They were Attentive

I stopped by at Nehemiah 8 this morning and read these words.

1And 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. 2So 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. 3And 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.

From early morning to mid-day. That's what is says. Ezra stood there and read, and the all the people gathered were attentive while they listened.

Can you imagine it? Listening to the word of God being read for at least four hours straight? AND being attentive the whole time? And they did so standing!

5And 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.

Most church services now-a-days run between 1-1.5 hours long. It is broken up by singing, music, prayers. Most sermons run 15-45 minutes (usually on the shorter end of the scale). How many people do you know who are attentive to the word of God even just being read (usually takes no more than 5 minutes)? And these folks paid attention to what Ezra was reading. They showed that it was important to them.

6And 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. 7Also 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. 8They read from the book, from the Law of God, clearly, and they gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading.

These folks: Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, the Levites helped the people to understand what God was saying in his word. The people stood, they were attentive, they remained standing as the word of God was explained to them. Their teachers spoke clearly and presented it so it made sense. The people understood it all. All the actions done this day, showed how important God's word was to them.

So I have to ask, how do we show that God's word is important to us?