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. 

 

Nehemiah 6:14

Nehemiah 6:14 says, My God, think thou upon Tobiah and Sanballat according to these their works, and on the prophetess Noadiah, and the rest of the prophets, that would have put me in fear.  Nehemiah didn’t attempt to punish Tobiah, Sanballat, Noadiah, and the rest of the prophets who were claiming to speak for God when they weren’t, but he prayed to God and asked that He deal with them since they had tried to instill fear in him.  We should always just pray to God for guidance when someone attempts to lead us away from what His word teaches us, and then we should leave their punishment up to God. 

Verse fifteen adds, So the wall was finished in the twenty and fifth day of the month Elul, in fifty and two days. Nehemiah didn’t allow the threats of others nor the suggestions of the false prophets to keep him and the others from continuing to build the wall.  We cannot allow anything to stop us from doing what God has called us to do today.  The wall was finished as Nehemiah continued to oversee the work, even if he had been threatened and advised to hide away.  We need to continue to do what God has called us to do and never give in to fear. 

Verse sixteen continues, And it came to pass, that when all our enemies heard thereof, and all the heathen that were about us saw these things, they were much cast down in their own eyes: for they perceived that this work was wrought of our God. Then Nehamiah tells us that those who opposed the building of the wall were cast down in their own eyes, because they knew that the work was ordained by God.  If we successfully do God’s work today, Satan and his forces of evil are going to be cast down in their own sight, because they will know that we are doing God’s work, and they cannot stop us. 

Verse seventeen states, Moreover in those days the nobles of Judah sent many letters unto Tobiah, and the letters of Tobiah came unto them.  Some of the nobles of Judah sent many letters to Tobiah instead of supporting Nehemiah.  If we are a follower of Christ, we need to always support others who are doing God’s work and never plot against them.  We cannot serve both God and the world. 

Verse eighteen adds, For there were many in Judah sworn unto him, because he was the son in law of Shechaniah the son of Arah; and his son Johanan had taken the daughter of Meshullam the son of Berechiah.  Nehemiah said many of the people of Judah had remained faithful to Tobiah since Shechaniah and his son had both married Israelite women.  They were trying to help him because of who his parents were.  We cannot put anyone above God, no matter who their parents may be. 

Verse nineteen continues, Also they reported his good deeds before me, and uttered my words to him. And Tobiah sent letters to put me in fear.  Nehemiah said that the people of Judah were writing to Tobiah and Tobiah was writing to him in order to make him afraid.  Matthew Henry says they may have been acting this way because Jerusalem was being rebuilt and cities in their area were not, but Nehemiah had only been given permission to rebuild Jerusalem. We should never allow the success of others in doing God’s work to make us envious and cause us to work against them. 

Nehemiah 6:10

Nehemiah 6:10 says, Afterward I came unto the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah the son of Mehetabeel, who was shut up; and he said, Let us meet together in the house of God, within the temple, and let us shut the doors of the temple: for they will come to slay thee; yea, in the night will they come to slay thee.  Nehemiah then went to the house of Shamiah, who claimed to be a prophet, who told him that they needed to go and shut themselves up in the temple so they would be safe.  This would have caused Nehemiah to stop building the wall, which is what his enemies wanted him to do, but was advised to be done as the will of God.  We cannot just hide away in fear of the world today but must be doing what God has called us to do, even if the leaders of the church might tell us otherwise. 

Verse eleven adds, And I said, Should such a man as I flee? and who is there, that, being as I am, would go into the temple to save his life? I will not go in.  Nehamiah asked Shemaiah why would a man like him, a man who professed faith in God, go into the temple and hide for his own safety.  We serve the most powerful God in the world, so there should never be a time that we put personal safety above doing what God tells us to do.  I know in some parts of the world it may be a death sentence to proclaim ourselves to be Christians, and God may tell us to proclaim the gospel quietly, but I believe as a general rule, we need to boldly stand openly for Him. 

Verse twelve continues, And, lo, I perceived that God had not sent him; but that he pronounced this prophecy against me: for Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him.  Nehemiah said he recognized that Shemaiah was not proclaiming God’s word but was telling him what Tobiah and Sanballat had paid him to say.  It is sad to think that a man who proclaimed to speak for God could be paid to proclaim anything but the truth of God.  If we are followers of Christ, the Holy Spirit will always let us know when someone is speaking anything that is not the truth of God, even if they are doing it in the name of God.  

Verse thirteen concludes, Therefore was he hired, that I should be afraid, and do so, and sin, and that they might have matter for an evil report, that they might reproach me.  Nehemiah said they had done this so that if he followed the advice of Shemaiah, he would be discredited with the people who were doing the work.  If we begin to follow the ways of the world for our own safety instead of following the leadership of the Holy Spirit, people in the church and in the world may discredit our profession that we are following God, and Christians may even be le to doubt our profession about the power of God.  The people of the world already discredit His word, but they may use our lack of faith to try and prove that God is not Who He says He is.