Thursday, April 16


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Go, eat the fatty things and drink the sweet things,
. . . and do not feel hurt,
for the joy of Jehovah is your stronghold.

—Neh. 8:10.


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This was not the time for public confession of sins. Being a festival day,
it was meant to be a joyous time in the worship of Jehovah. (Num. 29:1)
Commendably, the people obeyed Nehemiah’s words, and the day turned into
one of “great rejoicing.†On the very next day, the family heads gathered together
to see how the nation could conform more closely to God’s Law. In their study
of the Scriptures, they found that the seventh month was to include the
Festival of Booths with its concluding solemn assembly from the 15th through
the 22nd day of Tishri, so they began to make preparations. It turned out to be
the most successful Festival of Booths since the days of Joshua and resulted in
“very great rejoicing.†An important feature of this festival was the public
reading of God’s Law, “day by day, from the first day until the last day.â€


—Neh. 8:12-18.


w13 10/15 3:3, 4
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