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“³ These are the provincial leaders who settled in Jerusalem (now some Israelites, priests, Levites, temple servants and descendants of Solomon’s servants lived in the towns of Judah, each on their own property in the various towns, ⁴ while other people from both Judah and Benjamin lived in Jerusalem):From the descendants of Judah:Athaiah son of Uzziah, the son of Zechariah, the son of Amariah, the son of Shephatiah, the son of Mahalalel, a descendant of Perez; ⁵ and Maaseiah son of Baruch, the son of Kol-Hozeh, the son of Hazaiah, the son of Adaiah, the son of Joiarib, the son of Zechariah, a descendant of Shelah. ⁶ The descendants of Perez who lived in Jerusalem totaled 468 men of standing.⁷ From the descendants of Benjamin:Sallu 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, ⁸ and his followers, Gabbai and Sallai—928 men. ⁹ Joel son of Zikri was their chief officer, and Judah son of Hassenuah was over the New Quarter of the city” NIV

Matthew Henry explains:

‘Many of the children of Judah and Benjamin dwelt there; for, originally, part of the city lay in the lot of one of those tribes, and part in that lot of the other; but the greater part was in the lot of Benjamin, and therefore here we find of the children of Judah only 468 families in Jerusalem (v.6), but of Benjamin 928, v.7,8.’

Note the expression ‘’able men’’ (6b). It is also used in (14). One thing we can be sure of: they didn’t all have the same abilities, but they were all able. If you’re going to build something significant under God’s leadership, and if you’re going to have to build in the middle of a battle, while you are under attack, it will take the combined abilities of a team to get things done.

In my understanding, the whole church is made up of men and women, children and young people who are ‘’able’’. They are able because God has blessed them (and blesses others through them) with abilities. When everyone plays their part the church grows. (Ephesians 4: 15,16)

As someone observed, the church is not a cruise liner in which we lie back and relax as ‘passengers’. No, it is a warship at battle stations, and we are all ‘crew’.

You didn’t move into Jerusalem in Nehemiah’s day to enjoy an easy life. But as people pulled their weight, using what God had invested in them, the city was built in spite of strong opposition.

PRAYER: Lord, I want to offer to you afresh the abilities you have given me, that, in the power of your Spirit, and in collaboration with my brothers and sisters, I may play my special part on your Building site.

“Now the leaders of the people settled in Jerusalem. The rest of the people cast lots to bring one out of every ten of them to live in Jerusalem, the holy city, while the remaining nine were to stay in their own towns.“NIV

Note that it is said of those who were to live in Jerusalem that they ‘should be determined by lot, the disposal whereof, all knew, was of the Lord’ Matthew Henry.

The ‘lot’ was a means of obtaining God’s guidance in the Old Testament era. The principle to emphasise is that God’s guidance can extend to the places where He wants us to live and serve. As I studied this chapter, and sought to turn it into prayer, I felt grateful that, since I left Bible College in 1978, I have had a strong sense of God’s Hand on my movements from one place to another. I am also aware of the Lord’s providential ordering of my parents’ movements, so that I came under the influences He intended in my formative years. In seeking God, I always want to know, ‘Where do you want us to be?’ Not just, ‘What do you want us to do?’ but ‘Where would you have us be?’ That remains the case to this day.

These words from Richard Foster’s excellent book on ‘Prayer’ seem relevant:

‘No teaching flowing out of the Sabbath principle is more important than the centrality of our resting in God. Instead of striving to make this or that happen, we learn trust in a heavenly Father who loves to give. This does not promote inactivity, but it does promote dependent activity. No longer do we take things into our own hands. Rather, we place all things into divine hands then act out of inner promptings’ (p.100).

Of course, there are other important factors involved in seeking guidance, but the thing I want to stress is that the leading of God can include where you are to live.

PRAYER: Lord teach me the way you would have me to go. I trust in you.

“Now the leaders of the people settled in Jerusalem. The rest of the people cast lots to bring one out of every ten of them to live in Jerusalem, the holy city, while the remaining nine were to stay in their own towns. ² The people commended all who volunteered to live in Jerusalem.³ These are the provincial leaders who settled in Jerusalem (now some Israelites, priests, Levites, temple servants and descendants of Solomon’s servants lived in the towns of Judah, each on their own property in the various towns, ⁴ while other people from both Judah and Benjamin lived in Jerusalem):From the descendants of Judah:Athaiah son of Uzziah, the son of Zechariah, the son of Amariah, the son of Shephatiah, the son of Mahalalel, a descendant of Perez;“NIV

‘’ Now the city was large and spacious, but there were few people in it, and the houses had not yet been rebuilt’’ (Nehemiah 7:4).

Tom Hale explains: ‘Therefore, Nehemiah and the other leaders made a plan to increase Jerusalem’s population; their plan was to choose by lot one out of every ten Jewish families living in the towns of Judah and Benjamin and have them move to Jerusalem. In addition to the people chosen by lot, many others volunteered to live in Jerusalem, and they were commended for it. One purpose in increasing Jerusalem’s population was to provide additional defenders in the event of an attack. A second purpose was to increase the number of priests and Levites available to serve in the temple…

Jerusalem had suffered the greatest loss of life during the Babylonian attacks; thus among the returning exiles, there were relatively few who had originally come from the city. Most exiles settled in their former towns outside Jerusalem, thereby leaving the city underpopulated.’ ‘The Applied Old Testament Commentary’, p.764.

Matthew Henry comes at this from a slightly different angle. He suggests 3 reasons why some people may have been reluctant to live in Jerusalem:

1. It was the ‘holy’ city, and therefore a stricter holiness was required of its residents;
2. It was a place of greater danger, being such a focus of special attention from Israel’s enemies. (‘Fear of persecution and reproach, keep many out of the holy city, and makes them backward to appear for God and religion…’);
3. There was more opportunity for trading and making money in the countryside than in this city.

Whether we agree with all Henry’s points or not, I would certainly accede that:

• There are some believers who don’t particularly want all God has for them. They would identify with the ironic prayer, ‘Lord make me holy, but not yet!’
• There are certainly those in the ranks of the professing church who are more concerned for self-preservation and self-advantage than they are to display Kingdom boldness and sacrifice.

PRAYER: Lord, you know we are not yet perfect, and we thank you that you don’t write us off because we are flawed. Self rears its ugly head in our lives more often than we want to admit. But we do confess our self-centredness and lack of godliness. Teach us Lord to ‘’hunger and thirst’’ for righteousness, knowing you will ‘fill’ us.

THOUGHT: We are at this moment as close to God as we choose to be (J.O.Sanders)

“³⁵ ‘We also assume responsibility for bringing to the house of the Lord each year the firstfruits of our crops and of every fruit tree.³⁶ ‘As it is also written in the Law, we will bring the firstborn of our sons and of our cattle, of our herds and of our flocks to the house of our God, to the priests ministering there.³⁷ ‘Moreover, we will bring to the storerooms of the house of our God, to the priests, the first of our ground meal, of our grain offerings, of the fruit of all our trees and of our new wine and olive oil. And we will bring a tithe of our crops to the Levites, for it is the Levites who collect the tithes in all the towns where we work. ³⁸ A priest descended from Aaron is to accompany the Levites when they receive the tithes, and the Levites are to bring a tenth of the tithes up to the house of our God, to the storerooms of the treasury. ³⁹ The people of Israel, including the Levites, are to bring their contributions of grain, new wine and olive oil to the storerooms, where the articles for the sanctuary and for the ministering priests, the gatekeepers and the musicians are also kept.“NIV

‘We will not neglect the house of our God.’

‘There is no truer test of a man’s spirituality than his attitude to his possessions.’

Jesus taught: ‘’It is more blessed to give than to receive’’ (Acts 20:35).

As we read the Bible, we will find that there is a lot of teaching there about ‘stuff’– about material possessions, money and giving. If we have open hearts, we will start to form convictions about how and what we should give. For myself, I have come to believe that, as someone put it, the tithe (ten per cent) should be ‘the floor’ and not ‘the ceiling’ of Christian giving.

As these people came under the sound of God’s Word (36), they recognised their need to repent of their financial/material ‘’negelct’’ of God’s House (39b), and they made a commitment to do something about this.

‘Though they paid great taxes to the kings of Persia, and had much hardship put upon them, they would not make that an excuse for not paying their tithes, but would render to God the things that were his, as well as to Caesar the things that were his.’ Matthew Henry.

To give as the Bible teaches we should, takes faith – and at sometimes more than another – but it is one of the main ways we ‘’prove’’ God’s reality for ourselves(Malachi 3:10ff), and it is ‘’more blessed’’ than getting.

³⁴ ‘We – the priests, the Levites and the people – have cast lots to determine when each of our families is to bring to the house of our God at set times each year a contribution of wood to burn on the altar of the Lord our God, as it is written in the Law.“NIV

At some point in the past, I wrote this note in the margin of my Bible, next to verse 34:

‘Let each worshipper bring his or her own contribution to the fire.’

Although, currently, there are limitations placed upon us with reference to physical gathering, we are still the church. The contribution of each one still matters. If you have the Holy Spirit (‘’…an anointing from the Holy One…and as that anointing is real…’’ 1 John 2:20, 27) you have something to bring, to offer, to give. You can still help to feed and fuel the fire in the local church.

‘There’s a work for Jesus only you can do.’

Don’t see this as time off because you can’t turn up ‘at church’ week by week. Your church needs you! Keep in touch with the Spirit. Be alert to His prodding. Listen for His promptings. Do what he shows you, however small.

I was impressed by this sentence in Arthur Paul Boer’s book, ‘The way is made by walking’:

‘If a few words lighten someone’s journey then I want to offer such a blessing. Small talk is not necessarily trivial.’

You have wood to contribute to the fire. Don’t store it up in your shed.

PRAYER: Lord, please show me how you would have me spend my days, my hours, my minutes. Help me to give whatever you ask.

³² ‘We assume the responsibility for carrying out the commands to give a third of a shekel each year for the service of the house of our God: ³³ for the bread set out on the table; for the regular grain offerings and burnt offerings; for the offerings on the Sabbaths, at the New Moon feasts and at the appointed festivals; for the holy offerings; for sin offerings to make atonement for Israel; and for all the duties of the house of our God.³⁴ ‘We – the priests, the Levites and the people – have cast lots to determine when each of our families is to bring to the house of our God at set times each year a contribution of wood to burn on the altar of the Lord our God, as it is written in the Law.³⁵ ‘We also assume responsibility for bringing to the house of the Lordeach year the firstfruits of our crops and of every fruit tree.” NIV

It concerns me that we increasingly seem to find ourselves in an age in which every other person is a victim. Don’t get me wrong. I know what it is to be wounded, and some hurts go very deep. I think we will all say the same. But if we’re not very careful, we can start to assume the role of the victim, in which we make excuses, and play the blame game, instead of taking responsibility for our own actions. Part of this may also mean facing up to the fact that we ourselves have hurt others. Maybe not intentionally, but the reality is that we probably have.

I am struck by these words in today’s passage: ‘’We assume the responsibility…We also assume responsibility…’’ (32,35). Here were people facing up to the fact that they’d gone wrong, and taking responsibility to put things right. They weren’t blaming heredity or environment or anything else for their sins. Here, they were taking responsibility to rectify their giving according to what they had seen in God’s Word. They weren’t making excuses for their previous behaviour, but they were determined to set things right. Matthew Henry makes the point that the people were not forced to do this by taxation, but they took themselves in hand. They ‘made it an ordinance for themselves,and charged themselves with it.’

Perhaps the first step we need to take towards financial responsibility is to commit to giving according to Biblical principles. As Jesus said:

‘’But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well’’ (Matthew 6:33).

‘If everyone will act, and everyone will give, though but little, towards a good work, the whole amount will be considerable.’ Matthew Henry

“³⁰ ‘We promise not to give our daughters in marriage to the peoples around us or take their daughters for our sons.³¹ ‘When the neighbouring peoples bring merchandise or grain to sell on the Sabbath, we will not buy from them on the Sabbath or on any holy day. Every seventh year we will forgo working the land and will cancel all debts.“NIV

As we read the remainder of this chapter, it will be good to keep in mind these words from Tom Hale:

‘These verses list the specific commitments the people agreed to in writing. These commitments are only a tiny portion of all the commands of the Lord the people had promised to obey (verse 29). Probably these specific commitments are emphasised here because they had been badly neglected in the past; most of them relate to the services and upkeep of the temple. These commitments may not at first glance seem to apply to modern Christians, but indeed they do. They concern separating oneself from evil, cleansing one’s home, obeying the commandments, contributing to the church, and serving God with one’s tithes and offerings. Let us not simply sign a pledge to do these things; let’s actually do them!’ ‘Applied Old Testament Commentary’, p.764.

Bible people know where to draw the line. There may well be more grey areas in life than some Christians care to admit, but there definitely are clear boundary lines in Scripture, and we need to know where they are and choose in advance that we are not going to transgress. As we read the Bible, we will develop a number of core convictions about right and wrong, and there are times we have to be ready to say, ‘’We promise not to…we will not…’’ There will be moments when we have to say, like Luther, ‘Here I stand. I can do no other!’ It may be costly.

PRAYER: Thank you Lord that your Word is liveable. As I read it, enable me to grow in understanding of the things I should and should not do. Help me to not just form convictions, but to also embody them.

³⁸ ‘In view of all this, we are making a binding agreement, putting it in writing, and our leaders, our Levites and our priests are affixing their seals to it.’ 10 Those who sealed it were:Nehemiah the governor, the son of Hakaliah.Zedekiah, ² Seraiah, Azariah, Jeremiah,³ Pashhur, Amariah, Malkijah,⁴ Hattush, Shebaniah, Malluk,⁵ Harim, Meremoth, Obadiah,⁶ Daniel, Ginnethon, Baruch,⁷ Meshullam, Abijah, Mijamin,⁸ Maaziah, Bilgai and Shemaiah. These were the priests.⁹ The Levites:Jeshua son of Azaniah, Binnui of the sons of Henadad, Kadmiel,¹⁰ and their associates: Shebaniah,Hodiah, Kelita, Pelaiah, Hanan,¹¹ Mika, Rehob, Hashabiah,¹² Zakkur, Sherebiah, Shebaniah,¹³ Hodiah, Bani and Beninu.¹⁴ The leaders of the people:Parosh, Pahath-Moab, Elam, Zattu, Bani,¹⁵ Bunni, Azgad, Bebai,¹⁶ Adonijah, Bigvai, Adin,¹⁷ Ater, Hezekiah, Azzur,¹⁸ Hodiah, Hashum, Bezai,¹⁹ Hariph, Anathoth, Nebai,²⁰ Magpiash, Meshullam, Hezir,²¹ Meshezabel, Zadok, Jaddua,²² Pelatiah, Hanan, Anaiah,²³ Hoshea, Hananiah, Hasshub,²⁴ Hallohesh, Pilha, Shobek,²⁵ Rehum, Hashabnah, Maaseiah,²⁶ Ahiah, Hanan, Anan,²⁷ Malluk, Harim and Baanah ²⁸ ‘The rest of the people – priests, Levites, gatekeepers, musicians, temple servants and all who separated themselves from the neighbouring peoples for the sake of the Law of God, together with their wives and all their sons and daughters who are able to understand – ²⁹ all these now join their fellow Israelites the nobles, and bind themselves with a curse and an oath to follow the Law of God given through Moses the servant of God and to obey carefully all the commands, regulations and decrees of the Lord our Lord.” NIV

Note especially these phrases:

‘’…for the sake of the Law of God’’ (28);

‘’…to follow the Law of God’’ (29a);

‘’…to obey carefully all the commands, regulations and decrees of the LORD our Lord’’ (29b).

As they surveyed their national history, and recognised their unfaithfulness and what it had cost them, the people made a life-defining commitment to be Bible men and women. Looking back over their shoulders, they realised they had repeatedly failed to be people of the Book. They had not simply strayed from it, but had often rebelled against it, and therefore against God. There was recognition of the need to make a solemn re-commitment to Him.

Throughout our Christian lives we may find that we need to come to moments of re-dedication. You may be in such a place right now. Thank God that because of His great mercy we can have a new beginning. But we must make any commitment in humble recognition that we will fall again and again if we try to do this in our own strength. We have to rely on God, and how wonderful it is that we can.

‘Today is the first day of the rest of your life.’

PRAYER: Lord I confess to you the ways in which I have gone astray and rebelled…I turn to you afresh, asking for forgiveness of sins through Jesus. I want to live fully and completely for you. Please help me by your Spirit to make good on this commitment. I need you Lord, every hour I need you.

“³⁶ ‘But see, we are slaves today, slaves in the land you gave our ancestors so that they could eat its fruit and the other good things it produces. ³⁷ Because of our sins, its abundant harvest goes to the kings you have placed over us. They rule over our bodies and our cattle as they please. We are in great distress.” NIV

‘He that is kind is free, though he is a slave; he that is evil is a slave, though he be a king,’ Augustine.

Jesus said, ‘’Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave of sin’’ (John 8:34).

Note in today’s reading:

Sin means slavery. It offers freedom, but when we indulge in it, we find ourselves ensnared;

Sin causes us to live below our possibilities; our lives become less than God-intended; we fail to enjoy what He intends for us. Promising to give, it instead takes. It burgles our souls. Like the tempter himself, it is a thief;

Sin may offer pleasure and fulfilment, but it leads to ‘’great distress’’.

‘Sin attracts with its offer of pleasure, but in the end he who indulges finds that he has no pleasure at all.’ (David H. Wheaton).

‘’…a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him’’ (2 Peter 2:19b).

Thank God that in John 8 Jesus goes on to say: ‘’…if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed’’ (36). True freedom can be found in Him. He is the only way out of sin’s slavery.