Nehemiah 12 - Priests and Levites

12:1-26

The lists continue with the priests and Levites, and the heads of families.

12:27-47

The wall was dedicated to the Lord, the Levites and musicians were brought in to lead the joyful singing. The priests and Levites purified themselves, then purified the people. Two large choirs were assigned to give thanks. Note the importance given to worship throughout the old testament. One of the features of this chapter seems to be a concern about doing things the way that David had set them up, or wanted them done. In a way, David was the focal point of life in the Old Testament. They knew that God had promised that he would always have someone on the throne. Now Jesus is the focal point of life under the gospel. The two choirs wen in opposite directions around the walls.

Nehemiah 11 - Repopulating Jerusalem

11:1-36

Jerusalem was relatively sparsely populated, partly because of the rubble and the state of the walls. Now the walls and gates had been repaired it was time to set about repopulating the city.  The leaders were settled in Jerusalem, setting an example. We then get a list of those who had settled in Jerusalem. These included descendants of Judah and Benjamin, the two tribes of the southern kingdom, priests and Levites and gatekeepers. Musicians were also provided and play an important role in the daily activity. Jerusalem was seen as an important place, and still is today,

Nehemiah 10 - Commited to the Lord

10:1-39

Israel, under Nehemiah, had decided to confess their sins and to commit themselves to the Lord. This commitment was made more certain by having it sealed. So in this chapter we get  a list of all those who sealed this commitment. Nehemiah is the first mentioned, the list that follows is presumably a list of officials. This is followed byLevites and priests., then the “leaders of the people”. There was a  mass binding of themselves to the Lord. two particular ordinances of the law are highlighted. One is not marrying non-Jews, and the other is the observance of the Sabbath, including the sabbath years and jubilees. They had not been doing this, so the exile had ensured that the land would get its sabbath rest. It is estimated that the seventy years in exile would account for the sabbath years the land had filed to have.

“We will not neglect the house of God” sums up the whole process. The people had seriously committed themselves to God.

Nehemiah 8 - Hearing the word of the Lord

8:1-18

Ezra had returned some fifteen years before Nehemiah, his task was to teach the people the Law. So the wall and gates had all been concluded, now the task was to complete the walls in peoples’ lives, so they all gathered to hear the Book of the Law of Moses. It was read to both men and women, and children who could understand it. The people listened attentively. On hearing the word Ezra and the people praised the Lord. and responded “Amen! Amen!” and worshipped the Lord. There were also Levites who instructed the people. Ezra was on a raised platform, so everyone could see and hear him. On hearing the word the people wept, perhaps because they realised that they had sinned against God, and so were in big trouble. However, the people were told not to mourn for the day was a day holy to the Lord. Instead they were to “enjoy choice food and sweet drinks”. The joy of the Lord was their strength. The gospel is about us being saved from our sins. So there is a two part realisation, first realising the reality of our sins, and then realising the effectiveness of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. Joy in our salvation is a key part of our lives.. The people learnt from the word of the Lord and enacted it. So they celebrated the festival of shelters.

Nehemiah - Numbering the people

7:1-3

The work was completed with walls rebuilt and the doors set in place. The musicians and Levites were then appointed. Nehemiah put his brother Hanani in charge of Jerusalem. He was chosen, not just because he was his brother, but because he was a man of integrity and who feared the Lord “more than most people do”. These are vital characteristics for any appointment, for a man with these characteristics is (i) less likely to go astray; and (ii) more likely to make the right decision in key circumstances. Nehemiah also took practical steps to ensure the safety of the city.

7:4-63

Relatively few people had returned to Jerusalem, partly because few houses had been rebuilt. Nehemiah set about compiling a list of the returnees. God had put this in his heart to do this, so it was not like the census that David had carried out and which caused so much trouble. There are some discrepancies with equivalent lists elsewhere in the Bible, particularly in Ezra 2. These may be due to copyist errors, or other reasons.

7:64-73

The purity of the priesthood was considered to be of particular importance. AFter the numbers had been obtained Ezra read the Law.

Nehemiah 6:10-19 Discernment

6:10-15

Next we come across Shemaiah who proved to be a rather foolish individual. He suggested a meeting inside the temple, saying Nehemiah's life was in danger. Either way this would have been bad for Nehemiah, and his cause. Again Nehemiah demonstrates his insight, recognising Shemaiah as a false prophet. If he had gone along with it, Nehemiah would, at best, have looked weak, at worst he would have been accused of desecrating the temple, he would have sinned, for he was not a priest. As usual Nehemiah prays to God, and puts his enemies in God’s hands. So the work continued and the wall was completed.

6:16-19

The nations and Israel’s enemies were afraid, on hearing of the completion of the wall.. They realised that God was helping Israel.The nobles were rather naive and stupid, sending letters to Tobiah. The same sort of thing can happen today within churches. We can have the equivalent of Lenin’s useful idiots. They tried to make out that Tobiah was really a rather good man, when the truth was that he was an enemy of Israel. Some supposedly godly people can lack discernment.

Nehemiah 6:1-9 Oh no to Ono.

6:1-4

The opposition does not just attack once, but will try several times. If we repulse one attack we should not become complacent, another attack, or attacks, may follow on, and that is what happened here. Sanballat Tobiah and Geshem learnt that the wall had been finished, though the gates still needed to be put in place. Sanballat and Geshem sent Neehemiah a message suggesting a meeting.Nehemiah realised that this was a distraction. We need to be wise, not always thinking the best of people. So he declined the invitation, saying he had more important things to be attending to. They sent the message four times. Sometimes we need to be persistent in resisting temptation, so Nehemiah gave them the same answer each time. 

6:5-9

They now modified the attacks, now accusing the Jews of plotting a rebellion. We should not be surprised if unfounded accusations come our way. There was some plausibility to the attacks,for Nehmiah was governor, maybe he fancied even more power!. Rebuilding the wall could be in preparation for the rebellion. Nehemiah knew he wasn’t planning any rebellion, so dismissed the charges out of hand. Sometimes we should treat false accusations with contempt. Nehemiah also prayed to the Lord for strength. Accusations maybe utterly false, but they can still take their toll.