Nehemiah 13
English Standard Version

Nehemiah's Final Reforms
13 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 enter the assembly of God, 2 for they did not meet the people of Israel with bread and water, but hired Balaam against them to curse them—yet our God turned the curse into a blessing. 3 As soon as the people heard the law, they separated from Israel all those of foreign descent.

4 Now before this, Eliashib the priest, who was appointed over the chambers of the house of our God, and who was related to Tobiah, 5 prepared for Tobiah a large chamber where they had previously put the grain offering, the frankincense, the vessels, and the tithes of grain, wine, and oil, which were given by commandment to the Levites, singers, and gatekeepers, and the contributions for the priests. 6 While this was taking place, I was not in Jerusalem, for in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon I went to the king. And after some time I asked leave of the king 7 and came to Jerusalem, and I then discovered the evil that Eliashib had done for Tobiah, preparing for him a chamber in the courts of the house of God. 8 And I was very angry, and I threw all the household furniture of Tobiah out of the chamber. 9 Then I gave orders, and they cleansed the chambers, and I brought back there the vessels of the house of God, with the grain offering and the frankincense.

10 I also found out that the portions of the Levites had not been given to them, so that the Levites and the singers, who did the work, had fled each to his field. 11 So I confronted the officials and said, “Why is the house of God forsaken?” And I gathered them together and set them in their stations. 12 Then all Judah brought the tithe of the grain, wine, and oil into the storehouses. 13 And I appointed as treasurers over the storehouses Shelemiah the priest, Zadok the scribe, and Pedaiah of the Levites, and as their assistant Hanan the son of Zaccur, son of Mattaniah, for they were considered reliable, and their duty was to distribute to their brothers. 14 Remember me, O my God, concerning this, and do not wipe out my good deeds that I have done for the house of my God and for his service.

15 In those days I saw in Judah people treading winepresses on the Sabbath, and bringing in heaps of grain and loading them on donkeys, and also wine, grapes, figs, and all kinds of loads, which they brought into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. And I warned them on the day when they sold food. 16 Tyrians also, who lived in the city, brought in fish and all kinds of goods and sold them on the Sabbath to the people of Judah, in Jerusalem itself! 17 Then I confronted the nobles of Judah and said to them, “What is this evil thing that you are doing, profaning the Sabbath day? 18 Did not your fathers act in this way, and did not our God bring all this disaster on us and on this city? Now you are bringing more wrath on Israel by profaning the Sabbath.”

19 As soon as it began to grow dark at the gates of Jerusalem before the Sabbath, I commanded that the doors should be shut and gave orders that they should not be opened until after the Sabbath. And I stationed some of my servants at the gates, that no load might be brought in on the Sabbath day. 20 Then the merchants and sellers of all kinds of wares lodged outside Jerusalem once or twice. 21 But I warned them and said to them, “Why do you lodge outside the wall? If you do so again, I will lay hands on you.” From that time on they did not come on the Sabbath. 22 Then I commanded the Levites that they should purify themselves and come and guard the gates, to keep the Sabbath day holy. Remember this also in my favor, O my God, and spare me according to the greatness of your steadfast love.

23 In those days also I saw the Jews who had married women of Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab. 24 And half of their children spoke the language of Ashdod, and they could not speak the language of Judah, but only the language of each people. 25 And I confronted them and cursed them and beat some of them and pulled out their hair. And I made them take an oath in the name of God, saying, “You shall not give your daughters to their sons, or take their daughters for your sons or for yourselves. 26 Did not Solomon king of Israel sin on account of such women? Among the many nations there was no king like him, and he was beloved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel. Nevertheless, foreign women made even him to sin. 27 Shall we then listen to you and do all this great evil and act treacherously against our God by marrying foreign women?”

28 And one of the sons of Jehoiada, the son of Eliashib the high priest, was the son-in-law of Sanballat the Horonite. Therefore I chased him from me. 29 Remember them, O my God, because they have desecrated the priesthood and the covenant of the priesthood and the Levites.

30 Thus I cleansed them from everything foreign, and I established the duties of the priests and Levites, each in his work; 31 and I provided for the wood offering at appointed times, and for the firstfruits.

​Remember me, O my God, for good.

This is it!  The final chapter in the book of Nehemiah!  Once again, the people commemorate a special day with the reading of the Law of the LORD.  Each time they read it; they are convicted about something new.  Before, they were convicted about their intermarriage with forbidden people, but now they have heard that they are not to allow the Ammonites or Moabites into the assembly of God (they are not to be welcomed as citizens and they are to be denied access to the altar of the LORD--first when it was at the Tabernacle, then at Solomon's Temple, and now at the Second Temple).  We know the LORD made an exception in this rule for Ruth who forsook her identity as a Moabite to follow Naomi and take care of her, and she married Boaz and became the father of Obed, the father of Jesse, the father of David, king of Israel.  However, the people see that they have let those who are still clinging to their identity as pagans and enemies of God, those who tried to destroy the people of God through sexual sin and idolatry as they were entering the promised Land, and have never ceased their campaign to try to kill God's people and take the Land He had promised to them, into the assembly against the command of the LORD.  Upon hearing this command, the Israelites separated themselves from all people of foreign descent.

How far had the disobedience gone against this specific command?  Well, Eliab the priest, who was over the chambers (probably storerooms) of the house of God, and who was related to Tobiah through marriage, built living quarters for Tobiah in one of the rooms that was supposed to be used for storing the tithes and offerings.  Tobiah belonged to one of the forbidden, foreign peoples--he was an Ammonite (see Nehemiah 2:10).  Not only had they let him into the Temple, but they had let him live in the Temple.  They had built the wall, but then invited the enemy to come live among them within the most precious, sacred, and holy place in the city.  Because of this rebellion, the provisions that were to be provided to the priests and the Levites were not there (that was the purpose of the storeroom that had been cleared out for Tobiah to live in).  Of course, Nehemiah was angry when he heard about this, and he threw Tobiah out and cleansed the storeroom, and brought everything back in that was supposed to be stored there.

Nehemiah also found out that the contributions to the priests and the Levites were being withheld from them, so Nehemiah confronted the officials who were supposed to be overseeing this.  Nehemiah made each of the officials go to their designated collection stations, and all of Judah was ordered to bring in the tithes and offerings that were commanded of them so that the house of the LORD and those working in His service would not be neglected. Then treasurers were appointed over the storehouses to make sure that the appropriate tithes and offerings had been collected--unfortunately when people's hearts fail to do what is right willingly, the law has to step in and make a bureaucratic system to make sure people are doing what they are supposed to do and enforce the laws the people should be obeying (I would assume the treasurers were about the equivalent of IRS agents and were probably not liked very much--however, they were not there to scam and cheat the people like the Roman tax collectors later).  Nehemiah did everything he could to appoint people of good character to these positions and he asked the LORD to see and remember that it was his intention to make sure that the LORD and His servants (the priests, the Levites, the musicians, the doorkeepers, and the other Temple servants) were all taken care of and provided for.

Next came the issue of working on the Sabbath day--what was to be a death-penalty offense.  There were people working their winepresses and people bringing all kinds of loads of goods and wares to the gates of Jerusalem to be sold (and for them to buy and trade with others who were at the gates to do business).  Nehemiah confronted the officials behind this and reminded them that it was because of their failure to observe the LORD's Sabbaths that they were sent into Exile.  Did they want to go back into exile again?  That seemed to be the direction they were headed in if they did not repent and put an end to this wickedness of profaning the Sabbath day.

Nehemiah used his authority as governor to enforce the Sabbath by commanding that from twilight on the beginning of the Sabbath (what we would call Friday evening) to dusk at the end of the Sabbath (what we would call Saturday evening), the gates of the city would be closed, barred, and secured by an armed guard.  The merchants still tried to gain entry and encamped outside the city gates, but Nehemiah told them to go away and stop camping outside the walls unless they wanted Nehemiah (the governor) to arrest them and prosecute them for violating the Sabbath day (again, it was a death penalty offense not only for the Jews, but for all who lived in the Land, as they all knew of this Law, just the Gentiles chose to disobey it because they did not worship the LORD or obey His commandments).  The Levites were told to consecrate themselves and come forward to be gatekeepers to enforce the Sabbath day.  They were zealous for the LORD and His Sabbath, and they should not let anyone through the city gates to do business on the Sabbath.

Even after all the other times that we have seen Nehemia take up the issue of being married to descendants of Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab, there were still Jews with wives from these foreign nations who had children with these women, and the children spoke the language of Ashdod, Ammon, or Moab (meaning they probably also were culturally like the people of these nations, and probably worshiped their gods and goddesses).  If they could not speak the language of the people of Judah, there was no way for them to understand the Law of the LORD that was read to them year after year, nor could they understand the laws and reforms being instituted by Nehemiah or the other government officials.  Nehemiah confronted these men, and while I don't know that I agree with his tactics of beating some of them and pulling out the hair of others (something that would not only be painful, but would publicly shame them), I get that Nehemiah is passionate about getting the people to swear to obey the LORD so that they don't come under even greater judgment.  However, I see Nehemiah unwilling to enforce the death penalty in cases of high-handed rebellion as was his duty and responsibility.  This certainly would have put the fear of the LORD into the people that were casually and flippantly rebelling against the LORD and His commands.  Maybe he felt there were too few people, and he couldn't afford to execute any of them for these offenses.  Maybe he thought they hadn't been told or warned enough times?  I don't really know.  All I know is by this point they have been told at least three times and have sworn oaths that they seem to not intend to keep at least three times (which is another death-penalty offense).  Nehemiah reminded the people that marrying foreign women and having children with them was what was the downfall of King Solomon.  His heart became so ensnared by these relationships that he built places for his wives to worship their foreign gods so that every grove and high place was turned into a place of idolatrous worship, and he led the people of Israel into spiritual bondage that they were just now starting to escape from.  Nehemiah never wanted to see them return to that time of spiritual darkness.

One of the sons of Jehoiada, the son of Eliashib the high priest, was the son-in-law of Sanballat the Horonite--the other main enemy of Nehemiah in this book.  Nehemiah chased this man away from him as well, for he was angry that even the priesthood and the Levites were polluted by these evil men.  Nehemiah did everything he could as governor to cleanse the city and the people and to bring about reforms that would keep the Law before the people and would encourage them to obey it and would use the power of the government to enforce the Law when the people did not willingly obey it.  He made sure that the priests and the Levites were taken care of, and that the priests and Levites had their schedules so they knew when to serve so that nothing would go undone or be overlooked--even something as simple as making sure wood was gathered for the fire on the altar so that the fire would never go out was taken care of by way of a schedule, and Nehemiah made sure the people made the offerings of firstfruits of their fields, vineyards, groves, flocks, herds, wine, oil, and spices.  He did his best to govern the people as a theocracy even though they were still subjects of a pagan king, and the spiritual leaders who should have been the examples for the people to follow were corrupt themselves.

In all this, Nehemiah asks the LORD to remember him favorably and to remember the words and deeds of his enemies in the day of their judgment.  With that act of laying everything in the hands of the LORD, he "signs off," and we assume that the returns back to the king and his previous position.  This book may have even been his official report to the king.

There's one more book during this period of the Persian Empire, and that's Esther.  I was hoping to get to it during the Feast of Purim, but I missed it by a little bit (that feast just ended).  However, the message of that book is still timely for what is going on in current events.  It is a unique book in that the name of the LORD is not mentioned even once in the entire book, yet His fingerprints are all over it as we see Him orchestrating events in a way that His sovereignty is undeniable.  We'll take a look at that book next.

Nehemiah 12:44-47
English Standard Version

Service at the Temple
44 On that day men were appointed over the storerooms, the contributions, the firstfruits, and the tithes, to gather into them the portions required by the Law for the priests and for the Levites according to the fields of the towns, for Judah rejoiced over the priests and the Levites who ministered. 45 And they performed the service of their God and the service of purification, as did the singers and the gatekeepers, according to the command of David and his son Solomon. 46 For long ago in the days of David and Asaph there were directors of the singers, and there were songs of praise and thanksgiving to God. 47 And all Israel in the days of Zerubbabel and in the days of Nehemiah gave the daily portions for the singers and the gatekeepers; and they set apart that which was for the Levites; and the Levites set apart that which was for the sons of Aaron.

On the same day as the dedication to the wall, men were appointed over the storehouses that would keep the tithes and offerings, the firstfruits, and the regular contributions of people as they brought them to the Levites and the priests as the Law required.  Some of these storehouses were in the cities where the Levites and priests lived, others were at the Temple proper.  Through these storehouses and the gifts people gave out of their abundance, the Levites, the priests, the poor and their families were all taken care of.  Also, by storing up like this, everyone had enough during the Sabbath year of rest.

Though not specifically mentioned here, cities of refuge would also be set up at this time, as they would be located in some of the cities where the Levites and priests lived and it would be part of their ministry to provide a place of refuge and sanctuary for those that who had committed involuntary manslaughter, and needed to be kept safe until their case could be heard.  However, even if they were found not guilty of murder, the price of an innocent life was so high that the man who accidently killed another man would still have to live in the city of refuge until the death of the high priest--the high priest would take the man's guilt upon himself at the time of his death, much like how Jesus died in our place.

Ministers from the Levites were also appointed to be singers and musicians who would lead the people in worship while the other priests and Levites were making sacrifices to the LORD for the purification of the people.  These Levites would the lead the people to sing, "His steadfast love endures forever."  All these priests and Levites depended on the faithfulness of the people in giving their tithes and offerings so that they could eat, for the Levites and priests did not have their own fields, flocks, or herds.  They depended completely on the LORD and the LORD's people for their needs to be met.  Nehemiah had made sure that all of the men in the LORD's service were taken care of by giving them his portion as governor, and apparently Zerubbabel before him had done the same thing, but now they were supplied by the portion of the regular offerings that was holy and reserved for the priests and the Levites, as the people were now obeying the Law of the LORD, and because of their obedience, the whole community was being blessed.

Nehemiah 12:27-43
English Standard Version

Dedication of the Wall
27 And at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem they sought the Levites in all their places, to bring them to Jerusalem to celebrate the dedication with gladness, with thanksgivings and with singing, with cymbals, harps, and lyres. 28 And the sons of the singers gathered together from the district surrounding Jerusalem and from the villages of the Netophathites; 29 also from Beth-gilgal and from the region of Geba and Azmaveth, for the singers had built for themselves villages around Jerusalem. 30 And the priests and the Levites purified themselves, and they purified the people and the gates and the wall.

31 Then I brought the leaders of Judah up onto the wall and appointed two great choirs that gave thanks. One went to the south on the wall to the Dung Gate. 32 And after them went Hoshaiah and half of the leaders of Judah, 33 and Azariah, Ezra, Meshullam, 34 Judah, Benjamin, Shemaiah, and Jeremiah, 35 and certain of the priests' sons with trumpets: Zechariah the son of Jonathan, son of Shemaiah, son of Mattaniah, son of Micaiah, son of Zaccur, son of Asaph; 36 and his relatives, Shemaiah, Azarel, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethanel, Judah, and Hanani, with the musical instruments of David the man of God. And Ezra the scribe went before them. 37 At the Fountain Gate they went up straight before them by the stairs of the city of David, at the ascent of the wall, above the house of David, to the Water Gate on the east.

​38 The other choir of those who gave thanks went to the north, and I followed them with half of the people, on the wall, above the Tower of the Ovens, to the Broad Wall, 39 and above the Gate of Ephraim, and by the Gate of Yeshanah, and by the Fish Gate and the Tower of Hananel and the Tower of the Hundred, to the Sheep Gate; and they came to a halt at the Gate of the Guard. 40 So both choirs of those who gave thanks stood in the house of God, and I and half of the officials with me; 41 and the priests Eliakim, Maaseiah, Miniamin, Micaiah, Elioenai, Zechariah, and Hananiah, with trumpets; 42 and Maaseiah, Shemaiah, Eleazar, Uzzi, Jehohanan, Malchijah, Elam, and Ezer. And the singers sang with Jezrahiah as their leader. 43 And they offered great sacrifices that day and rejoiced, for God had made them rejoice with great joy; the women and children also rejoiced. And the joy of Jerusalem was heard far away.

This is the passage we've been waiting for that feels like the story is coming to a conclusion (and it is).  Nehemiah came to Jerusalem under a temporary leave of absence to manage the project of rebuilding the wall, but when he got to Jerusalem, he found a people that needed some reconstruction as well.  The problems were so bad that even the leaders Nehemiah were corrupted, and he had to take over the duties of governor himself, and he and Ezra worked together to teach the Law of the LORD to the people so that the people might repent and turn away from their evil deeds and wicked hearts.  Why focus on this when his task was to rebuild the wall?  Because Nehemiah understood the Law that blessings come from obedience and curses come from disobedience, and the wall didn't help them avoid the wrath of God in the past, and it wouldn't help them this time if they refused to obey the rules that the LORD put in place for His people.  If they wanted His blessing and protection, then they were going to have to act like it.

The covenant has been renewed among the people, the government officials, the Levites, and the priests.  The work of construction has been completed.  The people have celebrated the required feasts of the LORD's covenant at the Temple.  Now it is time to officially dedicate the wall, and in so doing, Nehemiah will be saying, "My work here is finished.  I've done what I came here to do."  Why do I say that?  Because we'll also see that Nehemiah starts naming new leaders to rule in his place.  He needs to the side of the king to serve him as his cupbearer.

Today's passage is a day of celebration.  With the Levites in place who were responsible for leading the people in worship, the people were split into two groups, each led by a group of tribal leaders and government officials and a group of Levites.  The Levites played music and sang and led the people in worship as the people went up onto the wall and marched around the perimeter of the city.  Half of them went one direction and the other half in the other direction, and they were to meet in the middle opposite where they started.  Though the words of their song are not given to us, I would imagine they sang "The steadfast love of the LORD endures forever" as this was the song that the Levites were to lead the people in worship to sing.  We see this chorus throughout the Psalms.  God wanted His covenant people to recognize the displays of His covenant love and returning them to the Land and helping them be able to rebuild the Tempe and the walls of the City of David is yet another sign of His covenant love towards His covenant people.  "Give thanks to the LORD for He is good;  His steadfast love endures forever!"

Nehemiah 12:1-26
English Standard Version

Priests and Levites
12 These are the priests and the Levites who came up with Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua: Seraiah, Jeremiah, Ezra, 2 Amariah, Malluch, Hattush, 3 Shecaniah, Rehum, Meremoth, 4 Iddo, Ginnethoi, Abijah, 5 Mijamin, Maadiah, Bilgah, 6 Shemaiah, Joiarib, Jedaiah, 7 Sallu, Amok, Hilkiah, Jedaiah. These were the chiefs of the priests and of their brothers in the days of Jeshua.

8 And the Levites: Jeshua, Binnui, Kadmiel, Sherebiah, Judah, and Mattaniah, who with his brothers was in charge of the songs of thanksgiving. 9 And Bakbukiah and Unni and their brothers stood opposite them in the service. 10 And Jeshua was the father of Joiakim, Joiakim the father of Eliashib, Eliashib the father of Joiada, 11 Joiada the father of Jonathan, and Jonathan the father of Jaddua.

12 And in the days of Joiakim were priests, heads of fathers' houses: of Seraiah, Meraiah; of Jeremiah, Hananiah; 13 of Ezra, Meshullam; of Amariah, Jehohanan; 14 of Malluchi, Jonathan; of Shebaniah, Joseph; 15 of Harim, Adna; of Meraioth, Helkai; 16 of Iddo, Zechariah; of Ginnethon, Meshullam; 17 of Abijah, Zichri; of Miniamin, of Moadiah, Piltai; 18 of Bilgah, Shammua; of Shemaiah, Jehonathan; 19 of Joiarib, Mattenai; of Jedaiah, Uzzi; 20 of Sallai, Kallai; of Amok, Eber; 21 of Hilkiah, Hashabiah; of Jedaiah, Nethanel.

​22 In the days of Eliashib, Joiada, Johanan, and Jaddua, the Levites were recorded as heads of fathers' houses; so too were the priests in the reign of Darius the Persian. 23 As for the sons of Levi, their heads of fathers' houses were written in the Book of the Chronicles until the days of Johanan the son of Eliashib. 24 And the chiefs of the Levites: Hashabiah, Sherebiah, and Jeshua the son of Kadmiel, with their brothers who stood opposite them, to praise and to give thanks, according to the commandment of David the man of God, watch by watch. 25 Mattaniah, Bakbukiah, Obadiah, Meshullam, Talmon, and Akkub were gatekeepers standing guard at the storehouses of the gates. 26 These were in the days of Joiakim the son of Jeshua son of Jozadak, and in the days of Nehemiah the governor and of Ezra, the priest and scribe.

There were some priests and Levites that came up with Ezra on his first journey, and others who came with him on his second journey to Jerusalem--both with the objective of rebuilding the Temple.  Still others came with Nehemiah when he came to rebuild the wall and repopulate the city of Jerusalem.  We see the priests and Levites who served here during the days of certain high priests--first during Jeshua while Zerubbabel was governor.  Jeshua's son Jozadek was high priest after him, and his son Joiakim was high priest after him.  Three "generations" of priests and Levites have served alongside Ezra and Nehemiah in the work of Reconstruction of the Temple, the Wall, the City, and the People.  The political leaders that these spiritual leaders served alongside are also listed with each group to help us place them in the correct time period and to show that leadership of the people was a group effort.  It was not solely the job of the governor (who stood in the place of the king) or the priests or the Levites alone, but God had given both authority and responsibility to all of them to lead His people well.  Ezra and Nehemiah list themselves last in the list, but they were certainly not least, and Nehemiah's contributions were not less simply because he was not of the tribe of Levi.  These Levites and priests though have something special about them.  While the people of Judah and Benjamin may have been doing this to reclaim their family plots of the Land, the Levites (and the priests who were a special group of Levites), had no physical inheritance from the Land--just a few towns and villages that the people gave to them so that they could live as ambassadors of a different kingdom.  They were not to cling to the things of this world and were to hope for a better and more secure inheritance to come from the LORD Himself in the New Heavens and the New Earth, and we see that they do receive an equal part of the inheritance at that time.  These men knew how important it was for the people to have the Temple and the Law if they were going to be blessed and stay in the Promised Land.  They may not have known the gospel implications for this place where Messiah was to come and die as "The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" many years later, but some of them may have understood that there was a bigger plan and purpose for the Temple and Jerusalem and the people of God.  It was their duty as priests and Levites to preserve and prepare the people for the coming of the Messiah.  The rest of the book tells some of that story, but the story is left open-ended because we know their work was not complete, because it passes on from generation to generation.  When Jesus did come, the people were not ready, because the priests and Levites had not taken their jobs seriously.  What will it be like when Jesus comes again, but this time with power and authority to rule and judge the nations?  Will the people of the world be prepared and preserved, or will they be like the people during the time of the Flood?  We know the answer to that because Jesus and Peter both told us that the last days would be like the days of Noah when the LORD's judgment will come on the people suddenly because they assumed the LORD was slack concerning His promises (that He was never coming back or that they still had a long time and didn't need to worry about that right now).  Let us live like Ezra and Nehemiah where we not only have a passion about the places that serve as our diplomatic outposts and embassies for the Kingdom of God, but also for the people of God and those who need to become citizens of the kingdom of heaven.  It is our right, duty, and privilege to tell them how they can change their citizenship from the kingdom of darkeness ot the kingdom of His marvelous light.

Nehemiah 11:25-36
English Standard Version
​
Villages Outside Jerusalem
25 And as for the villages, with their fields, some of the people of Judah lived in Kiriath-arba and its villages, and in Dibon and its villages, and in Jekabzeel and its villages, 26 and in Jeshua and in Moladah and Beth-pelet, 27 in Hazar-shual, in Beersheba and its villages, 28 in Ziklag, in Meconah and its villages, 29 in En-rimmon, in Zorah, in Jarmuth, 30 Zanoah, Adullam, and their villages, Lachish and its fields, and Azekah and its villages. So they encamped from Beersheba to the Valley of Hinnom. 31 The people of Benjamin also lived from Geba onward, at Michmash, Aija, Bethel and its villages, 32 Anathoth, Nob, Ananiah, 33 Hazor, Ramah, Gittaim, 34 Hadid, Zeboim, Neballat, 35 Lod, and Ono, the valley of craftsmen. 36 And certain divisions of the Levites in Judah were assigned to Benjamin.

Not only did the people have to occupy and defend Jerusalem, but they also needed to fill the Land (in this case, the Land of Judah and Benjamin), cultivate it, and repopulate it.  They would remove the vacuum that had existed and attracted so many of the Gentile enemies around them to try and come and become squatters and, in so doing, try to claim rights to the Land that didn't belong to them.  Living in the towns and villages outside the safety of the walls of Jerusalem was more dangerous but was necessary for those who wanted to raise livestock or grow crops.  There would also be the need for government officials and Levites to live among the people who didn't live in Jerusalem.  These were the names of the villages that the Jewish people from the tribes of Judah and Benjamin rebuilt and lived in during the time of Nehemiah.  There aren't many, but they will be a starting point and they are scattered throughout the Land of Judah and Benjamin.  The passage also lets us know that certain orders of Levites were also assigned to live among the people of Benjamin so that they would not all live among the people of Judah and Jerusalem.  We'll talk more about the priests and Levites who served under the various high priests since the time of the Exile, for God wants to show us how He has preserved the priesthood and the Levites who had no inheritance in the Land, for the LORD Himself was their portion.

Nehemiah 11:1-24
English Standard Version

The Leaders in Jerusalem
11 Now the leaders of the people lived in Jerusalem. And the rest of the people cast lots to bring one out of ten to live in Jerusalem the holy city, while nine out of ten remained in the other towns. 2 And the people blessed all the men who willingly offered to live in Jerusalem.

3 These are the chiefs of the province who lived in Jerusalem; but in the towns of Judah everyone lived on his property in their towns: Israel, the priests, the Levites, the temple servants, and the descendants of Solomon's servants. 4 And in Jerusalem lived certain of the sons of Judah and of the sons of Benjamin. Of the sons of Judah: Athaiah the son of Uzziah, son of Zechariah, son of Amariah, son of Shephatiah, son of Mahalalel, of the sons of Perez; 5 and Maaseiah the son of Baruch, son of Col-hozeh, son of Hazaiah, son of Adaiah, son of Joiarib, son of Zechariah, son of the Shilonite. 6 All the sons of Perez who lived in Jerusalem were 468 valiant men.

7 And these are the sons of Benjamin: Sallu the son of Meshullam, son of Joed, son of Pedaiah, son of Kolaiah, son of Maaseiah, son of Ithiel, son of Jeshaiah, 8 and his brothers, men of valor, 928. 9 Joel the son of Zichri was their overseer; and Judah the son of Hassenuah was second over the city.

10 Of the priests: Jedaiah the son of Joiarib, Jachin, 11 Seraiah the son of Hilkiah, son of Meshullam, son of Zadok, son of Meraioth, son of Ahitub, ruler of the house of God, 12 and their brothers who did the work of the house, 822; and Adaiah the son of Jeroham, son of Pelaliah, son of Amzi, son of Zechariah, son of Pashhur, son of Malchijah, 13 and his brothers, heads of fathers' houses, 242; and Amashsai, the son of Azarel, son of Ahzai, son of Meshillemoth, son of Immer, 14 and their brothers, mighty men of valor, 128; their overseer was Zabdiel the son of Haggedolim.

15 And of the Levites: Shemaiah the son of Hasshub, son of Azrikam, son of Hashabiah, son of Bunni; 16 and Shabbethai and Jozabad, of the chiefs of the Levites, who were over the outside work of the house of God; 17 and Mattaniah the son of Mica, son of Zabdi, son of Asaph, who was the leader of the praise, who gave thanks, and Bakbukiah, the second among his brothers; and Abda the son of Shammua, son of Galal, son of Jeduthun. 18 All the Levites in the holy city were 284.

19 The gatekeepers, Akkub, Talmon and their brothers, who kept watch at the gates, were 172. 20 And the rest of Israel, and of the priests and the Levites, were in all the towns of Judah, every one in his inheritance. 21 But the temple servants lived on Ophel; and Ziha and Gishpa were over the temple servants.

​22 The overseer of the Levites in Jerusalem was Uzzi the son of Bani, son of Hashabiah, son of Mattaniah, son of Mica, of the sons of Asaph, the singers, over the work of the house of God. 23 For there was a command from the king concerning them, and a fixed provision for the singers, as every day required. 24 And Pethahiah the son of Meshezabel, of the sons of Zerah the son of Judah, was at the king's side in all matters concerning the people.

Now that the covenant has been signed, we return to issues of politics and governance.  Since Jerusalem would be the "capital city," but was not to have a "king," since they were still subjects of the Persian empire, one of the ten leaders of the people was chosen by lot to come to Jerusalem and live and serve there and to represent all the people (like the king would do), and the other nine that were not chosen by lot would stay in the other cities and would help rule the people at the local level.  By using lots, they were letting God perform the election for them as He controlled the outcome of this "random" event.

The names of the leaders who lived in Jerusalem and those who lived in the other towns are listed by tribe and then by clan, and then a small census is taken of those who lived in Jerusalem.  As for those who lived outside Jerusalem, they lived on their family land that was given to them by the LORD through Moses and Joshua at the time of the Conquest.  No one tribe or family held the property rights to the land in Jerusalem (though it was within the lot given to Benjamin, and the king who lived there was of the tribe of Judah, and it was filled with priests and Levites from the tribe of Levi).

Next time we'll come back and talk about the small number of villages that existed at this time outside of Jerusalem.

Nehemiah 10:28-39
English Standard Version

The Obligations of the Covenant
28 “The rest of the people, the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, the temple servants, and all who have separated themselves from the peoples of the lands to the Law of God, their wives, their sons, their daughters, all who have knowledge and understanding, 29 join with their brothers, their nobles, and enter into a curse and an oath to walk in God's Law that was given by Moses the servant of God, and to observe and do all the commandments of the LORD our LORD and his rules and his statutes. 30 We will not give our daughters to the peoples of the land or take their daughters for our sons. 31 And if the peoples of the land bring in goods or any grain on the Sabbath day to sell, we will not buy from them on the Sabbath or on a holy day. And we will forego the crops of the seventh year and the exaction of every debt.

​32 “We also take on ourselves the obligation to give yearly a third part of a shekel for the service of the house of our God: 33 for the showbread, the regular grain offering, the regular burnt offering, the Sabbaths, the new moons, the appointed feasts, the holy things, and the sin offerings to make atonement for Israel, and for all the work of the house of our God. 34 We, the priests, the Levites, and the people, have likewise cast lots for the wood offering, to bring it into the house of our God, according to our fathers' houses, at times appointed, year by year, to burn on the altar of the LORD our God, as it is written in the Law. 35 We obligate ourselves to bring the firstfruits of our ground and the firstfruits of all fruit of every tree, year by year, to the house of the LORD; 36 also to bring to the house of our God, to the priests who minister in the house of our God, the firstborn of our sons and of our cattle, as it is written in the Law, and the firstborn of our herds and of our flocks; 37 and to bring the first of our dough, and our contributions, the fruit of every tree, the wine and the oil, to the priests, to the chambers of the house of our God; and to bring to the Levites the tithes from our ground, for it is the Levites who collect the tithes in all our towns where we labor. 38 And the priest, the son of Aaron, shall be with the Levites when the Levites receive the tithes. And the Levites shall bring up the tithe of the tithes to the house of our God, to the chambers of the storehouse. 39 For the people of Israel and the sons of Levi shall bring the contribution of grain, wine, and oil to the chambers, where the vessels of the sanctuary are, as well as the priests who minister, and the gatekeepers and the singers. We will not neglect the house of our God.”

The people read the Law of Moses and swore to obey it fully, agreeing to all the blessings for obedience and curses for disobedience contained within it.  The leaders, the Levites and the priests have affixed their signatures to a public declaration that they will teach the Law to the people and will lead by example.  Now the people are going to agree to some specific changes they want to immediately make to come into compliance with the Law:
1) They agree to put away all foreign wives they have taken for themselves and their sons, and they agree to not give their daughters in marriage to foreign men.
2) They agree not to do the regular business of buying, selling, or trading on the Sabbath Day.
3) They will celebrate the Sabbath Year by not planting crops in their fields and not collecting on any debt that is owed them for that year.  It is a time of "rest" to trust in what the LORD has provided in excess over the previous six years.
4) They vowed to pay an annual tax of one-third of a shekel of silver would be paid by each man for the purpose of helping cover any of the costs associated with the work of the Temple in given of the tithes and offerings, celebrating the feasts and festivals, worshiping the LORD, and making atonement for the people.
5) The priests and Levites have agreed to work by rotation that was selected through a process of casting lots to determine who would work to provide the wood for keeping the fire burning on the LORD's altar so that sacrifices and burnt offerings could continually be offered.
6) The people promised to give their firstfruits (the first of their harvest and flocks every year, and the best of their harvest and flocks every year) to the LORD.
7) The people agreed to bring the firstborn of their sons to the priests to be redeemed, and to redeem the firstborn of their herds and flocks by the price of redemption set by the priest or to offer that first animal to open its mother's womb as an offering to the LORD (the animal must be a "clean" animal to be offered as a sacrifice in this way, otherwise the neck of the firstborn was to be broken to kill it without the shedding of blood).
8) They agree to bring the first part of their dough, all contributions, fruit of every tree, wine and oil to be stored up in the house of God for the priests during the required feasts.  They also agree to take such tithes and offerings to the cities in which the Levites live so that they can store them up in the storehouses there to take care of the Levites and so that the Levites might distribute the food and money to the poor and needy among them.  A tithe of these tithes should be brought by the Levites to the Temple and collected by the High Priest to help take care of the sons of Aaron who are serving as priests in the Temple.  In this way, the Levites, the priests, singers, musicians, doorkeepers, and all the others who gave their life in service to the work of the LORD would be cared for.  This was also God's plan to take care of all who had need among the people.

These were the obligations that the people agreed to when they heard the Law and the things to which they wanted to be accountable before God to their governors, the Levites and the priests.  This was also part of the public record so they could be held accountable by all those around them who knew of this covenant they made.  They agreed that the Temple was important and they would do what was necessary to pay for its continued upkeep and to do what was necessary to protect it (this is why they focused on rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem before even focusing on rebuilding their own homes or any of the towns, villages and cities--for it was in the place that the LORD's Presence would reside with the Ark of the Covenant and atonement would be made for His people.