Nehemiah 11:1

The Bible says in Nehemiah 11:1-4, “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.[2] And the people blessed all the men, that willingly offered themselves to dwell at Jerusalem.[3] 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.[4] 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;” These verses tell us how well the people worked together. They came up with a method of populating Jerusalem, and everyone worked together and cooperated. They also had a good attitude to one another. It says, “the people blessed all the men.” If only the members of Bible-believing churches had these two qualities: cooperation and good will to one another, the Gospel of Christ would have a great testimony.

Most of the verses from Nehemiah 11:5 through Nehemiah 12:26 are a record of the names of the people who participated in this great movement of coming back to Jerusalem and to other cities in Israel. Keeping accurate records was important to Nehemiah. That is no wonder because the Holy Spirit was motivating him to write part of the Word of God, and all of the Word of God is accurate. It is without error. And then the Bible says in Nehemiah 12:27, “And at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem they sought the Levites out of all their places, to bring them to Jerusalem, to keep the dedication with gladness, both with thanksgivings, and with singing, with cymbals, psalteries, and with harps.” The Levites were assigned to help the priests with taking care of the Temple and all that took place there. After they built the wall, they had a “dedication of the wall of Jerusalem.” The word “ordain” means to appoint. God appointed the Levites, and the people understood that and they knew that they needed them. That is the way that it is supposed to work also in the age of the New Testament church. God appoints pastors to be teachers, and the Lord wants the people to go and hear the sermons that the pastor gives from the Bible. Believers who understand the Word of God will align their lives with this truth.

The Bible says in Nehemiah 12:28-31, “And the sons of the singers gathered themselves together, both out of the plain country round about Jerusalem, and from the villages of Netophathi;[29] Also from the house of Gilgal, and out of the fields of Geba and Azmaveth: for the singers had builded them villages round about Jerusalem.[30] And the priests and the Levites purified themselves, and purified the people, and the gates, and the wall.[31] Then I brought up the princes of Judah upon the wall, and appointed two great companies of them that gave thanks, whereof one went on the right hand upon the wall toward the dung gate:” Notice that verse thirty says, “And the priests and the Levites purified themselves, and purified the people.” The way that we get purified in the New Testament is through the grace and mercy of God that is in Jesus Christ. First, make sure that you are right with God and then you can help others get purified by telling them the Gospel of Christ. Verse thirty-one speaks of “two great companies of them that gave thanks.” Once you are clean from your sins through the Lord Jesus, you have the number one reason to give thanks.

The Bible says in Nehemiah 12:36-37, “And his brethren, Shemaiah, and Azarael, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethaneel, and Judah, Hanani, with the musical instruments of David the man of God, and Ezra the scribe before them.[37] And at the fountain gate, which was over against them, they went up by the stairs of the city of David, at the going up of the wall, above the house of David, even unto the water gate eastward.” Verse thirty-six mentions “the musical instruments of David.” Either these were the same types of instruments that David used or they were his actual instruments. David was known for his music partly because of the Psalms that he left for all of us. David’s music was about the Lord. Much can be done with music to serve God. If you have the gift of music, make sure that you use it for God’s glory. In verse thirty-six David is also called “David the man of God.” What a compliment. You are doing something right if people remember you and they call you a “man of God.” Yes, David sinned. We have all sinned. But David confessed his sins, and he kept following the Lord. If David had stopped following the Lord, David would have been more like Saul. Saul is known for his failures more than anything else because Saul stopped following the Lord. Saul got off track and he stayed off the track. Thankfully, as followers of Jesus, we can stay in fellowship with Him because we can pray to Jesus every day and find forgiveness. It says in First John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

The Bible says in Nehemiah 12:38-43, “And the other company of them that gave thanks went over against them, and I after them, and the half of the people upon the wall, from beyond the tower of the furnaces even unto the broad wall;[39] And from above the gate of Ephraim, and above the old gate, and above the fish gate, and the tower of Hananeel, and the tower of Meah, even unto the sheep gate: and they stood still in the prison gate.[40] So stood the two companies of them that gave thanks in the house of God, and I, and the half of the rulers with me:[41] And the priests; Eliakim, Maaseiah, Miniamin, Michaiah, Elioenai, Zechariah, and Hananiah, with trumpets;[42] And Maaseiah, and Shemaiah, and Eleazar, and Uzzi, and Jehohanan, and Malchijah, and Elam, and Ezer. And the singers sang loud, with Jezrahiah their overseer.[43] Also that day they offered great sacrifices, and rejoiced: for God had made them rejoice with great joy: the wives also and the children rejoiced: so that the joy of Jerusalem was heard even afar off.” Rebuilding the wall was a great accomplishment. They knew it. They were not destroyed forever. They were not ruined. God had not forsaken them. Their dreams were realized. Their prayers were answered. Their nightmares were over. God can do that for you too. They had to wait seventy years to see this blessing. Wait upon the Lord.

The Bible says in Nehemiah 12:44-47, “And at that time were some appointed over the chambers for the treasures, for the offerings, for the firstfruits, and for the tithes, to gather into them out of the fields of the cities the portions of the law for the priests and Levites: for Judah rejoiced for the priests and for the Levites that waited.[45] And both the singers and the porters kept the ward of their God, and the ward of the purification, according to the commandment of David, and of Solomon his son.[46] For in the days of David and Asaph of old there were chief of the singers, and songs of praise and thanksgiving unto God.[47] And all Israel in the days of Zerubbabel, and in the days of Nehemiah, gave the portions of the singers and the porters, every day his portion: and they sanctified holy things unto the Levites; and the Levites sanctified them unto the children of Aaron.” Notice once again that in verse forty-four that the people were not just giving tithes, but they were also giving “offerings” and “firstfruits.” If you want to follow the Old Testament pattern of giving, then go right ahead, but you must give much more than the tithes: you must also give offerings and firstfruits. But the New Testament standard is even higher than that. The New Testament gives you the responsibility of deciding how much you will give. Of course, at your judgement you will give an answer to what you have done with the material things that the Lord has given to you. It says in Second Corinthians 9:6-7, “But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.[7] Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.”

The Bible says in Nehemiah 13:1-2, “On that day they read in the book of Moses in the audience of the people; and therein was found written, that the Ammonite and the Moabite should not come into the congregation of God for ever;[2] Because they met not the children of Israel with bread and with water, but hired Balaam against them, that he should curse them: howbeit our God turned the curse into a blessing.” They read the Word of God, and then as we will see in the rest of this chapter, Nehemiah did everything that he could to make changes so that they were actually obeying the Word of God, and doing things the way the Word of God told them. Of course, this is the Old Testament and these people were under the law, so they are trying to put the commandments of the law into effect. Some of the spiritual principles are the same, but we are not under law.

The first issue that comes up in verse one is the issue of separation from the world. If you are going to be a testimony for Jesus, you must learn how to be separate from the world. If you do not learn how to love the sinner, but hate the sin, there is the possibility that you will be drawn into their worldly activities and thus do things that you should not do, and thus lose your testimony for Christ. It says in First John 2:15-17, “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.[16] For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.[17] And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.”

Verse two is an important reminder of how God takes care of His people. No matter how bad the people of the world become, God is still all-powerful. God can do anything. The evil and powerful people of the world are powerless against God, and Jesus has promised us: “I will never leave thee nor forsake thee.” Balaam was hired to curse the children of Israel, but it says at the end of verse two, “howbeit our God turned the curse into a blessing.” He will do the same thing for us.

The Bible says in Nehemiah 13:3-9, “Now it came to pass, when they had heard the law, that they separated from Israel all the mixed multitude.[4] And before this, Eliashib the priest, having the oversight of the chamber of the house of our God, was allied unto Tobiah:[5] And he had prepared for him a great chamber, where aforetime they laid the meat offerings, the frankincense, and the vessels, and the tithes of the corn, the new wine, and the oil, which was commanded to be given to the Levites, and the singers, and the porters; and the offerings of the priests.[6] But in all this time was not I at Jerusalem: for in the two and thirtieth year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon came I unto the king, and after certain days obtained I leave of the king:[7] And I came to Jerusalem, and understood of the evil that Eliashib did for Tobiah, in preparing him a chamber in the courts of the house of God.[8] And it grieved me sore: therefore I cast forth all the household stuff of Tobiah out of the chamber.[9] Then I commanded, and they cleansed the chambers: and thither brought I again the vessels of the house of God, with the meat offering and the frankincense.” In these verses Nehemiah explained once again some of the things that he had done when he came to Jerusalem in order to establish a proper separation from the unbelievers according to the teachings of the Bible. How often do we examine our own lives according to the standard of the Bible in order to make improvements and in order to serve the Lord Jesus better?

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