Nehemiah came to reestablish the defenses of the city and reinstate God’s order. He has completed part of the task and now begins to focus on the next phase of rebuilding God’s temple. When we finally restore our defenses and recognize the attacks of the enemy we need to restore a watch over our lives. We need to reinstate God’s rule in our lives.
Setting a Watch Over the City
Nehemiah 7:1-2, “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, 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.”
Once the walls were repaired and the gates rebuilt, Nehemiah set about to reinstate a watch over the gates of the great city. He set Levitical singers and temple porters (gatekeepers) in this task. Nehemiah chose worshippers and trained watchmen to guard the city.
As the Church and God’s temple, the best way to watch over our city is to cultivate a lifestyle of worship and to remain ever watchful. The praises of God are a great weapon to keep the enemy at bay.
Isaiah 62:6, “I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace day nor night: ye that make mention of the LORD, keep not silence,”
The next thing Nehemiah did was give oversight of the city to his brother Hanani and Hananiah the ruler of the palace (the King of Persia’s Viceroy) who were faithful men who feared God. Nehemiah remained the Governor of Jerusalem.
As the Church we need to give the oversight to our lives back to God. His Holy Spirit is the best one to watch over us and bring anything that is out of sorts to our attention. We are still in control, but we set the Holy Spirit as a watch and overseer so that we may continue the work God has for us.
Reestablish Your Identity in Christ
Now that the watch was set and the city was in the hands of faithful, God fearing men, Nehemiah set about the next task God put on his heart; to number the genealogy of the people, rulers, and nobles. To aid in this assignment Nehemiah found the register of genealogy that Zerubbabel took when the first wave of refugees returned to Jerusalem.
He went through the genealogy to reaffirm the identity of the people and register those who came since Zerubbabel.
Israel was a chosen people by genealogy and bloodline. The people must be of the Children of Jacob.
As the Church, we are grafted in to this chosen position through belief in the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross.We must learn our true identity as born again believers in Jesus. God has called us to be set apart and different from the world around us. We are called out of darkness into His light so that we may shine that light to others and lead them to Him.
1 Peter 2:9, “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light;”
Get Understanding of the Word of God
Nehemiah 8:1-2, “And all the people gathered themselves together as one man into the street that was before the water gate; and they spoke unto Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded to Israel. And Ezra the priest brought the law before the congregation both of men and women, and all that could hear with understanding, upon the first day of the seventh month.”
One of the problems with the people returning, was their lack of understanding in the Law of Moses. After decades in exile many had little to no understanding of the law. This was the reason Ezra, the scribe of the Lord, came to Jerusalem. As a scribe he would know several languages. His entire mission was to reinstate the Law of Moses and give the people a true understanding.
In Nehemiah 8 verses 2,3,7,8, and 12 Ezra stresses understanding of the word. Understanding was of key importance: Proverbs 1:2, “To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding;”
Hosea 4:6, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.”
Today, understanding of God, of the sacrifice Jesus made for us all, of the Holy Spirit, and of our role in God’s plans on the earth is of vital importance for any disciple of Jesus. We must have these things written on our hearts and sealed in our spirits. We must reinstate God as ruler of our hearts.
Psalm 119:11, “I have stored up your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.”
Revival Follows Understanding
In these verses Ezra and his fellow priests and scribes are reading the law and making the people to understand. After the people were in exile, there were surely cultural misunderstandings as well as language barriers. Many of the people only knew Aramaic but not Hebrew of the Law. The priests read and explained the words to the people so they could understand what God was asking of them. The first ever biblical example of a sermon.
In verse 9, they wept for how they had fallen from the teachings of God. The priests told the people that this was a holy day unto God. They should not weep, but rejoice! It was not a day to mourn the faults of their past, but to celebrate their desire to reinstate God and His Holy Law in their lives.
In the same way the Church needs to rejoice in returning to God. We need not weep over the misunderstandings of the past. We need to celebrate that understanding has come to us in the Holy Spirit and be full of joy. For the joy of the Lord is our strength.
We are on a journey, and the purpose of the journey is to increase in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man (Luke 2:52). We need not weep and mourn when we learn of the paths God wishes us to reinstate what we have neglected for so long. He already knew and designed what we saw as detours to be part of the journey towards Him.
God Dwells in Us
These verses illustrate how much the people neglected God’s Law. They realized that they had not fully obeyed the way to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. While they did celebrate it, they did not know all the details. All since the time of Joshua! That’s nearly a thousand years. Through the Judges, Samuel, Saul and David. Elijah, Elisha, and the two kingdoms. Through the Minor Prophets and the exile. Not once did they dwell in booths as the Lord commanded.
The Feast of Tabernacles (Leviticus 23:33-43) was a harvest festival; a festival of thanksgiving. It’s much like the original American Thanksgiving that we celebrate. During the 7 day celebration the people were to build temporary shelters, called booths, and live in them as a reminder of the journey through their wilderness.
Today the Church has forgotten the history of its birth immediately following the day of Pentecost. A time when they walked in the power and unity of God. When brothers and sisters in the Lord loved one another unconditionally. They dwelt together as a family and had all things in common. It was a time when they took care of each other. It is a lifestyle I believe we should reinstate in our lives.
Acts 2:44-47, “And all that believed were together, and had all things common; and sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need. They, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, Praising God, and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.”
Support This Blog
If you like this post and you’d like to help support me you may do so here:
Cash App: $blknack
Venmo: @BLKnack1
PayPal:https://paypal.me/blknack