Read Hear And Joyfully Obey The Word Of God

"On the second day of the month, the heads of all the families, along with the priests and the Levites, gathered around Ezra, the scribe, to give attention to The Words of The Law.  They found written in The Law, which The LORD had commanded through Moses, that the Israelites were to live in booths during the feast of the seventh month ... So the people went out and brought back branches and built themselves booths on their own roofs, in their courtyards ... And their joy was very great ... Day after day, from the first day to the last, Ezra read from The Book of The Law of God. They celebrated the feast for seven days ..."  Nehemiah 8:13-18 (NIV)

These are the words of Nehemiah, the cup-bearer to the king and the governor of Jerusalem, written under the guidance and direction of The Holy Spirit of God.  He recorded this celebration of the feast of the seventh month, which was lead by Ezra, the famous scribe and priest.  Ezra read The Word of God, the people heard it, and they joyfully obeyed it, and then they celebrated the feast.

These people of God heard The Word of God and they obeyed it.  They were not just hearers of The Word, but they were doers of The Word. (James 1:22)  Also, after they heard The Word of God, they changed their behavior, they lived in booths instead of their homes.  And, "their joy was very great", they joyfully changed their lifestyle and lived according to The Word of God. (James 1:2)  They did not just do this once, but they did it "day after day" when The Word of God was read to them.  We could learn a  lot from this Old Testament scripture.  When we read or hear The Word of God, if we are believers, it should change us and change our lives.  We should behave and live differently after we are exposed to it.  The more we read or hear it, the more we grow stronger in our faith, our belief, and in or walk.  We were not meant to be a milk-fed spiritual baby in Christ all of our life. (1 Corinthians 3:2 and Hebrews 5:12)   We must do something with The Word of God when we hear or read it, we must exercise our faith in order for it to grow. (Luke 17:5 and 2 Corinthians 10:15)  Our Bibles should be opened and read every day, and we should joyfully apply what we read to our daily lives in order for us to grow and change to become more Christ-like.