Picture the scene. Now that their 70-year exile in Babylon is officially over, some small groups of Israelites have begun to return to their homeland.
In the face of considerable opposition, this handful has completed stages one and two of their national renewal: they have rebuilt the Temple and the walls of Jerusalem.
This, though, is only the beginning. If it is going to last, the work must above all involve a spiritual renewal. Therefore, the people ask Ezra the scribe 'to bring out the book of the law of Moses (Nehemiah 8.1). Then, 'they read from the Book of the Law of God, making it clear and giving the meaning so that the people could understand what was being read' (Nehemiah 8.10) In this chapter of the Bible, we see four features of genuine spiritual renewal.
