The Dedication of the Wall.
Nehemiah 12
1 Now these are the priests and the Levites who came up with Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua: Seraiah, Jeremiah, Ezra,
2 Amariah, Malluch, Hattush,
3 Shechaniah, Rehum, Meremoth,
4 Iddo, Ginnethoi, Abijah,
5 Mijamin, Maadiah, Bilgah,
6 Shemaiah, Joiarib, Jedaiah,
7 Sallu, Amok, Hilkiah, and Jedaiah. These were the heads of the priests and their brethren in the days of Jeshua.
8 Moreover the Levites were Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Sherebiah, Judah, and Mattaniah who led the thanksgiving psalms, he and his brethren.
9 Also Bakbukiah and Unni, their brethren, stood across from them in their duties.
10 Jeshua begot Joiakim, Joiakim begot Eliashib, Eliashib begot Joiada,
11 Joiada begot Jonathan, and Jonathan begot Jaddua.
12 Now in the days of Joiakim, the priests, the heads of the fathers' houses were: of Seraiah, Meraiah; of Jeremiah, Hananiah;
13 of Ezra, Meshullam; of Amariah, Jehohanan;
14 of Melichu, Jonathan; of Shebaniah, Joseph;
15 of Harim, Adna; of Meraioth, Helkai;
16 of Iddo, Zechariah; of Ginnethon, Meshullam;
17 of Abijah, Zichri; the son of Minjamin; of Moadiah, Piltai;
18 of Bilgah, Shammua; of Shemaiah, Jehonathan;
19 of Joiarib, Mattenai; of Jedaiah, Uzzi;
20 of Sallai, Kallai; of Amok, Eber;
21 of Hilkiah, Hashabiah; and of Jedaiah, Nethanel.
22 During the reign of Darius the Persian, a record was also kept of the Levites and priests who had been heads of their fathers' houses in the days of Eliashib, Joiada, Johanan, and Jaddua.
23 The sons of Levi, the heads of the fathers' houses until the days of Johanan the son of Eliashib, were written in the book of the chronicles.
24 And the heads of the Levites were Hashabiah, Sherebiah, and Jeshua the son of Kadmiel, with their brothers across from them, to praise and give thanks, group alternating with group, according to the command of David the man of God.
25 Mattaniah, Bakbukiah, Obadiah, Meshullam, Talmon, and Akkub were gatekeepers keeping the watch at the storerooms of the gates.
26 These lived in the days of Joiakim the son of Jeshua, the son of Jozadak, and in the days of Nehemiah the governor, and of Ezra the priest, the scribe.
27 Now at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem they sought out the Levites in all their places, to bring them to Jerusalem to celebrate the dedication with gladness, both with thanksgivings and singing, with cymbals and stringed instruments and harps.
28 And the sons of the singers gathered together from the countryside around Jerusalem, from the villages of the Netophathites,
29 from the house of Gilgal, and from the fields of Geba and Azmaveth; for the singers had built themselves villages all around Jerusalem.
30 Then the priests and Levites purified themselves, and purified the people, the gates, and the wall.
31 So I brought the leaders of Judah up on the wall, and appointed two large thanksgiving choirs. One went to the right hand on the wall toward the Refuse Gate.
32 After them went Hoshaiah and half of the leaders of Judah,
33 and Azariah, Ezra, Meshullam,
34 Judah, Benjamin, Shemaiah, Jeremiah,
35 and some of the priests' sons with trumpets--Zechariah the son of Jonathan, the son of Shemaiah, the son of Mattaniah, the son of Michaiah, the son of Zaccur, the son of Asaph,
36 and his brethren, Shemaiah, Azarel, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethanel, Judah, and Hanani, with the musical instruments of David the man of God. Ezra the scribe went before them.
37 By the Fountain Gate, in front of them, they went up the stairs of the City of David, on the stairway of the wall, beyond the house of David, as far as the Water Gate eastward.
38 The other thanksgiving choir went the opposite way, and I was behind them with half of the people on the wall, going past the Tower of the Ovens as far as the Broad Wall,
39 and above the Gate of Ephraim, above the Old Gate, above the Fish Gate, the Tower of Hananel, the Tower of the Hundred, as far as the Sheep Gate; and they stopped by the Gate of the Prison.
40 So the two thanksgiving choirs stood in the house of God, likewise I and the half of the rulers with me;
41 and the priests, Eliakim, Maaseiah, Minjamin, Michaiah, Elioenai, Zechariah, and Hananiah, with trumpets;
42 also Maaseiah, Shemaiah, Eleazar, Uzzi, Jehohanan, Malchijah, Elam, and Ezer. The singers sang loudly with Jezrahiah the director.
43 Also that day they offered great sacrifices, and rejoiced, for God had made them rejoice with great joy; the women and the children also rejoiced, so that the joy of Jerusalem was heard afar off.
44 And at the same time some were appointed over the rooms of the storehouse for the offerings, the firstfruits, and the tithes, to gather into them from the fields of the cities the portions specified by the Law for the priests and Levites; for Judah rejoiced over the priests and Levites who ministered.
45 Both the singers and the gatekeepers kept the charge of their God and the charge of the purification, according to the command of David and Solomon his son.
46 For in the days of David and Asaph of old there were chiefs of the singers, and songs of praise and thanksgiving to God.
47 In the days of Zerubbabel and in the days of Nehemiah all Israel gave the portions for the singers and the gatekeepers, a portion for each day. They also consecrated holy things for the Levites, and the Levites consecrated them for the children of Aaron.
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Verses 1 – 11 is a list of all the Levites.
This was a very important time in the history of the nation of Israel.
It was obvious that the leaders wanted to get things correct, hence the need for all these lists.
They checked the original lists.
They were taking this very seriously, they needed to get the right people for the jobs. It was not a case of accepting the first one to volunteer.
The worse thing that could have happen is to put the wrong people in the jobs.
For things to run smoothly and to be true to the work of the Lord, it is very important to choose the right people.
It is just the same in the church fellowship today.
As has been covered previously, it is imperative that the people with specific ministries hold the positions in the church.
It is no use having teachers in a fellowship that have no knowledge of the scriptures and are not apt to teach.
It is no use having the blind leading the blind.
There is a pattern given to the church in scripture about leadership, the qualifications of Elders (Bishops) and Deacons, how the church should appoint them, so that the church honours the work of the Lord.
Leaders are to be men of exemplary character.
The Greek word translated “bishop” is episkopos (the source of our English word episcopal). Bishops are the superintendents, the overseers, or the officers in general charge of the congregation. In the Bible bishops are also called “elders” (1 Timothy 5:19) and “pastors” (Ephesians 4:11).
Acts 20:28 -- The Holy Spirit made them bishops (ASV; "overseers" -- KJV).
There are sixteen qualifications of the bishop/elder/pastor that are found in:
1 Timothy 3:1–7: “Here is a trustworthy saying: Whoever aspires to be an overseer desires a noble task. Now the overseer is to be above reproach, faithful to his wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him, and he must do so in a manner worthy of full respect. (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s church?) He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil’s trap.”
Paul also instructs Timothy on the things that exemplify the teaching of a good minister.
In his letter to Titus, Paul gives nineteen characteristics of an Elder.
Titus 1: 6 if anyone is above reproach, the husband of one wife, and his children are believers and not open to the charge of debauchery or insubordination.
7 For an overseer, as God’s steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain,
8 but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined.
9 He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.
The qualifications of a deacon are similar to those of a bishop/elder/pastor.
“In the same way, deacons are to be worthy of respect, sincere, not indulging in much wine, and not pursuing dishonest gain. They must keep hold of the deep truths of the faith with a clear conscience. They must first be tested; and then if there is nothing against them, let them serve as deacons. In the same way, the women are to be worthy of respect, not malicious talkers but temperate and trustworthy in everything. A deacon must be faithful to his wife and must manage his children and his household well. Those who have served well gain an excellent standing and great assurance in their faith
in Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 3:8–13).
The word translated “deacon” in this passage is a form of the same Greek word used in Acts 6:2, so we know we are talking about the same office.
It is very important to appoint the correct people.
So they checked the records.
VV12 -21 Now in the days of Joiakim.
VV 22 – 26 During the reign of Darius the Persian.
It was now time to dedicated the work that had been done, to the Lord.
They were making sure that everyone was in their correct places.
Now at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem they sought out the Levites in all their places, to bring them to Jerusalem to celebrate the dedication with gladness, both with thanksgivings and singing, with cymbals and stringed instruments and harps. And the sons of the singers gathered together from the countryside around Jerusalem, from the villages of the Netophathites, from the house of Gilgal, and from the fields of Geba and Azmaveth; for the singers had built themselves villages all around Jerusalem.
Music played a big part in worship and all these Levites were specially chosen to play the instruments and lead the people in singing and worship.
These were dedicated people, this was not an entertainment show, it was serious worship of God.
There is again a parallel with our churches today. It is often very easy to choose those with natural talents to lead the worship or to minister in song.
However if they are not dedicated to the Lord themselves, it may not be the right thing to do, to have them leading worship.
The idea is not to entertain or use the music to attract unbelievers to the temple but to lead the congregation in genuine praise of God.
V30 Then the priests and Levites purified themselves, and purified the people, the gates, and the wall.
This was something that is very important to them and to us today.
Coming before the Lord with clean hands and a pure heart. How often and how many have come before God with sin in their life or anger in their heart towards a brother or a sister.
Psalm 24: 3-5 Who may ascend the hill of the LORD? Who may stand in His holy place?
4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to falsehood, who does not swear deceitfully.
5 He shall receive blessing from the LORD, and vindication from the God of his salvation.…
Proverbs 22:11 says, ‘Whoever loves a pure heart and gracious speech will have the king as a friend.’
This also implies that a person of purity will attract God's friendship. Thus there is no wonder that the Lord Jesus declares, (Matt 5:8). ‘God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God.’
Before we come to worship God, we should be cleansed from all sin.
Confession and repentance is an ongoing thing, keeping short accounts with God. A moment by moment walk.
Practising spiritual breathing, constantly breathing out the impurities and breathing in the love and forgiveness of God.
1.The Priests first cleansed themselves.
2.They purified the people.
3.They purified the walls and the gates.
We can learn a lot from this practice in our day to day lives.
We can pray, “Lord cleanse me from my sin”.
But, What about my home, could that use some cleansing also, I am not referring to cleaning the bathroom or kitchen, I am referring to what goes on in my home, the kind of television programs I allow, the kind of literature I read, the kind of language I allow.
What about my place of work, could that too use a bit of a clean.
VV 31 – 43 They dedicated the walls by walking around in both direction, singing with great joy.
All the people joined in and the praise was heard all over the city.
What a thing it would be, if we worshipped the Lord not only in the church building but in our lives, so that the people we came into contact with, recognised our dedication to the Lord.
Notice: walking and singing. We too should be walking the walk and talking the talk, singing about what God has done for us.
What was it, Jesus said? “If I be lifted up, I will draw all men unto Myself”.
This was a day of giving of themselves to the Lord.
Giving of their produce, giving of their time and giving of their hearts.
This was a day of dedication.
