In Today's Email:
Nehemiah 11 Notes
In this chapter we see the names of the Jewish settlers and where they lived.
vs. 1-2 – 1/10 of the of the Jewish leaders were chosen by lot to live in Jerusalem. It was necessary to populate the city, which still was mostly in ruins though now surrounded by its defensive wall. The people celebrated these because it was both a sacrifice and an honor to dwell in Jerusalem at this time.
vs. 3-24 – The roster of those that lived in Jerusalem. This passage parallels I Chronicles 9:1-34.
vs. 25-36 – A list of the cities and villages where Jews settled outside of Jerusalem.
Nehemiah 12 Notes
In this chapter are the roster of the priests and the dedication of the walls.
vs. 1-9 – The roster of the priests that returned with Zerubbabel. Joshua/Jeshua is the high priest at that time.
vs. 10-11 – The succession of High Priests from Jeshua, who was a contemporary of Cyrus the Great, to Jaddua, who was a contemporary of Alexander the Great. This covers a period of about 200 years.
vs. 12-21 – A roster of the heads of the priestly families during the time of Joiakim. This is the second generation of leaders after the return from captivity. The formula used is to give the name of the father from the time of Jeshua and then the son from the time of Joiakim. Two families, those of Hattush and Miamin, have no son listed. This could be that they had no eligible mail heirs or that the original head was still alive and active.
vs. 22-26 – An overview of further records, some included some not. Darius the Persian in vs. 22 is believed to be Darius III, the final ruler of the Persian empire who was defeated by Alexander the Great in 330 B.C.
vs. 27-43 – An account of the dedication of the walls of Jerusalem. The people are divided into two companies to march on top of the walls while singing praises to God. It is believed that Nehemiah and Ezra led the two divisions. It looks like they started in the southwest or far south, somewhere between the valley gate and the dung gate. with one moving clockwise and the other counterclockwise around the walls. The two groups meet in the Temple to the north.
vs. 44-47 – In the spiritual fervor of revival and completing the walls, the care of the Levites and priests is properly met.
Nehemiah 13 Notes
In this chapter Nehemiah returns from an absence to deal with the backslid people.
vs. 1-3 – The opening verses harken back to Chapter 8. In that day the Jews had heard the Word of God (Deuteronomy 23:3-5) and had separated themselves from the pagans around them. As we will see, this did not last long.
vs. 4-9 – Despite his office and the clear knowledge of the Scripture against it, the high priest Eliashib had allied with Tobiah the Ammonite and provided him space within the Temple. Nehemiah had returned to the king’s court and was absent while this happened. Most think this lasted only a year or two. Now he returns and immediately evicts Tobiah and his possessions from the Temple. The space is cleansed and reverted to its sacred use.
vs. 10-14 – Nehemiah’s next order of business is to restore the salaries of the Levites, which had lapsed in his absence. It is strange to see this considering what a big deal was made about it in the closing of the previous chapter.
vs. 15-22 – Yet another problem is the desecration of the Sabbath by labor and trade. Some of the chief offenders were traders from Tyre. Nehemiah literally locks them out of the city on the Sabbath and threatens to arrest them if they do not go away. They learned their lesson and stopped trading on the Sabbath. Nehemiah charges the priests to better monitor the observance of the Sabbath.
vs. 23-29 – The problem of intermarriage is raised yet again. Nehemiah observes children born into these mixed marriages that are unable to speak the language of the Jews (Aramaic). He takes a stand again and calls out the people for this sin. He even has to deal with is the high priest’s son, and future high priest himself, Joiada had married the daughter of Sanballat.
vs. 30-31 – The final recorded acts of Nehemiah are to put and end to the many sins listed in this chapter and to support the work of the Temple.
Closing Thoughts
Most of the time when we read Nehemiah we focus on the work of rebuilding the walls. The rest of the story is of revival, reverses, rebuke, and restoration. It is astounding to lay the book out and consider how fast revival turns to reverses as the people backslide. Most of the time you will note that it is the aristocracy leading the decline. But God raised men like Ezra and Nehemiah to rebuke the people of their sins and to bring about restoration. Holiness among God’s people is important, though it is a struggle for us. It is a consequence of our depravity and brokenness of our nature. Thank God there will come a day when all will be made right and the children of God will no longer struggle with sin. For that heavenly time we should all long for.
Hymn for Today
Our hymn today is “O Thou, From Whom All Goodness Flows”, written in 1791 by Thomas Haweis. It connects well with Nehemiah’s closing prayer:” Remember me, O my God, for good.”
O Thou, from whom all goodness flows,
I lift my heart to Thee;
In all my sorrows, conflicts, woes,
Dear Lord, remember me.
When groaning on my burdened heart
My sins lie heavily,
My pardon speak, new peace impart;
In love remember me.
Temptations sore obstruct my way,
And ills I cannot flee:
O give me strength, Lord, as my day;
For good remember me.
Distressed with pain, disease, and grief,
This feeble body see;
Grant patience, rest, and kind relief:
Hear and remember me.
If on my face, for Thy dear name,
Shame and reproaches be,
All hail reproach, and welcome shame,
If Thou remember me.
The hour is near; consigned to death,
I own the just decree;
Savior, with my last parting breath
I’ll cry, Remember me.