Nehemiah 11-13
Scripture Thought (What I Learned):
Chapter 11: The People of Jerusalem
The leaders of the people dwelt at
Jerusalem; the rest of the people cast lots to bring one out of ten to dwell in
Jerusalem, the holy city, and nine-tenths were to
dwell inother cities. The people blessed all the men who willingly
offered themselves to dwell at Jerusalem.
These are the
heads of the province who dwelt in Jerusalem:
The children of Judah: Athaiah the
son of Uzziah, the son of Zechariah, the son of Amariah, the son of Shephatiah,
the son of Mahalalel, of the children of Perez; and Maaseiah the son of Baruch,
the son of Col-Hozeh, the son of Hazaiah, the son of Adaiah, the son of
Joiarib, the son of Zechariah, the son of Shiloni. All the sons of Perez who
dwelt at Jerusalem were four hundred and sixty-eight valiant men.
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 Jeshaiah; and after him
Gabbai and Sallai, nine hundred and twenty-eight. Joel the son of
Zichri was their overseer, and Judah the son of
Senuah was second over the city.
The priests: Jedaiah the son of
Joiarib, and Jachin; Seraiah the son of Hilkiah, the son of Meshullam, the son
of Zadok, the son of Meraioth, the son of Ahitub, was the leader of
the house of God. Their brethren who did the work of the
house were eight hundred and twenty-two; and Adaiah the son of Jeroham,
the son of Pelaliah, the son of Amzi, the son of Zechariah, the son of Pashhur,
the son of Malchijah, and his brethren, heads of the fathers’ houses,
were two hundred and forty-two; and Amashai the son of Azarel, the son of
Ahzai, the son of Meshillemoth, the son of Immer, and their brethren, mighty
men of valor, were one hundred and twenty-eight. Their
overseer was Zabdiel the son of one of the great men.
The Levites: Shemaiah the son of
Hasshub, the son of Azrikam, the son of Hashabiah, the son of Bunni; Shabbethai
and Jozabad, of the heads of the Levites, had the oversight of the
business outside of the house of God; Mattaniah the son of Micha, the son of
Zabdi, the son of Asaph, the leader who began the thanksgiving with
prayer; Bakbukiah, the second among his brethren; and Abda the son of Shammua,
the son of Galal, the son of Jeduthun. All the Levites in the holy
city were two hundred and eighty-four. Moreover the gatekeepers,
Akkub, Talmon, and their brethren who kept the gates, were one
hundred and seventy-two. And the rest of Israel, of the
priests and Levites, were in all the cities of Judah,
everyone in his inheritance. But the Nethinim dwelt in Ophel. And Ziha and
Gishpa were over the Nethinim. Also the overseer of the Levites at
Jerusalem was Uzzi the son of Bani, the son of Hashabiah, the son of
Mattaniah, the son of Micha, of the sons of Asaph, the singers in charge of the
service of the house of God. For it was the king’s command concerning
them that a certain portion should be for the singers, a quota day by day.
Pethahiah the son of Meshezabel, of the children of Zerah the son of
Judah, was the king’s deputy in all matters concerning the people.
In
the villages and fields, some of the children of Judah dwelt in:
Kirjath Arba and its villages, Dibon and its
villages, Jekabzeel and its villages; in Jeshua, Moladah, Beth Pelet, Hazar
Shual, and Beersheba and its villages; in Ziklag and Meconah and its villages;
in En Rimmon, Zorah, Jarmuth, Zanoah, Adullam, and their villages; in Lachish
and its fields; in Azekah and its villages. They dwelt from Beersheba to the
Valley of Hinnom. Also the children of Benjamin from Geba dwelt in
Michmash, Aija, and Bethel, and their villages; in Anathoth, Nob, Ananiah;
in Hazor, Ramah, Gittaim; in Hadid, Zeboim, Neballat; in Lod,
Ono, and the Valley of Craftsmen. Some of the Judean divisions of
Levites were in Benjamin.
Chapter 12: Priests and Levites
These are the priests and
the Levites who came up with Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua:
Seraiah, Jeremiah, Ezra, Amariah, Malluch, Hattush, Shechaniah, Rehum,
Meremoth, Iddo, Ginnethoi, Abijah, Mijamin, Maadiah, Bilgah, Shemaiah, Joiarib,
Jedaiah, Sallu, Amok, Hilkiah, and Jedaiah. These were the
heads of the priests and their brethren in the days of Jeshua. Moreover the
Levites were Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Sherebiah,
Judah, and Mattaniah who led the
thanksgiving psalms, he and his brethren. Also Bakbukiah and Unni,
their brethren, stood across from them in their duties.
Jeshua begot Joiakim, Joiakim begot Eliashib, Eliashib begot Joiada, Joiada
begot Jonathan, and Jonathan begot Jaddua.
In
the days of Joiakim, the priests, the heads of the fathers’ houses
were: of Seraiah, Meraiah; of Jeremiah, Hananiah; of Ezra, Meshullam; of
Amariah, Jehohanan; of Melichu, Jonathan; of Shebaniah, Joseph; of Harim, Adna;
of Meraioth, Helkai; of Iddo, Zechariah; of Ginnethon, Meshullam; of Abijah,
Zichri; the son of Minjamin; of Moadiah, Piltai; of Bilgah, Shammua;
of Shemaiah, Jehonathan; of Joiarib, Mattenai; of Jedaiah, Uzzi; of Sallai,
Kallai; of Amok, Eber; of Hilkiah, Hashabiah; and of Jedaiah,
Nethanel.
During the reign of Darius the
Persian, a record was also kept of the Levites and priests who
had been heads of their fathers’ houses in the days of Eliashib,
Joiada, Johanan, and Jaddua. The sons of Levi, the heads of the
fathers’ houses until the days of Johanan the son of
Eliashib, were written in the book of the chronicles. And the heads
of the Levites were Hashabiah, Sherebiah, and Jeshua the son of
Kadmiel, with their brothers across from them, to praise and give
thanks, group alternating with group, according to the command of David the man
of God. Mattaniah, Bakbukiah, Obadiah, Meshullam, Talmon, and
Akkub were gatekeepers keeping the watch at the storerooms of the
gates. These lived in the days of Joiakim the son of Jeshua, the son
of Jozadak, and in the days of Nehemiah the governor, and of Ezra the priest,
the scribe.
At the dedication of the wall of
Jerusalem they sought out the Levites in all their places, to bring them to
Jerusalem to celebrate the dedication with gladness, both with thanksgivings
and singing, with cymbals and stringed instruments and harps. And the
sons of the singers gathered together from the countryside around Jerusalem,
from the villages of the Netophathites, from the house of Gilgal, and from the
fields of Geba and Azmaveth; for the singers had built themselves villages all
around Jerusalem.
The priests and Levites purified
themselves, and purified the people, the gates, and the wall.
So
Nehemiah brought the leaders of Judah up on the wall, and appointed two large
thanksgiving choirs. One went to the right hand on the wall toward the
Refuse Gate. After them went Hoshaiah and half of the leaders of Judah, and
Azariah, Ezra, Meshullam, Judah, Benjamin, Shemaiah, Jeremiah, and some of the
priests’ sons with trumpets; Zechariah the son of Jonathan, the son of
Shemaiah, the son of Mattaniah, the son of Michaiah, the son of Zaccur, the son
of Asaph, and his brethren, Shemaiah, Azarel, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethanel,
Judah, and Hanani, with the musical instruments of David the man of
God. Ezra the scribe went before them. By the Fountain Gate, in front
of them, they went up the stairs of the City of David, on the stairway of the
wall, beyond the house of David, as far as the Water Gate eastward. The other
thanksgiving choir went the opposite way, and I was behind
them with half of the people on the wall, going past the Tower of the Ovens as
far as the Broad Wall, and above the Gate of Ephraim, above the Old Gate, above
the Fish Gate, the Tower of Hananel, the Tower of the Hundred, as far as the
Sheep Gate; and they stopped by the Gate of the Prison. So the two thanksgiving
choirs stood in the house of God, likewise I and the half of the rulers with
me; and the priests, Eliakim, Maaseiah, Minjamin, Michaiah, Elioenai,
Zechariah, and Hananiah, with trumpets; also Maaseiah, Shemaiah,
Eleazar, Uzzi, Jehohanan, Malchijah, Elam, and Ezer. The singers sang loudly
with Jezrahiah the director. Also that day they offered great sacrifices, and
rejoiced, for God had made them rejoice with great joy; the women and the
children also rejoiced, so that the joy of Jerusalem was heard afar off.
At
the same time some were appointed over the rooms of the storehouse for the
offerings, the firstfruits, and the tithes, to gather into them from the fields
of the cities the portions specified by the Law for the priests and Levites;
for Judah rejoiced over the priests and Levites who ministered. Both the
singers and the gatekeepers kept the charge of their God and the charge of the
purification, according to the command of David and Solomon his son.
For in the days of David and Asaph of old there werechiefs of the singers,
and songs of praise and thanksgiving to God. In the days of Zerubbabel and in
the days of Nehemiah all Israel gave the portions for the singers and the
gatekeepers, a portion for each day. They also consecrated holy
things for the Levites, and the Levites consecrated them for the
children of Aaron.
Chapter 13: Nehemiah Corrects Apostacy
On
that day they read from the Book of Moses in the hearing of the people, and in
it was found written that no Ammonite or Moabite should ever come into the
assembly of God, because they had not met the children of Israel with bread and
water, but hired Balaam against them to curse them. However, God turned the
curse into a blessing.
After
they had heard the Law, they separated all the mixed multitude from Israel.
Now
before this, Eliashib the priest, having authority over the storerooms of the
house of God, was allied with Tobiah, and he had prepared for him a
large room, where previously they had stored the grain offerings; the
frankincense, the articles, the tithes of grain, the new wine and oil, which
were commanded to be given to the Levites and singers and
gatekeepers, and the offerings for the priests. In the thirty-second year of
Artaxerxes king of Babylon Nehemiah had returned to the king. Then after
certain days he obtained leave from the king, and came to Jerusalem and
discovered the evil that Eliashib had done for Tobiah, in preparing a room for
him in the courts of the house of God. And it grieved him bitterly; therefore he
threw all the household goods of Tobiah out of the room. Then he commanded them
to cleanse the rooms; and I brought back into them the articles of the house of
God, with the grain offering and the frankincense.
Nehemiah also realized that the
portions for the Levites had not been given to them; for each of the
Levites and the singers who did the work had gone back to his field. So Nehemiah
contended with the rulers, and said, “Why is the house of God forsaken?” And he
gathered them together and set them in their place. Then all Judah brought the
tithe of the grain and the new wine and the oil to the storehouse. And he appointed
as treasurers over the storehouse Shelemiah the priest and Zadok the scribe,
and of the Levites, Pedaiah; and next to them was Hanan the son of
Zaccur, the son of Mattaniah; for they were considered faithful, and their
task was to distribute to their brethren.
Nehemiah
tells about what he saw;
“In those days saw I in Judah some treading
wine presses on the sabbath, and bringing in sheaves, and lading asses; as
also wine, grapes, and figs, and all manner of burdens, which they
brought into Jerusalem on the sabbath day: and I testified against them in
the day wherein they sold victuals. There dwelt men of Tyre also therein,
which brought fish, and all manner of ware, and sold on the sabbath unto the
children of Judah, and in Jerusalem. Then I contended with the nobles of Judah,
and said unto them, What evil thing is this that ye do, and profane
the sabbath day? Did not your fathers thus, and did not our God bring all this
evil upon us, and upon this city? yet ye bring more wrath upon Israel by
profaning the sabbath. (Nehemiah 13:15-18)
This should tell us, even today in
modern times of the importance of the Sabbath day and to keep it holy.
At the gates of Jerusalem, as it
began to be dark before the Sabbath, Nehemiah commanded the gates to be shut,
and charged that they must not be opened till after the Sabbath. Then he
posted some of his servants at the gates, so that no
burdens would be brought in on the Sabbath day.
The merchants and sellers of all
kinds of wares lodged outside Jerusalem once or twice. Then he warned them and then
warned them; that if they continued to wait outside the walls he would “put his
hands on them”. He commanded the Levites that they should cleanse themselves,
and that they should go and guard the gates, to sanctify the Sabbath day.
In those days Nehemiah also saw
Jews who had married women of Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab. Half
of their children spoke the language of Ashdod, and could not speak the
language of Judah, but spoke according to the language of one or the other
people. So he contended with them and cursed them, struck some of them and
pulled out their hair, and made them swear by God, saying, “You shall
not give your daughters as wives to their sons, nor take their daughters for
your sons or yourselves. Did not Solomon king of Israel sin by these things?
Yet among many nations there was no king like him, who was beloved of his God;
and God made him king over all Israel. Nevertheless pagan women caused even him
to sin. Should we then hear of your doing all this great evil, transgressing
against our God by marrying pagan women?” Andone of the sons of Joiada,
the son of Eliashib the high priest, was a son-in-law of Sanballat
the Horonite; therefore I drove him from me. Remember them, O my God, because
they have defiled the priesthood and the covenant of the priesthood and the
Levites.
