It had been years since my husband and I had seen an optometrist to get our eyes checked. As expected, our vision had changed, and we both needed new prescriptions before ordering new glasses. God’s people in Nehemiah’s day needed “a new prescription” to help them see clearly.
With encouragement from Nehemiah, Ezra, and the Levites, the people who had heard and understood God’s Word celebrated one of the feasts commanded to Moses—the Festival of Booths. After the seven days of feasting, they assembled again for a dedicated time of fasting, worship, and confession. During this assembly, they recalled and reviewed their nation’s history of God’s goodness and faithfulness and their own wickedness and rebellion. Their vision was corrected to see that “in your great mercy you did not put an end to them or abandon them, for you are a gracious and merciful God” (9:31). When they could view themselves through God’s lens, they eagerly refreshed their commitment to His covenant of love. Might we all need to do a bit of that today?