Nehemiah 7:7

Nehemiah 7:7 says, Who came with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Azariah, Raamiah, Nahamani, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispereth, Bigvai, Nehum, Baanah. The number, I say, of the men of the people of Israel was this;  As stated, most of the rest of this chapter simply gives the number of the people of Israel by families.   

Verse eight adds, The children of Parosh, two thousand an hundred seventy and two. 

Verse nine continues, The children of Shephatiah, three hundred seventy and two. 

Verse ten states, The children of Arah, six hundred fifty and two.   

Verse eleven adds, The children of Pahathmoab, of the children of Jeshua and Joab, two thousand and eight hundred and eighteen. 

Verse twelve continues, The children of Elam, a thousand two hundred fifty and four. 

Verse thirteen says, The children of Zattu, eight hundred forty and five.   

Verse fourteen adds, The children of Zaccai, seven hundred and threescore. 

Verse fifteen continues, The children of Binnui, six hundred forty and eight. 

Verse sixteen states, The children of Bebai, six hundred twenty and eight. 

Verse seventeen adds, The children of Azgad, two thousand three hundred twenty and two. 

Verse eighteen continues, The children of Adonikam, six hundred threescore and seven. 

Verse nineteen says, The children of Bigvai, two thousand threescore and seven. 

Verse twenty adds, The children of Adin, six hundred fifty and five.   

Verse twenty-one continues, The children of Ater of Hezekiah, ninety and eight. 

Verse twenty-two states, The children of Hashum, three hundred twenty and eight. 

Verse twenty-three adds, The children of Bezai, three hundred twenty and four. 

Verse twenty-four continues, The children of Hariph, an hundred and twelve. 

Verse twenty-five says, The children of Gibeon, ninety and five.

Verse twenty-six adds, The men of Bethlehem and Netophah, an hundred fourscore and eight. 

Verse twenty-seven continues, The men of Anathoth, an hundred twenty and eight.   

Verse twenty-eight states, The men of Bethazmaveth, forty and two. 

Verse twenty-nine adds, The men of Kirjathjearim, Chephirah, and Beeroth, seven hundred forty and three.   

Verse thirty continues, The men of Ramah and Gaba, six hundred twenty and one. 

Verse thirty-one says, The men of Michmas, an hundred and twenty and two.

Verse thirty-two adds, The men of Bethel and Ai, an hundred twenty and three.   

Verse thirty-three continues, The men of the other Nebo, fifty and two. 

Verse thirty-four states, The children of the other Elam, a thousand two hundred fifty and four. 

Verse thirty-five adds, The children of Harim, three hundred and twenty. 

Verse thirty-six continues, The children of Jericho, three hundred forty and five.   

Verse thirty-seven says, The children of Lod, Hadid, and Ono, seven hundred twenty and one.

Verse thirty-eight adds, The children of Senaah, three thousand nine hundred and thirty. 

Verse thirty-nine continues, The priests: the children of Jedaiah, of the house of Jeshua, nine hundred seventy and three. 

Verse forty states, The children of Immer, a thousand fifty and two.   

Verse forty-one adds, The children of Pashur, a thousand two hundred forty and seven. 

Verse forty-two continues, The children of Harim, a thousand and seventeen. 

The next three verses have to do with those who served in the Temple. 

Verse forty-three says, The Levites: the children of Jeshua, of Kadmiel, and of the children of Hodevah, seventy and four. 

Verse forty-four adds, The singers: the children of Asaph, an hundred forty and eight.

Verse forty-five continues, The porters: the children of Shallum, the children of Ater, the children of Talmon, the children of Akkub, the children of Hatita, the children of Shobai, an hundred thirty and eight.   

Verse forty-six states, The Nethinims: the children of Ziha, the children of Hashupha, the children of Tabbaoth, 

Verse forty-seven adds, The children of Keros, the children of Sia, the children of Padon,

Verse forty-eight continues, The children of Lebana, the children of Hagaba, the children of Shalmai, 

Verse forty-nine says, The children of Hanan, the children of Giddel, the children of Gahar, 

Verse fifty adds, The children of Reaiah, the children of Rezin, the children of Nekoda,   

Verse fifty-one continues, The children of Gazzam, the children of Uzza, the children of Phaseah, 

Verse fifty-two states, The children of Besai, the children of Meunim, the children of Nephishesim,

Verse fifty-three adds, The children of Bakbuk, the children of Hakupha, the children of Harhur, 

Verse fifty-four continues, The children of Bazlith, the children of Mehida, the children of Harsha, 

Verse fifty-five says, The children of Barkos, the children of Sisera, the children of Tamah, 

Verse fifty-six adds, The children of Neziah, the children of Hatipha.   

Verse fifty-seven continues, The children of Solomon's servants: the children of Sotai, the children of Sophereth, the children of Perida, 

Verse fifty-eight states, The children of Jaala, the children of Darkon, the children of Giddel,   

Verse fifty-nine adds, The children of Shephatiah, the children of Hattil, the children of Pochereth of Zebaim, the children of Amon. 

Verse sixty continues, All the Nethinims, and the children of Solomon's servants, were three hundred ninety and two. 

Verse sixty-one says, And these were they which went up also from Telmelah, Telharesha, Cherub, Addon, and Immer: but they could not shew their father's house, nor their seed, whether they were of Israel. 

The next group went with them, though they couldn’t prove they were David’s descendants.  We can offer no physical proof that we are a follower of Christ today by the fact of who our parents are, but we must accept each other by faith. 

Verse sixty-two adds, The children of Delaiah, the children of Tobiah, the children of Nekoda, six hundred forty and two.   

Verse sixty-three continues, And of the priests: the children of Habaiah, the children of Koz, the children of Barzillai, which took one of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite to wife, and was called after their name. 

Verse sixty-four states, These sought their register among those that were reckoned by genealogy, but it was not found: therefore were they, as polluted, put from the priesthood.  Some of this group tried to register as priests, but they also could not prove their genealogy. 

Verse sixty-five adds, And the Tirshatha said unto them, that they should not eat of the most holy things, till there stood up a priest with Urim and Thummim. 

They were prevented from serving as priests until the Urim and Thummim proved they were.  We don’t really have a test to prove if someone is called into the ministry today but must rely on the leadership of the Holy Spirit to help us know if they are or not.  

Verse sixty-six continues, The whole congregation together was forty and two thousand three hundred and threescore,  There was a total of forty-two thousand three hundred and sixty people of Israel there. 

Verse sixty-seven concludes, Beside their manservants and their maidservants, of whom there were seven thousand three hundred thirty and seven: and they had two hundred forty and five singing men and singing women.  There were also seven thousand three hundred and thirty-seven servants, plus two-hundred and forty-five singing men.   

 

 

Nehemiah 7:5

Nehemiah 7:5 says, And my God put into mine heart to gather together the nobles, and the rulers, and the people, that they might be reckoned by genealogy. And I found a register of the genealogy of them which came up at the first, and found written therein,  Nehemiah said that God put it in his heart to gather the leaders of the people and number the people by genealogy.  He also said he found a book that contained the first genealogies.  As I have stated before, I don’t believe there is anything wrong with counting the number of people in a worship service as long a we are doing so under God's guidance and not out of pride.  I don’t believe that we as Christians  need to trace our genealogy for spiritual reasons though, since we are all children of God because of our faith in Jesus Christ.  Also, we know that God has preserved His written word for us throughout the ages, so we should not be surprised that He had preserved it for Nehemiah at that time. 

Verse six adds, These are the children of the province, that went up out of the captivity, of those that had been carried away, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away, and came again to Jerusalem and to Judah, every one unto his city;  Nehemiah said those he was numbering were the ones who had been carried away captive by Nebuchadnezzar and had come again to Judah, all to their own province.  We were once taken away captive to sin, but through faith in Jesus Christ, we can become a part of the kingdom of God.  I personally believe that when we are born, we are free of sin, but it is only when we are old enough to know right from wrong and make the conscious decision to sin that we become guilty and separated from God, so when we accept Jesus, we are in truth returning to God’s kingdom.  I know many people may disagree with this, but to me, if we are born guilty of sin and die before we are old enough to make a decision to follow Jesus Christ, we would be doomed.  Matthew Henry says the numbers in Ezra and the numbers in Nehemiah don’t always agree, but that may be because they were counted at different times, but the total number is the same, except for the singing men, which Ezra listed as two hundred and Nehemiah listed as two hundred forty-five.  He also says that the numbers may not be important to us, but they were important then to see what the number of people had been at first compared to what it was now.  Most of the rest of the chapter simply lists the numbers.  We should want to know if the number of Christians is growing or shrinking, especially as a percentage of the total population, to see how effective we are being in reaching people with the gospel. 

Nehemiah 7:1

Nehemiah 7:1 says, Now it came to pass, when the wall was built, and I had set up the doors, and the porters and the singers and the Levites were appointed,  After the walls were completed, Nehemiah set up the doors and the porters, singers, and Levites were appointed.  In other words, those involved in the worship service were appointed and the service was organized.  We need people who are called by God appointed to positions of service in the church today, and we also need to have worship service conducted in an orderly manner.  This doesn’t mean that we all must worship the same way, but we need to make sure that our worship service brings honor to God and is not just a time of entertainment. 

Verse two adds, That I gave my brother Hanani, and Hananiah the ruler of the palace, charge over Jerusalem: for he was a faithful man, and feared God above many.  Nehemiah also said he gave his brother Hanani and Hananiah rule over Jerusalem.  They were to be over the affairs of the city and not the temple.  He said that Hananiah was a faithful man who followed God.  I believe that even though we are to follow God in civil matters as well as church matters that the leaders should be separate, but they all should be faithful men who follow God. 

Verse three continues, And I said unto them, Let not the gates of Jerusalem be opened until the sun be hot; and while they stand by, let them shut the doors, and bar them: and appoint watches of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, every one in his watch, and every one to be over against his house.  Nehemiah said the gates of the city should be kept closed except when the sun was high, and the people were on watch.  We still need watchmen to keep the church from being invaded by teachings that are not consistent with God’s word, but we need to be open to all who would come seeking Jesus Christ.  In order to do this, we must know what God’s word actually says. 

Verse four concludes, Now the city was large and great: but the people were few therein, and the houses were not builded.  Nehemiah then said that the city was great, and the people were few and that the houses had not been rebuilt.  The field of sinners is great today and the workmen to reap the harvest are few, but we need to be at work to share the gospel so that they might be saved.  We also need to have the work of God be more important than our own comfort.