Guarding the finished work.
Nehemiah 7
1 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,
2 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.
3 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."
4 Now the city was large and spacious, but the people in it were few, and the houses were not rebuilt.
5 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:
6 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.
7 Those who came with Zerubbabel were Jeshua, Nehemiah, Azariah, Raamiah, Nahamani, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispereth, Bigvai, Nehum, and Baanah.
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There follows a list of all the families that returned from exile.
Nehemiah Verses7 to 73
61 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:
62 the sons of Delaiah, the sons of Tobiah, the sons of Nekoda, six hundred and forty-two;
63 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.
64 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.
65 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.
66 Altogether the whole assembly was forty-two thousand three hundred and sixty,
67 besides their male and female servants, of whom there were seven thousand three hundred and thirty-seven; and they had two hundred and forty-five men and women singers.
68 Their horses were seven hundred and thirty-six, their mules two hundred and forty-five,
69 their camels four hundred and thirty-five, and donkeys six thousand seven hundred and twenty.
70 And some of the heads of the fathers' houses gave to the work. The governor gave to the treasury one thousand gold drachmas, fifty basins, and five hundred and thirty priestly garments.
71 Some of the heads of the fathers' houses gave to the treasury of the work twenty thousand gold drachmas, and two thousand two hundred silver minas.
72 And that which the rest of the people gave was twenty thousand gold drachmas, two thousand silver minas, and sixty-seven priestly garments.
73 So the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, some of the people, the Nethinim, and all Israel dwelt in their cities. When the seventh month came, the children of Israel were in their cities.
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1 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,
The work was completed, the walls built, the doors hung, now it was time to appoint those that would lead the worship.
Now the Israelites could freely worship and serve God in safety. This was the objective, this is what Nehemiah had been called for, by God.
As we go through our Christian walk, as we meet trial and temptation, as God brings us through each experience, it should bring us to a point of deeper worship. We should be stronger for our trials, knowing that God has brought us through. This is Christian growth.
If we are tried and tempted, attacked by the enemy of the Gospel and we come through the other side but are bitter and angry, then that is not what God wants. God wants growth, He wants us to come through, being a victor, stronger in the faith and ready to give Him the glory.
1 Peter 1:6,7 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in various trials
7 so that the authenticity of your faith, more precious than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire— may result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Neh 7:2 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.
Nehemiah had been faithful to his call, he had completed his leadership role in this task and now it was time to hand over to someone else.
The man he chose to hand over to, was his brother Hanani, and Hananiah the leader of the citadel.
Hanani was the one who originally brought the news about Jerusalem, a man like Nehemiah, a man with initiative and concern for Jerusalem, the temple and the people.
Hananiah, the leader of the citadel, for he was a faithful man and feared God more than many.
This is the kind of men and women that God can use. We don’t have to be naturally gifted, or talented, the main thing that God looks for is faithfulness and willingness, people that fear God and have a concern for God’s people.
3 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."
We talked in an earlier lesson about how we are like the walls of a city,
Matt 5:14 “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.
Walls that are linked together have strength. A fellowship of believers linked together arm in arm have strength also.
However, we cannot drop our guard, the walls do not defend themselves. We have to be alert, watching out for each other.
We need the walls but we need to guard them.
We must uphold each other in prayer, supporting each others ministries and so stay strong against the enemies of the work of God.
4 Now the city was large and spacious, but the people in it were few, and the houses were not rebuilt.
5 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:
Then God put it in my heart.
Notice, how Nehemiah was always open to God, Praying and listening. It is not always us doing the talking, there are times when we must be still and be open to what God wants to say to us.
It is good for us to pray constantly, however, we need to meditate on God’s word, for this is how God speaks to us, through His word. This is how we get to know His will for our lives.
Psa 1:2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
Psa 1:3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
Our church may not be a mega church, we may be a small fellowship but we are in the process of building the local body of Christ.
We need to know who are the Lord’s. By meeting together week by week, we get to know each other and recognise those that belong to Christ and we can perceive the developing ministries in the church. This is like taking a census amongst the people.
Nehemiah, being the great leader, did what he previously did before the rebuilding of the walls. He took stock. Nehemiah did not move until he had weighed up the situation.
Nehemiah found an old register of those that first returned from the captivity and was able to use it as a guide.
The register probably was the one that had been done by Ezra.
Ezra 2:1 -70 Now, 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 to Babylon, and who returned to Jerusalem and Judah, everyone to his [own] city.
This chapter in Nehemiah 7 goes on to list the people in Jerusalem.
We may ask at this point, why God set this as a record, what do we learn from a list like this.
Well people are important to God, he knows us all by name.
Amongst these people were those who returned from 70 years in Babylon and they were important, these were men and women who were willing to leave all they had known and go to Jerusalem and restore the city. They were willing to suffer the hardship and trials for the sake of God.
Many Jews did exactly the same in the early part of the last century, living in a Kibbutz in Israel.
Many more Jews have continued to leave many parts of the world to go back to their homeland.
Apparently only about 2% of those who were carried away to Babylon returned. Maybe God felt that they should receive a mention in the scriptures. Not only here in Nehemiah but also in the book of Ezra.
Praise God, that even though our names are not recorded in scripture, we can give God the glory, for our names are written in heaven, in the book of life.
Nehemiah was choosing the leaders and those who would take responsibility in the temple.
It was important to get things right, to keep within the law of Moses.
This was the reason for the census. Nehemiah needed to determine who was eligible for the priesthood.
Neh 7:64 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.
One could only be a priest if his lineage was of Aaron the brother of Moses who was the first high priest over Israel.
Neh 7:73 So the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, some of the people, the Nethinim, and all Israel dwelt in their cities. When the seventh month came, the children of Israel were in their cities.
All Israel, dwelt in their cities.
It was in reference to this particularly, that the public registers were examined; for by them they found the different families, and consequently the cities, villages, etc., which belonged to them, according to the ancient division of the lands.
It seems that the examination of the registers took about a month; for as soon as the walls were finished, which was in the sixth month, (Elul), Nehemiah 6:15, Nehemiah instituted the examination mentioned in this chapter, Nehemiah 7:5; and by the concluding verse we find that the different families had got into their paternal cities in the seventh month, Tisri, which is our September and October.
Thus the register determined everything: there was no room for complaint, and none to accuse the governor of partiality.
The work was now complete and the people were all in their rightful places.
We can take a lesson from this as well. It wasn’t as much the walls that were important but the fact that once the walls were built and the gates hung, the people of Jerusalem could serve the Lord in relative peace.
This reminds us that the work was really about the Lords people.
It was the benefit that came from the building of the walls.
We too, benefit from our walls being in place and strong. The strength of the fellowship and the relationships of the people. Maintaining that strength by sharing together in the Lord, building one another up in the faith and looking to each others needs.
Taking our own census and finding each others ministries within the church. Serving the Lord in peace and harmony. That is what it is all about. Being strengthened in the Lord as a church and going into the world to share the Gospel, that can transform lives.
