Nehemiah 7: “Appointments Made By Governor Nehemiah / Listing Of Names Of Those Who Returned To Rebuild Temple”
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1. TIMELINE:
These graphs depict the timeline of the Old Testament, and note that the book of Nehemiah is written about a period of history after the Babylonian captivity and beginning in 445 BC.
Graph of Persian kings & Jewish companies sent out by them to Judea:
1.1. In our last study, we looked at chapter 6 of the book of Nehemiah.
1.1.1. We have seen in our study that in 445 BC that Nehemiah, a cupbearer to King Artaxerxes I, heard that the people in Jerusalem were in great distress and reproach, and the city wall was still broken down and its gates burned. This caused him to mourn, pray, and fast for four months that God might move the king’s heart and allow him to go and to rebuild Jerusalem’s wall. Finally, the Lord prepared the king’s heart for a conversation with Nehemiah, and when the king noticed that Nehemiah’s countenance was sad, he asked Nehemiah why he was sad in heart. The king then heard Nehemiah’s request and allowed him to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the city’s wall. The king gave Nehemiah all that he requested to successfully complete the job: official papers to give to the governors along the way, official paperwork to get all of the wood for building the gates, and an armed escort to assure a safe trip.
1.1.2. There is an old Swedish proverb that states: "Rough waters are truer tests of leadership. In calm water every ship has a good captain." We saw that as the people continued to work on the wall that challenge after challenge was presented to them by their enemies, and without a great leader in Nehemiah they would have become discouraged and given up on building the wall.
1.1.3. We saw that Sanballat and Tobiah, the enemies of the Judeans, originally laughed at the Israelites who had come to rebuild the wall around Jerusalem. However, as the work on the wall progressed, so their anger and opposition against the Judeans increased as well. Judea’s enemies begin to mock and ridicule, next openly oppose Judea, and then when the wall was built to ˝ height they began to conspire to organize a plot to attack Jerusalem and the builders.
1.1.4. We saw how their leader Nehemiah dealt with the increasing rumors of threatened warfare from their adversaries. As a result Nehemiah instructed them that they had to work with a weapon in one hand or strapped to their side, and half the people had to guard while the other half worked, and, some had to guard even in the evening.
1.1.5. We saw that internal enemies then threatened Israel because the nobles and rich in the land took advantage of their brethren when a famine had hit and they loaned money for food to their brethren at high interest, and then took away their properties and eventually took as slaves their daughters when they could not repay. Nehemiah confronted the nobles and rich in the land and led them to give back all that they had taken from their brethren and to quit charging usury.
1.1.6. We saw that when all that remained was the last pieces of the wall to be completed that Sanballat and Tobiah began in desperation to stop the Judeans in one last attempt by seeking to get Nehemiah to come and meet with them in the plain of Ono, as they were planning to assassinate him along the way. But, even after four requests to come down and meet with them, followed by a letter accusing him directly of planning to announce himself as king of Judea and then succeed from Persia and paying tribute to Persia, the Lord gave Nehemiah discernment and he told these enemies that he was too busy to come to them, and concerning the plot that Sanballat had made that up in his head.
1.1.7. We have considered all throughout the book principles of spiritual warfare throughout our study, for the enemies that Nehemiah and the Judeans faced were only being motivated by the real enemy of our souls.
1.1.8. We finally saw that Nehemiah and the Judeans had completed the wall, and done so in just 52 days. This caused their enemies to lose and confidence, and even to declare that the Lord must have helped the Israelites to accomplish this task.
1.1.9. In review, it is probably a good point to take stock of exactly how great of a feat was accomplished through Nehemiah in leading the Judeans to build the wall around Jerusalem:
1.1.9.1.We saw that three days after his initial arrival in Jerusalem, Nehemiah had been investigating the current state of the wall around Jerusalem. He had been riding his horse around the wall in the middle of the night and investigating what all that it would take in order to rebuild the wall. He must have realized with each ride how great of a task he had undertaken, and how that without God’s help and leading that there was no way that he would be able to accomplish the task, much less get it done in the timeframe that he had promised to King Artaxerxes I. James Montgomery Boice has written the following about how that the task of rebuilding the wall was an overwhelming one: “Commentators differ over the size of the city at this time and therefore over the length of the wall Nehemiah was to build. But even by the most modest estimates, the circumference of the city was one and a half to two and a half miles. Moreover, the destruction was great, and the stones to be reassembled were massive. This was not a case of a group of workers merely constructing a garden fence, a brick wall, or even a large earthwork fortification. The blocks that had been tumbled down into the valleys below were of great weight, and these had to be exposed and then hauled back up to the site of the wall and reassembled. This required many workers, diverse skills, and even, we may suppose, a certain amount of lifting and moving machinery…Not only was the task itself overwhelming, but it also had been attempted before and had been given up, which meant that he was bucking a history of defeat. The work had actually begun in the second year of King Cyrus in 538 BC, more than ninety years earlier…When Nehemiah arrived, the most recent failure was only thirteen years in the past. Nehemiah faced not only a difficult task but inertia as well…To make matters worse, the only people Nehemiah had to work with were discouraged…But overwhelming tasks are opportunities for great men, which Nehemiah was.”
1.1.10.In everything, Nehemiah demonstrated that he had great wisdom, and thus he was able to be a master builder, just the scripture states in Proverbs 24:3-4: “By wisdom a house is built, And by understanding it is established; And by knowledge the rooms are filled With all precious and pleasant riches.”
1.1.11.Nehemiah has been called not only the first book ever written about leadership, it has also been called “the best book ever written about leadership.” H. Ross Perot once said, “People cannot be managed. Inventories can be managed, but people must be led,” and the book of Nehemiah is full of examples of effective leadership as seen in the life of Nehemiah.
1.1.12.So far in our study of Nehemiah, we have also observed numerous principles for effective leadership in Nehemiah’s life, including that an effective leader:
1.1.12.1.He gets people to do things they wouldn’t do otherwise, and enjoy doing it.
1.1.12.2.He understands people’s needs and recognizes problems.
1.1.12.3.He does not rush into action.
1.1.12.4.He goes to the Lord first about problems.
1.1.12.5.He is willing to be a solution to problems.
1.1.12.6.He waits on God to open doors, move in people’s hearts, and give the vision God has for them.
1.1.12.7.He keeps his emotions under control.
1.1.12.8.He plans.
1.1.12.9.He is discreet, keeps some things confidential, and tells others his plans at the proper time.
1.1.12.10.He is one who has gotten a proper balance of human responsibility and divine initiative, as he prays but plans.
1.1.12.11.He uses a combination of methods to motivate people but utilizes internal motivating factors more than external ones.
1.1.12.12.He is one who knows how to divide up a large project into a number of small projects that can be delegated to others to complete.
1.1.12.13.He is one who allows those under his leadership to have significant say in the things that they do.
1.1.12.14.He is one who has an understanding that timing is important. Important tasks must be done first, as with those tasks upon which other tasks depend.
1.1.12.15.He is one who leads God’s people to deal with the enemies and problems that do exist not those that are imaginary or could perhaps exist.
1.1.12.16.He is one who does not retaliate against those who are threatening him and giving him a hard time, but leaves all vengeance to the Lord
1.1.12.17.He is one who encourages people by causing them to take their eyes off of their circumstances and put them on the Lord
1.1.12.18.He is one who is enthusiastic about what God is doing and maintains a positive mental attitude.
1.1.12.19.He is one who leads people to work together in unity as one and look out for each other as for their own families.
1.1.12.20.He keeps the people focused on the tasks that define their purpose.
1.1.12.21.He is one who keeps a proper balance between faith and action.
1.1.12.22.He lives his own life as a servant leader.
1.1.12.23.He thinks before he acts.
1.1.12.24.Realizes that in addition to battling external opposition to your work, you have to also deal with internal problems among those whom you are leading.
1.1.12.25.Does not use his status and promotions for his own personal advancement, nor to build his own kingdom.
1.1.12.26.Has discernment concerning peoples motives needed for the decisions he makes.
1.1.12.27.He realizes how important his time is and that the enemy will try to make him ineffective by causing him to be consumed with irrelevant and inconsequential activities.
1.1.12.28.Does not bow to the pressure of men when they try to get him to go against what He knows the Lord has revealed to him.
1.1.13.Looking back at the first seven chapters of the book of Nehemiah that we have already covered, there are a number of things that I want to emphasize that to this point we haven’t looked at or concentrated much on:
1.1.13.1.As an example of effective leadership, Nehemiah was a man who had a vision which he kept before him. The scripture says, “Without a vision the people perish” (Prov. 29:18), and Nehemiah kept everyone on task and helped them to keep the vision before them to rebuild the wall. One person has said, “What captivates people is vision.” Theodore M. Hesburgh as said, “The very essence of leadership is that you have to have vision. You can't blow an uncertain trumpet.”
1.1.13.2.As an example of effective leadership, Nehemiah gave the people hope. Napoleon Bonaparte said, “A leader is a dealer in hope,” and Nehemiah dealt with every adversity that came up and threatened to destroy their work and mission, and as he did so he kept the Judean’s hope in front of them.
1.1.13.2.1.Nehemiah assigned the people to rebuild the wall by their own houses and thus brought them hope that the work they performed would bring them personal gain, as well as help the nation.
1.1.13.2.2.When their enemies were threatening to attack, Nehemiah brought hope when he encouraged the people to be vigilant and always ready to fight.
1.1.13.2.3.When the nobles and rich were charging usury and had taken the people’s property and their daughters as slaves because they couldn’t repay them for food they had loaned to them, Nehemiah brought hope when he made the nobles and rich give back all that they had taken and quit charging usury.
1.1.13.2.4.When the enemies of Judea tried to deceive Nehemiah into coming to the plains of Ono to make a peace treaty, Nehemiah realized their true motive was to assassinate him, and he brought hope to the people by telling his enemies that he was too busy in this great work and had to stay focused.
1.1.13.3.As an example of effective leadership, Nehemiah refused to be discouraged by adversity.
1.1.13.3.1.It is so easy for us as people to get discouraged, isn’t it?
1.1.13.3.2.We as Christians need to recognize that trials are opportunities for us to trust God and see the powerful and wonderful ways in which He works.
1.1.13.4.As an example of effective leadership, Nehemiah always dealt with the truth in his dealings with people and their situations.
1.1.13.4.1.In the church, there are times when a lot of strife can occur between people, and it is always important not to side with people but rather to side with the truth, and with the Lord.
1.1.13.4.2.All of us as Christians need to learn to deal with people and their situations with the truth.
1.1.13.5.As an example of effective leadership, Nehemiah was careful about the battles he chose to fight.
1.1.13.5.1.He made the people carry a weapon as they worked, guard the wall around the clock, work out their personal grievances with each other, and yet he didn’t really do anything to stop the rumor mill that was going on behind his back because of letter writing campaign of Tobiah, the governor of Moab.
1.1.13.5.2.We as Christians do not have to always defend ourselves, and many times defending ourselves makes us look like the rumor we are denying really is true.
1.1.13.5.3.In our dealings with people, when considering how we treat them, we always ought to consider our actions in light of what kind of a relationship we want to have with them the next day.
1.1.13.6.As an example of effective leadership, when he was told to run and hide because of the threat against him, Nehemiah stood his ground.
1.1.13.6.1.We as Christians are to be steadfast and immoveable in serving the Lord: 1 Corinthians 15:58, “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.”
1.1.13.7.When everything was completed in the building of the wall, Nehemiah gave the Lord the credit and the praise.
1.1.13.7.1.Even though he planned as he prayed about going to Jerusalem and rebuilding the wall around the city, nonetheless when all was done he writes the following: “Nehemiah 6:16, “When all our enemies heard of it, and all the nations surrounding us saw it, they lost their confidence; for they recognized that this work had been accomplished with the help of our God.””
1.1.13.7.2.All of us as Christians need to give God the glory and credit for any good things that we accomplish.
1.1.13.8.Unlike many corrupt leaders of God’s people, Nehemiah was not out for material gain, rather at meal time his table was open to all who were hungry.
1.1.13.9.Nehemiah didn’t pray for God to take away his trials, but rather he prayed for the strength to be able to endure and triumph in and through them.
1.1.13.10.All of us as Christians need to follow Nehemiah’s example and learn to resolve conflicts that we have with people rather than avoid them, as seen by this quote from Barry Bartels’ book on communication and conflict transformation:
The Bible assumes
that conflict will exist
and shows us how to deal with the conflict.
here is one such exhortation:
You shall not
hate in your heart anyone of your kin,
you shall reprove your neighbor or you will incur guilt
You shall not take vengeance, or bear a grudge against any of your people, But
you shall love your neighbor as yourself,
I am the Lord”
Lev. 19:17,18
This passage advocates the settling of differences rather than avoiding conflict.
Interestingly, verse 17 suggests that it can be sin if you don’t resolve the differences.
In other words, If not resolving the difference leads to hard feelings, revenge, or hate, it is sin.
By settling differences, rather than avoiding
them,
you show that you love your neighbor, as yourself.
1.2. In our study today, we are going to look at chapter 7 of the book.
1.2.1. We will look at the appointments that Nehemiah made upon entering into being the governor over the land of Judea.
1.2.2. We will look at the significance of each of those appointments.
1.2.3. We will see that the latter part of the chapter is mostly a repeat of Ezra’s list of God’s heroes who left Babylon, and everything of their own personal life, in order to rebuild the Jerusalem temple, houses, and wall.
2. VS 7:1-3 - “1 Now when the wall was rebuilt and I had set up the doors, and the gatekeepers and the singers and the Levites were appointed, 2 then I put Hanani my brother, and Hananiah the commander of the fortress, in charge of Jerusalem, for he was a faithful man and feared God more than many. 3 Then I said to them, “Do not let the gates of Jerusalem be opened until the sun is hot, and while they are standing guard, let them shut and bolt the doors. Also appoint guards from the inhabitants of Jerusalem, each at his post, and each in front of his own house.”” – Now that the wall was completed, Nehemiah made several appointments, including gatekeepers, singers, and Levites, as well as Hanani and Hananiah
2.1. It is interesting as we begin chapter 7 to see “governor Nehemiah” now taking charge of Judea. Having completed the final touches to the wall around the city, he began his administration with some appointments, and we need to concentrate upon those.
2.2. As an example of an effective leader, Nehemiah builds a leadership team to work and administrate under his authority.
2.3. John C Maxwell, in “The 17th Irrefutable Laws of Teamwork,” wrote: “The single biggest way to impact an organization is to focus on leadership development. There is almost no limit to the potential of an organization that recruits good people, raises them up as leaders and continually develops them.”
2.4. Theodore Roosevelt once said, “The best executive is the one who has sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done, and self-restraint to keep from meddling with them while they do it.”
2.5. The appointments by Nehemiah:
2.5.1. The first appointment was for that of ‘the gatekeepers.’
2.5.1.1.We saw at the beginning of our study the fact that the city of Jerusalem in some ways symbolizes our lives individually and corporately in the church. The wall that is built around the city symbolizes how were are to be separate from this world that is in rebellion against the world. We are to live holy consecrated lives to the Lord and for His plan for us.
2.5.1.2.The wall around Jerusalem had twelve gates. Even though the walls have been built, the gates established, and the doors hung, there remains a need for diligence to make sure that all of the gates are guarded so that invaders and enemies are kept out. This was the job of the ‘gatekeepers,’ and they served a vital function.
2.5.1.3.In our lives as individual Christians, our lives have been established in Christ. Perhaps we have understood the importance of the wall around our heart and live and have attempted to erect it. We still must constantly remain vigilant to guard the gates into our lives. What comes into our lives can so easily lead us astray from the Lord through direct rebellion against Him, or even just a subtle wandering away.
2.5.1.4.It was customary in this era of time to close a city’s gates when the sun when down. The gatekeepers were to keep the gates closed after dark and no one was allowed in or out of the city by night. This symbolizes the fact that we who are Christians need to be careful to walk in the light and thus in the day, and not in the night, just as Paul admonishes us to do in Ephesians 5:1-13: “1 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; 2 and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma. 3 But immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints; 4 and there must be no filthiness and silly talk, or coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. 5 For this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. 6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. 7 Therefore do not be partakers with them; 8 for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light 9 (for the fruit of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth), 10 trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. 11 Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them; 12 for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret. 13 But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light.”
2.5.2. The second appointment by Nehemiah was that of the ‘singers.’
2.5.2.1.Singers were a group separate from all of Israel for the purpose of leading and facilitating worship at the temple. These musicians were singularly responsible for creating an atmosphere of worship that would encourage every Israelite to reverence, praise, and worship the Lord in humble submission and prayer.
2.5.2.2..Worship leading is a very key responsibility in any church today. The worship leader sets the tone for the rest of the service and helps the pastor to be able to share the word of God. A heart that has been worshipping is much more receptive and warm to the word of God than one which is not.
2.5.3. The third appointment was that of ‘the Levites.’
2.5.3.1.The temple now needed to begin to function as it did when Solomon first constructed and consecrated it.
2.5.3.2.All of the sacrifices needed to be performed just as the Lord had instructed Moses, and the Levites had to be appointed so that they could serve in shifts and allow the Israelite to come and bring a sacrifice at any time.
2.5.4. The fourth appointment was that of ‘Hanani.’
2.5.4.1.This man was Nehemiah’s brother, and he was the one who in the first place when he had returned from Jerusalem told Nehemiah about the state of the people and of the wall around the city. Now, we see that he has accompanied Nehemiah to Jerusalem and is made what James M. Boice calls a “civic leader” or “mayor” over the city.
2.5.4.2.Some have accused Nehemiah of nepotism here in appointing his brother to this position, however we need to keep in mind the fact that it may have been Hanani who was a large part of this whole impetus for Nehemiah to leave Persia and come to Jerusalem to rebuild the city. Hanani was surely a very qualified leader in his own right, and Nehemiah recognized this about him and awarded him a position commensurate with his abilities.
2.5.5. The fourth appointment was that of ‘Hananiah.
2.5.5.1.This man was probably with Hanani, Nehemiah’s brother, in his first trip to Jerusalem, and thus is one of the men mentioned in Neh. 1:2. He was a colleague of Nehemiah’s and “the ruler of the palace” (or ‘fortress’) in Persia.
2.5.5.2.A Commentary Critical And Explanatory states that Hannaniah was made “the marshal or chamberlain of the viceregal court, which Nehemiah had maintained in Jerusalem”. James M. Boice refers to his position as that of a military leader or “chief of police.”
3. VS 7:4-5 - “4 Now the city was large and spacious, but the people in it were few and the houses were not built. 5 Then my God put it into my heart to assemble the nobles, the officials and the people to be enrolled by genealogies. Then I found the book of the genealogy of those who came up first in which I found the following record:” – Nehemiah tells us that the city of Jerusalem was not large and had lots of room for people to live, and that their houses were not built, then he writes that God put it in his heart to assemble the nobles, officials, and people according to their genealogies
3.1. After building the wall, we can see from these verses that Nehemiah was taking inventory of the city of Jerusalem. He was considering what he might do to further develop the city, bless the people of God that lived in the city, and how he might encourage others from Persia to relocate to Jerusalem.
3.2. Nehemiah realized that the city had lots of room for expansion. He also realized that the people still needed to build their houses. He would lead and encourage them in doing this.
3.3. As Nehemiah was taking this inventory, Nehemiah writes, ‘Then my God put it into my heart to assemble the nobles, the officials and the people to be enrolled by genealogies.’
3.4. In Jerusalem at this time there were ‘nobles,’ ‘officials,’ “people enrolled in the genealogies,” and “people whose genealogy couldn’t be proven.’ The ones whose genealogy couldn’t be proven via the genealogy lists, if they claimed to be descendants of Aaron or Levi, they couldn’t serve in the temple unless they were tested and proven via the Urim and Thummim by the high priest (Neh. 7:65).
4. VS 7:7-73 - “6 These are the people of the province who came up from the captivity of the exiles whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away, and who returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each to his city, 7 who came with Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Nehemiah, Azariah, Raamiah, Nahamani, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispereth, Bigvai, Nehum, Baanah. The number of men of the people of Israel: 8 the sons of Parosh, 2,172; 9 the sons of Shephatiah, 372; 10 the sons of Arah, 652; 11 the sons of Pahath-moab of the sons of Jeshua and Joab, 2,818; 12 the sons of Elam, 1,254; 13 the sons of Zattu, 845; 14 the sons of Zaccai, 760; 15 the sons of Binnui, 648; 16 the sons of Bebai, 628; 17 the sons of Azgad, 2,322; 18 the sons of Adonikam, 667; 19 the sons of Bigvai, 2,067; 20 the sons of Adin, 655; 21 the sons of Ater, of Hezekiah, 98; 22 the sons of Hashum, 328; 23 the sons of Bezai, 324; 24 the sons of Hariph, 112; 25 the sons of Gibeon, 95; 26 the men of Bethlehem and Netophah, 188; 27 the men of Anathoth, 128; 28 the men of Beth-azmaveth, 42; 29 the men of Kiriath-jearim, Chephirah and Beeroth, 743; 30 the men of Ramah and Geba, 621; 31 the men of Michmas, 122; 32 the men of Bethel and Ai, 123; 33 the men of the other Nebo, 52; 34 the sons of the other Elam, 1,254; 35 the sons of Harim, 320; 36 the men of Jericho, 345; 37 the sons of Lod, Hadid and Ono, 721; 38 the sons of Senaah, 3,930. 39 The priests: the sons of Jedaiah of the house of Jeshua, 973; 40 the sons of Immer, 1,052; 41 the sons of Pashhur, 1,247; 42 the sons of Harim, 1,017. 43 The Levites: the sons of Jeshua, of Kadmiel, of the sons of Hodevah, 74. 44 The singers: the sons of Asaph, 148. 45 The gatekeepers: the sons of Shallum, the sons of Ater, the sons of Talmon, the sons of Akkub, the sons of Hatita, the sons of Shobai, 138. 46 The temple servants: the sons of Ziha, the sons of Hasupha, the sons of Tabbaoth, 47 the sons of Keros, the sons of Sia, the sons of Padon, 48 the sons of Lebana, the sons of Hagaba, the sons of Shalmai, 49 the sons of Hanan, the sons of Giddel, the sons of Gahar, 50 the sons of Reaiah, the sons of Rezin, the sons of Nekoda, 51 the sons of Gazzam, the sons of Uzza, the sons of Paseah, 52 the sons of Besai, the sons of Meunim, the sons of Nephushesim, 53 the sons of Bakbuk, the sons of Hakupha, the sons of Harhur, 54 the sons of Bazlith, the sons of Mehida, the sons of Harsha, 55 the sons of Barkos, the sons of Sisera, the sons of Temah, 56 the sons of Neziah, the sons of Hatipha. 57 The sons of Solomon’s servants: the sons of Sotai, the sons of Sophereth, the sons of Perida, 58 the sons of Jaala, the sons of Darkon, the sons of Giddel, 59 the sons of Shephatiah, the sons of Hattil, the sons of Pochereth-hazzebaim, the sons of Amon. 60 All the temple servants and the sons of Solomon’s servants were 392. 61 These were they who came up from Tel-melah, Tel-harsha, Cherub, Addon and Immer; but they could not show their fathers’ houses or their descendants, whether they were of Israel: 62 the sons of Delaiah, the sons of Tobiah, the sons of Nekoda, 642. 63 Of the priests: the sons of Hobaiah, the sons of Hakkoz, the sons of Barzillai, who took a wife of the daughters of Barzillai, the Gileadite, and was named after them. 64 These searched among their ancestral registration, but it could not be located; therefore they were considered unclean and excluded from the priesthood. 65 The governor said to them that they should not eat from the most holy things until a priest arose with Urim and Thummim. 66 The whole assembly together was 42,360, 67 besides their male and their female servants, of whom there were 7,337; and they had 245 male and female singers. 68 Their horses were 736; their mules, 245; 69 their camels, 435; their donkeys, 6,720. 70 Some from among the heads of fathers’ households gave to the work. The governor gave to the treasury 1,000 gold drachmas, 50 basins, 530 priests’ garments. 71 Some of the heads of fathers’ households gave into the treasury of the work 20,000 gold drachmas and 2,200 silver minas. 72 That which the rest of the people gave was 20,000 gold drachmas and 2,000 silver minas and 67 priests’ garments. 73 Now the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, some of the people, the temple servants and all Israel, lived in their cities. And when the seventh month came, the sons of Israel were in their cities.” – This is virtually the same list of God’s heroes that is found in the second chapter of the book of Ezra, and it consists of those who left Babylon with Zerubbabel to rebuild Jerusalem’s temple, with Ezra to rebuild the city, and Nehemiah to rebuild the wall, so I am not going to comment upon it since we already looked at it when we studied that book
5. CONCLUSIONS:
5.1. Don’t let yourself be discouraged by adversity.
5.2. Stand your ground and be steadfast and immoveable in serving Christ.
5.3. Pray for the strength to be able to endure and triumph in and through your trials.
5.4. Learn to resolve conflicts that you have with people rather than avoid them, for then you shall truly be loving them.