Nehemiah 11:1-12:47

And the rulers of the people dwelt at Jerusalem: the rest of the people also cast lots, to bring one of ten to dwell in Jerusalem the holy city, and nine parts to dwell in other cities. ² And the people blessed all the men, that willingly offered themselves to dwell at Jerusalem. ³ Now these are the chief of the province that dwelt in Jerusalem: but in the cities of Judah dwelt every one in his possession in their cities, to wit, Israel, the priests, and the Levites, and the Nethinims, and the children of Solomon’s servants. ⁴ And at Jerusalem dwelt certain of the children of Judah, and of the children of Benjamin. Of the children of Judah; Athaiah the son of Uzziah, the son of Zechariah, the son of Amariah, the son of Shephatiah, the son of Mahalaleel, of the children of Perez; ⁵ And Maaseiah the son of Baruch, the son of Colhozeh, the son of Hazaiah, the son of Adaiah, the son of Joiarib, the son of Zechariah, the son of Shiloni. ⁶ All the sons of Perez that dwelt at Jerusalem were four hundred threescore and eight valiant men. ⁷ And these are the sons of Benjamin; Sallu the son of Meshullam, the son of Joed, the son of Pedaiah, the son of Kolaiah, the son of Maaseiah, the son of Ithiel, the son of Jesaiah. ⁸ And after him Gabbai, Sallai, nine hundred twenty and eight. ⁹ And Joel the son of Zichri was their overseer: and Judah the son of Senuah was second over the city. ¹⁰ Of the priests: Jedaiah the son of Joiarib, Jachin. ¹¹ Seraiah the son of Hilkiah, the son of Meshullam, the son of Zadok, the son of Meraioth, the son of Ahitub, was the ruler of the house of God. ¹² And their brethren that did the work of the house were eight hundred twenty and two: and Adaiah the son of Jeroham, the son of Pelaliah, the son of Amzi, the son of Zechariah, the son of Pashur, the son of Malchiah. ¹³ And his brethren, chief of the fathers, two hundred forty and two: and Amashai the son of Azareel, the son of Ahasai, the son of Meshillemoth, the son of Immer, ¹⁴ And their brethren, mighty men of valour, an hundred twenty and eight: and their overseer was Zabdiel, the son of one of the great men. ¹⁵ Also of the Levites: Shemaiah the son of Hashub, the son of Azrikam, the son of Hashabiah, the son of Bunni; ¹⁶ And Shabbethai and Jozabad, of the chief of the Levites, had the oversight of the outward business of the house of God. ¹⁷ And Mattaniah the son of Micha, the son of Zabdi, the son of Asaph, was the principal to begin the thanksgiving in prayer: and Bakbukiah the second among his brethren, and Abda the son of Shammua, the son of Galal, the son of Jeduthun. ¹⁸ All the Levites in the holy city were two hundred fourscore and four. ¹⁹ Moreover the porters, Akkub, Talmon, and their brethren that kept the gates, were an hundred seventy and two. ²⁰ And the residue of Israel, of the priests, and the Levites, were in all the cities of Judah, every one in his inheritance. ²¹ But the Nethinims dwelt in Ophel: and Ziha and Gispa were over the Nethinims. ²² The overseer also of the Levites at Jerusalem was Uzzi the son of Bani, the son of Hashabiah, the son of Mattaniah, the son of Micha. Of the sons of Asaph, the singers were over the business of the house of God. ²³ For it was the king’s commandment concerning them, that a certain portion should be for the singers, due for every day. ²⁴ And Pethahiah the son of Meshezabeel, of the children of Zerah the son of Judah, was at the king’s hand in all matters concerning the people. ²⁵ And for the villages, with their fields, some of the children of Judah dwelt at Kirjatharba, and in the villages thereof, and at Dibon, and in the villages thereof, and at Jekabzeel, and in the villages thereof, ²⁶ And at Jeshua, and at Moladah, and at Bethphelet, ²⁷ And at Hazarshual, and at Beersheba, and in the villages thereof, ²⁸ And at Ziklag, and at Mekonah, and in the villages thereof, ²⁹ And at Enrimmon, and at Zareah, and at Jarmuth, ³⁰ Zanoah, Adullam, and in their villages, at Lachish, and the fields thereof, at Azekah, and in the villages thereof. And they dwelt from Beersheba unto the valley of Hinnom. ³¹ The children also of Benjamin from Geba dwelt at Michmash, and Aija, and Bethel, and in their villages. ³² And at Anathoth, Nob, Ananiah, ³³ Hazor, Ramah, Gittaim, ³⁴ Hadid, Zeboim, Neballat, ³⁵ Lod, and Ono, the valley of craftsmen. ³⁶ And of the Levites were divisions in Judah, and in Benjamin.

Now these are the priests and the Levites that went up with Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua: Seraiah, Jeremiah, Ezra, ² Amariah, Malluch, Hattush, ³ Shechaniah, Rehum, Meremoth, ⁴ Iddo, Ginnetho, Abijah, ⁵ Miamin, Maadiah, Bilgah, ⁶ Shemaiah, and Joiarib, Jedaiah, ⁷ Sallu, Amok, Hilkiah, Jedaiah. These were the chief of the priests and of their brethren in the days of Jeshua. ⁸ Moreover the Levites: Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Sherebiah, Judah, and Mattaniah, which was over the thanksgiving, he and his brethren. ⁹ Also Bakbukiah and Unni, their brethren, were over against them in the watches. ¹⁰ And Jeshua begat Joiakim, Joiakim also begat Eliashib, and Eliashib begat Joiada, ¹¹ And Joiada begat Jonathan, and Jonathan begat Jaddua. ¹² And in the days of Joiakim were priests, the chief of the fathers: of Seraiah, Meraiah; of Jeremiah, Hananiah; ¹³ Of Ezra, Meshullam; of Amariah, Jehohanan; ¹⁴ Of Melicu, Jonathan; of Shebaniah, Joseph; ¹⁵ Of Harim, Adna; of Meraioth, Helkai; ¹⁶ Of Iddo, Zechariah; of Ginnethon, Meshullam; ¹⁷ Of Abijah, Zichri; of Miniamin, of Moadiah, Piltai: ¹⁸ Of Bilgah, Shammua; of Shemaiah, Jehonathan; ¹⁹ And of Joiarib, Mattenai; of Jedaiah, Uzzi; ²⁰ Of Sallai, Kallai; of Amok, Eber; ²¹ Of Hilkiah, Hashabiah; of Jedaiah, Nethaneel. ²² The Levites in the days of Eliashib, Joiada, and Johanan, and Jaddua, were recorded chief of the fathers: also the priests, to the reign of Darius the Persian. ²³ The sons of Levi, the chief of the fathers, were written in the book of the chronicles, even until the days of Johanan the son of Eliashib. ²⁴ And the chief of the Levites: Hashabiah, Sherebiah, and Jeshua the son of Kadmiel, with their brethren over against them, to praise and to give thanks, according to the commandment of David the man of God, ward over against ward. ²⁵ Mattaniah, and Bakbukiah, Obadiah, Meshullam, Talmon, Akkub, were porters keeping the ward at the thresholds of the gates. ²⁶ These were 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 And at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem they sought the Levites out of all their places, to bring them to Jerusalem, to keep the dedication with gladness, both with thanksgivings, and with singing, with cymbals, psalteries, and with harps. ²⁸ And the sons of the singers gathered themselves together, both out of the plain country round about Jerusalem, and from the villages of Netophathi; ²⁹ Also from the house of Gilgal, and out of the fields of Geba and Azmaveth: for the singers had builded them villages round about Jerusalem. ³⁰ And the priests and the Levites purified themselves, and purified the people, and the gates, and the wall. ³¹ Then I brought up the princes of Judah upon the wall, and appointed two great companies of them that gave thanks, whereof one went on the right hand upon the wall toward the dung gate: ³² And after them went Hoshaiah, and half of the princes of Judah, ³³ And Azariah, Ezra, and Meshullam, ³⁴ Judah, and Benjamin, and Shemaiah, and Jeremiah, ³⁵ And certain of the priests’ sons with trumpets; namely, 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, and Azarael, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethaneel, and Judah, Hanani, with the musical instruments of David the man of God, and Ezra the scribe before them. ³⁷ And at the fountain gate, which was over against them, they went up by the stairs of the city of David, at the going up of the wall, above the house of David, even unto the water gate eastward. ³⁸ And the other company of them that gave thanks went over against them, and I after them, and the half of the people upon the wall, from beyond the tower of the furnaces even unto the broad wall; ³⁹ And from above the gate of Ephraim, and above the old gate, and above the fish gate, and the tower of Hananeel, and the tower of Meah, even unto the sheep gate: and they stood still in the prison gate. ⁴⁰ So stood the two companies of them that gave thanks in the house of God, and I, and the half of the rulers with me: ⁴¹ And the priests; Eliakim, Maaseiah, Miniamin, Michaiah, Elioenai, Zechariah, and Hananiah, with trumpets; ⁴² And Maaseiah, and Shemaiah, and Eleazar, and Uzzi, and Jehohanan, and Malchijah, and Elam, and Ezer. And the singers sang loud, with Jezrahiah their overseer. ⁴³ Also that day they offered great sacrifices, and rejoiced: for God had made them rejoice with great joy: the wives also and the children rejoiced: so that the joy of Jerusalem was heard even afar off. ⁴⁴ And at that time were some appointed over the chambers for the treasures, for the offerings, for the firstfruits, and for the tithes, to gather into them out of the fields of the cities the portions of the law for the priests and Levites: for Judah rejoiced for the priests and for the Levites that waited. ⁴⁵ And both the singers and the porters kept the ward of their God, and the ward of the purification, according to the commandment of David, and of Solomon his son. ⁴⁶ For in the days of David and Asaph of old there were chief of the singers, and songs of praise and thanksgiving unto God. ⁴⁷ And all Israel in the days of Zerubbabel, and in the days of Nehemiah, gave the portions of the singers and the porters, every day his portion: and they sanctified holy things unto the Levites; and the Levites sanctified them unto the children of Aaron.

Jesus once told His disciples, “If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love. These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full” (John 15:10-11). We sing this in different words in a hymn with the lyrics, “Trust and obey, for there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.” The key to joy in the Christian life is to live as God desires for us to live. It is to live the submitted, obedient walk of fellowship with God. Sin can never bring joy. When David sinned, he prayed to God, “Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation” (Psalm 51:12). Sin robbed him of his joy in the Lord. God did not give us His commands and reveal His will to us to rob us of life and happiness; He gave them to us and revealed Himself and His will to us so that we might experience His joy, the joy only found in a right relationship with Him. Israel had forfeited the joy of the Lord throughout their history because they rejected God’s Word and chose to worship idols and participate in the sins of the nations around them. The Book of Nehemiah is about God, in His abundant grace and mercy, restoring His people in Jerusalem, the city that He chose for His name to dwell (1 Kings 11:36). After rebuilding the wall in just 52 days in Nehemiah 1-6, Ezra and Nehemiah led the people of Jerusalem to gather together according to their genealogies in Nehemiah 7, hear and obey the Word of God in celebrating the Feast of Tabernacles in Nehemiah 8, confess and repent of their sins in Nehemiah 9, and prioritize their obedience and commitment to God’s Word in Nehemiah 10. Then, in Nehemiah 11-12, the time came for the people to resettle Jerusalem and live as the people of God in relationship with Him. The call went out to those who would commit themselves to live as the people of God in God’s city. It is only in doing so that they would find the true joy in the Lord. Nehemiah 11-12 instructs us on the joy of commitment and it models for us three commitments that you and I are to make as God’s people today.

First, we are called to commit ourselves (our person) to His service. Nehemiah and the other leaders encountered another problem, getting people to commit to live within the rebuilt walls of the city of Jerusalem. Nehemiah 7:4 tells us that there was plenty of room in the city, but no houses and no one to live there. In the first two verses of Nehemiah 11, lots were cast to determine the tenth of the people that would be set apart to inhabit the city. Why was it so hard to get people to live there? For nearly 142 years no one had been able to live safely in Jerusalem and so there were no houses built there for people to live in. In addition, to live there would require sacrificing a home and land elsewhere. The casting of lots was a means of determining God’s will on certain things in the Old Testament, not just a random act of chance (Proverbs 16:33). We now have the complete revealed Word of God and no longer cast lots. The people that were chosen stepped forward and committed themselves to the service of populating the city. This would mean that most of them would have to abandon their homes and lands that they had elsewhere. What follows is a list of people that runs through the middle of chapter 12 that identifies those who were set apart for this purpose. Through the casting of lots, God called out men and women to inhabit the city to be the people who would make His name known there. God is still calling out men and women to surrender themselves in service to Him wherever He might lead to make His name known in the world. Are we willing to sacrifice to serve God like those people did? Will we surrender our time, our possessions, or our bodies to be used for His service?

Next, we are called to commit our praise to His glory. Verses 27-43 describe for us how Nehemiah and Ezra led the people in dedicating the wall and the city after the group of people was identified to inhabit Jerusalem. Ezra and Nehemiah divided the people into two groups and each of them led a group in opposite directions around the wall of the city starting at the Valley Gate (v. 31-39). They marched around the wall of the city and met back together at the temple to offer praises and sacrifices (v. 43). Here we have a wholistic picture of praise and worship. There is the importance of thanksgiving and celebration; we should be thankful to God for who He is and what He has done. There is also sacrifice and surrender; the people submitted themselves to God’s will. As they marched around the city walls, the people gave thanks, sang, and played music (v. 27-29). The priests that accompanied them purified themselves, the people, the gates, and the wall (v. 30). The priests act of purification involved washing their bodies and clothes, bringing offerings to the Lord, and abstaining from touching women. Their actions serve as a reminder to us that worship is not merely about outward expression. Instead, God places a greater importance on holy living and surrender. In Romans 12:2 the Apostle Paul wrote, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” The phrase “reasonable service” means our basic act of worship. Singing praises and giving thanks are important parts of our lives, but to do so without surrendering every area of our lives to the One we are worshipping is to be no different than the Pharisees of Jesus’s day who gave appearances of holiness, but were dead inwardly (Matthew 23:5-6). The people were expressing the joy that had culminated from everything that had occurred over the past few months. They had been led to rebuild the walls of the city, heard the Word of God, confessed their sins in repentance, and committed themselves to serve the Lord. It was then that they were able to celebrate. True praise flows out of what God has done. Praise doesn’t invoke God to act; it is our response to the actions He has taken in His goodness toward us. What do you find joy or excitement in? Does rest in God’s grace and commitment to God’s work bring you your highest joy in life?

Lastly, we are called to commit our possessions to His purposes. The people had previously committed to give the required tithes and offerings to fund and supply the services of the Levites and priests in the temple (Nehemiah 10:32-39). What we have here is the collecting, accounting, and storing of those things by the priests. As a part of their worship, the people of Jerusalem honored their commitments to supply the priests all that would be needed for their service in the temple. The people willingly gave of what they had to support the work of the temple. In the New Testament (1 Corinthians 16:1-2; 2 Corinthians 9:6-7) believers are also called to give from a “cheerful” heart. The people of Nehemiah’s time gave their required offerings, but they did so with joy because they had done as the New Testament teaches and they “first gave their own selves to the Lord” (2 Corinthians 8:5). God doesn’t need our money; He owns everything. What God desires is for us to be surrendered to Him. Giving can be a good reflection of our surrendered hearts. Jesus said, “where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Matthew 6:21). This passage about the people giving would then apply to us surrendering all that we are and all that we have to God’s purposes. What do I value most?

Nehemiah 11-12 teach us about the importance of commitment from the people of God. Have we surrendered our person for His service, our praise for His glory, and our possessions for His purpose? We recognize that the work God is doing through His people today is infinitely greater than restoring an earthly city; He is building a heavenly one. Revelation 21:10-14 speaks of the structure of the heavenly city, the New Jerusalem. That city bears the names of God’s people throughout all ages and it will be inhabited by those who have been saved by His grace. We look “for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God” (Hebrews 11:10). That is the city God is building today and He has given us a part in leading people to live there one day. Will you be there? Will those you love be there?