The watches were also appointed. When this was finished, the people came together and asked Ezra the priest and scribe to bring the book of the law and read it to them. They made a pulpit of wood and set it up before the Water Gate, and as Ezra stood up before them and opened the book, they blessed the Lord. The people cried Amen, Amen, and bowed in worship to God. Ezra read from morning till mid-day while the people listened intently.
At the same time the Levites gave explanations of its meaning. The people had been in captivity for 70 years and had lost the understanding of their laws. As they listened, the people began to weep but Nehemiah and Ezra told them this was to be day of rejoicing. They were instructed to go out into the nearby mount and bring back olive, pine, and myrtle and palm branches, and branches of thick trees, to build booths to dwell in for seven days. Some did this on their rooftops and others in the courts of the houses or in the streets. Some built theirs in the courtyard of the House of God, which was not yet rebuilt. A Feast of Tabernacles had not been observed since the days of Joshua when the Children of Israel came into the Promised Land.
And there was very great gladness. Nehemiah 8:17
The Feast of Tabernacles was the last feast in the ceremonial year and was a time of rejoicing. Each of the feasts was accompanied by sacrifices and burnt offerings, which were thank offerings.
The high days of these feasts were sometimes called sabbath days. They were days when no work was to be done. They were set aside as days of holy convocation, a time of gathering together. These days were distinct from the Sabbath of the Lord and could fall on any day of the week. The Passover began with a sabbath for example. A faithful Jew in the time of Paul would go to Jerusalem three times a year for the major feasts, Passover, Pentecost and the Feast of Tabernacles. Before that, he would go to a place designated by the Lord. All the feasts are outlined in Leviticus 23.
Leviticus 23 opens, with an explanation of the Sabbath of the Lord. It is a day when no work was to be done, to follow six days of work so that implies that this Sabbath occurs weekly on an ongoing basis. It is called the Sabbath of rest, a holy convocation, the Sabbath of the Lord in all your dwellings. This is the Sabbath of the fourth commandment, although it is listed with the holy days. This particular Sabbath in Leviticus has two essential points which link it to the Sabbath of the