Building Community in Zion: Shaped by the Word | Nehemiah 8

Having established a list of eligible covenant citizens for populating Jerusalem, Nehemiah needed to prepare them for citizenship. The task before Nehemiah was to build a city life which matched the glory of God symbolized in Zion's rebuilt walls. Citizens of Jerusalem not only needed to be covenanted to the Lord, they also needed to be shaped by the word in the manners, behavior, and religious devotion. In order to accomplish that mission, Nehemiah called for a day of the public reading and exposition of the word so that Jerusalem's citizens would be prepared to live up to their calling. This text teaches how to build a church life which glorifies the Lord through shaping the people of God with the word of God.