In Nehemiah 7 we finally get an intersection of Ezra and Nehemiah. Ezra begins reading the Book of the Law to the people in the square. It is very likely that many of the people had not heard it before or at least not recently due to the exile. This means that Ezra got up and started reading the book of Deuteronomy to the people (possibly the other 4 books of the Pentateuch as well). How attentive would you be if you went to church on Sunday and the pastor started reading the first five books of the Old Testament all the way until midday? They do have Levites wandering around through the crowd to help provide understanding of what Ezra is reading. This all seems fairly close to our modern day church.
The crowds initial response was the natural one. They recognized their sin in light of what they were hearing from the Book of Law. I think that recognizing your own sinfulness is a very important part of the gospel that we downplay in modern times. We know that we make mistakes but our standard is usually those around us instead of God. Since we aren’t as bad as that other guy, then we must be pretty good. The problem with that sort of thinking is that the Bible (especially Jesus) is very clear that the standard is God who is perfect and holy. In comparison to him we are traitors and our deeds are as filthy rags.
While it is good to remind yourself of why you need God (i.e. your sin), it is not good to dwell on forever, because that is no longer who you are. Since you are a redeemed child of God, you can dwell on His beauty and find joy in the fact that He has saved you. Nehemiah and Ezra both agree that this is a time for joy, so they encourage the people in that. They also charge them to serve others. It seems that the overflow of joy that comes from the Lord is service.
The feast of booths is a funny one. Basically the Jews all make little huts out of tree branches and they go camp out in them. The purpose is to remember how God led the people in the wilderness where they lived in these little huts. I can’t think of a parallel for us today. I wonder if we are lacking in opportunities to remember who we once were before God delivered us?