When I
was battling a bad cold recently, I lost my appetite. I could go through an entire
day without eating much food. Water would suffice. But I knew I couldn’t
survive long on water alone. I needed to regain my appetite because my body
needed nourishment.
When the
people of Israel came back from exile in Babylon, their spiritual appetite was
weak. They had departed from God and His ways. To get the people back to
spiritual health, Nehemiah organized a Bible seminar, and Ezra was the teacher.
Ezra read
from the book of the law of Moses from morning until midday, feeding the people
with the truth of God (Neh. 8:3). And the people listened attentively. In fact,
their appetite for God’s Word was so stirred that the family leaders and the
priests and Levites met with Ezra the following day to study the law in greater
detail because they wanted to understand it (v.13).
When we feel estranged from God or spiritually weak, we can find spiritual nourishment from God’s Word. “As newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby” (1 Peter 2:2). Ask God to give you a renewed desire for relationship with Him, and begin feeding your heart, soul, and mind with His Word.
