Nehemiah 7

Introduction

In chapter 6 we saw that despite the opposition, the walls were still rebuilt in 52 days, which was an amazing accomplishment. Here is Nehemiah 7 we are going to see the rebuilding of a people.

Due to captivity the people had been dispersed and now Nehemiah had to find out who belonged and who didn’t.

The appointing of leaders vs. 1-3

After the doors were put on the gates Nehemiah started establishing leadership.

He started with the porters.

Porters were gate keepers.

What good does it do to have brand new walls and gates and no one there to keep them?

Nehemiah gave the porters specific instructions on when to open and close the gates in vs. 3

Don’t open the gate until the sun is hot, and make sure the gates were closed while the guards were in duty.

If they opened the gates too early it would invite the enemy to come in while the city was still sleeping and if they closed the gates without guards present it would give the enemy an opportunity to slip in as well.

He then appointed the singers and levites

Worship was a vital part of the life of the Jews so it was important that the right people were there for the singing and the sacrifice

Next he appointed his assistants

Like a good leader Nehemiah knew he couldn’t do it alone so he appointed Hanani his brother who initially reported the condition of Jerusalem and Hananiah who was the ruler of the Palace and gave them charge over Jerusalem.

What made Nehemiah choose these two men?

they were faithful men- Nehemiah could count on them

They feared or reverenced God above many

If we truly fear God we will be faithful to the work he has called us to do

We must be careful that we don’t fall into the trap of fearing men more than God.

Proverbs 29:25 “The fear of man bringeth a snare: But whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe.”

Not everybody is called to be a Nehemiah, but all of us are called to be faithful to the work that God has called us too.

God isn’t looking for ability but rather availability. He is looking for faithful men and woman who will have faith and courage no matter what comes there way.

Lastly he appointed watches or guards

He appointed two types of guards

those who would patrol the walls at certain stations

Those who would keep watch of the neighborhoods

With guards at the wall and in the neighborhoods the cities would be less vulnerable to attack from the enemy

Warren Wiersbe said this “If God’s people don’t protect what they have accomplished for the Lord the enemy will take it over”

Paul said it this way in Ephesians 6:13 “Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.”

In the context of today we need Christian men and woman that will guard the walls of the churches and not allow false Christians to come in. We also need Christian Parents who will Guard their homes from the enemy attack

One commentator said this “It is while Christians are asleep that the enemy comes in and plants his counterfeits, so we must be awake and alert.”

Matthew 13:25 “But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.”

All of these positions are vitally important to the rebuilt Jerusalem as the enemy is still out there.

Establishing Citizenship vs 4-69

This section parallels Ezra 2:1-64.

Weirsbe said this “Reading this long list of difficult names might be boring to the modern student, but these people were God’s bridge from the defeats of the past to the hopes of the future. These Jews were the “living link” that connected the historic past with the prophetic future and made it possible for Jesus Christ to come into the world. Ezra 2 and Nehemiah 7 are to the Old Testament what Hebrews 11 is to the New Testament: A listing of the people whose faith and courage made things happen.”

There are 10 different groups of people listed

The Leaders who returned with Zerubbabel vs. 7

These men listed were likely representatives of the 12 tribes of Israel

The Nehemiah mentioned here is not the author of this book as Zerubbabel lived nearly 100 years before this time.

It appears that these were the elders of the people who helped Zerubbabel, the governor establish the nation.

Next the different families or clans were listed vs. 8-25

You’ll notice that next to the families are the number who returned with them

In verse 27-38 they are listed by villages

In verses 39-42 we find the priests listed

In verse 43 we find the Levites

In verse 44 we find the temple singers

The singers will play a vital role in the city. There are at least 18 references to singers in the book of Nehemiah and eight references to giving thanks to the Lord.

There was not much singing during the exile when the nation was out of fellowship with God

The first part of Psalm 137 talks about this

Now that they had returned to Jerusalem their singing would continue

in verse 45 we find the gate keepers

In verse 46-60 we find various temple servants

The Temple servants had been organized by David to assist in the temple, and may have either been prisoners of war or descendants of the Gibeonites who relieved the levites of heavy routine tasks such as cutting wood and drawing water

There was a group of people who couldn’t prove their genealogy vs. 61-65

In verse 67 we find a group of 7000 men and maid servants

In verse 68-69 we find a count of their animals they had

When we think about our genealogy, only one group is getting to heaven and that is those who are a part of God’s family, and the only way to get into that family is to place your faith and trust in the Gospel

John 1:11–12 “He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:”

Worship Continues vs. 70-73

Here we find that the governor and common people gave offerings unto the Lord.

In Ezra 2:68-70 you’ll find that Jewish Leaders gave offerings unto the Lord

A thousand drams would have been 19 pounds of gold

Twenty thousand drams would have been about 375 pounds of Gold

in todays market this would be about 11 million dollars in Gold

Here we find the Jews worshipping God through their giving

We find that they gave more than just money though, they gave their time as they rebuilt the walls, they gave their talent as they did what they could in the rebuilding of that wall and now they have given their treasure.

Are we giving to the Lord’s work?

Conclusion

4 lessons we can learn from Nehemiah 7.

People are important to God

God keeps account of His people

The Lord is able to keep his work going

We must know that we are part of God’s family