The seventh month was a busy one for a faithful Israelite. In that month there were three feasts of Jehovah — the feast of Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah), the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) and the feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot). Three times each year all males had to appear in Jerusalem: for the Passover, for the feast of Weeks and for the feast of Tabernacles in the seventh month (Deut. 16:16). It should not surprise us, therefore, to read that “when the seventh month was come ... the people gathered themselves together as one man to Jerusalem” (Ezra 3:1). This expression of unity was not produced by common agreement but through simple subjection to the Word of God. “They kept also the feast of tabernacles, as it is written” (Ezra 3:4).
We see a similar gathering when the church was formed: “when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place” (Acts 2:1). The Lord had distinctly given His disciples direction before He departed from them, “that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith He, ye have heard of Me” (Acts 1:4). Through obedience to the instruction of the Lord, they were found together in one place. Is it too much to expect in this present day, that subjection to the Word of God in the power of the Holy Spirit should not likewise lead us to be gathered together and in one place? We should keep in mind that the representation in Ezra’s day was small. A little more than 42,000 individuals responded to the call to return to the land, and we can safely say, these were principally from just three tribes: Judah, Benjamin and Levi. Upon Ezra’s return in chapter eight, the numbers were even smaller. We should, likewise, not expect vast numbers to respond to the call today.