Nehemiah - Chapter 11
1-24:
SETTLERS IN JERUSALEM
(A TITHE OF THE PEOPLE)
In this chapter we once more find ourselves faced with another tedious list which we find difficult to plow through. In the books of Ezra & Nehemiah we have several of these opportunities (Ezra 2 & 8 & 10) (Nehemiah 3 & 7 & 10 & 11).
There is wisdom we may draw from these lists and contexts.
Now the leaders of the people dwelt in Jerusalem. It was not enough to see the city walls rebuilt and the spiritual revival of the people, now they concerned themselves with arranging for more people to live within the city walls.
For a city to prosper it must be populated. For more than 70 years God's Holy City, Jerusalem, had essentially become a ghost town. Now, over the last eighty years it had drawn some people back. The new temple had been constructed under Ezra and new walls had been rebuilt under Nehemiah. But the city needed more people.
Nehemiah also knew that the bigger the population, the greater the resources for defense and strength in battle. He had not worked so hard just to see the walls torn down again by some invader.
The leaders had set the example by living in the city. The rest of the people who lived in surrounding towns and villages and farms now submitted themselves to a lottery system, where one out of ten would be selected to move from where they now resided into the city, inside the walls. So, in the end, at least ten percent of Judah's population will live inside. All the people blessed those who were so chosen. These who were moving had a unique pioneer spirit and the ability to endure hardship or discomfort to complete the great work for the Lord's kingdom.
To make this move, each family had to re-order the priority of their lives. The material things had to largely be given up, such as land and perhaps farms or orchards.
Social priorities had to be re-arranged. Old and close neighbors and friends, and in many cases some family members had to be left behind.
To make the move successful, they had to set their minds to a new perspective of city life which would require more work to make liveable. They had to live knowing they were a direct target for their enemies, many of whom had done much to defeat the work done on the walls. Now there was fear of armies coming to attack the ramparts of the city.
Prior to the completion of the walls, Jerusalem had been under populated for clear reason. There was no security for the people. Now security could be guaranteed. Verse 2 teaches us that those who were so chosen took the opportunity “willingly”. The blessing of these new residents was because they were sacrificing so much to start a new life and were the seeds of new hope for God's city. Verses 3-24 give us a listing of those who did settle in Jerusalem:
The children of Judah (4-6)
The sons of Benjamin (7-9)
The priests (10-14)
The Levites (15-18)
The Nethinim (21)
The last group was introduced to us in Ezra 2: 43-54. The Hebrew meaning is “those given”. It is a short version of the longer Hebrew phrase “those given to the service of the sanctuary”. David himself had created these people who are appointed for the service of the Levites. The Levites assisted all the priests (Numbers 3:5-13) and the Nethinim assisted the Levites.
25-36:
VILLAGES WHERE THE PEOPLE SETTLED
Those who were not chosen by lot to live inside Jerusalem settled in the villages and towns surrounding the area. This chapter chooses not to list the people by name but rather to record them by the villages they settled.
The Bible teaches us that there is a city coming down from heaven to earth in the last times, when the Lord is finished with the earth as we know it, and we are taught that this city will be New Jerusalem and all who arrive there will be new residents, like these were. Those so chosen will not be selected by lottery, but rather by faith given in grace to be forever renewed and revived and we, as a part of that special people, will live within those precious walls for eternity.