Nehemiah 11-13
Populating Jerusalem – Nehemiah 11:1-12:26
The leaders of the people settled in Jerusalem. Nehemiah encouraged volunteers to by casting lots to live in the city. They would choose 1 out 10 live in the Holy City. The remaining 9 were to stay in their own towns. The people commended all those who volunteered to live in Jerusalem.
It was important to populate Jerusalem. There needed to be people to run it because the leaders couldn’t do it by themselves. It was also the capital and center of the nation; it was the center of worship. It was God’s city and called the Holy City.
We see several groups of peoples in these chapters. Those who choose to stay outside the city and those who volunteered to live in the city. There were the leaders, the priests, Levites, the temple servants and people from Judah and Benjamin.
These verses show us about God and His desires for His people. We see God’s hand in guiding the process. A man could be chosen, but could decide against moving there. It’s the same way as choosing to follow Jesus or not. It’s each person’s choice. God desires us to volunteer and sacrifice whether it’s sacrifice of our time, resources, or comfort for the sake of others – sacrifice is an essential part of our journey as followers of Christ.
Principle: Every single person is important in the Kingdom of God.
Dedication of Jerusalem’s Wall – Nehemiah 12:27-47
Levites were brought to Jerusalem to celebrate the dedication with songs of thanksgiving with music from cymbals, harps and lyres. There were singers brought from the surrounding villages. There were large choirs, priests with trumpets and others with musical instruments. All was the way King David would have wanted it. Ezra led the procession. There was joy, thanksgiving, worship, and praise.
The dedication was important because it celebrated the rebuilding of the wall and the restoration of the city.
Principle: It is important to celebrate with praise, joy and thanksgiving for the blessings of God in our lives.
Protecting God’s House – Nehemiah 13
When the Jews read from the Book of the Law of God, they were reminded that they were not to intermix with the idolatrous nations around them, specifically the Ammonites and Moabites. So they separated themselves from the foreigners and their influence.
When Nehemiah was away in Persia, the priest, Eliashib, friend of Tobiah, allowed Tobiah to use a large storeroom in the temple that was used for the people’s tithes and offerings - remember Tobiah was an enemy of the Jews and tried to stop the building of the wall. Nehemiah was furious and he threw all Tobiah’s property out of the room. Since Tobiah was an Ammonite, the room was not holy anymore and the priest had to make it clean again. Nehemiah also discovered the people had not given their tithes and gifts to the Levites as promised. He blamed the officials/leaders because the people had promised to not neglect the house of God.
Nehemiah gave orders to purify the room and returned the space to its original use. The people again started to bring their tithes into the storeroom. Nehemiah was wise and appointed a team of good men to look after this work.
This passage shows us that sin is widespread. We all were dead to our transgression and sins and followed the ways of the world and the ruler of the kingdom of the air, Satan. We all lived in the cravings of our sinful nature at one time(Eph. 2:1-3). We all can be influenced by sinful people just as Eliashib was influenced by Tobiah.
We learn from Nehemiah’s leadership. His actions demonstrate the need to actively address sin and compromise. It is important to protect God’s house from outside influences and that there are consequences of disobedience to God’s commands.
Nehemiah saw men working and selling on the Sabbath which was what they promised not to do in the agreement made in Nehemiah 10. The Sabbath day was a sacred day and a day of rest. Nehemiah had warned them of the potential of God’s anger if they didn’t honor the Sabbath.
John 2:13-17 tell us of Jesus’ anger when selling was going on the temple.
They had married foreign women, which was another problem. This was forbidden in the Law because of the corrupting influence of foreigners who didn’t respect God’s laws.
Principle: Believers should remain detached from the world and its ways, and commit to the continuous study of God’s Word.
Next week we will continue our study in Malachi. -- I encourage you to trust in Jesus.
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