if they didn’t obey the Lord and keep His commandments? (See Deut. 28:49–52 and 64–65.)

    God would bring a foreign nation against them, one that shows no pity, to besiege and destroy their cities. They would be scattered among the nations, serving other gods and finding no rest or peace. Their lives would be filled with anxiety, fear, and despair.

  4. God expects repentant hearts from His people. When people persistently refuse to repent of their sin against God, what does that reveal? When you persistently sin against God’s commands, what does that reveal?

    Persistent refusal to repent reveals a hard and rebellious heart that rejects God’s authority. It indicates pride, unbelief, and a lack of fear of the Lord. Ongoing sin without repentance shows a need for true transformation and humility before God.

God Renews the Covenant with His People
  1. As Israel prepared to enter the promised land, only two who left Egypt and agreed to the covenant at Mount Sinai would enter in, Caleb and Joshua. God would renew His covenant with the new generation of Israelites. Read Deuteronomy 29:10–15. What do you observe about the covenant?

    The covenant was made not only with those present but also with future generations. It established a relationship between God and His people, binding them to Him as their God. The covenant was inclusive and forward-looking, rooted in God’s faithfulness.

  2. Read Deuteronomy 29:22–28. How does Moses answer this question: “Why has the Lord done thus to this land? What caused the heat of this great anger?”

    The Lord’s anger burned because the people abandoned the covenant, served other gods, and provoked Him with idolatry. As a result, He brought curses, devastation, and exile upon the land. Their disobedience and unfaithfulness were the direct cause of God’s judgment.

  3. Read Deuteronomy 30:1–10. What important truths do you learn about the “Lord your God”? What important truths do you learn about man?

    God is merciful, willing to restore, forgive, and bless His people if they return to Him with all their heart and soul. He delights in compassion and will gather His people from exile. Man is called to wholehearted repentance and obedience, and restoration follows genuine return to the Lord.

FOUNDATIONAL TRUTH

COVENANT

At its most basic level, a covenant is an oath-bound relationship between two or more parties. Thus, human covenants (for example, marriage) fall under this general definition. In divine covenants, God sovereignly establishes the relationship with His creatures. There are other nuances, but a divine covenant given after the fall is, fundamentally, one in which God binds Himself by His own oath to keep His promises. Still, there are conditions attached to that oath on the human side. If the human party involved in a covenant with God does not keep the covenant’s conditions, there will be consequences.

  1. How does understanding the concept of covenant change your understanding of being a Christian? Write a prayer that expresses your dependence upon or belief in God’s promises.

    a) Understanding covenant deepens the sense of God’s unbreakable commitment and the weight of our responsibility to trust and obey. Christianity becomes more than belief—it is a binding relationship grounded in grace and faithfulness. We live under God’s promise, but also under a call to loyal obedience.

    b) Lord, thank You for binding Yourself to me through Your promises. I trust in Your faithfulness, not my own strength. Help me walk in obedience, confident in Your mercy and committed to Your Word.

Lesson 1 – God’s Covenant Promise to Israel

Teaching Lesson – Tom Ibach

A. Introduction

  1. Welcome and introduction by Tom Ibach
  2. Overview of the new study: The Second Exodus – Trusting a Faithful God
  3. Importance of the Old Testament for Christians
    • Jesus affirmed the Old Testament points to Him (Luke 24)
    • Foreshadowing and prophecy of the Messiah
  4. Unified message of the Old Testament: God’s plan to redeem through the Messiah

B. Context for the Second Exodus

  1. Comparison with the First Exodus
    • First: Mass migration from Egypt, miraculous
    • Second: Smaller returns from Babylon over 90 years, marked by providence not miracles
  2. Timeframe: Final 120 years of Old Testament history
  3. Key resources mentioned: Timeline and study resources at grace.church/secondexodus

C. Books Covered in the Study

  1. Historical Books
    • Ezra
    • Esther
    • Nehemiah
  2. Prophetic Books
    • Haggai
    • Zechariah
    • Malachi

D. Inspirational Figures

  1. Ezra – Priest and scribe devoted to God’s Word
  2. Esther – Wise and courageous protector of her people
  3. Nehemiah – Visionary and resilient leader
  4. Prophets – Bold truth-tellers confronting spiritual complacency

E. Relevance to Modern Believers

  1. Galatians 3:29 – Believers are heirs of Abraham
  2. These people are our spiritual ancestors
    • Shared struggles, desires, and fallen nature
    • Lessons from their hardships apply today
  3. Reflective questions on personal hardship and faith

F. Theological Foundation: Covenants in Scripture

  1. Definition of Covenant
    • Solemn agreement between two parties
    • Conditional vs. Unconditional
  2. Biblical Examples
    • Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, and Jesus

G. God’s Covenant with Abraham

  1. Genesis 12:1–3 – Unconditional promises of land, descendants, and blessing
  2. Genesis 15 – Covenant ceremony with cut animals and God’s assurance
    • Abraham believed, counted as righteousness (Gen 15:6)
    • God alone passed through the pieces – promise by His own life

H. God’s Covenant with Moses

  1. Conditional covenant at Sinai
  2. Purpose: Law was added because of sin (Galatians 3:19)
  3. Key Elements:
    • Ten Commandments (Exodus 20)
    • Sacrificial system for atonement
  4. Israel’s initial obedience and subsequent rebellion
    • Golden calf (Exodus 32)
    • Refusal to enter Canaan (Numbers 13–14)

I. The Second Giving of the Law (Deuteronomy)

  1. Deuteronomy 28 – Blessings for obedience, curses for disobedience
  2. God’s faithfulness despite Israel’s failure
    • Provision in the wilderness (Deuteronomy 29:5)

J. Key Truths Emphasized

  1. The people of the Second Exodus are our spiritual ancestors
  2. God’s faithfulness is showcased in His covenants
    • He always keeps His promises
    • His people consistently fail, but God never does
  3. New Covenant through Christ fulfills the old
    • Jesus satisfies the Mosaic Law
    • We are declared righteous through faith in Him

K. Closing Reflections

  1. Prompt for self-examination:
    • Are you trusting in God’s covenant faithfulness?
    • Has your view of God’s faithfulness changed through this lesson?
  2. Closing prayer of gratitude and trust in God’s faithfulness

The Second Exodus – Lesson 1

Title: Lesson 1

Summary:

God establishes unbreakable covenants that reveal His unwavering commitment to redeem and restore His people. Beginning with Abraham, God promises land, descendants, and blessing, reaffirming His oath through covenantal rituals. Moses foretells a future return to God’s commands and blessings of restoration. Through Jeremiah and Ezekiel, God unveils the New Covenant—a divine work where He writes His law on hearts, forgives sins, gives a new spirit, and renews His people for His glory. These passages trace God’s faithful promises culminating in ultimate spiritual renewal and eternal fellowship with Him.

Scripture References:

Genesis 12:1-4 – ESV (audio 🔊)

  1. Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.
  2. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.
  3. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
  4. So Abram went, as the LORD had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.

Genesis 15:1-21 – ESV (audio 🔊)

  1. After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.”
  2. But Abram said, “O Lord GOD, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?”
  3. And Abram said, “Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir.”
  4. And behold, the word of the LORD came to him: “This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir.”
  5. And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”
  6. And he believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness.
  7. And he said to him, “I am the LORD who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.”
  8. But he said, “O Lord GOD, how am I to know that I shall possess it?”
  9. He said to him, “Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.”
  10. And he brought him all these, cut them in half, and laid each half over against the other. But he did not cut the birds in half.
  11. And when birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.
  12. As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell on Abram. And behold, dreadful and great darkness fell upon him.
  13. Then the LORD said to Abram, “Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years.
  14. But I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions.
  15. As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age.
  16. And they shall come back here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”
  17. When the sun had gone down and it was dark, behold, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces.
  18. On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your offspring I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates,
  19. the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites,
  20. the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim,
  21. the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites and the Jebusites.”

Deuteronomy 30:1-10 – ESV (audio 🔊)

  1. “And when all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before you, and you call them to mind among all the nations where the LORD your God has driven you,
  2. and return to the LORD your God, you and your children, and obey his voice in all that I command you today, with all your heart and with all your soul,
  3. then the LORD your God will restore your fortunes and have mercy on you, and he will gather you again from all the peoples where the LORD your God has scattered you.
  4. If your outcasts are in the uttermost parts of heaven, from there the LORD your God will gather you, and from there he will take you.
  5. And the LORD your God will bring you into the land that your fathers possessed, that you may possess it. And he will make you more prosperous and numerous than your fathers.
  6. And the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.
  7. And the LORD your God will put all these curses on your foes and enemies who persecuted you.
  8. And you shall again obey the voice of the LORD and keep all his commandments that I command you today.
  9. The LORD your God will make you abundantly prosperous in all the work of your hand, in the fruit of your womb and in the fruit of your cattle and in the fruit of your ground. For the LORD will again take delight in prospering you, as he took delight in your fathers,
  10. when you obey the voice of the LORD your God, to keep his commandments and his statutes that are written in this Book of the Law, when you turn to the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.

Jeremiah 31:31-34 – ESV (audio 🔊)
31. “Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah,
32. not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the LORD.
33. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
34. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”

Ezekiel 36:22-32 – ESV (audio 🔊)
22. “Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord GOD: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you came.
23. And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. And the nations will know that I am the LORD, declares the Lord GOD, when through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes.
24. I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land.
25. I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you.
26. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.
27. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.
28. You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God.
29. And I will deliver you from all your uncleannesses. And I will summon the grain and make it abundant and lay no famine upon you.
30. I will make the fruit of the tree and the increase of the field abundant, that you may never again suffer the disgrace of famine among the nations.
31. Then you will remember your evil ways, and your deeds that were not good, and you will loathe yourselves for your iniquities and your abominations.
32. It is not for your sake that I will act, declares the Lord GOD; let that be known to you. Be ashamed and confounded for your ways, O house of Israel.

The Second Exodus – Lesson 26

Title: Lesson 26

Summary:

Jesus Christ, the promised light, fulfills the covenants and brings salvation by dwelling with His people. He is the ultimate covenant mediator who gives life, dispels darkness, and establishes God’s eternal kingdom through His sacrifice and victory.

Scripture References:

Genesis 3:15 – ESV (audio 🔊)

  1. I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.

Galatians 3:16 – ESV (audio 🔊)

  1. Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, “And to your offspring,” who is Christ.

John 1:1-14 – ESV (audio 🔊)

  1. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
  2. He was in the beginning with God.
  3. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.
  4. In him was life, and the life was the light of men.
  5. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
  6. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.
  7. He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him.
  8. He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.
  9. The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.
  10. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him.
  11. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.
  12. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,
  13. who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
  14. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

John 8:12 – ESV (audio 🔊)

  1. Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

1 John 1:5-7 – ESV (audio 🔊)

  1. This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
  2. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.
  3. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.

Matthew 5:17 – ESV (audio 🔊)

  1. “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.”

Luke 22:20 – ESV (audio 🔊)

  1. And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.”

Hebrews 8:13 – ESV (audio 🔊)

  1. In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.

John 3:18 – ESV (audio 🔊)

  1. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

John 3:36 – ESV (audio 🔊)

  1. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.

John 5:24 – ESV (audio 🔊)

  1. Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.

Deuteronomy 6:4-9 – ESV (audio 🔊)

  1. “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.
  2. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.
  3. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart.
  4. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.
  5. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.
  6. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

Ephesians 1:1-14 – ESV (audio 🔊)

  1. Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus:
  2. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
  3. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,
  4. even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love
  5. he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,
  6. to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.
  7. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,
  8. which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight
  9. making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ
  10. as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.
  11. In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will,
  12. so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory.
  13. In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,
  14. who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

The Second Exodus – Lesson 25

Title: Lesson 25

Summary:

Through Malachi, God rebukes Israel’s spiritual apathy and corrupted worship while promising a coming messenger to prepare the way for His glory. The prophetic hope looks forward to Messiah’s arrival, bringing refinement, justice, and the fulfillment of God’s covenant promises.

Scripture References:

Malachi 1:1-14 – ESV (audio 🔊)

  1. The oracle of the word of the LORD to Israel by Malachi.
  2. “I have loved you,” says the LORD. But you say, “How have you loved us?” “Is not Esau Jacob’s brother?” declares the LORD. “Yet I have loved Jacob
  3. but Esau I have hated. I have laid waste his hill country and left his heritage to jackals of the desert.”
  4. If Edom says, “We are shattered but we will rebuild the ruins,” the LORD of hosts says, “They may build, but I will tear down, and they will be called ‘the wicked country,’ and ‘the people with whom the LORD is angry forever.’”
  5. Your own eyes shall see this, and you shall say, “Great is the LORD beyond the border of Israel!”
  6. “A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If then I am a father, where is my honor? And if I am a master, where is my fear? says the LORD of hosts to you, O priests, who despise my name. But you say, ‘How have we despised your name?’
  7. By offering polluted food upon my altar. But you say, ‘How have we polluted you?’ By saying that the LORD’s table may be despised.
  8. When you offer blind animals in sacrifice, is that not evil? And when you offer those that are lame or sick, is that not evil? Present that to your governor; will he accept you or show you favor? says the LORD of hosts.
  9. And now entreat the favor of God, that he may be gracious to us. With such a gift from your hand, will he show favor to any of you? says the LORD of hosts.
  10. Oh that there were one among you who would shut the doors, that you might not kindle fire on my altar in vain! I have no pleasure in you, says the LORD of hosts, and I will not accept an offering from your hand.
  11. For from the rising of the sun to its setting my name will be great among the nations, and in every place incense will be offered to my name, and a pure offering. For my name will be great among the nations, says the LORD of hosts.
  12. But you profane it when you say that the Lord’s table is polluted, and its fruit, that is, its food may be despised.
  13. But you say, ‘What a weariness this is,’ and you snort at it, says the LORD of hosts. You bring what has been taken by violence or is lame or sick, and this you bring as your offering! Shall I accept that from your hand? says the LORD.
  14. Cursed be the cheat who has a male in his flock, and vows it, and yet sacrifices to the Lord what is blemished. For I am a great King, says the LORD of hosts, and my name will be feared among the nations.

Malachi 2:1-17 – ESV (audio 🔊)

  1. “And now, O priests, this command is for you.
  2. If you will not listen, if you will not take it to heart to give honor to my name, says the LORD of hosts, then I will send the curse upon you and I will curse your blessings. Indeed, I have already cursed them, because you do not lay it to heart.
  3. Behold, I will rebuke your offspring, and spread dung on your faces, the dung of your offerings, and you shall be taken away with it.
  4. So shall you know that I have sent this command to you, that my covenant with Levi may stand, says the LORD of hosts.
  5. My covenant with him was one of life and peace, and I gave them to him. It was a covenant of fear, and he feared me. He stood in awe of my name.
  6. True instruction was in his mouth, and no wrong was found on his lips. He walked with me in peace and uprightness, and he turned many from iniquity.
  7. For the lips of a priest should guard knowledge, and people should seek instruction from his mouth, for he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts.
  8. But you have turned aside from the way. You have caused many to stumble by your instruction. You have corrupted the covenant of Levi, says the LORD of hosts,
  9. and so I make you despised and abased before all the people, inasmuch as you do not keep my ways but show partiality in your instruction.”
  10. Have we not all one Father? Has not one God created us? Why then are we faithless to one another, profaning the covenant of our fathers?
  11. Judah has been faithless, and abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem. For Judah has profaned the sanctuary of the LORD, which he loves, and has married the daughter of a foreign god.
  12. May the LORD cut off from the tents of Jacob any descendant of the man who does this, who brings an offering to the LORD of hosts!
  13. And this second thing you do. You cover the LORD’s altar with tears, with weeping and groaning because he no longer regards the offering or accepts it with favor from your hand.
  14. But you say, “Why does he not?” Because the LORD was witness between you and the wife of your youth, to whom you have been faithless, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant.
  15. Did he not make them one, with a portion of the Spirit in their union? And what was the one God seeking? Godly offspring. So guard yourselves in your spirit, and let none of you be faithless to the wife of your youth.
  16. “For the man who does not love his wife but divorces her, says the LORD, the God of Israel, covers his garment with violence, says the LORD of hosts. So guard yourselves in your spirit, and do not be faithless.”
  17. You have wearied the LORD with your words. But you say, “How have we wearied him?” By saying, “Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the LORD, and he delights in them.” Or by asking, “Where is the God of justice?”

Malachi 3:1-18 – ESV (audio 🔊)

  1. “Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts.
  2. But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap.
  3. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the LORD.
  4. Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the LORD as in the days of old and as in former years.
  5. “Then I will draw near to you for judgment. I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who oppress the hired worker in his wages, the widow and the fatherless, against those who thrust aside the sojourner, and do not fear me, says the LORD of hosts.
  6. “For I the LORD do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.
  7. From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you, says the LORD of hosts. But you say, ‘How shall we return?’
  8. Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In your tithes and contributions.
  9. You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you.
  10. Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the LORD of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need.
  11. I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of your soil, and your vine in the field shall not fail to bear, says the LORD of hosts.
  12. Then all nations will call you blessed, for you will be a land of delight, says the LORD of hosts.
  13. “Your words have been hard against me, says the LORD. But you say, ‘How have we spoken against you?’
  14. You have said, ‘It is vain to serve God. What is the profit of our keeping his charge or of walking as in mourning before the LORD of hosts?
  15. And now we call the arrogant blessed. Evildoers not only prosper but they put God to the test and they escape.’”
  16. Then those who feared the LORD spoke with one another. The LORD paid attention and heard them, and a book of remembrance was written before him of those who feared the LORD and esteemed his name.
  17. “They shall be mine, says the LORD of hosts, in the day when I make up my treasured possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him.
  18. Then once more you shall see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him.

Malachi 4:1-6 – ESV (audio 🔊)

  1. “For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble. The day that is coming shall set them ablaze, says the LORD of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch.
  2. But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall.
  3. And you shall tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet, on the day when I act, says the LORD of hosts.
  4. “Remember the law of my servant Moses, the statutes and rules that I commanded him at Horeb for all Israel.
  5. “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes.
  6. And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.”

Jeremiah 31:33-34 – ESV (audio 🔊)

  1. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
  2. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”

Ezekiel 36:26-27 – ESV (audio 🔊)

  1. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.
  2. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.

Mark 9:2 – ESV (audio 🔊)

  1. And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them,

Mark 11:15-16 – ESV (audio 🔊)

  1. And they came to Jerusalem. And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold and those who bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons.
  2. And he would not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple.

John 1:14-18 – ESV (audio 🔊)

  1. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
  2. (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’”)
  3. For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.
  4. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
  5. No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.

Hebrews 1:3 – ESV (audio 🔊)

  1. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,

The Second Exodus – Lesson 24

Title: Lesson 24

Summary:

Upon returning to Jerusalem, Nehemiah confronts compromise in worship and community practices, purging corruption and restoring holiness. His reforms reaffirm God’s standards of faithful living and proper reverence for His temple.

Scripture References:

Nehemiah 13:1-31 – ESV (audio 🔊)

  1. On that day they read from the Book of Moses in the hearing of the people. And in it was found written that no Ammonite or Moabite should ever enter the assembly of God,
  2. for they did not meet the people of Israel with bread and water, but hired Balaam against them to curse them — yet our God turned the curse into a blessing.
  3. As soon as the people heard the law, they separated from Israel all those of foreign descent.
  4. Now before this, Eliashib the priest, who was appointed over the chambers of the house of our God, and who was related to Tobiah,
  5. prepared for Tobiah a large chamber where they had previously put the grain offering, the frankincense, the vessels, and the tithes of grain, wine, and oil, which were given by commandment to the Levites, singers, and gatekeepers, and the contributions for the priests.
  6. While this was taking place, I was not in Jerusalem, for in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon I went to the king. And after some time I asked leave of the king
  7. and came to Jerusalem, and I then discovered the evil that Eliashib had done for Tobiah, preparing for him a chamber in the courts of the house of God.
  8. And I was very angry, and I threw all the household furniture of Tobiah out of the chamber.
  9. Then I gave orders, and they cleansed the chambers, and I brought back there the vessels of the house of God, with the grain offering and the frankincense.
  10. I also found out that the portions of the Levites had not been given to them, so that the Levites and the singers, who did the work, had fled each to his field.
  11. So I confronted the officials and said, “Why is the house of God forsaken?” And I gathered them together and set them in their stations.
  12. Then all Judah brought the tithe of the grain, wine, and oil into the storehouses.
  13. And I appointed as treasurers over the storehouses Shelemiah the priest, Zadok the scribe, and Pedaiah of the Levites, and as their assistant Hanan the son of Zaccur, son of Mattaniah, for they were considered reliable, and their duty was to distribute to their brothers.
  14. Remember me, O my God, concerning this, and do not wipe out my good deeds that I have done for the house of my God and for his service.
  15. In those days I saw in Judah people treading winepresses on the Sabbath, and bringing in heaps of grain and loading them on donkeys, and also wine, grapes, figs, and all kinds of loads, which they brought into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. And I warned them on the day when they sold food.
  16. Tyrians also, who lived in the city, brought in fish and all kinds of goods and sold them on the Sabbath to the people of Judah, in Jerusalem itself!
  17. Then I confronted the nobles of Judah and said to them, “What is this evil thing that you are doing, profaning the Sabbath day?
  18. Did not your fathers act in this way, and did not our God bring all this disaster on us and on this city? Now you are bringing more wrath on Israel by profaning the Sabbath.”
  19. As soon as it began to grow dark at the gates of Jerusalem before the Sabbath, I commanded that the doors should be shut and gave orders that they should not be opened until after the Sabbath. And I stationed some of my servants at the gates, that no load might be brought in on the Sabbath day.
  20. Then the merchants and sellers of all kinds of wares lodged outside Jerusalem once or twice.
  21. But I warned them and said to them, “Why do you lodge outside the wall? If you do so again, I will lay hands on you.” From that time on they did not come on the Sabbath.
  22. Then I commanded the Levites that they should purify themselves and come and guard the gates, to keep the Sabbath day holy. Remember this also in my favor, O my God, and spare me according to the greatness of your steadfast love.
  23. In those days also I saw the Jews who had married women of Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab.
  24. And half of their children spoke the language of Ashdod, and they could not speak the language of Judah, but only the language of each people.
  25. And I confronted them and cursed them and beat some of them and pulled out their hair. And I made them take an oath in the name of God, saying, “You shall not give your daughters to their sons, or take their daughters for your sons or for yourselves.
  26. Did not Solomon king of Israel sin on account of such women? Among the many nations there was no king like him, and he was beloved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel. Nevertheless, foreign women made even him to sin.
  27. Shall we then listen to you and do all this great evil and act treacherously against our God by marrying foreign women?”
  28. And one of the sons of Jehoiada, the son of Eliashib the high priest, was the son-in-law of Sanballat the Horonite. Therefore I chased him from me.
  29. Remember them, O my God, because they have desecrated the priesthood and the covenant of the priesthood and the Levites.
  30. Thus I cleansed them from everything foreign, and I established the duties of the priests and Levites, each in his work;
  31. and I provided for the wood offering at appointed times, and for the firstfruits. Remember me, O my God, for good.

The Second Exodus – Lesson 23

Title: Lesson 23

Summary:

With Jerusalem repopulated and the temple service restored, the city is filled with thanksgiving, dedication, and worship. God’s people rejoice as they experience renewed community life centered on His presence and covenant promises.

Scripture References:

Nehemiah 11:1-36 – ESV (audio 🔊)

  1. Now on the leaders of the people lived in Jerusalem. And the rest of the people cast lots to bring one out of ten to live in Jerusalem the holy city, while nine out of ten remained in the other towns.
  2. And the people blessed all the men who willingly offered to live in Jerusalem.
  3. These are the chiefs of the province who lived in Jerusalem; but in the towns of Judah everyone lived on his property in their towns: Israel, the priests, the Levites, the temple servants, and the descendants of Solomon’s servants.
  4. And in Jerusalem lived certain of the sons of Judah and of the sons of Benjamin. Of the sons of Judah: Athaiah the son of Uzziah, son of Zechariah, son of Amariah, son of Shephatiah, son of Mahalalel, of the sons of Perez;
  5. and Maaseiah the son of Baruch, son of Col-hozeh, son of Hazaiah, son of Adaiah, son of Joiarib, son of Zechariah, son of the Shilonite.
  6. All the sons of Perez who lived in Jerusalem were 468 valiant men.
  7. And these are the sons of Benjamin: Sallu the son of Meshullam, son of Joed, son of Pedaiah, son of Kolaiah, son of Maaseiah, son of Ithiel, son of Jeshaiah,
  8. and his brothers, men of valor, 928.
  9. Joel the son of Zichri was their overseer; and Judah the son of Hassenuah was second over the city.
  10. Of the priests: Jedaiah the son of Joiarib, Jachin,
  11. Seraiah the son of Hilkiah, son of Meshullam, son of Zadok, son of Meraioth, son of Ahitub, ruler of the house of God,
  12. and their brothers who did the work of the house, 822; and Adaiah the son of Jeroham, son of Pelaliah, son of Amzi, son of Zechariah, son of Pashhur, son of Malchijah,
  13. and his brothers, heads of fathers’ houses, 242; and Amashsai, the son of Azarel, son of Ahzai, son of Meshillemoth, son of Immer,
  14. and their brothers, mighty men of valor, 128; their overseer was Zabdiel the son of Haggedolim.
  15. And of the Levites: Shemaiah the son of Hasshub, son of Azrikam, son of Hashabiah, son of Bunni;
  16. and Shabbethai and Jozabad, of the chiefs of the Levites, who were over the outside work of the house of God;
  17. and Mattaniah the son of Mica, son of Zabdi, son of Asaph, who was the leader of the praise, who gave thanks, and Bakbukiah, the second among his brothers; and Abda the son of Shammua, son of Galal, son of Jeduthun.
  18. All the Levites in the holy city were 284.
  19. The gatekeepers, Akkub, Talmon and their brothers, who kept watch at the gates, were 172.
  20. And the rest of Israel, and of the priests and the Levites, were in all the towns of Judah, every one in his inheritance.
  21. But the temple servants lived on Ophel; and Ziha and Gishpa were over the temple servants.
  22. The overseer of the Levites in Jerusalem was Uzzi the son of Bani, son of Hashabiah, son of Mattaniah, son of Mica, of the sons of Asaph, the singers, over the work of the house of God.
  23. For there was a command from the king concerning them, and a fixed provision for the singers, as every day required.
  24. And Pethahiah the son of Meshezabel, of the sons of Zerah the son of Judah, was at the king’s side in all matters concerning the people.
  25. And as for the villages, with their fields, some of the people of Judah lived in Kiriath-arba and its villages, and in Dibon and its villages, and in Jekabzeel and its villages,
  26. and in Jeshua and in Moladah and Beth-pelet,
  27. in Hazar-shual, in Beersheba and its villages,
  28. in Ziklag, in Meconah and its villages,
  29. in En-rimmon, in Zorah, in Jarmuth,
  30. Zanoah, Adullam, and their villages, Lachish and its fields, and Azekah and its villages. So they encamped from Beersheba to the Valley of Hinnom.
  31. The people of Benjamin also lived from Geba onward, at Michmash, Aija, Bethel and its villages,
  32. Anathoth, Nob, Ananiah,
  33. Hazor, Ramah, Gittaim,
  34. Hadid, Zeboim, Neballat,
  35. Lod, and Ono, the valley of craftsmen.
  36. And certain divisions of the Levites in Judah were assigned to Benjamin.

Nehemiah 12:1-47 – ESV (audio 🔊)

  1. These are the priests and the Levites who came up with Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua: Seraiah, Jeremiah, Ezra,
  2. Amariah, Malluch, Hattush,
  3. Shecaniah, Rehum, Meremoth,
  4. Iddo, Ginnethoi, Abijah,
  5. Mijamin, Maadiah, Bilgah,
  6. Shemaiah, Joiarib, Jedaiah,
  7. Sallu, Amok, Hilkiah, Jedaiah. These were the chiefs of the priests and of their brothers in the days of Jeshua.
  8. And the Levites: Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Sherebiah, Judah, and Mattaniah, who with his brothers was in charge of the songs of thanksgiving.
  9. And Bakbukiah and Unni and their brothers stood opposite them in the service.
  10. And Jeshua was the father of Joiakim, Joiakim the father of Eliashib, Eliashib the father of Joiada,
  11. Joiada the father of Jonathan, and Jonathan the father of Jaddua.
  12. And in the days of Joiakim were priests, heads of fathers’ houses: of Seraiah, Meraiah; of Jeremiah, Hananiah;
  13. of Ezra, Meshullam; of Amariah, Jehohanan;
  14. of Malluchi, Jonathan; of Shebaniah, Joseph;
  15. of Harim, Adna; of Meraioth, Helkai;
  16. of Iddo, Zechariah; of Ginnethon, Meshullam;
  17. of Abijah, Zichri; of Miniamin, of Moadiah, Piltai;
  18. of Bilgah, Shammua; of Shemaiah, Jehonathan;
  19. of Joiarib, Mattenai; of Jedaiah, Uzzi;
  20. of Sallai, Kallai; of Amok, Eber;
  21. of Hilkiah, Hashabiah; of Jedaiah, Nethanel.
  22. In the days of Eliashib, Joiada, Johanan, and Jaddua, the Levites were recorded as heads of fathers’ houses; so too were the priests in the reign of Darius the Persian.
  23. As for the sons of Levi, their heads of fathers’ houses were written in the Book of the Chronicles until the days of Johanan the son of Eliashib.
  24. And the chiefs of the Levites: Hashabiah, Sherebiah, and Jeshua the son of Kadmiel, with their brothers who stood opposite them, to praise and to give thanks, according to the commandment of David the man of God, watch by watch.
  25. Mattaniah, Bakbukiah, Obadiah, Meshullam, Talmon, and Akkub were gatekeepers standing guard at the storehouses of the gates.
  26. These were in the days of Joiakim the son of Jeshua son of Jozadak, and in the days of Nehemiah the governor and of Ezra, the priest and scribe.
  27. And at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem they sought the Levites in all their places, to bring them to Jerusalem to celebrate the dedication with gladness, with thanksgivings and with singing, with cymbals, harps, and lyres.
  28. And the sons of the singers gathered together from the district surrounding Jerusalem and from the villages of the Netophathites;
  29. also from Beth-gilgal and from the region of Geba and Azmaveth, for the singers had built for themselves villages around Jerusalem.
  30. And the priests and the Levites purified themselves, and they purified the people and the gates and the wall.
  31. Then I brought the leaders of Judah up onto the wall and appointed two great choirs that gave thanks. One went to the south on the wall to the Dung Gate.
  32. And after them went Hoshaiah and half of the leaders of Judah,
  33. and Azariah, Ezra, Meshullam,
  34. Judah, Benjamin, Shemaiah, and Jeremiah,
  35. and certain of the priests’ sons with trumpets: Zechariah the son of Jonathan, son of Shemaiah, son of Mattaniah, son of Micaiah, son of Zaccur, son of Asaph;
  36. and his relatives, Shemaiah, Azarel, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethanel, Judah, and Hanani, with the musical instruments of David the man of God. And Ezra the scribe went before them.
  37. At the Fountain Gate they went up straight before them by the stairs of the city of David, at the ascent of the wall, above the house of David, to the Water Gate on the east.
  38. The other choir of those who gave thanks went to the north, and I followed them with half of the people, on the wall, above the Tower of the Ovens, to the Broad Wall,
  39. and above the Gate of Ephraim, and by the Gate of Yeshanah, and by the Fish Gate and the Tower of Hananel and the Tower of the Hundred, to the Sheep Gate; and they came to a halt at the Gate of the Guard.
  40. So both choirs of those who gave thanks stood in the house of God, and I and half of the officials with me;
  41. and the priests Eliakim, Maaseiah, Miniamin, Micaiah, Elioenai, Zechariah, and Hananiah, with trumpets;
  42. and Maaseiah, Shemaiah, Eleazar, Uzzi, Jehohanan, Malchijah, Elam, and Ezer. And the singers sang with Jezrahiah as their leader.
  43. And they offered great sacrifices that day and rejoiced, for God had made them rejoice with great joy; the women and children also rejoiced. And the joy of Jerusalem was heard far away.
  44. On that day men were appointed over the storerooms, the contributions, the firstfruits, and the tithes, to gather into them the portions required by the Law for the priests and for the Levites according to the fields of the towns, for Judah rejoiced over the priests and the Levites who ministered.
  45. And they performed the service of their God and the service of purification, as did the singers and the gatekeepers, according to the command of David and his son Solomon.
  46. For long ago in the days of David and Asaph there were directors of the singers, and there were songs of praise and thanksgiving to God.
  47. And all Israel in the days of Zerubbabel and in the days of Nehemiah gave the daily portions for the singers and the gatekeepers; and they set apart that which was for the Levites; and the Levites set apart that which was for the sons of Aaron.

The Second Exodus – Lesson 22

Title: Lesson 22

Summary:

The people confess their sins through a prayer that recounts Israel’s history of rebellion and God’s steadfast mercy. In response, they make a renewed covenant to walk in obedience, set apart for God’s purposes.

Scripture References:

Nehemiah 9:1-38 – ESV (audio 🔊)

  1. Now on the twenty-fourth day of this month the people of Israel were assembled with fasting and in sackcloth, and with earth on their heads.
  2. And the Israelites separated themselves from all foreigners and stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers.
  3. And they stood up in their place and read from the Book of the Law of the LORD their God for a quarter of the day; for another quarter of it they made confession and worshiped the LORD their God.
  4. On the stairs of the Levites stood Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani; and they cried with a loud voice to the LORD their God.
  5. Then the Levites, Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah, said, “Stand up and bless the LORD your God from everlasting to everlasting. Blessed be your glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise.
  6. “You are the LORD, you alone. You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them; and you preserve all of them; and the host of heaven worships you.
  7. You are the LORD, the God who chose Abram and brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans and gave him the name Abraham.
  8. You found his heart faithful before you, and made with him the covenant to give to his offspring the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Jebusite, and the Girgashite. And you have kept your promise, for you are righteous.
  9. “And you saw the affliction of our fathers in Egypt and heard their cry at the Red Sea,
  10. and performed signs and wonders against Pharaoh and all his servants and all the people of his land, for you knew that they acted arrogantly against our fathers. And you made a name for yourself, as it is to this day.
  11. And you divided the sea before them, so that they went through the midst of the sea on dry land, and you cast their pursuers into the depths, as a stone into mighty waters.
  12. By a pillar of cloud you led them in the day, and by a pillar of fire in the night to light for them the way in which they should go.
  13. You came down on Mount Sinai and spoke with them from heaven and gave them right rules and true laws, good statutes and commandments,
  14. and you made known to them your holy Sabbath and commanded them commandments and statutes and a law by Moses your servant.
  15. You gave them bread from heaven for their hunger and brought water for them out of the rock for their thirst, and you told them to go in to possess the land that you had sworn to give them.
  16. “But they and our fathers acted presumptuously and stiffened their neck and did not obey your commandments.
  17. They refused to obey and were not mindful of the wonders that you performed among them, but they stiffened their neck and appointed a leader to return to their slavery in Egypt. But you are a God ready to forgive, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and did not forsake them.
  18. Even when they had made for themselves a golden calf and said, ‘This is your God who brought you up out of Egypt,’ and had committed great blasphemies,
  19. you in your great mercies did not forsake them in the wilderness. The pillar of cloud to lead them in the way did not depart from them by day, nor the pillar of fire by night to light for them the way by which they should go.
  20. You gave your good Spirit to instruct them and did not withhold your manna from their mouth and gave them water for their thirst.
  21. Forty years you sustained them in the wilderness, and they lacked nothing. Their clothes did not wear out and their feet did not swell.
  22. “And you gave them kingdoms and peoples and allotted to them every corner. So they took possession of the land of Sihon king of Heshbon and the land of Og king of Bashan.
  23. You multiplied their children as the stars of heaven, and you brought them into the land that you had told their fathers to enter and possess.
  24. So the descendants went in and possessed the land, and you subdued before them the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, and gave them into their hand, with their kings and the peoples of the land, that they might do with them as they would.
  25. And they captured fortified cities and a rich land, and took possession of houses full of all good things, cisterns already hewn, vineyards, olive orchards and fruit trees in abundance. So they ate and were filled and became fat and delighted themselves in your great goodness.
  26. “Nevertheless, they were disobedient and rebelled against you and cast your law behind their back and killed your prophets, who had warned them in order to turn them back to you, and they committed great blasphemies.
  27. Therefore you gave them into the hand of their enemies, who made them suffer. And in the time of their suffering they cried out to you and you heard them from heaven, and according to your great mercies you gave them saviors who saved them from the hand of their enemies.
  28. But after they had rest they did evil again before you, and you abandoned them to the hand of their enemies, so that they had dominion over them. Yet when they turned and cried to you, you heard from heaven, and many times you delivered them according to your mercies.
  29. And you warned them in order to turn them back to your law. Yet they acted presumptuously and did not obey your commandments, but sinned against your rules, which if a person does them, he shall live by them, and they turned a stubborn shoulder and stiffened their neck and would not obey.
  30. Many years you bore with them and warned them by your Spirit through your prophets. Yet they would not give ear. Therefore you gave them into the hand of the peoples of the lands.
  31. Nevertheless, in your great mercies you did not make an end of them or forsake them, for you are a gracious and merciful God.
  32. “Now, therefore, our God, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who keeps covenant and steadfast love, let not all the hardship seem little to you that has come upon us, upon our kings, our princes, our priests, our prophets, our fathers, and all your people, since the time of the kings of Assyria until this day.
  33. Yet you have been righteous in all that has come upon us, for you have dealt faithfully and we have acted wickedly.
  34. Our kings, our princes, our priests, and our fathers have not kept your law or paid attention to your commandments and your warnings that you gave them.
  35. Even in their own kingdom, and amid your great goodness that you gave them, and in the large and rich land that you set before them, they did not serve you or turn from their wicked works.
  36. Behold, we are slaves this day; in the land that you gave to our fathers to enjoy its fruit and its good gifts, behold, we are slaves.
  37. And its rich yield goes to the kings whom you have set over us because of our sins. They rule over our bodies and over our livestock as they please, and we are in great distress.
  38. “Because of all this we make a firm covenant in writing; on the sealed document are the names of our princes, our Levites, and our priests.

Nehemiah 10:1-39 – ESV (audio 🔊)

  1. “On the seals are the names of Nehemiah the governor, the son of Hacaliah, Zedekiah,
  2. Seraiah, Azariah, Jeremiah,
  3. Pashhur, Amariah, Malchijah,
  4. Hattush, Shebaniah, Malluch,
  5. Harim, Meremoth, Obadiah,
  6. Daniel, Ginnethon, Baruch,
  7. Meshullam, Abijah, Mijamin,
  8. Maaziah, Bilgai, Shemaiah; these are the priests.
  9. And the Levites: Jeshua the son of Azaniah, Binnui of the sons of Henadad, Kadmiel;
  10. and their brothers, Shebaniah, Hodiah, Kelita, Pelaiah, Hanan,
  11. Mica, Rehob, Hashabiah,
  12. Zaccur, Sherebiah, Shebaniah,
  13. Hodiah, Bani, Beninu.
  14. The chiefs of the people: Parosh, Pahath-moab, Elam, Zattu, Bani,
  15. Bunni, Azgad, Bebai,
  16. Adonijah, Bigvai, Adin,
  17. Ater, Hezekiah, Azzur,
  18. Hodiah, Hashum, Bezai,
  19. Hariph, Anathoth, Nebai,
  20. Magpiash, Meshullam, Hezir,
  21. Meshezabel, Zadok, Jaddua,
  22. Pelatiah, Hanan, Anaiah,
  23. Hoshea, Hananiah, Hasshub,
  24. Hallohesh, Pilha, Shobek,
  25. Rehum, Hashabnah, Maaseiah,
  26. Ahiah, Hanan, Anan,
  27. Malluch, Harim, Baanah.
  28. “The rest of the people, the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, the temple servants, and all who have separated themselves from the peoples of the lands to the Law of God, their wives, their sons, their daughters, all who have knowledge and understanding,
  29. join with their brothers, their nobles, and enter into a curse and an oath to walk in God’s Law that was given by Moses the servant of God, and to observe and do all the commandments of the LORD our Lord and his rules and his statutes.
  30. We will not give our daughters to the peoples of the land or take their daughters for our sons.
  31. And if the peoples of the land bring in goods or any grain on the Sabbath day to sell, we will not buy from them on the Sabbath or on a holy day. And we will forego the crops of the seventh year and the exaction of every debt.
  32. “We also take on ourselves the obligation to give yearly a third part of a shekel for the service of the house of our God:
  33. for the showbread, the regular grain offering, the regular burnt offering, the Sabbaths, the new moons, the appointed feasts, the holy things, and the sin offerings to make atonement for Israel, and for all the work of the house of our God.
  34. We, the priests, the Levites, and the people, have likewise cast lots for the wood offering, to bring it into the house of our God, according to our fathers’ houses, at times appointed, year by year, to burn on the altar of the LORD our God, as it is written in the Law.
  35. We obligate ourselves to bring the firstfruits of our ground and the firstfruits of all fruit of every tree, year by year, to the house of the LORD;
  36. also to bring to the house of our God, to the priests who minister in the house of our God, the firstborn of our sons and of our cattle, as it is written in the Law, and the firstborn of our herds and of our flocks;
  37. and to bring the first of our dough, and our contributions, the fruit of every tree, the wine and the oil, to the priests, to the chambers of the house of our God; and to bring to the Levites the tithes from our ground, for it is the Levites who collect the tithes in all our towns where we labor.
  38. And the priest, the son of Aaron, shall be with the Levites when the Levites receive the tithes. And the Levites shall bring up the tithe of the tithes to the house of our God, to the chambers of the storehouse.
  39. For the people of Israel and the sons of Levi shall bring the contribution of grain, wine, and oil to the chambers, where the vessels of the sanctuary are, as well as the priests who minister, and the gatekeepers and the singers. We will not neglect the house of our God.”

The Second Exodus – Lesson 21

Title: Lesson 21

Summary:

As the wall is secured, Ezra reads the Law aloud to the assembly, leading to deep conviction, repentance, and joyful worship. God’s Word renews His people, reminding them of His covenant and faithfulness while stirring obedience and celebration.

Scripture References:

Nehemiah 7:1-73 – ESV (audio 🔊)

  1. Now when the wall had been built and I had set up the doors, and the gatekeepers, the singers, and the Levites had been appointed,
  2. I gave my brother Hanani and Hananiah the governor of the castle charge over Jerusalem, for he was a more faithful and God-fearing man than many.
  3. And I said to them, “Let not the gates of Jerusalem be opened until the sun is hot. And while they are still standing guard, let them shut and bar the doors. Appoint guards from among the inhabitants of Jerusalem, some at their guard posts and some in front of their own homes.”
  4. The city was wide and large, but the people within it were few, and no houses had been rebuilt.
  5. Then my God put it into my heart to assemble the nobles and the officials and the people to be enrolled by genealogy. And I found the book of the genealogy of those who came up at the first, and I found written in it:
  6. These were the people of the province who came up out of the captivity of those exiles whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried into exile. They returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each to his town.
  7. They came with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Azariah, Raamiah, Nahamani, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispereth, Bigvai, Nehum, Baanah. The number of the men of the people of Israel:
  8. the sons of Parosh, 2,172.
  9. The sons of Shephatiah, 372.
  10. The sons of Arah, 652.
  11. The sons of Pahath-moab, namely the sons of Jeshua and Joab, 2,818.
  12. The sons of Elam, 1,254.
  13. The sons of Zattu, 845.
  14. The sons of Zaccai, 760.
  15. The sons of Binnui, 648.
  16. The sons of Bebai, 628.
  17. The sons of Azgad, 2,322.
  18. The sons of Adonikam, 667.
  19. The sons of Bigvai, 2,067.
  20. The sons of Adin, 655.
  21. The sons of Ater, namely of Hezekiah, 98.
  22. The sons of Hashum, 328.
  23. The sons of Bezai, 324.
  24. The sons of Hariph, 112.
  25. The sons of Gibeon, 95.
  26. The men of Bethlehem and Netophah, 188.
  27. The men of Anathoth, 128.
  28. The men of Beth-azmaveth, 42.
  29. The men of Kiriath-jearim, Chephirah, and Beeroth, 743.
  30. The men of Ramah and Geba, 621.
  31. The men of Michmas, 122.
  32. The men of Bethel and Ai, 123.
  33. The men of the other Nebo, 52.
  34. The sons of the other Elam, 1,254.
  35. The sons of Harim, 320.
  36. The sons of Jericho, 345.
  37. The sons of Lod, Hadid, and Ono, 721.
  38. The sons of Senaah, 3,930.
  39. The priests: the sons of Jedaiah, namely the house of Jeshua, 973.
  40. The sons of Immer, 1,052.
  41. The sons of Pashhur, 1,247.
  42. The sons of Harim, 1,017.
  43. The Levites: the sons of Jeshua, namely of Kadmiel of the sons of Hodevah, 74.
  44. The singers: the sons of Asaph, 148.
  45. The gatekeepers: the sons of Shallum, the sons of Ater, the sons of Talmon, the sons of Akkub, the sons of Hatita, the sons of Shobai, 138.
  46. The temple servants: the sons of Ziha, the sons of Hasupha, the sons of Tabbaoth,
  47. the sons of Keros, the sons of Sia, the sons of Padon,
  48. the sons of Lebana, the sons of Hagaba, the sons of Shalmai,
  49. the sons of Hanan, the sons of Giddel, the sons of Gahar,
  50. the sons of Reaiah, the sons of Rezin, the sons of Nekoda,
  51. the sons of Gazzam, the sons of Uzza, the sons of Paseah,
  52. the sons of Besai, the sons of Meunim, the sons of Nephushesim,
  53. the sons of Bakbuk, the sons of Hakupha, the sons of Harhur,
  54. the sons of Bazlith, the sons of Mehida, the sons of Harsha,
  55. the sons of Barkos, the sons of Sisera, the sons of Temah,
  56. the sons of Neziah, the sons of Hatipha.
  57. The sons of Solomon’s servants: the sons of Sotai, the sons of Sophereth, the sons of Perida,
  58. the sons of Jaala, the sons of Darkon, the sons of Giddel,
  59. the sons of Shephatiah, the sons of Hattil, the sons of Pochereth-hazzebaim, the sons of Amon.
  60. All the temple servants and the sons of Solomon’s servants were 392.
  61. The following were those who came up from Tel-melah, Tel-harsha, Cherub, Addon, and Immer, but they could not prove their fathers’ houses nor their descent, whether they belonged to Israel:
  62. the sons of Delaiah, the sons of Tobiah, the sons of Nekoda, 642.
  63. Also, of the priests: the sons of Hobaiah, the sons of Hakkoz, the sons of Barzillai (who had taken a wife of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite and was called by their name).
  64. These sought their registration among those enrolled in the genealogies, but it was not found there, so they were excluded from the priesthood as unclean.
  65. The governor told them that they were not to partake of the most holy food until a priest with Urim and Thummim should arise.
  66. The whole assembly together was 42,360,
  67. besides their male and female servants, of whom there were 7,337. And they had 245 singers, male and female.
  68. Their horses were 736, their mules 245,
  69. their camels 435, and their donkeys 6,720.
  70. Now some of the heads of fathers’ houses gave to the work. The governor gave to the treasury 1,000 darics of gold, 50 basins, 30 priests’ garments and 500 minas of silver.
  71. And some of the heads of fathers’ houses gave into the treasury of the work 20,000 darics of gold and 2,200 minas of silver.
  72. And what the rest of the people gave was 20,000 darics of gold, 2,000 minas of silver, and 67 priests’ garments.
  73. So the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, some of the people, the temple servants, and all Israel, lived in their towns. And when the seventh month had come, the people of Israel were in their towns.

Nehemiah 8:1-18 – ESV (audio 🔊)

  1. And all the people gathered as one man into the square before the Water Gate. And they told Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses that the LORD had commanded Israel.
  2. So Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly, both men and women and all who could understand what they heard, on the first day of the seventh month.
  3. And he read from it facing the square before the Water Gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of the men and the women and those who could understand. And the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law.
  4. And Ezra the scribe stood on a wooden platform that they had made for the purpose. And beside him stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah on his right hand, and Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zechariah, and Meshullam on his left hand.
  5. And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was above all the people, and as he opened it all the people stood.
  6. And Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God, and all the people answered, “Amen, Amen,” lifting up their hands. And they bowed their heads and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground.
  7. Also Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, the Levites, helped the people to understand the Law, while the people remained in their places.
  8. They read from the book, from the Law of God, clearly, and they gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading.
  9. And Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, “This day is holy to the LORD your God; do not mourn or weep.” For all the people wept as they heard the words of the Law.
  10. Then he said to them, “Go your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”
  11. So the Levites calmed all the people, saying, “Be quiet, for this day is holy; do not be grieved.”
  12. And all the people went their way to eat and drink and to send portions and to make great rejoicing, because they had understood the words that were declared to them.
  13. On the second day the heads of fathers’ houses of all the people, with the priests and the Levites, came together to Ezra the scribe in order to study the words of the Law.
  14. And they found it written in the Law that the LORD had commanded by Moses that the people of Israel should dwell in booths during the feast of the seventh month,
  15. and that they should proclaim it and publish it in all their towns and in Jerusalem, “Go out to the hills and bring branches of olive, wild olive, myrtle, palm, and other leafy trees to make booths, as it is written.”
  16. So the people went out and brought them and made booths for themselves, each on his roof, and in their courts and in the courts of the house of God, and in the square at the Water Gate and in the square at the Gate of Ephraim.
  17. And all the assembly of those who had returned from the captivity made booths and lived in the booths, for from the days of Jeshua the son of Nun to that day the people of Israel had not done so. And there was very great rejoicing.
  18. And day by day, from the first day to the last day, he read from the Book of the Law of God. They kept the feast seven days, and on the eighth day there was a solemn assembly, according to the rule.