Neville Goddard on Nehemiah 8:13-18 - Mystical Bible Interpretation

Read Nehemiah 8 in context

Scripture Focus

13And on the second day were gathered together the chief of the fathers of all the people, the priests, and the Levites, unto Ezra the scribe, even to understand the words of the law.

14And they found written in the law which the LORD had commanded by Moses, that the children of Israel should dwell in booths in the feast of the seventh month:

15And that they should publish and proclaim in all their cities, and in Jerusalem, saying, Go forth unto the mount, and fetch olive branches, and pine branches, and myrtle branches, and palm branches, and branches of thick trees, to make booths, as it is written.

16So the people went forth, and brought them, and made themselves booths, every one upon the roof of his house, and in their courts, and in the courts of the house of God, and in the street of the water gate, and in the street of the gate of Ephraim.

17And all the congregation of them that were come again out of the captivity made booths, and sat under the booths: for since the days of Jeshua the son of Nun unto that day had not the children of Israel done so. And there was very great gladness.

18Also day by day, from the first day unto the last day, he read in the book of the law of God. And they kept the feast seven days; and on the eighth day was a solemn assembly, according unto the manner.

Nehemiah 8:13-18

Biblical Context

Ezra and the leaders gather to understand the law, discover the command to dwell in booths for the seventh month, and the people build booths, celebrate, and read the law daily for seven days, with a solemn assembly on the eighth day.

Neville's Inner Vision

Your consciousness gathers its chiefs and priests to hear a law written in your divine nature. In this inner council you realize the command to dwell in a booth is not a distant ritual but a state of mind you may inhabit now. The booth shelters you from exterior noise, a quiet room where I AM speaks truth beyond circumstance. By gathering olive, pine, myrtle, and palm in imagination, you assemble the elements of your attention into a sanctuary you can occupy anywhere. The people go forth and build because you choose to endow your day with a circulating spirit of devotion. The daily reading of the law becomes a daily revision of your beliefs; seven days of feast tune your life to a rhythm of praise, and the eighth day becomes a solemn assembly in which you reaffirm that I AM is the source of all joy. In that fulfilled sense, the Law is not out there but within, and your days become a joyous procession home to God within you.

Practice This Now

Imaginative act: Tonight, assume you have already built the inner booth; for a few minutes, feel yourself safely sheltered, reading the inner law in your heart. Let that mood linger as you move through the next task.