NEHEMIAH 12:27-43--DEDICATION OF THE WALL

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!"