Nehemiah 11:4

Nehemiah 11:4 says, 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; The next several verses give us a listing of the people who were chosen to live in Jerusalem.

Verse five adds, 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.

Verse six continues, All the sons of Perez that dwelt at Jerusalem were four hundred threescore and eight valiant men. 

Verse seven states, 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.

Verse eight adds, And after him Gabbai, Sallai, nine hundred twenty and eight. 

Verse nine continues, And Joel the son of Zichri was their overseer: and Judah the son of Senuah was second over the city.

Verse ten states, Of the priests: Jedaiah the son of Joiarib, Jachin. We are now given a list of the priests who would live in Jerusalem.  We would think that the priests would want to live in Jerusalem, but it seems they may have been as reluctant as the other people to do so.  It is not clear whether they were chosen by lot as well, but to me this is the implication.  We as followers of Christ should be called by the Holy Spirit to where we serve in the church today.

Verse eleven adds, 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.  Seraiah was the leader in the house of God, or the temple.  As stated before, I believe that wherever we live as Christians should be the house of God, and we need someone to ensure that God is glorified there. 

Verse twelve continues, 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.  There were eight hundred and twenty-two total of those listed, and then we move on to another group it seems, which are listed next. 

Nehemiah 11:1

Nehemiah 11:1 says, 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.   The people next cast lots to see which ten percent of each family of Israelites would live in Jerusalem while the rest would live in other cities.  Jerusalem was known as the Holy City of God, and we would think people would want to live there, but they didn’t.  The church today is made up of God’s people, and we would think that people, especially those who call themselves Christians, would want to be involved in it, but they often don’t. Matthew Henry says this may have been for a few reasons, the first being that they would be expected to live stricter lives under God’s guidance, the second being that there was less commerce going on there, and the third being that the rest of the world was often out to destroy Jerusalem.   I think these same reasons may apply to why people don’t want to be associated to closely with the church today.  Verse two adds, And the people blessed all the men, that willingly offered themselves to dwell at Jerusalem.  Not all the people had to be made to live in Jerusalem by lot.  Some volunteered to live there, and the people blessed them.  They may not have wanted to live there themselves, but they blessed those who did, maybe because it meant that they would not be required to live there.  If we call ourselves a Christian, we should want to be associated with the local body of believers and to be identified as such and not for the praise of people but for the glory of God.  Verse three continues, 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.  These were the ones who were to live in Jerusalem, the ten percent or tithe of the people we could say, starting with the chief of each province.   As Christians, wherever we live is a part of God’s kingdom and we should live as though we believe that.  The rest of the people lived throughout the country.  We have no Holy City to live in here in this world, but we should acknowledge that wherever we reside that God lives there with us through the presence of the Holy Spirit indwelling us as followers of Christ. 

   

Nehemiah 10:34

Nehemiah 10:34 says, And we cast the lots among the priests, the Levites, and the people, for the wood offering, to bring it into the house of our God, after the houses of our fathers, at times appointed year by year, to burn upon the altar of the Lord our God, as it is written in the law:  The priests and Levites and the rest of the people cast lots to determine not only the times the priests and Levites would serve in the temple but also who bring wood into the temple to be used in the burning of the offerings.  The lots were used to determine the will of God then, but we no longer should rely on this to determine who is going to do what in the church.  We should all be led by the Holy Spirit, and I believe that in any local congregation God will always have called someone to fill the positions needed to successfully serve and worship Him and the Holy Spirit will lead that person to volunteer to serve, if they will only obey His call.  He will also call on those who are His people to bring what is needed to accomplish His work through the church.

Verse thirty-five adds, And to bring the firstfruits of our ground, and the firstfruits of all fruit of all trees, year by year, unto the house of the Lord:  The people were called on to bring the first fruits to the temple to offer to God in accordance with His commandment.  We should still make giving our tithes and offerings to God above all else.  Just as the people of Israel then were not to bring the leftovers or the damaged fruits as a sacrifice, we should not just give God our leftovers today. 

Verse thirty-six continues, Also the firstborn of our sons, and of our cattle, as it is written in the law, and the firstlings of our herds and of our flocks, to bring to the house of our God, unto the priests that minister in the house of our God:  This commandment also applied to the first born of the flocks and of their children.  We cannot ensure that our first-born, nor any of our children, will serve God, but we need to dedicate ourselves to teaching them about God.  Then, we need to pray for their salvation so that God can work through the Holy Spirit to lead them to their purpose in His kingdom. 

Verse thirty-seven states, And that we should bring the firstfruits of our dough, and our offerings, and the fruit of all manner of trees, of wine and of oil, unto the priests, to the chambers of the house of our God; and the tithes of our ground unto the Levites, that the same Levites might have the tithes in all the cities of our tillage.  They were then told that they were to bring the first fruits of everything they had to God for the use in the temple and for supplying the needs of the priests and Levites.  We likewise should bring our tithes and offers to the church so that God’s work can be done and the preachers and others involved in the ministry of the congregation may be provided for. 

Verse thirty-eight adds, And the priest the son of Aaron shall be with the Levites, when the Levites take tithes: and the Levites shall bring up the tithe of the tithes unto the house of our God, to the chambers, into the treasure house.  The priests, those who were descended from Aaron, we to oversee the Levites in the collecting of the tithes and offerings.  We don’t have priests or preachers today who are so because of who any of their ancestors may have been, but we are all a part of the priesthood of believers if we have accepted Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord.  Still, we need those who are called by God to do to be responsible for the use of our tithes and offerings. 

Verse thirty-nine continues, For the children of Israel and the children of Levi shall bring the offering of the corn, of the new wine, and the oil, unto the chambers, where are the vessels of the sanctuary, and the priests that minister, and the porters, and the singers: and we will not forsake the house of our God.  The people then were called on to bring their tithes and offerings to the temple so that God’s work would not be neglected.  We today should do the same, giving to God before all else. 

 

Nehamiah 10:28

Nehemiah 10:28 says. And the rest of the people, the priests, the Levites, the porters, the singers, the Nethinims, and all they that had separated themselves from the people of the lands unto the law of God, their wives, their sons, and their daughters, every one having knowledge, and having understanding;  Those listed here were people who served in the temple and their wives and children, and it says they separated themselves from the rest of the people.  It also tells us that they had a knowledge of the Law, which was God’s Law and not just the laws of the government.  We as followers of Christ must separate ourselves spiritually from the people of the world and know what God’s law says.  We are not called on to separate ourselves physically though but instead ae told to go into the world and share the gospel of Christ. 

Verse twenty-nine adds, They clave to their brethren, their nobles, and entered into a curse, and into an oath, to walk in God's law, which was given by Moses the servant of God, and to observe and do all the commandments of the Lord our Lord, and his judgments and his statutes;  It says that they entered into a curse and an oath to serve along with their brothers and nobles.  I believe this means that they took an oath that they would be cursed if they didn’t obey God’s law.  Until we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, we will be accursed by God.  When we do, we enter into a personal relationship and individually must take an oath to obey His word, and if we don’t obey Him, our actions will be accursed even though we are saved. 

Verse thirty continues, And that we would not give our daughters unto the people of the land, not take their daughters for our sons:  The people also swore that they wouldn’t allow their daughters to marry a man who wasn’t a part of the people of Israel, nor would they allow their sons to marry women who weren’t.  We cannot stop our sons and daughters from marrying whomever they want to marry, but we can teach them the importance of marrying a fellow believer. 

Verse thirty-one states, And if the people of the land bring ware or any victuals on the sabbath day to sell, that we would not buy it of them on the sabbath, or on the holy day: and that we would leave the seventh year, and the exaction of every debt.  The people further swore that they would not buy anything on the Sabbath day and that they would keep the Sabbath day and the Sabbath year in accordance with God’s word.  I wonder what would happen if God’s people made that same promise today concerning the Lord’s Day, or Sunday or any day set aside to worship and glorify God.  Of course, since I am not sure we are anywhere near a majority here in America, it might not stop business from being conducted, but it would at least keep us true to God’s law. 

Verse thirty-two adds, Also we made ordinances for us, to charge ourselves yearly with the third part of a shekel for the service of the house of our God;  They also made an ordinance to pay a tax I believe would be the best way to describe it yearly to support the work in the temple.  We are not taxed or compelled by any law of man to support the work of the church in the world today, but as Christians, we must support God’s work willingly. 

Verse thirty-three continues, For the shewbread, and for the continual meat offering, and for the continual burnt offering, of the sabbaths, of the new moons, for the set feasts, and for the holy things, and for the sin offerings to make an atonement for Israel, and for all the work of the house of our God.  Then, there is a list of things this yearly charge would be used for.  If we support the work of the church today, we need to know that what we give is being used to grow and sustain the church.  We may not be in charge of how the things we give to God are used, but we still have a responsibility to ensure that what we give is being used properly.