The priests, Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, some of the people, the temple servants, and the rest of Israel settled in their own cities. When the seventh month came, the people of Israel were in their own cities.
⌞When the seventh month came,⌟ all the people gathered together in the courtyard in front of Water Gate. They told Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of Moses’ Teachings, which the Lord had commanded Israel ⌞to follow⌟.
They found written in the Teachings that the Lord had given an order through Moses that the people of Israel should live in booths during a festival in the seventh month.
“This will be a permanent law for you: On the tenth day of the seventh month both native Israelites and foreigners must humble themselves. They must do no work.
“Tell the Israelites: On the first day of the seventh month hold a worship festival. It will be a memorial day, a holy assembly announced by the blowing of rams’ horns.
The believers had a single purpose and went to the temple every day. They were joyful and humble as they ate at each other’s homes and shared their food.
Brothers and sisters, I encourage all of you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to agree with each other and not to split into opposing groups. I want you to be united in your understanding and opinions.
Three times a year all your men must come into the presence of the Lord your God at the place he will choose: at the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the Festival of Weeks, and the Festival of Booths. But no one may come into the presence of the Lord without an offering.