People Matters

Lord’s Supper

Ask the men to come and have a seat at the front.

Reminder: when the men bring the plate around, if you wish to participate, you’ll need to take from the plate.

Pray and thank the Lord for giving His body and shedding His blood for us.

Serve the bread

Read Mark 14:22

Partake

Serve the grape juice

Read Mark 14:23-25

Partake

Pray

Review

Turn to Nehemiah 7

In chapter six, Nehemiah reached an incredible milestone when the Jews finished rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. It was not without difficulty. Nehemiah faced a treacherous false prophet. He received letters to make him afraid. The pressure campaign that was on him did not let up once the walls were completed.

But God had a higher purpose in mind than simply solving all of these problems for Nehemiah. Although the walls were rebuilt, God wanted Nehemiah to keep serving in Jerusalem. The physical need for protection was met, but spiritual needs remained in the people’s lives. Nehemiah would have to trust God beyond the milestone.

Introduction

Read Nehemiah 7:1-4

One childhood experience that remains as a memory in my mind is when my family would gather for a “family night” together. It didn’t happen every week, but every now and then, my parents would set aside an evening to play all different board games and card games.

We boys loved it. Even though it didn’t happen often, I still remember those rare nights sitting around the dining room table, being together, laughing together, and making memories together.

Usually we would play Uno or Dominoes or Pit, but one or two times we tried playing this game called Money Matters.

About all I remember from the game is that it never made sense to my 6 or 7 year old mind. Evidently it didn’t make much sense to my older brothers either, because we always ended up setting it aside for something easier and more fun.

Money Matters was a finances-themed board game released in the mid‑1990s, designed by Christian financial author Larry Burkett. In the game, players learn to give, save, and spend wisely through budgeting on life events and by responding to chance situations that affect their financial decisions. As the name implies, it was a game that taught personal finance issues and the reality that God cares about our financial decisions. Money Matters. Maybe now you can understand why I wasn’t too interested in it as a little boy.

In like fashion, Nehemiah chapter seven is all about People Matters. You see, this chapter represents a significant change in the focus of the book. The first half of the book, chapters 1-6, was about the rebuilding of the walls. The second half, chapters 7-13, is about the spiritual restoration of the people.

Remember the Jewish nobles and rulers who were working against Nehemiah? They, and all the Jews like them, were now the problem that God wanted to address. God’s new mission for Nehemiah was to ensure that Jerusalem was repopulated with Jews and ruled by Jews who were devoted to their land and to their God.

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A review of the who’s who - Nehemiah 7:5-73

Read Nehemiah 7:5-6

Have you ever read a Who’s who? I confess, I have not.

The first “Who’s Who In America” was first published in 1899 by Albert Nelson Marquis and continues to be published to this day.

A “who’s who” includes short biographical summaries with:

Full name

Date and place of birth

Education

Career history

Notable achievements

Family and personal information (sometimes)

It was once considered highly prestigious, especially in the early 20th century. But in more recent decades it has faced allegations of vanity publishing. In other words, including people based on their willingness to pay up.

Here in our text we find a “who’s who”, but this was a genealogy of the first Jews who returned to Israel after the Babylonian captivity. Now I don’t know about you, but when a preacher mentions the word “genealogy” I think there’s a temptation to settle down in your chair and just wait for the dark clouds of slumber to fully engulf you.

Resist that urge!

You see, we look at this list of names and our eyes immediately cross and our brain starts to hurt! But it’s really not that bad! Don’t worry, I’m not going to read all these names this morning, but I do want to do justice to the text and consider this simple question: why is it there?

Why did Nehemiah include this census data here and how is it relevant to the rest of the book?

This genealogy was the tool that would show which Jews had been faithful to God’s covenant by marrying other Jews, versus the Jews which had broken God’s covenant and had married pagan Gentiles.

Here’s what the situation looked like from Nehemiah’s perspective:

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586 BC - Jerusalem conquered by the Babylonians

538 BC - First Jews returned with Zerubbabel and Ezra the prophet

That first group of Jews eventually rebuilt the Temple

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538 BC - First Jews returned with Zerubbabel and Ezra the prophet

444 BC - Nehemiah travels to Jerusalem and rebuilds the walls

So what is this genealogy? It is the list of Jews who came back in 538 BC and is very similar to the one found in Ezra chapter two.

These were the people who decided to return to the Promised Land like the prophets of God were telling them to do. These were the people who decided to leave the comforts and the homes they had built after living a lifetime in Babylon. The faithful ones on this list were the ones that Nehemiah would want to live in Jerusalem and to defend the sacred city of the Jews.

Some of these people were priests. Some were gatekeepers. Some were singers who participated in the temple worship. Some were servants to the priests and assisted around the temple. Most on the registry could trace their heritage and family tree. Some did not, and they were prevented from settling in Jerusalem.

Read Nehemiah 7:26.

Some of the Jews who returned to the land were from Bethlehem. Now who would be born in Bethlehem in about 440 years? Jesus Christ, the Messiah! This genealogy mentions the people who resettled Bethlehem. Zerubabbel, who is mentioned in verse 7, was of the line of David and is mentioned in the line of Christ in Matthew 1:12. Think about it: It didn’t matter that the land of Israel was obliterated during the Babylonian conquest. It didn’t matter that Jerusalem was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar! God’s plan was of redemption was still on track and the coming of the Messiah was still in motion!

God had everything under control. And in a small way, Nehemiah was a small part in God’s plan to ensure that Jerusalem and Bethlehem would remain on the map even to this present day.

Application: Sometimes it may seem as though God’s plan is in jeopardy. Sometimes it may seem as though God is running late. Sometimes it may seem as though God is just haphazardly running the universe.

Nothing could be further from the truth. The sovereign God of Heaven brings the exact amount of control that He intends over the affairs of men. Trust Him. Trust Him! Trust Him!

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A need for godly rulers and people - Nehemiah 7:1-4

Read Nehemiah 7:1-4

When it first began to be published, the Who’s Who in America was a useful tool for individuals to learn about and find others who were experts in the same field or business. It was a source where researchers, journalists, and professionals could find vetted background information on other influential or accomplished individuals.

Nehemiah needed to find some specific people also: godly rulers and godly people. The genealogy was a tool to help him find the people he wanted for Jerusalem.

In verses 1-2, Nehemiah tells us that once the walls were built and the gates hung, one of the first moves he made was to delegate responsibilities to others. He appointed two men who would lead Jerusalem.

The Bible Knowledge Commentary 7:1–3

Hanani was Nehemiah’s brother who had reported the Jerusalem problems to the cupbearer (1:2). Hananiah … a man of integrity, had deep spiritual convictions.

Now this was a wise move for several reasons.

For one, delegating the responsibility of Jerusalem to others would lighten the load on Nehemiah, who was serving as governor of the region. Nehemiah wasn’t superman. In fact, as we’ve seen, he was acutely aware of his own weaknesses. He often cried out to the Lord for help and strength.

Secondly, delegating this authority over the city would help sideline the Jewish rulers who were working against Nehemiah. Nehemiah needed strong allies. Nehemiah needed trustworthy allies. These men could be depended on for both.

A third reason Nehemiah delegated this authority was to ensure a chain of command in case he was assassinated. Perhaps that threat was not as great now as before, but chapter six indicated that his enemies were still capable of this.

Application: There are two kinds of people in this room today:

Those who currently bear responsibility and authority that they might to delegate to others

If you’re a business owner, a manager, a ministry leader in our church, or even a parent with children in the home, this is you in some capacity.

Those who must be prepared to receive responsibility and authority that is delegated to them.

If you’re an employee at a business, if you serve at our church, or if you are a young person, this is you.

In either case, notice how Nehemiah delegated his authority. He found men that were faithful. Men who were reliable. Men who followed truth and not lies. Men who feared God more than anyone else.

That’s the kind of leaders we need in our country. That’s the kind of leaders we need in our community, in our church, in our businesses, in our schools, and in our homes. I don’t have a problem with good education, but we don’t need more “experts” with phd’s. We need men and women who are reliable, who love truth, and who fear God more than anyone else.

Be that man or woman and God will use you in extraordinary ways.

Jesus Christ was the perfect leader and delegator.

There was a need for godly rulers and there was a need for godly people.

Read verses 3-4

Nehemiah had a problem. He had a city with a brand new wall, but the problem was that there wasn’t much on the inside! Big city, small population.

Roaring economy? No.

A vibrant business community? No.

A hot real estate market where new move-ins are outbidding each other for houses? No.

Jerusalem as a local city had a lot of needs. At the foremost it needed some good people who would want to live in it.

Application: Every city needs people to make it function. Without people, you just have buildings. The same is true of a church. Every church needs people. A local church is people. Without people, you just have empty buildings. It takes people to fill it. It takes people to serve in it. God uses people to fill the local church and to make it function.

I’m not going to dwell here long, but church family, let’s each do our part to fill this church with people - every week, every service.

What are you doing to make sure that 50 years from now, Cornerstone Independent Baptist Church is still a functioning, thriving church? What are you doing to ensure that this church is still preaching the simple Gospel of Jesus Christ in 50 years? Don’t count on one man to make that a reality. It takes a committed church family to make that a reality. It requires that you be committed to Christ and to His church. Only then will this church have godly leaders and godly members.

Conclusion

With the walls of Jerusalem rebuilt, Nehemiah’s attention shifted to People Matters. Today also, God has a greater concern for the people than for the building of this church. May we mirror His concern for the spiritual condition of our own hearts and others also.

Invitation

Are you doing your part to fill our church with people? How faithful are you to your local church? Are you trying to bring others to hear the Good News of Jesus Christ?

What are you doing to ensure that this church is still a thriving church 50 years from now?

You yourself must be committed to Christ

You must be serving Christ