NEHEMIAH 7.....
OPENS WITH The Wall Guarded BY WATCHMEN NEHEMIAH APPOINTED/TRUSTED TO DO THE JOB.
Verses 1-2 tells us of the appointment of Hanani and Hananiah.
"Then it was, when the wall was built and I had hung the doors, when the gatekeepers, the singers, and the Levites had been appointed, that I gave the charge of Jerusalem to my brother Hanani, and Hananiah the leader of the citadel, for he was a faithful man and feared God more than many."
YOU NOTICE EVERYTHING WAS IN ORDER...both practically (the wall … I hung the doors … the gatekeepers) and spiritually (the singers … the Levites); the work was completed and set right.
The singers and the Levites were there to lead the people in worship; the walls were not rebuilt so the people of Jerusalem could look at nice walls. They were rebuilt so they could worship God with greater glory and freedom than ever before.
EVERY VICTORY IN OUR LIFE SHOULD TAKE US DEEPER INTO PRAISE, AMEN?
If we are NOT praising JESUS more, and more deeply, with each passing year, are we really having much victory? Maybe we are making it through tough times - but coming out more bitter and sour than ever. That is not JESUS' victory. His victory leads to a sweeter spirit and to deeper praise.
I GAVE THE CHARGE of Jerusalem...THIS TELLS US AND SHOWS US NEHEMIAH'S HEART...he wasn't in this for political glory. He had done a work, and now he could let it go. God would still use him in Jerusalem, but he knew it wasn't his place to stay in authority.
SO WHO WAS HANANI?
This was Nehemiah's BROTHER, was the one who FIRST told him about the sad state of affairs in Jerusalem (Nehemiah 1:2). His initiative and concern made him well qualified to govern.
He was a faithful man and feared God more than many.. this is described Hananiah, who was the CO-LEADER of Jerusalem. This is what God NEEDS & LOOKS FOR in a man or a woman to use them greatly.
Many folks who aren't all that gifted - they can't sing, they can't remember a bunch of Bible verses, they don't have a knack for teaching, and so forth - can STILL BE USED GREATLY of God if they are other's centered, faithful, and fear God.
On the other hand, many terribly gifted people may always be frustrated in serving God, if they are NOT other's centered, faithful, and fearing God.
Verse 3 tells us NEHEMIAH orders a watch set on the walls.
"And I said to them, "Do not let the gates of Jerusalem be opened until the sun is hot; and while they stand guard, let them shut and bar the doors; and appoint guards from among the inhabitants of Jerusalem, one at his watch station and another in front of his own house."
Do not let the gates of Jerusalem be opened until the sun is hot; and while they stand guard...EVEN AFTER A TREMENDOUS VICTORY HAS BEEN WON...AND THE WALLS REBUILT & THE GATES REHUNG....NEHEMIAH KNEW THE WALLS WOULD NOT PROTECT THEMSELVES. Diligent watchmen must be appointed, and the walls MUST BE guarded.
The gates were to be opened late and closed early - it was a time for HIGH LEVEL SECURITY.
Appoint guards from among the inhabitants of Jerusalem...In the Christian life, often a victory is won and later lost because there was NO GUARD. An enemy may come in because we are NOT watching. Walls can be climbed if there is no one there TO STOP the enemy, but an enemy is easily turned back from a wall by a guard.
IN THE NATURAL, AS WELL AS IN THE MILITARY STRATEGIC MINDSET, THERE IS A MAXIM..."CUT OFF THE HEAD, AND THE BODY WILL DIE."
IN THE SPIRITUAL REALM THAT IS NOT TRUE...YOU DEFEAT SATAN AND WIN...HE HAS LEGIONS OF OTHER DEMONS/LOST BLIND MANKIND, AT HIS BECK AND CALL, TO COME BACK AND WAIT FOR AN OPENING TO ATTACK YOU AGAIN...AND AGAIN....WE DOOOOOOO HAVE THE WAR VICTORY IN JESUS....BUT WE STILL WILL FACE TRIALS & ATTACKS FROM THE ENEMIES OF JESUS CHRIST UNTIL THE DAY WE DIE, OR ARE RAPTURED & GO HOME TO BE WITH JESUS.
THAT IS WHAT TOOOOOOO MANY PREACHERS, EVANGELISTS, AND THOSE WHO CALL THEMSELVES MEN AND WOMEN OF JESUS CHRIST, MORE TIMES THAN NOT, FAIL TO TELL BABY CHRISTIANS.
THE AWE, WONDER, HUMILITY, AND THE NEW BREATHE OF LIFE IN OUR JESUS...LEAVES LITTLE ROOM FOR THOUGHT OF THE DARKNESS...WE FEEL FREE FOR THE FIRST TIME IN OUR LIVES...AND WE WALK IN IT....WE ALWAYS SHOULD HOLD FAST TO THAT FIRST TOUCH FROM OUR JESUS...
BUT WE MUST ALSO BECOME WARRIORS AND WARRIORESSES FOR JESUS...WE MUST STUDY HIS WORD, LET IT SINK DEEP INTO OUR HEARTS AND MINDS, WE MUST KEEP OUR PRAYER WALK, OUR ONE ON ONE RELATIONSHIP TALK TIME WITH JESUS ALIVE AND CONSTANT, AND WE MUST ALWAYS BE PREPARED FOR ATTACK FROM SATAN AND MAN.
THE BIBLE SAYS PUT ON THE WHOLE ARMOR OF GOD...IN THESE LAST DAYS...WE SHOULD LIVEEEEEE, DAY AND NIGHT, AWAKE AND ASLEEP....EVER-BATTLE READY WITH THE FULL ARMOR OF OUR JESUS ONNNNNNN. AMEN??
MATURE, BATTLE-SEASONED, SCARRED WARRIORS FOR JESUS KNOW THIS...AND KNOW THAT WE DO HAVE VICTORY IN JESUS WHEN WE STAND STEADFAST IN JESUS AND HIS WORD'S PROMISES.
FOR BABY CHRISTIANS, THE FIRST ATTACK, IS USUALLY FROM CLOSE FRIENDS AND FAMILY THAT DO NOT KNOW JESUS....THEY FACE TEASING, TAUNTING, RIDICULE BECAUSE THEY OPENLY, HAPPILY, AND WILLINGLY SHARE THEIR SALVATION WITH ANYONE AND EVERYONE...AND IT IS THEIR LOST CLOSE FRIENDS/FAMILY WHO SLAM THEM/ATTACK THEM FIRST...
NEW BABIES IN OUR JESUS...ARE NOT TOLD...YOU WILL LOSE FRIENDS...BE PREPARED THAT YOU WILL SUDDENLY FIND YOURSELF CUT OFF FROM YOUR GROUP OF FRIENDS/FAMILY...YOU ARE NO LONGER INCLUDED...OR WORSE, THEY SEEK TO PROVE YOUR NEW FOUND SALVATION A LIE...BY SEEKING TO DRAW YOU BACK INTO THE LIFE YOU LIVED BEFORE JESUS TOUCHED YOU.
IF WE, LIKE NEHEMIAH, STAY ON GUARD, IN OUR MINDS, HEARTS, AND LIVES...SATAN, THE WORLD, AND HIS DEMONS WILL FALL BACK ON THREATS MORE TIMES THAN REAL OUT AND OUT ATTACKS...BECAUSE WE ARE WEARING THE FULL ARMOR OF OUR JESUS AT ALL TIMES, AMEN?.
Verses 4-5 tells us of a list of the returned families in order to see the need to develop Jerusalem.
"Now the city was large and spacious, but the people in it were few, and the houses were not rebuilt. Then my God put it into my heart to gather the nobles, the rulers, and the people, that they might be registered by genealogy. And I found a register of the genealogy of those who had come up in the first return, and found written in it:"
The people in it were FEW, and the houses were NOT rebuilt...Now that the walls were rebuilt, Nehemiah still wanted to SEE HOW HE CAN BE a blessing to the people of God and the city of God. He noticed that the population was low and there were MANY abandoned houses.
Then God put it into my heart...Nehemiah wanted Jerusalem to grow and prosper. But before that could happen he must FIRST KNOWWWWW who he had already. Just as when he toured the broken down walls in NEHEMIAH 2:11-16, he needed to know the problem well. So, he took a census and looked at the registry first written by Ezra in Ezra 2:1-70.
Verses 6-73 is a CONCISE DETAILED LIST OF ALL THE CITIZENS OF JERUSALEM who HAD returned from the Babylonian captivity.
"These are the people of the province who came back from the captivity, of those who had been carried away, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away, and who returned to Jerusalem and Judah, everyone to his city. Those who came with Zerubbabel were Jeshua, Nehemiah, Azariah, Raamiah, Nahamani, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispereth, Bigvai, Nehum, and Baanah. The number of the men of the people of Israel: the sons of Parosh, two thousand one hundred and seventy-two; the sons of Shephatiah, three hundred and seventy-two; the sons of Arah, six hundred and fifty-two; the sons of Pahath-Moab, of the sons of Jeshua and Joab, two thousand eight hundred and eighteen; the sons of Elam, one thousand two hundred and fifty-four; the sons of Zattu, eight hundred and forty-five; the sons of Zaccai, seven hundred and sixty; the sons of Binnui, six hundred and forty-eight; the sons of Bebai, six hundred and twenty-eight; the sons of Azgad, two thousand three hundred and twenty-two; the sons of Adonikam, six hundred and sixty-seven; the sons of Bigvai, two thousand and sixty-seven; the sons of Adin, six hundred and fifty-five; the sons of Ater of Hezekiah, ninety-eight; the sons of Hashum, three hundred and twenty-eight; the sons of Bezai, three hundred and twenty-four; the sons of Hariph, one hundred and twelve; the sons of Gibeon, ninety-five; the men of Bethlehem and Netophah, one hundred and eighty-eight; the men of Anathoth, one hundred and twenty-eight; the men of Beth Azmaveth, forty-two; the men of Kirjath Jearim, Chephirah, and Beeroth, seven hundred and forty-three; the men of Ramah and Geba, six hundred and twenty-one; the men of Michmas, one hundred and twenty-two; the men of Bethel and Ai, one hundred and twenty-three; the men of the other Nebo, fifty-two; the sons of the other Elam, one thousand two hundred and fifty-four; the sons of Harim, three hundred and twenty; the sons of Jericho, three hundred and forty-five; the sons of Lod, Hadid, and Ono, seven hundred and twenty-one; the sons of Senaah, three thousand nine hundred and thirty. The priests: the sons of Jedaiah, of the house of Jeshua, nine hundred and seventy-three; the sons of Immer, one thousand and fifty-two; the sons of Pashhur, one thousand two hundred and forty-seven; the sons of Harim, one thousand and seventeen. The Levites: the sons of Jeshua, of Kadmiel, and of the sons of Hodevah, seventy-four. The singers: the sons of Asaph, one hundred and forty-eight. The gatekeepers: the sons of Shallum, the sons of Ater, the sons of Talmon, the sons of Akkub, the sons of Hatita, the sons of Shobai, one hundred and thirty-eight. The Nethinim: the sons of Ziha, the sons of Hasupha, the sons of Tabbaoth, the sons of Keros, the sons of Sia, the sons of Padon, the sons of Lebana, the sons of Hagaba, the sons of Salmai, the sons of Hanan, the sons of Giddel, the sons of Gahar, the sons of Reaiah, the sons of Rezin, the sons of Nekoda, the sons of Gazzam, the sons of Uzza, the sons of Paseah, the sons of Besai, the sons of Meunim, the sons of Nephishesim, the sons of Bakbuk, the sons of Hakupha, the sons of Harhur, the sons of Bazlith, the sons of Mehida, the sons of Harsha, the sons of Barkos, the sons of Sisera, the sons of Tamah, the sons of Neziah, and the sons of Hatipha. The sons of Solomon's servants: the sons of Sotai, the sons of Sophereth, the sons of Perida, the sons of Jaala, the sons of Darkon, the sons of Giddel, the sons of Shephatiah, the sons of Hattil, the sons of Pochereth of Zebaim, and the sons of Amon. All the Nethinim, and the sons of Solomon's servants, were three hundred and ninety-two. And these were the ones who came up from Tel Melah, Tel Harsha, Cherub, Addon, and Immer, but they could not identify their father's house nor their lineage, whether they were of Israel: the sons of Delaiah, the sons of Tobiah, the sons of Nekoda, six hundred and forty-two; and of the priests: the sons of Habaiah, the sons of Koz, the sons of Barzillai, who took a wife of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite, and was called by their name. These sought their listing among those who were registered by genealogy, but it was not found; therefore they were excluded from the priesthood as defiled. And the governor said to them that they should not eat of the most holy things till a priest could consult with the Urim and Thummim. ALTOGETHER THE WHOLE ASSEMBLY WAS 42,360, BESIDES THEIR MALE AND FEMALE SERVANTS, of whom there were 7,337; and they had 245 men and women singers. Their horses were 736, their mules 245, their camels 435, and donkeys 6,720. And some of the heads of the fathers' houses GAVE to the work. The governor GAVE to the treasury 1000 gold drachmas, 50 basins, and 530 priestly garments. Some of the heads of the fathers' houses GAVE to the treasury of the work 20,000 gold drachmas, and 2,200 silver minas. And that which the rest of the people GAVE was 20,000 gold drachmas, 2000 silver minas, and 67 priestly garments. So the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, some of the people, the Nethinim, and all Israel DWELT in their cities. When the 7TH MONTH came, the children of Israel WERE IN their cities."
These are the people … who returned to Jerusalem and Judah...This list WAS IMPORTANT!
WHY?
Because EACH of these people WERE IMPORTANT to God, in that they did what so few of their fellow Jews did - they TOOK THE TROUBLE, HARDSHIP, & EXPENSE TO TRAVEL 800 MILES to return back to the promised land after they had already set down roots for seventy years in the Babylonian empire.
These are people who had a PIONEER SPIRIT; they were WILLING to endure hardship and discomfort, because they had A CALL FROM GOD that was MORE important than their own comfort. Life WAS EASIER in Babylon, but it WAS BETTER IN Jerusalem!
These are the people...Since only about 2% of the Jews who were carried away into exile by the Babylonians came back, these who DID HAVE the pioneer spirit ARE WORTHY of mention - and they are mentioned TWICE in God's eternal word (Here and in Ezra 2).
It would be wonderful to have your name in the Bible (at least in a positive light). Though that privilege is too late for us, God DOES HAVE a book of remembrance told to us in Nehemiah 3:16, and surely the names of God's faithful pioneers will be in it, AMEN?
In this list several things WERE important:
1. Who the people were was important (specific names were mentioned).
2. What families they came from was important (many family heads are named).
3. Their gifts to support the work were important (they are specifically listed towards the end of the chapter).
These sought their listing among those who were registered by genealogy, BUT IT WAS NOT FOUND!
WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?
Some could NOT be priests UNTIL their lineage WAS determined. In the Old Testament, one could NOT be a priest unless it was ESTABLISHED THAT THEY DESCENDED FROM AARON, the brother of Moses, and WHO WAS THE FIRST HIGH PRIEST OVER ISRAEL.
When the seventh month came, the children of Israel were in their cities: This list flows beautifully after the completion of the work, because it reminds us that the work was really all about these people.
The walls WEREN'T ALL THAT IMPORTANT TO GOD, HE WAS MORE THAN ABLE TO PROTECT THEM WALLS OR NO WALLS AMEN?
BUT THE WALLS WERE IMPORTANT...IN THE BENEFIT THE WALLS could have in the lives of God's people (enabling them to live in peace and security).
The building work wasn't all that important; what was important was the benefit the building work had in the lives of God's people (teaching them to work hard, work together, work through adversity and attack, and work till the job is done).
IN THE SAME WAY, JESUS DOES NOT NEED WALLS TO PROTECT US...HE CAN DO THAT VERY WELL ALL ON HIS OWN, BUT JESUS WANTS US TO LEARN TO BUILD UP AND LEARN TO WEAR AND WALK THROUGH THIS LIFE IN THE FULL ARMOR OF HIS WORD AND HIS PROMISES SO THAT WE CANNNNNNNNNNNN LEARN TO WORK TOGETHER, WORK HARD, WORK THROUGH ADVERSITY AND ATTACK, AND WORK UNTIL OUR JESUS MISSION ON THE EARTH IS COMPLETE...UNTIL OUR WORK IS DONE AND WE GO HOME TO BE WITH OUR JESUS