Nehemiah 8:12
And all the people went their way to eat, and to drink, and to send portions, and to make great mirth, because they had understood the words that were declared unto them. And all the people went their way to eat, and to drink, and to send portions, and to make great mirth, because they had understood the words that were declared unto them.
The gathering took place at Jerusalem at the time of the Feast of Trumpets, after the wall had been rebuilt and the gates set up, while a large part of the city still lay in ruins. It was held in one of the broadest streets, among ruined buildings and reminders of Judah's departed glory. Aged Ezra stood on a raised platform of wood erected there, holding open the Book of the Law of Moses before a vast assembly. The children of the covenant had come together from all the surrounding country into a sea of heads, a large and attentive company of men.
His brother Levites stood at his right and his left, and when he blessed the Lord, the great God, all the people answered Amen and bowed their heads and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground. The words declared to them and understood by them were the Book of the Law, centered on the Ten Commandments. That law was read and explained so the people could understand it, showing the importance of making the law clear to its hearers.
Because they understood, all the people went their way to eat and to drink, to send portions to those who had nothing prepared, and to make great mirth, sharing food with one another in rejoicing. Their understanding of God's instruction turned their grief over sin into joy on the holy day. In this the verse exemplifies the deep repentance and return to the Lord that John had hoped his own preaching would bring.